The number of different Volkswagen Golf models offered in Australia will contract by over a third for 2019, with the nineteen variations offered this year rationalised to a tighter twelve-strong offer from this month onward. Diesels are out entirely, and the cost of entry to the range is up by $1,000 as the base 110TSI variant has been deleted.
Existing stocks of MY18 Golfs remain with few specification differences and many grades are being offered with driveaway pricing, which may be attractive given MY19 models will be arriving without driveaway discounting, at least at first.
Gone: the $23,990 Golf 110TSI grade.
Going forward, the second-tier Trendline will be the most affordable way into a Volkswagen Golf. Priced at $24,990 for a manual hatch ($28,169 driveaway) or $27,490 for a DSG automatic hatch ($31,259 driveaway), the Trendline is significantly dearer in real terms than the outgoing 110TSI, which was $1,000 cheaper officially but has been offered at $24,490 or $26,990 driveaway (in manual and auto respectively) for some time.
The new Trendline entry point is a well-specified car sharing the outgoing 110TSI’s 1.4-litre 110kW/250Nm turbo petrol engine, AEB, reversing camera, 8-inch touchscreen with CarPlay and Android Auto and leather steering wheel but adding rain-sensing wipers, lumbar adjustment for the front seat and a rear seat armrest.
The new entry point: the MY19 Golf Trendline.
A Trendline wagon is also available at $28,990 ($32,804 driveaway), bringing a stretched estate body and black roof rails.
The next step is up to the Comfortline grade, which is automatic only and priced at $29,750 for a hatch ($33,588 driveaway), which adds navigation, dual-zone climate control, full keyless entry and start, 17-inch wheels, upgraded cloth seating and auto folding door mirrors. A Comfortline wagon is $31,250 ($35,133 driveaway), adding chrome roof rails.
The Golf Highline, seen here with R-Line package.
The premium Golf Highline variant is $35,990 in hatch form ($40,014 driveaway) or $37,490 as a wagon ($41,559 driveaway), and brings higher specification including leather upholstery, heated front seats, an electric driver’s seat with memory, varied 17-inch wheels, a panoramic sunroof, and LED headlights. The Highline now includes previously optional features like adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, lane keep assist, and automated parking.
The aforementioned adaptive safety technologies can be added to the Trendline and Comfortline grades as part of the Driver Assistance package ($1,500) that also includes drive mode selection and driver personalisation.
Optional on Comfortline and Highline (and Alltrack) is a Sound and Vision package ($2,300) that upgrades the touchscreen to a higher-def 9.2-inch unit and adds an Active Info Display digital gauge cluster and a 400-watt Dynaudio Excite stereo.
The Highline can also be had with an R-Line package ($2,500) that includes sportier exterior styling, larger 18-inch wheels, an R-line steering wheel, variable steering ratio and sports suspension.
The higher-riding version of the Golf wagon, the Golf Alltrack, will be offered as a petrol-only vehicle for 2019. The standard 132TSI grade ($35,250, $39,768 driveaway) uses a 132kW/280Nm 1.8-litre turbo engine and includes 4MOTION all-wheel-drive, the 8-inch touchscreen, navigation, 17-inch wheels, full keyless entry and start, auto lights and wipers, an off-road mode, fog lights, AEB and an extended electronic differential lock.
A Driver Assistance package is $1,200 for the 132TSI and adds adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, traffic jam assist and automated parking.
The Golf Alltrack crossover has been retained in petrol form.
An Alltrack Premium grade continues to be offered, for $39,490 ($44,134 driveaway), upping spec to include leather seats, heated in the front and with electric adjustment and memory for the driver, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, and automated parking.
For $2,500, a Sport Luxury package is available for the Alltrack Premium that ups the wheel size to 18-inches, places gearbox paddles on the steering wheel, adds a panoramic sunroof along with rear and rear-side window tinting.
We’ve reported pricing and specification changes for the MY19 Golf Performance range, including the 2019 Golf GTI and 2019 Golf R separately.
It’ll be interesting to observe whether we see the re-introduction of driveaway deals on the Golf Mk 7.5 later into the MY19 model year: Volkswagen Australia likes to tinker on and off with these as demand and supply require.
