WASHINGTON - I wanted it too much. It was bound to disappoint. It did.

If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning, I'd hammer in the evening all over the Lexus HS250h until I beat it into something that vaguely resembled a luxury car.

The sixth-generation Volkswagen Golf, heralded by European automotive media as World Car of the Year, finally comes to U.S. showrooms this fall and instantly is the most fuel-efficient, non-hybrid compact car for 2010.

It is a return to sculpted metal, a flight from the boredom of strictly functional aerodynamic design.