Volkswagen ID Golf

Popular family hatchback gets electric power for an official range of up to 400 miles On sale 2027 Price from 33,000 est)

- Darren Moss

THE WORLD IS full of social media 'influencers', who steer people's fashion tastes and buying habits - even the way they talk. Similarly, after almost 50 years on sale, the Volkswagen Golf ranks among the most influential family cars out there, and even though the next generation Golf is still a few years away, the car world is eager to see what direction it'll take.

As you might expect, the new Golf will be available only as an electric car. In fact, it's due to adopt the 'ID' badge - reserved for Volkswagen's electric cars - as part of its name, slotting into the brand's line-up between the upcoming ID 2 and the larger ID 3.

The new car's underpinnings will be used elsewhere within the wider VW Group, so sister models from Audi, Cupra and Skoda will be based on the same technology. Indeed, an electric successor to today's Audi A3 is already scheduled to arrive in 2027.