renault

I should be used to it, after witnessing six previous generations of Volkswagen Golf, but somehow I still kid myself that the next one will be different.

It never is, although perhaps that's not such a bad thing, because the Golf GTI remains the one car that every other car maker aspires to beat, and thus far it remains the benchmark sporting hatchback that does everything well, and some things exceptionally well.

When the second-generation MINI John Cooper Works GP was announced in May, most observers guessed its 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine would produce around 230bhp. After all, the standard JCW MINI already offered 208bhp and its predecessor, the 2006 MINI Cooper S with John Cooper Works GP Tuning Kit was good for 214bhp.