Within just three and a half years, the first-generation Volkswagen Golf Plus has made a name for itself as an established product in the Golf lineup. Its brand identity: clever like a van, compact like a VW Golf. Over this time period, more than 500,000 car drivers across Europe chose a plus in interior and seat heights, a plus in variability, and finally a plus in comfort. This is now being followed up by a Volkswagen Golf Plus that has been improved in many aspects. Volkswagen is presenting it as a world premiere at the 2008 Bologna Motor Show. Visually, the new "Plus" forges a link to the classic body style of the just introduced sixth Golf generation. This is especially apparent at the front end. Also redesigned are the rear bumper and the roof rails. New steel and alloy wheels in a variety of sizes round out the exterior package of visual modifications. Inside, the further improved Volkswagen Golf Plus sports details like new upholstery materials and details also implemented in the Golf such as its instruments, steering wheel options and user interface for the automatic climate control system (Climatronic).
Technically, the Volkswagen Golf Plus also implements details that the new Golf introduced for the first time in this Volkswagen segment. They include the new, fuel-efficient and very quiet common rail turbo-diesel engines (66 kW / 90 PS to 103 kW / 140 PS). The common rail TDIs reduce average fuel consumption by up to 0.8 liter per 100 kilometers. As on the classic Golf, the conventional automatic transmission was also eliminated on the Volkswagen Golf Plus and replaced by 6-speed and 7-speed dual clutch transmissions (DSG) that are as fuel efficient as they are agile. Also new aboard the Volkswagen Golf Plus are the optional "Adaptive Cruise Control" (ACC), "Park Assist" parking assistant and rearview camera. Last but not least, the equipment lines were restructured too (Trendline, Comfortline and Highline as top version). The Golf has always exhibited an unmistakable and linear design. And this not only applies to the original form of the classic car; it is also true of the "specialists" on the Golf team - successful Volkswagens like the "GTI", "Variant" and certainly the "Plus" as well.
With the recent launch of the sixth generation of Golfs, this model series is experiencing a new level of maturity in its timeless and confident styling and design. This is based on the newly developed "Volkswagen design DNA". A key aspect here is the car's extremely high level of value. Key elements of the design language developed by the team led by Walter de Silva are now characteristics of the new Golf Plus too. Dominant here is the horizontally aligned band of the radiator grille between the new headlight design (with standard daytime running lights); it consists of two high-gloss black cross-bars in which the VW logo is integrated. On the Highline version, each of these bars has a narrow strip of chrome at its upper end. The lines of the new bumper match those of the radiator grille. In the space below the bumper, designed in black, there is another air inlet and the fog lights that are worked into the outer areas as well as a chrome surround around the inlet screen.
The fog lights also assume the new function of static turning lights being introduced on this model. This much is certain: the new front end design and distinctive headlights give the Volkswagen Golf Plus a significantly more dynamic and high-end appearance. In the rear, designers have restyled the bumper. The results: a plus in dynamics and precision. The bumper is now completely painted in car color. The only exception is the lower area, where there is a high-gloss black segment in the center giving the visual effect of a diffuser. High-visibility reflectors were also integrated in the lower section of the bumper. The taillights with their LED technology were styled in a new dark red ("Cherry red"). The side profile of the Volkswagen Golf Plus has remained largely unchanged. However, new roof rails were integrated more harmoniously into the car's overall line. Compared to its predecessor, this car is lower in profile, more refined, and it is painted silver starting with the Highline (Trendline and Comfortline: black).
In its side profile, the new wheel designs are also conspicuous. Even the base version gets new full wheel covers. In the upscale direction, the lineup of wheel-tire combinations is rounded out by the new 18-inch "Bilbao" alloy wheel design from Volkswagen Individual. The Volkswagen Golf Plus, always offered as a four-door with a large hatch is one of the most variable and practical vehicles of its class. The instruments now have the same look as those in the new Golf, Passat and Passat CC. Dominant here are the two round instruments in brushed chrome surrounds that are even supplied in the base equipment version. Instrument scaling is backlit in white (regardless of whether the headlights are on or off); pointer gauges are designed in red. Also configured in white are the graphics of the multifunctional display (MFA) located between the tachometer and speedometer - standard in all equipment versions effective immediately. Analogous to the Golf and Passat, a new generation of steering wheel is making its way onto the Volkswagen Golf Plus, perfected in touch and appearance.
