The Volkswagen Golf or VW Golf (Mk1 and Mk5 badged as Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada, Mk1 badged as Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico) is a compact car / small family car that Volkswagen manufactures. The front-wheel drive Golf was Volkswagen's first successful replacement for the air-cooled Volkswagen Beetle. Historically, it is Volkswagen's best-selling model and the world's third best-selling model, with more than 25 million built by 2007.
Most production of the Golf has been in the 3-door hatchback style . Other variants include a 5-door hatchback, station wagon (estate / Variant), convertible (Cabrio), and a 4-door Volkswagen Jetta saloon (sedan). A touring (wagon) version of the Jetta has also been available. They have filled many market segments from basic personal cars to high-performance hot hatches.
The Golf's success popularised the use of the hatchback in the C segment of cars and began the entire Golf class. See also Volkswagen A platform.
