VW retain Top Gear's Hot Hatch Crown

In 2009 it was the Golf GTI; at the 2010 awards the Golf R won Top Gear's 'Hot Hatch of the Year.

TV presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May hosted the ceremony, and gave the award to Dr Muth, VW's head of marketing for Volkswagen R (the manufacturer's performance division).

The Golf R won overall because, as the judges said, it is "extraodinarily good at so many things".

Dr Muth said that the award was "a real honour", given that the R was designed "to appeal to keen drivers exactly like the judges at Top Gear".

The winning car is VW's third generation Golf R, built around their 2 litre TSI petrol engine. The six-speed gearbox option has the fastest acceleration of any Golf to date: 0 to 60 (actually 62mph) in five and a half seconds. It also has improved suspension, brakes and transmission, and has also been restyled.