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New Models
AUTOS: VW Reveals The Next Golf
The all-new seventh-generation model, slightly larger but lighter than the current version, is due in U.S. showrooms next year.
The seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf, scheduled for U.S. showrooms next fall, is an all-new compact with ties to past designs. (Photo: Volkswagen)
Volkswagen took the wraps off its seventh-generation Golf in Berlin on Tuesday, revealing the sharp appearance, high-quality interior, frugal new gasoline and diesel powertrains, and class-leading safety features of its mainstay hatchback.
VW chairman Martin Winterkorn told Autoweek that the new Golf reflects the company's reputation for technical progress. He confirmed that the new car is significantly lighter than the sixth-generation model it replaces, despite a moderate increase in size and higher levels of standard equipment.
"We have been able to reverse the upward spiral in weight, but it is safer, more comfortable and more spacious," Winterkorn said.
The new Golf will go on sale across Europe in November and is set to reach U.S. showrooms about a year from now.
First introduced to the Volkswagen lineup in 1974 as a replacement for the original Beetle, the Golf has racked up over 29 million sales worldwide over the past 38 years. That makes it the company's best-selling model and the financial foundation for the German carmaker.
As tradition dictates, the new Golf receives an evolutionary look, with the classic exterior design cues of the original preserved in newly interpreted form: the simplistic front end, the pronounced front-wheel arch flares, the general shape of the greenhouse, the extra-wide C-pillar and upright rear end.
Styled by Marc Lichte, who was also responsible for the design of the sixth-generation model, there is no doubt about its identity despite a newfound edginess to detailed features, including a prominent swage line running beneath the door handles.
A further subtle change in appearance can be detected in the new Golf's overall proportions, with a longer hood and the cabin shifting farther back.
Along with the initial five-door hatchback, Volkswagen plans a three-door hatchback, a high-roof five-door hatchback (Plus), five-door wagon (Variant), four-door sedan (CC) and two-door cabriolet versions of the new Golf. The new look will also be reflected on upcoming replacements for the Jetta, Touran, Scirocco and Caddy, VW said.
Unlike the current Golf, which was a heavily face-lifted version of the fifth-generation car, the new model has been re-engineered from the ground up. "We have replaced or modified each single component. It is new in every sense of the word," says Ulrich Hackenberg, head of development at Volkswagen.
Behind the evolutionary appearance of the new Golf is a new platform known as the MQB (modularen querbau, or modular transverse), which is set to underpin more than half of all Volkswagen models by the middle of the decade. The highly flexible structure makes use of a higher percentage of high-strength steel than its predecessor, the PQ35 platform, leading to a 81.6-pound weight reduction for the platform alone.
In combination with other weight-saving measures, including a 88.2-pound reduction in the 1.4-liter gasoline engine, 57.3-pound reduction in the chassis and 13.2-pound reduction in the electrical architecture, the new Golf weighs as much as 240.3 pounds less than the sixth-generation model introduced in 2008, with a claimed curb weight of 2,314.8 pounds for the most basic model, VW says.
VW chairman Martin Winterkorn told Autoweek that the new Golf reflects the company's reputation for technical progress. He confirmed that the new car is significantly lighter than the sixth-generation model it replaces, despite a moderate increase in size and higher levels of standard equipment.
"We have been able to reverse the upward spiral in weight, but it is safer, more comfortable and more spacious," