2014 VW Golf R priced from £29,900

Volkswagen has announced the UK pricing for the new Golf R. Arriving in showrooms in March 2014, the R becomes the new range-topping Golf, above the GTI. It comes in three- and five-door variants, and is priced from £29,900.

New Volkswagen Golf: World Car of the Year 2013

The VW Golf MK 7 has been declared World Car of the Year at the New York Auto Show, beating Porsche, Mercedes and Toyota to the title. That bunch included cars like the Porsche Boxster, Mercedes A Class and Toyota GT86, so competition was strong, but just as the new Golf had triumphed as European Car of the Year 2013 the Golf was also victorious on the bigger, global stage. It’s the fourth time in five years VW’s cars have nabbed the WCOTY award, with the Golf Mk 6 taking the gong in 2009, the VW Polo in 2010 and the VW Up!

Geneva Show 2014: High Performance XF Wagon Roars Into Geneva

ORIGINALLY launched as a luxurious but sensible premium estate car, it was always a matter of when not if the stylish XF Sportbrake would receive Jaguar’s famed high performance makeover. The Brit car maker has exceeded expectations, as the newly christened XFR-S Sportbrake packs a considerable 542 horsepower from a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine. Tweaks to the regular car’s suspension, steering and transmission help it reach 60mph from rest in a blistering 4.6 seconds and top out at an electronically limited 186mph.