After around four years, the technicians are giving the Volkswagen Golf revised drives, some of them profound, while the designers have made moderate optical retouches to the compact class. ntv.de has already taken a seat.
There it is now, the Golf. Objective and well-behaved, the Wolfsburg evergreen, who will soon be 50 years old, is certainly not an exciter. However, more and more people have become upset about the Golf, and more specifically about its operation. But more on that later. First of all, it should be noted that there is a little excitement in the context of the revised Golf. The Lower Saxony people fought a battle with the authorities and actually managed to legally conjure up an illuminated brand emblem on the radiator grille. That could look really snazzy. We can only hope that the cross bar, which is also illuminated with LEDs, does not outshine the logo.
Of course, the basic layout of the Wolfsburg compact has not changed.
(Photo: Volkswagen)
But now we're off to the Gulf, unfortunately we can't leave with him yet. Because at this point in time, touching and looking is the order of the day; driving will come later. In order to notice a fairly important change right away, you don't need to drive at all. The neatly locking physical buttons on the steering wheel catch the eye from a distance. And to be honest: pressing these buttons is a relief compared to the previous buttons, which were always annoying to use to set the cruise control, for example.
The Golf's steering wheel buttons are physical and pressable. Everything should also run much better on the striking monitor.
(Photo: Volkswagen)
The rest of the infotainment has also been renovated, but more on that when the car is dynamically available. So much in advance: Volkswagen is providing faster processors, and the software architects have fundamentally revised the operation. So-called touch sliders for adjusting the interior temperature are intended to increase practicality. The new central screens of either 10 or 13 inches look like an attached tablet and are pleasing to the eye.
Volkswagen has revised the Golf's powertrains
Nice to see here: the charging port of the PHEV. If desired, it charges with a whopping 50 kilowatts.
(Photo: Volkswagen)
In order to further fuel the desire to drive in the future, the drives did not remain untouched. It's good that the Golf must continue to be a Golf for all occasions. This means: Apart from purely electric transport (the ID division is responsible for this), the customer gets a wide range of engines from a simple petrol engine without electrification with a manual gearbox to the classic diesel and the sophisticated plug-in hybrid.
Of course, the Loadmaster Variant also benefits from the innovations of the revision. This can be seen, for example, in the 3D LED taillights.
(Photo: Volkswagen)
The latter is particularly important to talk about. Volkswagen has upgraded here and, in particular, enlarged the batteries. With a net electricity storage capacity of 19.7 kWh, their energy content has almost doubled (previously 10.6 kWh), which expands the possible radius without a combustion engine to around 100 kilometers. This can now be charged with 11 instead of 3.6 kilowatts using alternating current. It is now also possible to fill the battery with an impressive 50 kilowatts using DC chargers.
If you use the power of the 115 hp electric motor and the power (depending on the version 150 or 177 hp) of the 1.5 liter TSI petrol engines with variable turbine geometry together, the system generates either 204 or 272 hp (GTE), similar to the Passat. The transmission is a six-speed dual clutch.
There are plenty of engines to choose from
The Golf Variant remains timelessly chic even in its latest version.
(Photo: Volkswagen)
If you want to couple the many different combustion engines with an automatic, you can get the dual clutch transmission in a seven-speed version. This includes, for example, the 1.5 liter high-tech four-cylinder called EA211 Evo2 in conjunction with mild hybridization (48 volts) and cylinder deactivation. The output is 115 or 150 hp. By the way, these are exactly the same power levels as the two-liter diesels. In about a year there will be a two-litre petrol engine with 204 hp and all-wheel drive. The Variant (station wagon) will also be able to be combined with the diesel engines and, in the future, with the powerful two-liter.
The GTI of the new Golf vintage can also be identified by its two powerful exhaust tailpipes.
(Photo: Volkswagen)
Volkswagen is also doing something for the sporty faction and increasing the output of the GTI variants to 265 hp. And of course the R variants will also come with a little time lag, including a powerful punch. Nothing will work under 300 hp.
It is already known that the technicians used a bit of light gimmick – keyword: glowing emblem. But there are other features with some more and some less serious backgrounds. The so-called LED high-performance high beam with its 500 meter beam range certainly has the highest functional value. The three-dimensional LED rear light with various welcome scenarios is quite charming. As does the ambient light in 30 different colors.
Speaking of color. Until a few years ago, the Volkswagen Golf was one of the few offerings with over 50 different paint colors in the configurator. Unfortunately there are only eleven color options left, but there are at least four new shades.
Whether the revised Golf, like its predecessor, will again be available for less than 30,000 euros remains an exciting question. ntv.de will answer them in due course.
