VW's New Icon
The VW Golf - an iconic car selling almost of 30 million since its introduction back in 1974, now its German manufacturers have unveiled the sixth generation Volkswagen Golf
With competition in the supermini sectorgetting fierce as well as the current crisis Volkswagen have been clever in introducing new selling points to persuade family hatchback buyers they need a more expensive car. As a result the new golf carries features and quality more commonly found on cars from the next price bracket up.
At first glance you can be excused from thinking, ok this is the fifth generation, but where is the new one., and in truth the evolution of the VW Golf from fifth to sixth generation has not resulted in a radical redesign - indeed it sits on the same platform as the outgoing model.
FemaleFirst will put the new Golf through its paces when confronted with a range of female users , from Mum and four kids to our WAG, wannabe
But closer scrutiny will reveal many subtle changes the old vertical grille has been replaced by horizontal lines framed by new headlights, there is a new shoulder line and the rear styling has been updated. There are also hints of the corporate design displayed by VW's new Scirocco.
Moreover the buyer will see that the interior has undergone a more substantial revision and more than lives up to VW's claim that it creates an environment one would expect from a more expensive car.
Finish standards, materials and comfort levels are excellent in the new VW Golf while new white backlit dials also promote the view that the new car now offers a smarter driving environment
But get the car rolling and the experience improves with in-car comfort being a big priority for Volkwagen and the attention to detail which has gone into noise-reduction has included reshaping the wing mirrors to reduce interior noise. Thicker window glass, new door seals, and better damping also contribute to a very quiet driving experience with road, wind and engine noise all reduced.
The VW Golf will initially be available with a choice of four petrol and two diesel engines: a naturally-aspirated (non-turbo or supercharged) 80bhp 1.4-litre model, a 122bhp 1.4-litre TSI model, a 160bhp 1.4-litre TSI twincharger engine and a 102bhp 1.6-litre in addition to a choice of 110bhp and 140bhp 2-litre TDI all of which VW claims return much improved fuel economy against the outgoing model.
Most of these engines can be coupled with a choice of five- or six-speed manual or six- or seven-speed DSG automatic gearboxes.
It is expected the all-new 110bhp 2-litre diesel is likely to have a lot of appeal with its promise of cheap motoring: 62.8mpg and CO2 emissions of 119g/km. Plus there will be a VW Golf BlueMotion to follow which promises a combined or average return of 74.3mpg and a CO2 output of 99g/km.
Three trim levels are available on the UK models S, SE and GT specifications with prices ranging between £13,000 and £21,000.
Standard features include body-coloured exterior trim, aluminium trim highlights, CD/radio, and safety systems including Electronic Stability Program and seven airbags.
Options available will include Adaptive Chassis Control (already seen on the VW Scirocco and VW Passat CC) - allowing drivers to choose between comfort, normal and sport settings, Park Assist (for automatic parallel parking) and Automatic Distance Control which allows drivers using cruise control to choose the distance the car travels behind the car in front.
The new VW Golf went on sale in the UK at the begining of January 2009 with BlueMotion and performance GTI models launching around the middle of next year.
Later this month FemaleFirst will put the new Golf through its paces when confronted with a range of female users , from Mum and four kids to our WAG, wannabe