Volkswagen’s iconic family hatchback will be refreshed with a new look.
The Golf might be Volkswagen’s most iconic nameplate but globally its been overtaken in popularity by the Tiguan SUV – in a bid to restore its honour, the Golf will receive a mid-life facelift to make the eighth-generation model better than ever.
Volkswagen has recently confirmed the facelifted Golf will arrive in the next few weeks with “pre-sales scheduled for spring 2024”. This year marks 50 years since VW’s iconic hatchback first appeared. The Golf is no stranger to special editions to celebrate its various anniversaries (especially in GTI trim), so we’ll have to wait and see how Volkswagen will commemorate this anniversary.
The latest teaser image from VW of the revised Golf shows off the front end – or at least a shadowy outline of it. This model appears to be the Golf Estate, judging by the roof rails.
The current VW Golf launched in 2019 and received mixed feedback thanks to bold new styling and frustrating interior technology. Previous spy images have given us a good look at the revised design of the new Golf. The front end has received subtle, but quite far-reaching updates with new headlights and a new lower grille design. As we’ve seen on test cars before, the wide-set mouth of the current Golf looks to be narrowed, tapering at its ends to mimic the look of VW’s updated ID.3.
There are fewer changes visible at the rear, but the model we caught testing has a slightly redesigned lower bumper insert, and underneath this prototype’s clever transparent masks we’ll see the rear lighting get the new signature that we’ve found in patent application form.
Volkswagen’s hoping the changes that customers will appreciate most will reside inside the cabin. The Golf 8 introduced a streamlined new interior design philosophy for Volkswagen, removing nearly all the physical controls and placing them into one of two digital interfaces sat atop the dashboard. Unfortunately, glitchy software, slow response times and complicated menu structures made the Golf 8’s functions significantly more difficult to navigate whilst driving.
Representatives from Volkswagen have told Auto Express that future models will introduce more physical controls on the back of CEO Thomas Schafer’s focus on fixing the much-derided touch-sensitive controls for volume and cabin temperature that we’ve seen on recent VW models. We’ll also hopefully see faster-responding touchscreens, as well as fixes to some of the hardware issues.
Beyond this, VW is also expected to offer the usual colour and trim updates to keep the Mk8 Golf fresh, while maintaining a similar structure of powertrain options from basic petrol and mild-hybrid models, through to plug-in hybrids and high-performance GTI and R models. Volkswagen has also said it will introduce “new powertrains” to the Golf with this mid-life facelift.
The next Golf 8 will join a revitalised range of petrol-powered models including an all-new Tiguan and Passat, and heavily updated Touareg, giving VW’s non-EV range a much needed boost.