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Driven: Volkswagen Golf Mk7

Walking up to the seventh-generation VW Golf, redesigned flip key in hand, you're in no doubt that this is a) new or – perhaps more importantly – b) a Golf. It's the "200 meter test" lead exterior designer, Andreas Mindt tells us and, while we're suspicious of the idea of self-conscious ‘iconic design', you have to concede he's right. In fact the Mk7 Golf's pared-back graphics and a return to a true two-box proportion create a more accurate vision of what we imagine when we think ‘Volkswagen Golf' than either of its two most recent predecessors.

Jaguar tells design story behind new XF Sportbrake [w/video]

Jaguar has released a walk-through of the design of its new XF Sportbrake, which debuted at last week's Geneva motor show. The video features Jaguar design boss Ian Callum and Studio Director Wayne Burgess explaining how the design team managed to keep the company's first official estate car in line with the sportiness and luxury nature of Jaguar brand. Callum says, "I know it's a very practical car, there's an amount of pragmatism in it, it is functional, but at the end of the day it is we call a Sportbrake, it has to look to sporty.

GM closes UK Advanced Design Studio

CDN has learnt that General Motors is closing its UK Advanced Design Studio as part of its ongoing restructuring program. Clay Dean, GM's executive director of advanced global design and Cadillac's brand director, arrived at the studio on 4 August to announce the closure to staff. The UK studio, which opened in 1999, was predominantly involved in the creation of Cadillac concept cars and was originally planned to be a short-term confidential operation as the smallest of GM's design studios.