2017 Volkswagen Golf July arrival confirmed

Refreshed Golf hatch, wagon and Alltrack SUV with AEB across the range will hit Australia in July, but won’t bring the new 1.5 petrol.

Volkswagen has confirmed an early July Australian arrival for the updated Golf, bringing most of the changes first revealed internationally in November last year.

This will be the first significant update for the Mk7 Golf, which first arrived in Australia in 2013.

The July launch will see the hatch, wagon and off-road flavoured Alltrack wagon revised at the same time, but the new 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine won’t be among the upgrades.

The 1.5 has been deemed too costly for the Australian line-up for now, and the local models will make do with the still-impressive 1.4-litre petrol turbo unit.

The base 92TSI version will be dropped in favour of a new 110TSI entry point, bringing the 110kW version of the 1.4 currently only found in the top-spec Highline.

On the outside, the Golf’s look has been tweaked to bring it in line with the new Tiguan.

The up-specced entry point will also bring standard AEB and an eight-inch multimedia screen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and a reversing camera, along with 16 inch wheels in lieu of the hubcaps fitted to the current Trendline.

Volkswagen is yet to confirm exact specs and pricing, but spokesman Kurt McGuiness says that a marginal rise over the current $22,840 entry point is expected.

Other key features set to appear further up the range include a new 9.2-inch multimedia screen with gesture controls and the Active Info Display already available on Tiguan and Passat. All Australian Golfs will also continue to be sourced from Germany.

On the outside, the Golf’s look has been tweaked to bring it in line with the new Tiguan, with new front and rear bumpers, head and taillights and new wheels.

The base Golf will also continue to feature independent suspension, unlike its platform twin Audi A3 which moved to a torsion beam rear end for the base 1.0TFSI that arrived late last year.

A diesel engine will continue to play a role in the Australian Golf line-up, and is expected to continue to be limited to the top-spec Highline grade.

The updated Golf GTI (boosted to 169kW) and Golf R are due to arrive a month later at the start of August.

Full local specs and pricing will be announced closer to the July on-sale date.

Has VW done enough to the Golf to keep it fresh? Tell us what you think in the comments below.