It’s always painful watching your long-termer leave the car park for the last time, but knowing I won’t be able to jump into the unflappable R32 at the end of the day to carve through the freezing early-evening grime makes this one hurt more than most.

It feels like a lifetime ago that ZVB first appeared at Evo Towers, so long ago in fact that the initial disappointment at it having a DSG gearbox seems like a distant dream. I remember the morning when I arrived at the office to find my gleaming new long-termer waiting for me. Excited, I walked up to it and peered through the window, my eyes scanning the airy cabin, taking in the supportive-looking seats and the beautifully finished dash. Then I spotted the auto shifter sitting where there should have been the lever for a slick six-speed manual. At first I thought this R32 was in for some other test, that mine must still be on its way, but when I walked into the office and everyone called me grandad, I knew the auto Golf was mine.