Volkswagen Golf News

If you can’t beat them, join them. Volkswagen has long resisted the urge to add conventional, Toyota-style hybrid power to its cars, but not anymore.The German maker is rapidly expanding its petrol-electric range, diversifying from the petrol, plug-in hybrid and fully-electric options currently available.Now it has revealed European prices for the VW Golf hatchback and T-Roc SUV hybrids, which would rival the popular Toyota Corolla and Corolla Cross.Prices start at €41,400 ($67,000) for the Golf and €44,470 ($72,000) for the T-Roc. Both models are only available in the top-spec R-Line specification, and represent about a €4000 ($6500) premium over the petrol models.Petrol R-Line versions cost about $50,000 before on-road costs in Australia, so a hybrid version could cost about $60,000 on the road in Australia. That would put it about $20,000 more than the cheapest equivalent Toyota hybrids.Volkswagen Australia has previously been unable to confirm if the hybrid Golf and T-Roc will arrive in Australia, but the company said it is always evaluating opportunities for our market.The hybrid Golf and T-Roc combine a tried-and-tested 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, two electric motors and a 1.6kWh battery.VW claims this set-up produces 125kW/309Nm, a jump of 15kW/59kW over the petrol Golf’s 110kW/250Nm max outputs.It also uses about 4.6-litres per 100km of fuel, which is slightly more than Toyota's claim.Hybrid options are becoming increasingly important to brands in Australia as purely petrol powered vehicles are starting to fall foul of Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).The NVES levels fines against carmakers for every gram of CO2 a sold vehicle emits over a certain threshold. This threshold gets lower every year until 2030.The fines can be offset by sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids.Purely petrol cars will soon become prohibitively expensive, with hybrids also attracting moderate fines in the coming years.The NVES is also putting Australia at the front of the queue for international brands to get low emissions or electric vehicles.Volkswagen Australia for years struggled to get its electric cars sold in Europe and other parts of the world, as our market wasn’t considered an emissions critical one that needed these vehicles. This is no longer the case.All this works in favour of Volkswagen bringing its latest hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles here.

More details have been revealed about the new generation Mk9 electric Volkswagen Golf, with the car said to be “96 to 97 per cent done”. The main change on the new Golf is it will feature a fully-electric set-up as well as a combustion model. In an overseas interview, VW's Head of Technical Development Kai Grunitz said this means there will be two separate platforms for the new Golf. Electric versions of the Golf will be one of the first models to use the new Scalable Systems Platform. The platform is expected to offer super fast charging times and other performance improvements. According to the brand, the new generation Golf will draw inspiration from the iconic Mk4 design, praised for its sporty and sleek design at the time. The electric Golf will take on the Renault Megane E-Tech and a car from its sister brand, the Cupra Born. Combustion versions of the Golf will continue to battle the Hyundai i30 and the Mazda 3.The car remains a few years off an official launch, with tentative plans for 2028 or 2029. As for its potential in Australia, there are no details yet."We’re pleased to see the interest in the Mk9 Volkswagen Golf," a spokesperson for Volkswagen Australia said. "Volkswagen Australia continues to evaluate opportunities for the local market, however we’re not in a position to confirm local availability or timing for Australia at this stage."An electric Golf would have National Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) benefits for the brand Down Under, given its Golf lineup currently is exclusively petrol powered. It is unclear what engine the new combustion Golf will be fitted with, but VW recently announced a plug-less hybrid version of the current generation.Its 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine and dual electric motor set-up is a possibility for the Mk9.The Golf is currently on sale in Australia with a starting price of $39,290 (before on-road costs), rising to $71,990 (before on-road costs) for up-spec models.It comes with two engine choices, which are a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol, producing 110kW and 250Nm, while high-performance variants get a 2.0-litre unit, pumping out up to 245kW and 420Nm. 

Volkswagen has broadened available powertrain options in two of its mainstay models with the introduction of full-hybrid versions of the Golf hatch and T-Roc small SUV.Scheduled for global release in the fourth quarter of this year the newcomers are ‘plugless’ hybrids powered by a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine supported by a hybrid module consisting of two electric motors (one drive unit and the second acting as a generator), power electronics, a differential, single-speed transmission and an electronically-controlled multi-plate clutch used to engage and disengage the combustion engine.VW said the Golf Hybrid and T-Roc Hybrid have been designed to enable a higher proportion of pure-electric driving compared with existing ‘eTSI’ mild-hybrid variants and reduce charging complexity relative to plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models.Final specs for the electric motors and lithium-ion battery are yet to be detailed for the prospective Toyota Corolla and Corolla Cross rivals but VW has confirmed both will be front-wheel drive only with three operating modes available.The electric motor will be engaged exclusively at low speeds. Then, in ‘Serial drive’ the combustion engine is decoupled to act as an additional generator for battery charging. And, as the name suggests, ‘Parallel drive’ puts the engine in the primary position at speeds at or above 60km/h with the electric drive motor in support as a ‘booster’ when accelerating.Three driving profiles - ‘Eco’, ‘Comfort’ and ‘Sport’ also modulate maximum system output according to specific needs.Badged ‘eHybrid’ or GTE in more performance-focused variants, VW is positioning the new models as “a suitable drive solution for every usage scenario” in addition to its pure-electric ID. line-up.CarsGuide contacted Volkswagen Australia for comment on the potential for the new Golf and T-Roc hybrids joining the brand’s local range and a spokesperson said, "While Volkswagen Australia continues to assess future opportunities for the local market, we’re unable to confirm Australian availability or timing at this stage."

