New Volkswagen Golf at the Paris motor show 2012 Poor old Greenpeace, who decided about a year ago that Volkswagen was the devil incarnate of the motoring industry, interrupted the Golf unveiling at the Paris motor show with a banner protest; those who noticed it thought it was part of the launch, most people missed it entirely. The new Golf arrives in January, with barely a price increase over the current model but a lot more bang for your buck, thanks to a new modular platform making it easier to build and spec up more cheaply. It also means it's lighter and more fuel efficient than its predecessor. New technology includes multi-collision brake and pre-crash systems, and a new touchscreen infotainment system. Engines at launch are 1.2-litre 84bhp TSI and 1.4-litre 138bhp TSI petrol units, and 1.6-litre 103bhp TDI (74.3mpg and 99g/km) and 2.0-litre 148bhp TDI diesel jobs. A BlueMotion version powered by a frugal 1.6 diesel and capable of 88mpg comes to market next summer.