WOLFSBURG (Germany) – Hailed as one of the most successful European cars for over four decades, Volkswagen’s Golf will begin its next chapter in life with the advent of the new eighth-generation Golf Mk8 in Wolfsburg – where it first emerged and subsequently refined for the last 45 years.
According to the German carmaker, the Golf will be made available from December onwards and will have a digital interior that enables for a new dimension of intuitive operation while having the ability to cruise up to 210kph with assisted driving.
The Mk8 will be the first Volkswagen to be able to use swarm intelligence from traffic via Car2X – meaning it can warn against hazards on an anticipatory basis by picking up signals from the traffic infrastructure and information from other vehicles up to 800m away and will notify its driver via a display.
The Mk8 will also share such warnings with other Car2X models via its Swarm intelligence which is becoming a reality and represents the beginning of a new phase of traffic safety.
The system will not only link to each other but thanks to an online connectivity unit (OCU), they have also been connected to the world outside the Golf with an integrated eSIM that links to “We Connect” and “We Connect Plus” online functions and services.
The new Golf is also the first Volkswagen to connect with its environment as standard, via Car2X: signals from the traffic infrastructure and information from other vehicles up to 800 metres away are notified to the driver via a display.
“Over the course of seven generations, the Golf has impressed more than 35 million customers. The entire automobile industry expects a new Golf to set the standard”, explained Volkswagen AG chairman of the board of management Dr Herbert Diess.
In terms of its technology, the Golf is making the greatest leap forward since its debut.
“This car is completely new. But of course, a Golf always remains a Golf. Because the underlying concept is timeless. This car has defined our brand over decades. The Golf has consistently made new technologies available for everyone,” said Volkswagen Passenger Cars chief operating officer Ralf Brandstätter.
“In a world where complexity is ever-increasing, the new Golf allows the driver to operate the vehicle intuitively,” said Volkswagen head designer Klaus Bischoff.
Practically all displays and controls are digital – new instruments and online infotainment systems have been melded together into a display landscape featuring touch buttons and touch sliders while a heads-up display is also available as an optional extra.
There will be five hybrid drives for the new Golf which will have a 48V technology consisting of a belt starter generator, 48V lithium-ion battery and the latest generation of efficient TSI engines form a new mild-hybrid drive in the eTSI.
This has allowed fuel-consumption to be cut by up to 10% while remaining extremely agile and comfortable when moving off.
The Golf will also be available in three eTSI outputs of 110PS, 130PS and 150 PS.
Two plug-in hybrid drive variants will also make the cut with total output at 204PS while the very sporty GTE will deliver 245PS.
Both Golf versions with plug-in hybrid drives will launch with a new 13kWh lithium-ion battery that can allow the Golf to travel up to 60km emission-free.
There will still be the petrol engine retaining the familiar TSI moniker as well as the TFI turbodiesel engine variants and TGI natural gas drive.
Two four-cylinder petrol engine variants are available with one outputting 90PS and the other at 110PS.
There will also be two four-cylinder turbodiesel engine variants producing 115PS and 150PS while the TGI engine dishes out 130PS.
The new TSI variants have particularly low consumption values and emissions thanks to elements including the innovative TSI Miller combustion process.
As an innovation in the TDI powertrains, the German carmaker uses twin-dosing technology (two SCR catalytic converters) to significantly reduce nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx) by up to 80%; in addition, TDI consumption is lowered by up to 17% compared with its predecessor.
Keyword: Volkswagen Golf Mk8 to arrive in markets from December onwards