Volkswagen Golf Advice

What is the fastest P-plate legal car in Australia? There’s no hard and fast winner when it comes to what is the fastest legal p-plate car, as each state has differing rules about what is allowed.

The hot hatch is in hot demand these days.

Let’s talk urban myths: If you want to be protected in a car crash, you need to be driving a vehicle that’s bigger than the one you collide with.

1. Honda S2000By the time the second cam kicks in above 6000rpm, the raucous cacophony emanating from the stylish two-seat roadster on its way to the 9000rpm redline is blood-curdlingly euphoric. People always talk about car engine sounds as 'banshee wail' this and 'banshee wail' that. Short of a pre-hybrid era F1 car, to four-cylinder fans the S2000 is the mother of all banshees – and she’s a little angry the kids haven't cleaned their rooms and forgotten to flush the toilet again.Landing in Australia in 1999, it was a relatively affordable front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive roadster that finally gave Mazda MX-5 owners something to think about. The S2000's naturally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine whacked out a colossal 176kW. Its six-speed manual transmission was one of life's simple pleasures to use, short in the throw and felt sublimely authoritative in slotting the titanium shifter through each gate. Fast-cornering grip levels were mostly under control, though the spirited rear-driver has power-oversteer written into its F1-derived DNA.Why drive it: It has the sophistication to tootle around town impressing the latte-sipping social elite while happy to unleash fiendish fury on a track when you make the call - if you dare. Driving the S2000 at 8/10ths is probably enough to blow your mind - anything more will require an honest appraisal of your own driving skill underwritten with a healthy dose of chutzpah.2. Renault Sport ClioYou’ll be heel-toeing instinctively thanks to 'quirkily perfect' footwell pedal placement. It's a true hot hatch, with the diminutive three-box body propelled by a 124kW 2.0-litre revvy engine driving the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox. It's just an amazingly fun car to drive. So willing and flexible is its drivetrain that it eggs you on even further to push the lightweight Clio's superb handling and on-road dynamics. It’s perfect for hillclimbs or weekend car-club track work.Why drive it: It will be some of the best fun you could ever have with your clothes on, in a purely platonic car-driving kind of way. Are you still here? Just go get one already.  Au revoir…3. Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI Tommi Makinen EditionIt was WRX verses Evo day in, day out for rally fans over a decade ago with only five of the ultimate Rex – the Subaru WRX STI 22B - ever released in Australia (and thus Buckley's chance of ever getting a steer of one these days). So you’ve got a much better chance of finding one of the 100 official Ralliart-imported examples of its contemporary adversary: the Mitsubishi Lancer 'Evolution' VI Tommi Makinen edition, which started arriving here in 2001. You may also know it by its colloquial name of ‘Evo 6.5’, and its 100-strong official figure has increased significantly thanks to grey import channels. Stomp the go-loud pedal and you get a blissfully rude shove in the back through the Recaro race seats as the turbocharged and intercooled, twin-cam, 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine hurtles the all-wheel-drive Evo into hyperspace almost instantly - or so it feels. That's what 373Nm from as low as 2750rpm and a claimed 0-100km/h of 4.6 seconds feels like, sling-shotting itself corner to corner as it snakes its way through rally stages.Why drive it: Even if you can’t drive like a rally driver you sure as heck would look the part with helmet on going through a fast-food drive-through. The rapid acceleration and sensation of speed even around town is not to be missed.  