The humble hatch that’s a celebrity favourite

Who ever thought a British royal, a soccer player, and a Formula One driver could all have something in common when it comes to cars?

RELATED: Prince William’s car proves he’s cooler than other royals

As it turns out, they all share the same love for a little German hatchback that has become a staple of not only economy cars but tiny performance machines.

That hatchback is the Volkswagen Golf and these celebrity fans are not alone – over 35 million Golfs have been sold internationally over its 50-year, eight-generation heritage.

The Mk1 Volkswagen Golf GTI is known as one of the first hot hatches, and was certainly the car that exploded the popularity of hot hatches internationally due to its combination of performance and economy.

The development of a performance model accelerated the development of a safe and fun car even in the non-GTI models. It's often a 'boy-racer's' first car in Europe and seems to be the choice of car for everyone from soccer players to religious figures.

So, which public figures have opted for the VW Golf?

Before shooting to be one of the most beloved royal figures, Catherine (Kate) Middleton opted for a 1.4-litre Mk4 Volkswagen Golf in 2001.

When Kate and William started dating, a heap of press photos showed the now Duchess getting around in her trusty Golf, her daily driver while she was studying at university and working part-time at a clothing store.

The car was passed down to her brother, James, who sold it to an unsuspecting buyer in 2009 for around £1400 ($AU2120 at the time). The buyer didn't realise that this was a seriously special car until he checked the service records and saw Kate's name listed in the service book.

The Mk4 Golf went to auction on eBay in July 2011, and the bidding closed at £48,100 (around $AU72,000 at the time). However, the owner decided to keep the car and cancelled the auction.

After attempting to sell the car again in 2012, the Golf's whereabouts are unknown in 2024, but we can assume they have decided to hold onto it.

On the other side of the celebrity spectrum is Carlos Sainz Jr, the Ferrari Formula One team driver.

Carlos Sainz Jr is the son of Carlos Sainz Sr, one of the world's best-known rally drivers, so racing blood runs in the family.

Despite having a multi-time rally champion father, three F1 wins under his belt, and driving for one of the sport's most recognised teams, you'd expect Sainz Jr to be getting around in something exotic.

Nope! The F1 driver gets around in a Mk6 Golf GTI that his parents bought for him when he was 18 years old. It wasn't until 2023 that Sainz decided to order a Ferrari 812 Competizione tailored to his exact liking.

"It's the first car I'm buying... I've been in Formula One for nine years, and as an own car, I have the one my parents bought me when I was 18, which is a Golf," Sainz said in a video on his YouTube channel.

When asked why he stayed with the trusty hatchback for so long, Sainz explained, "Look, at the weekend I'm driving a Formula One car, and it's the fastest car ever. Everything else feels really, really bad". 

It's hard to see David Beckham in anything other than a top-tier luxury car now. He's up there with Ronaldo, Messi, Pele and Maradona as one the greatest soccer players in the world.

It wasn't always Maseratis and Bentleys for the British footballer. As a teenager, Beckham got around in a turquoise 1991 Mk3 Golf.

The non-GTI model was nothing special, but the Golf was put to auction in 2015 to raise money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital. However, it wasn't Beckham who passed the car off to be auctioned; it was a football fan, Timothy Knatchbull, who purchased it at an auction years prior.

The winner received the original purchase documents that had Beckham's name and a signed picture of the car.

When Beckham sold the trusty Golf, he moved into an equally conservative yet sporty Honda Prelude.

Picture this: you have a net worth of $AU273 billion and you can buy any car you can possibly imagine but you land on a Volkswagen Golf.

Facebook CEO and billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is characterised by his daggy taste in clothes and lack of flashy material items. In most press photos, he is seen getting around in a grey T-shirt with a black hoodie and jeans.

A black Mk6 Golf GTI, which he would've paid around $US30,000 ($AU35,000 at the time) for back in 2013, seems to be the perfect choice as a daily commuter for Zuckerberg since he drives himself to work rather than opting for a chauffeur.

It seems that Zuckerberg also has good taste, as he opted for a manual transmission in his little hot hatch.

The world is well versed in Princess Diana's Ford Escort RS Turbo, which recently went under the hammer in 2022 and sold for a whopping £724,000 ($AU1.2m). However, the beloved late Princess had another car that was lesser known.

Back in 1979, the Princess purchased a light blue Mk1 Volkswagen Golf before she and Charles started dating. In fact, it was miraculously similar to the Mk4 Golf owned by Princess Kate, besides a slightly darker blue colour.  

The only known photo of the Mk1 Golf is a 1979 snap of Diana sitting on the roof of the car with her then-flatmate standing in the passenger-side door. The whereabouts of this Golf is unknown.

Continuing the Diana theme, an advert for the Mk2 Golf GTI was aired in 1987 with a Princess Diana clone throwing her wedding ring and pearls off, before going to drop her Volkswagen key down the drain. She stops and decides to jump in the Golf instead. Five years later, Diana and Charles' marriage began to break down.