However, it is hard to try and convey this when the Volkswagen sells extremely well. People buy it for exceptional build quality, good reliability and a premium German brand. Yet, the man sat behind the wheel of a standard Golf is the man who was about to click ‘buy’ on the Alfa Romeo website, came over a bit sweaty and followed his head.

The Golf GTI is a bit more impressive, again achieving the perfect balance of being brilliant fun while extremely practical for a reasonable price reflecting its build quality. Yet if the standard Golf is a Latte, the GTI is a Cappuccino, a bit more powerful but basically a Latte in a sweet frothy disguise.

The coffee liqueur comes in the shape of the Golf R32, a 3.2 litre, 246 bhp, 155 mph espresso and whisky which up until 2008 stood as the top spec Golf. However Volkswagen have now released a new version of the R32, rebranding the hottest hatch as simply ‘R.’

Both the 2010 Golf and Scirroco will be given the ‘R’ treatment, both using the VW 2.0 litre four cylinder turbo charged unit giving out around 260 bhp.

The Scirocco R will bring 60 mph in 5.8 seconds, blending beautiful design with practicality that wont impinge on pure driving pleasure. The Golf R, with its four wheel drive system will do 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds, taking the crown as the fastest accelerating golf ever produced.

When you look back to cars such as the Ferrari 355 GTs F1, a car steeped in motor sport heritage and premium Italian design, the Golf will only be a second behind it to 60 mph. It is amazing to think that in 1994 when the 355 was released, 4.7 seconds cost upwards of £100,000. Now you can spend less than £31,000 and be close enough to see the 355 driver’s brand of cravat.

The two cars are both now on sale with delivery being February 2010, the Scirocco costing from £26,945 and the Golf from £28,930. Affordable motoring excellence has never looked this good, the R badge really does mean a sensibility saturated in Bailey’s Irish Cream.