Volkswagen Golf 7 GTI & GTD (2019) First Drive
The international launch of the facelifted Volkswagen Golf range took place in Mallorca, Spain. Now in its 7th generation, the Volkswagen Golf has been one of those vehicles that, despite its rivals' best efforts, outmatches them in terms of build quality, refinement and drive quality. But Golf 7 has that admirable trait where you could get out of something more premium and get into the VW without experiencing a drop in quality. It鈥檚 the kind of build integrity and use of premium plastics that annoys journalists everywhere. How can something in this segment be this good? And, how on Earth could VW engineers improve on an already excellent product? The Golf 7 has left many rivals in its wake, so can the facelifted version increase Volkswagen's advantage? This brings us to where we are this week. We鈥檙e spending some time with Volkswagen in Europe where we are driving its latest Golf offerings.
The Volkswagen Golf GTI has been a runaway success for the brand in South Africa. The addition of the Performance Pack and outstandingly good Clubsport to commemorate 40 years of GTI, only sweetened the range. South Africa provides a unique situation for Volkswagen. In our market, the GTI that makes up the majority of the sales numbers. The Volkswagen Golf 7 GTI is a vehicle to which we are very accustomed. Not only did the entire team enjoy its complete repertoire of skills, but it also bagged the Premium Hatchback of the Year award twice on the trot, seeing off premium opposition from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The hands-on GTI Clubsport walked off with the Fun Car trophy. A non-GTI facelifted Volkswagen Golf in the launch colour: Kurkama Yellow. It looks suspiciously like BMW's Austin Yellow. The design has not changed dramatically and there are new bumpers, headlights and LED tail lights.
It鈥檒l take the new and the current car positioned side by side to really be able to tell the difference, but for the updated Golf 7, the changes are more under the metal than cosmetic. Other than tweaks to the engines and gearboxes, the cars are mechanically identical. In the age of downsizing, where car companies have shrunk their cubic capacities and lopped off cylinders, Volkswagen has gone the other way and made a bigger engine. Gone is the tried-and-trusted 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol unit and in its place is an all-new 1.5-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol. Outputs are rated at 110 kW with torque sitting at 250 Nm. Power goes to the front wheels via DSG transmission. The gearbox has been revised and now features an extra ratio to make it a 7-speed unit. While not immediately available, we expect this engine to potentially make an appearance in our market. In terms of the Volkswagen Golf GTI, power has been increased to 169 kW from 162 kW, while torque has remained the same at 350 Nm. The Golf GTI Performance Pack will be coming in 2018 and it will offer 180 kW.
The business end of the Volkswagen Golf facelift pertains to the connectivity and safety departments. Climb into the vehicle and your eyes will immediately fall on the rather large, buttonless infotainment touchscreen. It鈥檚 called Discover Pro and when combined with the all-digital Active Info Display, the entire dashboard feels as if it has been lifted from a more premium product. The graphics on this 9.2-inch screen are crisper and it鈥檚 a big leap forward, but the technology doesn鈥檛 stop there. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay make their debuts in the new Volkswagen Golf: after a satnav routing error sent us off course, a fellow journalist鈥檚 iPhone with Apple Maps linked to the car and set us back on track. Crisper and prettier graphics on the new large infotainment screen, but where's the volume knob? This facelifted Volkswagen Golf now features semi-autonomous capability in the form of Traffic Jam assist, where the vehicle can drive by itself at speeds of up to 60 kph using a combination of active cruise control and lane assist.