Buy one in red with the distinctive Makinen decal pack. The trainspotters will love it.4. Lotus Elise Mk2The swooping lines and curves of the lightweight 'waif-like' two-seat mid-engined roadster give it the looks to match its almost-supercar performance – thanks to its featherweight bonded aluminium chassis.The Series II Elise in 111S guise was the most powerful version of the last Rover K-Series engines, which were replaced by more reliable Toyota 1.8-litre VVTL-i units in 2004.The naturally aspirated Rover engine made 119kW and sent power to the rear wheels via a close-ratio five-speed manual gearbox.  With its kerb mass of just 860kg, it had a power-to-weight ratio to 'drive' for. This helped it sprint from 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds and, combined with the agility of a cheetah, the Elise 111S is a true track car for the road.Why drive it: Everything about it is designed to connect the driver with the road. From the sports suspension to the hand-finished fibreglass body to the non-power-assisted brakes, it's a stripped-out and divinely raw driving experience. Plus it's got a removable roof, so that’s instant social media acceptability - regardless of your dress sense and questionable musical taste. 5. Mazda MX-5 ClubmanThe original MX-5 of 1989 didn't just win over hearts and minds with its pop-up-headlight happy face and cheeky looks. It was all about its exhilarating driving dynamics and handling. The front-engined MX-5 has 50/50 weight distribution and its nimble chassis is easily 'chuckable' on racetracks, happy to be coaxed into power-oversteer.Winding country roads and twisty bits are its forte, where the original 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine puts out a mere 86kW and is transferred to the rear wheels via a slick five-speed manual gearbox. It loves to rev all the way to the limiter and it's a pleasure to use the stick shift as each short throw snicks crisply into gear. Many say the track-focussed MX-5 Clubman of 1994 was the highlight of the first generation, with the later 98kW, 1.8-litre engine teamed with an exotic Torsen limited-slip differential and Bilstein suspension all around. No power steering though, so it will save you some gym time.Why drive it: Its neutral balance and superbly set-up handling simply needs to be experienced by driving aficionados and curious punters alike. Testimony to what a winning formula the MX-5 is, the fourth-generation was released only recently with all indications it too will be a collectable driver’s car for many years to come.When the Mk2 Golf replaced the gorgeous Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed Mk1 of 1976, the bigger and heavier second-generation had a heck of a reputation to live up to. The 16v GTI was the halo car and its superb 113kW/tonne power-to weight ratio would only be matched three generations later by the Mk5 GTI, which arrived here in 2005. Unfortunately, Australia only got the 8v Mk2 GTI, so getting behind the wheel of a privately imported 16v is a rarity, making the modern Mk5 interpretation a more realistic proposition. One of the best handling hot hatches produced at the time, the front-drive 2.0-litre turbo Mk5 Golf GTI made the most of its 147kW, laying down the challenge to WRXs and Type-R Hondas. The best news these days is they can now be had for about the same coin as a basic city runabout.Why drive it: With the Mk3 and Mk4 GTIs losing the hot-hatch plot, the Mk5 was the long-awaited correction to the bloodline and one not to be missed.YOUR CALLThat’s just our top six budget driver’s cars, but other notable mentions include the E36 BMW M3, B5-Series Audi RS4, R32 Nissan Skyline ‘Godzilla’ GT-R, Honda Integra DC2 Type R and the BMW-era Mini John Cooper Works.

