2023 Volkswagen Golf price and specs: More equipment at no extra charge for Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3 and Hyundai i30 competitor

Volkswagen Australia will bolster the standard equipment list across its Golf small car range for model year 2023 vehicles, but keep prices steady.

The changes will come into effect for all MY23 Golfs built from late June, while the R-Line, GTI and R variants won’t receive the updated equipment until later this year in November.

All Golfs will now come standard with a centre front airbag to protect the front passengers in the event of a collision, taking the total airbag count throughout the cabin to nine.

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The Lane Assist and Travel assist active safety technologies have also been updated, with Volkswagen explaining the change as follows: “Should a driver move close to the outside line of the lane due to a narrow lane, the system will no longer attempt to move the steering away from that line and will advise the driver to take control”.

Other changes in the MY23 Golf line-up include a new steering wheel airbag cover, new door trim inserts (for the base Golf, Life and GTI variants), and updated interior inlays.

Golf GTI grades also score embossed sport seat covers.

Finally, the Golf’s 10.25-inch all-digital instrument cluster will now more readily display the speedometer in the event of a pop-up on the screen.

Standard equipment across the Volkswagen Golf line-up includes 16-inch alloy wheels, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto-compatible multimedia touchscreen, digital radio, three-zone climate controls and a cloth interior.

For safety, each Golf comes with the brand’s ‘IQ Drive’ suite, bundling autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, driver attention alert, blind-spot monitoring and a reversing camera.

Stepping up to the Life adds more customisation options for the instrument screen, a 10.0-inch multimedia screen, 17-inch alloy wheels, emergency assist and an exit warning system.

The R-Line meanwhile, scores 18-inch wheels, a 15mm lower ride height, sports bodykit, matrix LED headlights and a sportier steering tune.

Performance hungry Golf GTI buyers are treated to adaptive suspension, a front differential lock, red-painted brake callipers, front sports seats, tartan fabric trim and dual exhaust tips.

The top-spec Golf R meanwhile, features Nappa leather sports seats and a premium Harman Kardon sound system.

Golf wagons mirror their hatchback counterparts in spec, but obviously offer more load-lugging capability thanks to its larger dimensions.

For reference, the Golf hatchback will swallow 381 litres of volume with all seats in place, expanding to 1237L with the second-row folded, while the wagon features a boot capacity of 611L/1642L.

As before, all Golf variants (barring the performance-orientated GTI and R) are powered by a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine, which sends 110kW/250Nm to the front wheels via an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.

The GTI steps up performance thanks to a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine delivering 180kW/370Nm, which is paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

The Golf R meanwhile, scores all-wheel-drive grip and also uses a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol unit, but punches out a sizeable 235kW/400Nm in hatchback form, and 235kW/420Nm in wagon guise thanks to the inclusion of a petrol particulate filter.

The Golf R’s ‘R-Performance Torque Vectoring’ all-wheel-drive system also allows for a rear-drive ‘Drift Mode’ in the hot hatch and wagon.

2023 Volkswagen Golf hatchback pricing before on-road costs

2023 Volkswagen Golf wagon pricing before on-road costs