From the editor

My rst car was a VW Citi Golf Citi.com 1,4i: the special edition with the bucket seats, 14-inch alloy wheels and golf-ball gearknob. I vividly remember the day I got it; I was in grade 12. We were returning from a rugby game by bus. As we pulled up to my high school’s entrance, I spotted my dad next to a dark blue Citi Golf. I must have shoved a few players out of the way to get off that bus because, within seconds, I had the key in my hands (if I did and you’re reading this, sorry I was a brat but you were between me and the moment I’d been dreaming about). My dad’s face beamed but, if memory serves, his smile quickly faded as I slid in behind the steering wheel and stalled the engine ... repeatedly.

That grin was long gone when we drove to Pretoria along the N1 to enrol for my

rst year of journalism at Tukkies. Instead, it was replaced with horror at the speed the Citi.com could carry, my dad’s distaste no doubt ampli ed by the racket. He pronounced the well-loved VW unsafe and, a few weeks later, the Citi Golf was replaced with a safer used Renault Mégane.

Many years after, the French hatch was swapped for a Golf 5. I haven’t owned a more satisfying car (although, if you’re willing to stretch the de nition of “ownership”, a recent Golf 7 long-termer was even better). You see, the Golf holds a special place in my heart, as it does for so many millions of people, which is why I’m willing the eighth generation to be great. The rst reports are encouraging … ip to page 42 for our impressions from the Golf 8’s international launch.

What are your memories of your rst car? Feel free to pop them in an email and we’ll publish the best ones in an upcoming issue.