DAVID says: The pinnacle of achievement for any brand is for a product's name to become a generic term. Think Biro for ballpoint pen, Hoover for vacuum cleaner and JCB for mechanical excavator. For hot hatch think Golf GTI.

I was a fresh-faced, motorcycle-riding teenager when the first one rolled off the production line back in June 1976.

Volkswagen initially planned to build 5,000, but they were quickly forced into a slight recalculation. Sales in the first year alone were ten times the number expected. And four GTI generations later, more than 1.5 million have been sold worldwide.

The latest version is a mini masterpiece, combining outstanding sports car performance in a luxuriously refined package, that is as elegant and comfortable as it is powerful.

And boy is it powerful. Make no mistake, this is a truly awesome car, offering almost twice the brake horsepower of the original, superb build quality and, not that you are interested, better fuel consumption.

Not that miles per gallon, nor the classy standard goodies, which range from twin-zone climate control and CD player, to multi-function computer, rain-sensing wipers and automatic-dimming rear view mirror, are going to be uppermost in the mind of the average GTI driver.

The 200 horsepower output from the 2.0-litre engine and the driving dynamics, which are aimed squarely at the enthusiast, are much likelier to set the pulse racing.

Slip behind the wheel and the tempo rises. Sports seats, a competition-style, three-spoke, leather-trimmed, flat-bottomed steering wheel, aluminium alloy gearknob, six-speed manual gearbox and an 8,000rpm maximum on the rev counter give further clues.

But it is only when you get moving that the real class of this reborn icon shines through. The driving experience is totally involving, with pin-sharp handling and an understandably firm ride, which delivers a sense of total control at all times.

As the car's largest single market, the GTI is forecast to account for about one in ten of total UK Golf sales. But then we always could spot a winner.

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MARIE says: If you were looking to splash out on a Hollywood celebrity to endorse your new car you could do a lot worse than the umbrella-spinning, twinkle-toed star of arguably the greatest movie musical of all time.

More than 50 years after he first tapped his way through the puddles while Singin' in the Rain, and almost a decade after his death, a digitally remastered, break-dancing Gene Kelly has provided a memorable image to launch Volkswagen's GTI.

Unlike the extrovert TV advertisement, the car itself is remarkably restrained in its styling.

There are no massive, flared wheel arches, nor tea tray-like spoilers to make you look like a boy, or girl, racer.

In fact, it is all remarkably subtle. The deep front grille, classy alloy wheels and badging are the only real clues to this being the flagship of the Golf range. That said, it was astonishing how many heads turned as the GTI approached.

It might be understated, but the GTI's individual looks are certainly distinctive. I suppose the appropriately-named Tornado Red paintwork might have had something to do with that too.

Perhaps the biggest surprise when you drive this car, bearing in mind its power, is how easy it is to manage. The steering is light and precise, the pedals are equally effortless and the six-speed gearbox slots slickly from one gear to the next.

The ride, too, comes as a pleasantly comfortable surprise. It is firm, but not bumpy, controlled, but not harsh.

The test car was fitted with plenty of optional extras. Most welcome in the freezing conditions that coincided with my drive, were the heated leather

seats.

Most useful, though, was the full-colour DVD navigation system, which was the first I have used that would let me plot a route all the way from Witney to the furthest-flung part of the west of Ireland in one go.

The map can also display filling stations en route and, if the worst comes to the worst, the location of Volkswagen dealers. Having said that the disk in use is a bit out of date, as it still thinks there is a filling station on the edge of Long Hanborough, that long ago became a Mini showroom.

All in all the GTI is a superbly built, thoroughly sophisticated and totally desirable car.

And note you do not need to say Golf GTI, as the German car maker is so confident of the brand, that the word Golf does not appear anywhere on the car. The car more than speaks for itself.

David and Marie Duffy

AUTO FACTS

MODEL

Volkswagen Golf GTI

PRICE £19,995 on road

FUEL CONSUMPTION 34.9mpg Combined

TOP SPEED 146mph

FUEL TANK 12.1 gallons/55 litres

COMFORT Surprising

LUGGAGE SPACE 12.4 cu ft

DIMENSIONS 421.6cm/ 165.9in by 175.9cm/69.2in

INSURANCE GROUP 17

CO2 EMISSION 194g/km