Facelifted Volkswagen Golf poised for launch

Volkswagen is less than three weeks away from unveiling its facelifted seventh-generation Golf.

The reworked version of Europe's best-selling car is set to be revealed in early November in Wolfsburg, Germany, with Australian sales set to get underway by mid-2017.

The Golf's mid-life upgrades are designed to help it retain its competitiveness against a host of hatchback rivals until the launch of a heavily re-engineered eighth generation model Golf in 2019.

Visually, the facelifted Golf departs little from today's four-year-old model. Among the subtle styling changes is a lightly altered front bumper, new headlight graphics with integrated day-time running lights, reworked LED tail-lights graphics and new alloy wheel designs.

The main focus of the facelift is the interior, which Volkswagen has upgraded to include the optional virtual cockpit display offered on the Passat. The 12.5in high-definition monitor can be ordered in place of the new Golf's standard analogue instruments. It offers differing digital layouts at the press of a button on a multi-function steering wheel.

More significant are the changes to the Golf's infotainment system. In a bid to make the new car more appealing, Volkswagen will offer a top-of-the-line system with a 9.5in centre display in 16:9 format, as previewed by the Golf R Touch concept at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year. Buyers will also be able to operate it using a range of gesture and proximity control functions.

The same driver assist systems as the Passat will be offered, including a new traffic jam assist function, which allows semi-autonomous driving at speeds of up to 37lkm/h. 

Earlier plans to provide the facelifted Golf with a new range of turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines have been delayed, according to VW insiders. They say extra engineering activity placed on the company in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal has led to changes in the introduction of a number of driveline developments.

The range will feature Volkswagen's new turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, as seen in the recently facelifted Up and soon to be replaced Polo. It is set to replace various versions of the existing turbocharged 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol unit.
Further up the range will be lightly reworked versions of today's turbocharged 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine.

The facelifted Golf GTI will retain the same turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine as the outgoing model, albeit with a moderate lift in power.

At the top of the petrol line-up will be a more powerful version of the four-wheel-drive Golf R, whose  turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder  motor is said to develop the same 309kW as the R400 concept first wheeled out at the 2014 Beijing motor show.

As for diesels, the Golf will retain the recently controversial and revised turbo 1.6 and 2.0-litre four-cylinder engines.
Volkswagen is also using the facelift to upgrade the driveline of the Golf GTE. It is set to receive the same power output as the petrol-electric system used by the Passat, with reserves rising from a combined 150kW to 160kW.

At the recent Paris motor show Volkswagen also made official the changes to the facelifted e-Golf, which is set to make its world debut at AutoMobility LA (formerly LA motor show) next month. It eschews the existing 24.2kWh lithium ion battery for a larger 38.5kWh unit. This is claimed to boost its range beyond 300km.

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