There’s been a huge influx of information recently about the all-new Volkswagen Golf Mk8, both from official sources and our spy photographers. As one of the world’s most popular models, and with James May recently calling it “the answer to everything” as well as “the only car that really needs to exist,” there’s certainly a lot of hype.
Getting down to business, the German carmaker confirmed at its 2019 annual general meeting that the new Golf is set to make its global debut in Wolfsburg this October, and will be available with a variety of powertrains – petrol, diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG) and plug-in hybrid.
Electrification is to be expected thanks to the use of the MQB platform; with Volkswagen claiming plug-in hybrid-equipped Golfs will be capable of providing up to 80 km of range when running on pure electricity alone.
That’s not all, as the Golf Mk8 will also mark the first time the model comes with a 48-volt mild hybrid system. As we’ve previously reported, certain models will also get milder 12-volt mild hybrid system, which has already been introduced on the refreshed Audi A4.
During Herbert Diess’ presentation, the chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen AG also stated that the ID.3 would be presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Septemember, and that it would be Volkswagen’s “first fully functional electric car that will cost as much as a comparably equipped Golf, i.e. less than 30,000 euros.” That likely marks the end of the e-Golf variant, as the company has the MEB platform for its EVs.
Aside from these details, Volkswagen also released official renders of the Mk8 during its AGM, previewing both the exterior and interior styling of the model. Of course, while these renders do give us some idea of what to expect, recent spyshots sent to us help to paint a much clearer picture.
Focusing on the interior first, the Mk8 marks a significant step up from the outgoing Mk7.5. The layout of the dashboard features a two-tier approach, with a long strip of silver trim running across, extending onto the doors.
Above this silver trim, you’ll find a large central screen for the car’s infotainment system, which is surrounded by a gloss black bezel that flows into the digital instrument cluster framed under a hood. This bezel appears to continue flowing to the left of the dash, where it meets up with what appears to be buttons or a touchscreen, as Volkswagen’s interior sketch suggests.
Meanwhile, the air vents are placed below the silver “bar,” and are highlighted by chrome trim that nearly spans the full width of the dash. We also see a redesigned steering wheel, which is more angular-themed and with a smaller centre boss.
This particular development car appears to be a lower-spec model, given the presence of the manual transmission lever in the centre console that also contains the engine start button and electronic parking brake. Cars with an automatic transmission will apparently get a series of buttons for selecting gears, if the sketch is to be believed.
The miniscule amount of buttons in the Mk8 means many of the car’s functions will need to be accessed by going into the infotainment system, which itself carries modern graphics. However, it remains to be seen if this “digital environment” is reserved for higher-spec variants of the Golf, or if even lesser versions (like the one seen here) get it as well.
As for the exterior, we already know what the Mk8 will look like from previous spyshots, which match up well with the latest sketch. It’s an evolutionary approach that Volkswagen chose to go with, with highlights being slimmer headlamps and taillights, as well as a new character line that runs through the door handles.
GALLERY: Volkswagen Golf Mk8 spyshots
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Well more and more starting to jump into the trend of large and wide panel displays, why car manufacturers failed to rectify that the ancient designed steering wheel hinders the vision? maybe there should redesign the steering similar to aircraft navigation controls system?