In an address to workers at Volkswagen's Wolfsburg headquarters overnight, VW AG Chairwoman of the General and Group Works Council Daniela Cavallo showed a teaser silhouette image of the upcoming, ninth-generation VW ID. Golf.VW has flagged a mid-2027 shift of production location for the Golf 8.5 from Wolfsburg to its Puebla plant in Southern Mexico and Cavallo was keen to reassure the employees she represents that the move is designed to make way for ID. Golf manufacture in Germany.It’s the first tangible glimpse of the new model, which is set to adopt pure-electric propulsion as well as the brand’s ID. naming convention prior to launching in 2028.Previewed by 2023’s ID. GTI electric concept, the ninth-gen ID. Golf is clearly an evolution of the Golf 8, which arrived in late 2019 with the current ‘8.5’ update following in early 2024.Introducing the ID. GTI at the 2023 IAA motor show in Munich, Volkswagen Head of Design Andreas Mindt positioned the FWD hatch as “the first glimpse of the exciting GTI future because its series development has already been decided.”So, the production ID. Golf is likely to share the concept’s full-width front and rear illumination, more prominent wheel arches and simplified, screen-rich interior (albeit with additional physical controls for key functions).For reference, the ID. GTI measures 4104mm long, 1840 mm wide and 1499mm high with a 2600mm wheelbase, which makes it around 180mm shorter end-to-end, 50mm wider and roughly 35mm taller than the Golf 8.5 with the distance between the axles reduced by 36mm.And given the German giant now owns close to 10 per cent of US EV specialist Rivan, expect to see leading edge powertrain tech and software architecture, the latter including over-the-air updates.Model hierarchy is yet to be confirmed, but VW has already indicated publicly that internal-combustion power for the Golf is set to continue well into the next decade. Meaning further updates will keep an ICE Golf running in parallel with the ID. Golf EV, the two possibly moving towards shared variations of VW’s ‘Scalable Systems Platform’ to accommodate hybrid powertrains.

Back in 1995, the most popular SUV in Australia was the then-new and pioneering Toyota RAV4, way down at number 43. How things have changed, with SUVs sat at seven of the top-10 spots, and then (mostly diesel-powered) ladder-frame-chassis utes making up the difference. Here are 10 reasons why Australia’s (and the world’s) SUV obsession have made motoring worse than in past decades for people who love cars.

Volkswagen is reportedly planning to lob the five-cylinder engine from sibling brand Audi’s RS3 into its halo hot hatch, the VW Golf R.The plan involves the 25th anniversary of the VW Golf R being marked with a special edition powered by the Audi RS3’s turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine, Autocar reports.The UK outlet says the RS3-powered Golf R should arrive in 2027, though hasn’t quoted a source. It’s expected the five-pot hot hatch will be the most powerful Golf yet.This means it would need to outgun the current Golf R that makes 245kW thanks to a wicked-up version of Volkswagen’s omnipresent EA888 turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine.In the RS3, Audi’s EA855 five-cylinder makes 294kW of power and 500Nm of torque, but Autocar has previously been told by former Managing Director of Audi Sport Sebastian Grams there’s more to be wrung out of the engine.If it comes to fruition, it won’t be the first time VW has slotted a bigger engine into the Golf.During the model’s third generation in the 1990s, the Golf VR6 became somewhat of an oddity in the hot hatch world with a six-cylinder engine living under the bonnet. The Mk3 VR6’s engine, a 2.8-litre narrow-V that straddled the line between V6 and inline-six, was followed by a 3.2-litre version of the engine in the fourth-generation Golf’s R32 variant in 2002.It’s the Mk4 Golf R32 that Volkswagen will be marking 25 years since with the introduction of its five-cylinder Golf R in 2027.

An electric Volkswagen Golf GTI is in the works and the brand’s CEO, Thomas Schäfer, couldn’t be any more excited.

Volkswagen's next-generation Golf, the Mark 9, will be radically transformed into a high-tech electric car when it is released in 2029, gaining the brand's latest electrical architecture and software, according to a report.

Volkswagen’s Golf line-up will expand to seven variants for 2025, as the brand announces a pricing reshuffle.

Audi will finally launch the facelifted A3 Sportback range in Australia in the second quarter of this year, to take the fight to the rising tide of fast-improving Chinese hatchback alternatives.