Why are so many willing to pay so much for so few obvious benefits? Most of us don't shell out six-figure sums for a car, but plenty of people do, and you have to wonder why.Is it simply because they can, because a car is a highly visible status symbol that can make you feel, and look, wealthier every day? It's exceedingly difficult to drag your giant house down to the golf-club car park after all.Sadly this theory probably holds some water, or some overpriced champagne, but the fact is that expensive cars - not all, but some - really do feel special to drive. Whether they're worth the money Australians have to pay for them is another debate entirely, but something like a Porsche 911 has a kind of engineering purity, a sense of build quality and teutonic tactility, that elevates driving, even in traffic, to a different level of joy.But you can get nearly all of that joy for less, in a $112,090 Cayman, too.Similarly, a BMW M4 feels and sounds special, with muscular steering and spine-whacking acceleration, as you would hope it should for $156,900, but much of that sheer driving pleasure DNA can also be felt in a 435i Coupe, for $108,500, or even a 420i at a comparatively bargain priced $69,500.The extra performance of the M4 is something you'll only rarely appreciate, unless you own a race track, so spending the extra is hard to justify this side of showing off.The good news however, is that much of this seemingly ephemeral and expensive driving joy can be had for far less money, once you convince yourself to be blind to badges.Behold our list of champagne cars for craft-beer money So, you think you can't afford a super car?Sure you might need to sell an organ or two, but the incredible Alfa Romeo 4C - with the looks of a Ferrari, the racing snarl of a Maserati and the all-carbon-fibre construction of a Lamborghini - brings the supercar dream down to an almost attainable level, with its launch price tipped to be around the $80,000 mark.It feels like we've been waiting forever for this car to arrive in Australia, although Alfa says it's definitely almost nearly here, but that's because world demand has been berserk. And building an F1-like carbon-car takes time.How Alfa has managed to make this super-light (just 895kg), super-handling and seriously quick car - 0 to 100km/h arrives in a Porsche-worrying 4.5 seconds - to market at a price less than six figures is some kind of Italian economic miracle. Perhaps they've fiddled the books.Best of all, it looks so good you wouldn't be surprised if it cost a million dollars.Truly super value. A not-so-poor-man's PorscheThe last Volkswagen Golf GTI, the Mk VI, was such a great driver's car that more than one magazine posited the theory that it was the 911 you could actually afford - it is German after all, and VW actually owns Porsche these days so there's a certain sense in it.The new, Mk VII GTI is an even more incredible car, but VW has gone a step further with the Golf R - the fastest Golf in history, and with all-wheel drive and a $51,990 price tag it's one of the greatest performance bargains on the road today.It might not please the people at Porsche to suggest this, but a well-driven Golf R on a twisty bit of road would give a Porsche Cayman owner a horrible, wallet-hurting fright, and a few 911 owners for that matter.It combines prodigious grip with serious rip from its 206kW/380Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged engine. A $112,090 Porsche Cayman has only 202kW and 290Nm and will hit 100km/h in 5.6 seconds, while the Golf R gets there in five flat, which is a huge difference. Even a $228,150 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 only does it in 4.9.This is all the German car any enthusiast needs. Boxer-ing cleverThere are only two car companies in the world willing to tackle the complexities of a boxer engine (in which the cylinders lie flat and punch side to side, instead of up and down) - Porsche and Subaru.Engineers from the riotously rich German company admit they're deeply impressed that the relatively small Japanese concern can manage the engineering task, but the rewards are clearly worthwhile and nowhere more evident than in the legendary Subaru WRX.This incredible car has held the bang-for-your-buck world title belt since its launch in 1995, thanks to its all-wheel-drive setup, sharp chassis and 2.0-litre turbocharged boxer engine which now makes 195kW and 343Nm and will hit 100km/h in 5.4 seconds.Sure, over some of those years it looked like it had been badly beaten up by a designer with a death wish, sporting the equivalent of two black eyes for a while, but the latest version is possibly the best-looking ever.Better yet, the new WRX is just $38,990, making it a full $1000 cheaper than when the original Rex appeared in 1994.Yes, there are quicker cars on the road, but not many, and very few that are more involving. Cheap and ridiculously cheerfulIt's probably physically impossible to drive a Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ without a smile on your face, and not just because you can't believe the price tag.What you need to know straight up is that the Toyobaru - a joint project between Subaru's engineering brilliance (they brought the 2.0-litre boxer engine, but no turbocharger, sadly) and Toyota's global dominance - is not fast. Its 147kW naturally aspirated engine will get you to 100km/h in 7.6 seconds, so you won't see which way a Golf R went. But then it does only cost $29,990.What you get for that price is far more than numbers on a page can express. Its steering has been favourably compared to Porsche's, its rear-wheel-drive and light weight make it a hoot to throw around and there's a kind of purity and simplicity to it that revisits the kind of fun that cars used to be.It's a cheap way to show off the same smile that the guy in the 911 is wearing.

Is 2017 the year of the new car for your garage? It's pretty easy to work out what's available now, but here are the most exciting models that are yet to arrive in showrooms.

We spend weeks comparing new car performance and prices... then fall for a shiny one.

Since as far back as the Golf MkIII, Volkswagen's famous hatch has had higher performance versions than just the GTI.

There was a time when Australians visiting Europe were genuinely shocked and disturbed by the size of things.