The Volkswagen Golf Mk8.5 facelift has made its debut in the year the nameplate celebrates its 50th anniversary and over 37 million units sold. As before, the latest iteration of the Golf sees quite a number of changes and will continue to be offered in hatchback and Variant (wagon) forms.
In terms of styling revisions, the one that is immediately obvious are the redesigned headlamps that are slimmer and feature hexagonal-shaped DRLs that are lit up on the sides. The headlamps come in three configurations, including standard LEDs and a performance option, the latter accompanied by an illuminated Volkswagen badge and light bars – this is a first in Europe.
The third option is the IQ.Light LED matrix system – also with an illuminated badge – that has a range of up to 500 metres at night. At the rear, the taillights now have a new lighting signature and even come with a 3D effect if you opt for the IQ.Light option.
Another exterior change is a more expressive front bumper, which is full-width with horizontal trim on regular Golf variants, while GTE and GTI models gain fang-like elements to join the inset LED fog lamps embedded into the honeycomb mesh trim pattern.
Volkswagen also notes there are four new paint finishes (Crystal Ice Blue Metallic, Anemone Blue Metallic, Oyster Silver Metallic and Grenadilla Black Metallic) for a total of 11 hues, with a black-painted roof available as an option for R-Line, GTE and GTI versions. Five new alloy wheels with sizes going up to 19 inches have also been added.
As for the interior, we’ve already gotten a good look at the changes in prior teasers that confirm a return to conventional buttons on the steering wheel instead of touch-based controls. The latter is still present inside the cabin in the form of sliders for controlling the climate system, but they’re now illuminated to make them easier to find in the dark.
Volkswagen’s fourth-generation modular infotainment system (MIB4) makes its way into the new Golf and is available in two versions. The basic Ready 2 Discover option comes with a 10.4-inch central touchscreen, while the top-of-the-line Discover version brings a 12.9-inch display.
Joining the infotainment screen is a 10.2-inch Digital Cockpit Pro instrument cluster that is standard across the Golf range and configurable, with model-specific information profiles available for R-Line, GTI and GTE models. A windscreen-projected head-up display is an option for both the Golf and Golf Variant.
Upgrades to driver assistance come in the form of Park Assist Pro, which enables the vehicle to be driven into and out of parking spaces using a smartphone. There’s also Area View that offers drivers a 360-degree all-round view created by merging four cameras, with the corresponding image shown on the infotainment touchscreen.
In Europe, the Golf will be offered in six equipment packages, starting with an entry-level option which is followed by the Life, Style and R-Line, before progressing to the GTE and GTI. On that mention, let’s focus on powertrains.
Volkswagen says the facelifted Golf will be available with four turbocharged petrol engines (TSI), two turbodiesel engines (TDI), two 48-volt mild hybrid turbocharged petrol engines (eTSI) as well as two plug-in hybrid petrol systems (eHybrid and GTE). In the second half of 2024, the Golf GTI Clubsport, Golf R and Golf Variant R will make their debuts, joined by all-wheel drive versions with TSI engines in 2025.
The TSI engines available at market launch include a 1.5 litre unit with either 113 hp or 148 hp, paired with a six-speed manual transmission sending drive to the front wheels. There’s a mild hybrid version of this engine (1.5 eTSI) that has the same outputs but can only be had with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (DSG). A step up is the 2.0 litre TSI with 201 hp and a seven-speed DSG.
Those who want a diesel have the choice of a 2.0 TDI with 113 hp and six-speed manual, or 148 hp with a seven-speed DSG – both are front-wheel drive. Moving on to the plug-in hybrids, the eHybrid comes with 201 hp, a 1.5 litre TSI, a six-speed DSG, an electric motor, front-wheel drive and a larger lithium-ion battery with 19.7 kWh instead of 10.6 kWh.
With the increased battery capacity, the all-electric range is doubled to 100 km, and the good news continues with an increased AC charging capacity of 11 kW (previously 3.6 kW) as well as support for DC fast charging at 50 kW – the latter allows a 10-80% state of charge to be reached in just 25 minutes. Volkswagen claims the eHybrid setup will allow for up to 1,000 km of range before a refuel is needed.
The performance version of the eHybrid setup is found in the GTE that has a combined output of 268 hp, which is a 27 hp increase from before. The GTI also sees a power bump of 20 hp to 261 hp, but it will no longer be offered with a six-speed manual, leaving just a seven-speed DSG as the only transmission option.
GALLERY: 2024 Volkswagen Golf Mk8.5 facelift
GALLERY: 2024 Volkswagen Golf Mk8.5 GTE facelift
GALLERY: 2024 Volkswagen Golf Mk8.5 GTI facelift
GALLERY: 2024 Volkswagen Golf Mk8.5 Variant facelift
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Siapa berani beli kunji dia besar
Just manual for 1.5TSI
So MY gets GTI/ R only
Excited to have this come to Malaysia in CKD form.
Excited but (almost) nobody buy
Recent trip in UK, saw this thing everywhere in UK especially the TDI version. saw few EV version too in London which is due to its newly implemented charges for non EV cars. My colleague there told me that in the UK, we call all cars Golf….either u drive an estate, sports (GTI/R), diesels, EV…etc. hahaha everywhere golf there
bring here and sell at 175k again? after 6 months take off from website again la