VW Golf 8

It was last night (yes, we even work at night) that the eighth generation Golf showed up. We were there, we tell you everything ????

Let's start at the beginning: what is a Golf? Volkswagen has its own idea: the brand defines it as “the right vehicle at the right time”. And to take as an example the Golf I, economical and practical, released when the oil crisis was in full swing. Today, the constraints have changed, the Golf too. Thus, during the transition to its eighth generation, it offers itself a good facelift, a real advance in terms of connectivity, hybridization and a transition to a cockpit armored with digital stuff.

Come on, let's attack the outside. What does this Golf 8 look like? Well…to a Golf. It's striking in profile: the shape of the glazing and the recognizable C-pillar are part of it, only energized by a line that starts from the front headlamps to come and die on the rear headlamps. Front and rear headlights which are also 100% LED across the entire range (streamlined into four finishes: Golf, Life, Style and R-Line). The rest of the exterior? Hmm, not much to say. The front optics are refined, a beam of LEDs runs across the front face to join the two headlights, stopping in the center to make way for the new Volkswagen logo. At the rear, the lights are very strongly inspired by the Golf 7, only more elaborate and more technological.

The easiest ? It's to show you a video made by me, in the greatest possible improvisation. We see the exterior of the five Golf presented last night in Wolfsburg:

And under the hood? “Surprisingly” (or not), the diesel versions were only very succinctly presented, only emphasizing that filters in all directions made it possible to lower the level of CO2 as well as particles released. For the rest, the speakers were much more verbose: first novelty, the arrival of "light" hybridization with the arrival of a 48V system (very similar to the system tested on the Audi A4 ) to relieve the gasoline engine in order to reduce overall consumption by 10%. This system will be automatically installed on 110, 130 and 150 hp petrol engines coupled to an automatic gearbox (which, let's take advantage of this, switches to shift by wire, freeing up a nice space in the center console). Do you want more ? Note that the Golf 8 can be powered by a CNG-powered engine, as well as rechargeable hybrid versions.

Yes yes, hybrid engines , because there are now two of them . The first develops 204 hp (the power of the current ) and blends into the current range without any differentiation. The second sees its power rise to 245 hp with a much more sporty and threatening specific “GTE” finish. On the technical side, there is a 13 kWh battery in both versions, capable of towing the Golf for around 60 km WLTP.

What more can you say? That this eighth generation incorporates a maximum of safety equipment, such as the traditional adaptive cruise control coupled with functional line maintenance from standstill to 210 km/h, Matrix LED headlights which allow you to stay in full headlights all the night time or, more exotic, a “steering assistant”, which is able to brake if you enter the left lane and a vehicle arrives in front. The EuroNCAP 5 stars should only be a formality.

Any last info? The Golf will arrive in German and Austrian dealerships at the end of the year, followed by the rest of Europe in early 2020. We should be able to tell you about it during the official tests!