First Drive Review
No, you can’t have one—not for a while. The seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf will reach European dealers next month in a total of 32 markets where they drive on the right (i.e., correct) side of the road. British-type places where they don’t will get the car next year. But in the unfortunate U.S., the car won’t be here until mid-2014, likely as an early 2015 model. (The same timeline holds for the next-gen GTI, by the way.)
That’s a shame, because this is an excellent car. Photos don’t do justice to its good looks. Inside, you’d swear it was an Audi. VW claims it’s the lightest Golf since the third generation, the one that came out when many of us were in college. If only we could make a similar boast when stepping off the scale.
Radio Silence
What else can we tell you? Officially, not much. Volkswagen of America will be selling the current Mark VI Golf for at least another 18 months, so it isn’t in any hurry to provide specifics about our Mark VII model. Sure, the PR guys will cop to some already known facts. The new Golf will share the corporate MQB platform with the latest Audi A3; it will be about two inches longer, roughly as wide, and about an inch lower than the old model; and the wheelbase will grow by 2.3 inches to deliver a roomier cabin. But VWoA balks when asked about specific powertrains, equipment, or other details.
Among the unknowns is where our version of the Golf will be built—and we’re told that even the Germans have yet to decide. It might be assembled in Wolfsburg with the rest of its brethren, but the more likely location is Puebla, Mexico, like our Jetta and the Beetle. (This will, of course, require retooling at least part of the plant for the MQB bits.) Speaking of the Jetta, we expect the 1.8-liter direct-injected EA888 turbo four slated for that sedan to serve as the base engine in the 2015 Golf, too, even if VWoA won’t officially confirm it. The current 170-hp five-cylinder is toast on our shores, but we think the 1.8-liter will equal or perhaps slightly surpass its output.
Bag of Tricks
The new Golf boasts some impressive features for its class, including adaptive cruise control and collision warning, which are likely to make it here as options. We’re perhaps more excited that the cargo privacy shade stores under the load floor. The base-level cloth interior in the European-market cars is decent, but the high-zoot premium leather trim is phenomenal. U.S. cars probably will be finished somewhere in between. Automatic climate control and the oversized sunroof are a given for our market. So is a 5.8-inch touch screen, and an 8.0-inch screen is on tap, too, as an option.
Both screens are forward-facing evidence of a new modular infotainment architecture being adopted across the VW Group; most brands will share similar back-end electronics, although the user experience and/or controls will be unique to each. (We went in-depth with the setup in February.) In the Golf’s version, the graphics are bright and colorful, and the software responds quickly to inputs. Even better, the designers saw fit to tilt the center stack a few degrees toward the driver, the better to operate the touch screen. The message is subtle but clear, and the new Golf advertises itself as a driver’s car from the moment you slip behind the wheel.
