The Volkswagen Golf turned 50 last year, and the famous German small car has been given a well-timed facelift to keep it looking trim and toned in its middle age.
VW will be hoping to build upon the nameplate’s 37 million plus global sales to date, a process that will be slower than previous years owing to the popularity of small SUVs and compact crossovers.
We’re hoping Golf Mark ‘8.5’ – due here in April – can hit the heights of the excellent ‘7.5’ Golf, not least because it must carry the hatch (and wagon) along for a good few years yet before a fully electric ninth-generation model enters the fray.
That’s not a straightforward task, as this updated Golf needs to address several criticisms of the eighth-generation model released in 2020 – most of which were centred around ergonomics and technology.
With subtle revisions to the exterior – new LED light designs, bumper revisions, and fresh rim styles the main changes – VW has wisely focused most effort on the cabin.
Out goes the previous model’s wraparound dual digital screens and in comes a larger free-standing infotainment screen – 10.4 inches for the base Life and 12.9 inches in diameter for the Match (our UK test spec) and above.
It’s not only extra presentation area – there’s faster processing speeds, a new ‘MIB4’ infotainment system that promises to be more intuitive, while VW has also jumped on the AI bandwagon by integrating ChatGPT into the voice command set-up.
Our jury is still out on whether this will greatly improve the intelligence of VW’s IDA assistant, with inconclusive results from our week with the latest Golf in the UK – ahead of its Australian arrival in the second quarter of 2025.
While asking IDA to perform simple function tasks such as changing music volume or cabin temperature were successful, the AI’s promised ability to answer general knowledge questions was less so.
It was unable to tell me the capital of Australia, though perhaps the displayed ‘IDA is currently restricted’ message meant the ChapGPT wasn’t functioning. (We’ll be sure to check the feature out in more detail once the updated Golf lands in Australia.)
The revamped infotainment, overall, is a huge step forward. Graphics are sharper, trendier, and the menu arrangement is eminently simpler. The primary homepage is divided in variously sized tiles, with menu navigation aided by a configurable shortcut bar up top and a fixed shortcut bar at the bottom of the display.
The sheer scale of the 12.9-inch display – nearly 30 percent larger than the 10-inch display in the current Golf range – is impressive and certainly doesn’t need to be any bigger.
The permanent shortcuts include cabin temp, aircon on/off, recirculation on/off, Clima (for access to the climate control page), heat seating (for applicable trim grades), and a central Homescreen button.
We also say ‘hurrah’ to two major ergonomic improvements. The touch-slide temp and volume controls on the lowest section of the display are now illuminated at night (and feel more responsive, whether tapping or sliding for up/down adjustments).
And ergonomically awkward capacitive touch buttons on the steering wheel have been binned in favour of conventional (read ‘better’) push buttons.
We’d still like to see a return to physical controls for crucial areas such as climate.
Driving position, seat comfort/support, and cabin storage remain points of excellence for the Golf.
There are still more hard plastics than you once saw in a Golf but they’re mostly well disguised, even quite smart in examples such as the smooth centre console top.
A mid-dash sliver of silver also helped break up the greys and blacks of our Match’s interior trim.
Space in the rear seat and boot (381 litres) is unchanged, of course, meaning the Golf continues to offer decent if unremarkable practicality for a family.
Volkswagen Australia has hitherto been reluctant to import Golfs with the German car maker’s various hybrid drivetrains, citing our country’s poor fuel standards, and despite the introduction of Australia’s New Vehicle Emmisions Standard this year, this stance looks set to continue after the company confirmed Life, (newly added) Style and R-Line grades will continue with the existing 1.4-litre turbo petrol and eight-speed auto combination.
We can certainly vouch for the excellence of VW’s eTSI mild-hybrid powertrains. Our UK test car featured the most powerful of the eTSIs – a 110kW/250Nm 1.5-litre petrol four-cylinder that’s teamed with a 48-volt lithium-ion battery and a seven-speed dual-clutch (DSG) auto.
The battery feeds energy to the car’s conventional 12V auxiliary battery and powers a belt-driven starter-alternator – while additionally acting as an electric motor to serve up a torque boost for take-offs.
While in Australia we lauded the eighth-generation’s introduction of an eight-speed torque converter auto (paired with a 1.4L petrol turbo) for smoothing out the Golf’s low-speed behaviour, the electric motor also helps banish any DSG lag.
That creates a have-your-cake-and-eat-it scenario as the driver gets to enjoy the Direct Shift Gearbox’s customarily swift and well judged gearchanges.
The primary objective of the 48V system is to save fuel – about 0.4 litres per 100km, says VW, with combined consumption quoted as low as 4.6L/100km.
With cylinder deactivation regularly – and seamlessly – cutting two pistons out of the picture on light throttle usage, and the engine even switched off entirely on downhill cruising – we achieved a best of 5.3L/100km during our week with the Golf Match eTSI.
The downside is that we found the eTSI’s brake pedal harder to modulate, though this Golf decelerates quite aggressively when lifting off the throttle – especially on downhills when the engine is temporarily redundant.
It’s a satisfying motor when in action – smooth-spinning and fairly punchy in its mid-range courtesy of maximum torque arriving as early as 1500rpm. Higher revs can be explored but refinement rather than excitement is the order of the day.
The cabin ambience was spoiled somewhat by our Golf Match’s optional 18-inch wheels (over standard 17s) that were wrapped in noisy low-profile Bridgestone Turanzas.
The sporty rubber also contributes a firmness to the ride, though the Golf’s excellent body control, willing chassis, and crisp, accurate steering ensure it’s a rewarding drive.
As has been the case for some years now, the top spec tip for Golf buyers is to choose inexpensive optional adaptive dampers for the best mix of ride comfort and handling sharpness.
If VW has improved the Golf’s infotainment tech, it hasn’t gone far enough on driver-aid technology.
The lane-keep assistance still triggers prematurely (and is a nightmare on UK country roads with no markings), the speed-limit warning is an annoying default you’ll want to switch off every time you get in the car, and on motorways the traffic-sign camera can be easily confused by speed-limit posts on off ramps or parallel roads, erroneously slowing the car when cruise control is engaged.
The radar cruise system is otherwise excellent, judging braking and acceleration in a far smoother manner than an MG HS (first generation) rental car we drove the week prior.
First verdict
The 8.5 updates fix some of the eighth-generation Golf’s foibles, though not all.
Yet for those buyers shunning compact SUVs to keep faith with the humble hatchback, VW’s small car remains one of the classiest, and one of the easiest to recommend.