GOLF VI - The countdown to the Golf VIII continues, with the Sixth generation of one of the world's biggest sellers.

• Assistance systems arrived in the compact class with the Golf MkVI
• Sixth Golf conquered the EuroNCAP crash test with five stars

The countdown is under way: in six days Volkswagen will present a major update of the Golf in Wolfsburg. 

That will herald the launch of a Golf which will democratise progress yet again. An ongoing tradition since the launch of the first Golf, 42 years ago. 

With the debut of the sixth-generation Golf (2008), more and more luxury class assistance systems found their way into the compact segment – marking the beginning of a silent revolution in automotive safety. 

Retrospective: In 2008 Barack Obama is elected the 44th President of the USA. The Spanish national team wins the final of the European Football Championship against Germany. The English singer Amy Winehouse wins five Grammy awards in Los Angeles and Volkswagen enriches the year with the sixth generation of a bestseller: the Golf.

New assistance systems such as Adaptive Cruise Control ACC, automatically steered Park Assist, automatic main beam management Light Assist, the Hill Hold function and further technical innovations in the form of adaptive chassis control DCC make the car which will later be named "World Car of the Year" in 2009 the hitherto most advanced Golf. And not only that: by the time it was replaced in 2012, the Golf MkVI had madei ts mark in the history of Volkswagen, becoming one of the safest compact cars of its time –  thanks to its numerous assistance systems, up to nine airbags (including knee airbag) and sovereign five stars in the EuroNCAP crash test.