(October 21, 2012) Volkswagen started taking orders in Europe Friday for the seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf with prices starting below those of the previous model, at just £16,285 ($26,000) and rising to £24,880.

The latest Golf is lighter, safer, more advanced, more spacious, more efficient and better equipped than previous generations of Europe’s best-seller, of which over 29 million have been sold — some 1.6 million of these in the UK. 

It will go on sale in January in the UK, but U.S. buyers will have to wait about a year to get their hands on the new model.

The gas engine range starts with a four-cylinder 1.2-liter TSI unit producing 84 horsepower, rising to a 1.4-liter TSI 120 horsepower motor and a 1.4-liter TSI 138 horsepower with Active Cylinder Technology.

The diesel engines at launch are a 1.6-liter TDI 103 horsepower and a new 2.0-liter TDI 148 horsepower unit.  Both feature the latest common rail diesel technology for maximum efficiency.  All new Golf models — both diesel and petrol — come with a Stop/Start system as standard, along with battery regeneration.  Gearboxes are a mixture of five- and six-speed manuals, and six- and seven-speed DSG units, depending on the engines’ power and torque outputs.



All Golf models come with seven airbags, including a driver’s knee airbag, five three-point seatbelts, ABS with ESP, XDS electronic differential lock and Isofix preparation for two rear child seats.  The entry-level