2022 Volkswagen Golf price and features: Pricing up for Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 rival, but multimedia feature now standard

Volkswagen Australia has increased pricing for its Golf small car range for the 2022 model year, but it has added a key multimedia feature as standard.

The prices have gone up on all but the Golf R hot hatch and wagon variants.

As part of the new model year, Volkswagen is now offering DAB digital radio as standard across the Golf range. This was previously only offered as standard on higher grades.

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Kicking off the Golf range is the base variant, dubbed Golf, now from $32,790 before on-road costs, which represents a $640 increase.

All other hatchback grades, including the Golf Life and R-Line, have increased by $840 apiece. They are now priced from $35,290 and $38,490 respectively.

The entry-level Golf wagon has increased by $740 to $34,490 and the Golf Life wagon is $840 dearer at $37,290.

All of these variants are powered by VW’s 110kW/250Nm 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine driving the front wheels via an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.

Pricing hasn’t been provided for the Golf manual but Volkswagen Group Australia told CarsGuide late last year it was still a part of the range, but there was no stock available.

The spicy GTI hatch is now $54,490, an $840 increase over the 2021 version. The GTI uses a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol unit pumping out 180kW/370Nm and drives the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The GTI’s pricing means it is more expensive than automatic front-wheel drive hot hatch rivals like the Hyundai i30 N ($47,500-$52,000) and Ford Focus ST ($47,490-$51,990), but still more affordable than a Renault Megane RS ($56,990) or a Mini Clubman JCW ($64,3000-$70,600).

Unlike the Golf, most of its mainstream small-car rivals offer model grades that start in the $20,000-to-$30,000 price bracket. They include the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Subaru Impreza, Kia Cerato and Hyundai i30.

The Golf small hatchback and wagon range landed in Australian showrooms in 2021 in Mk 8 guise but supply has been impacted by issues stemming from the semi-conductor shortage and other pandemic-related delays.

2022 Volkswagen Golf pricing before on-road costs