No more rumours, no more masks, the seventh generation Golf is unveiled

After months of spy shots and rendered images, Volkswagen has finally revealed the first official images of its best-selling car. Be reminded that this is also the first model from Volkswagen to utilise the versatile MQB architecture that will also underpin the new Audi A3 and for the base for many others.

The seventh generation of the bestselling car, the Golf, was finally unveiled at a press conference in Berlin, Germany. The new Golf offers a refined and sharper styling equipped with more features, and performance. Despite weighing lighter than its predecessor, safety has not been compromised as well.

The new Golf is up to 99.7kg lighter thanks to careful focus on weight savings on every aspect of the car. The air conditioning unit is 2.7kg lighter while the seats have shed 6.8kg. The body-in-white is 23kg lighter thanks to the extensive use of high- and ultra-high strength steels. Almost 80 percent of the car is constructed with high-strength steel where 28 percent of this comes from ultra-high-strength steel.

The weight savings and advanced construction methods results in better fuel economy. The European-market turbocharged 1.4-litre with 140bhp, and fitted with cylinder de-activation returns a fuel consumption figure of 20.8km/L, while the base 105bhp TDI returns 26.4km/L.

The new Golf gains close to 6cm in length to 4.25m, and the wheelbase has also been lengthened by 5.8cm. The new Golf poses a sportier stance as it's lower and wider than the old car. Safety has been enhanced with improved crash structures.

The new Golf offers more room for its occupants courtesy of a passenger compartment that is 1.5cm longer. The wider car naturally provides better shoulder room and boot capacity has increased and has been made more accessible. A new infotainment system incorporates a five-inch touchscreen across all European models where the higher end cars are fitted with a navigation system which has a larger, eight-inch touchscreen.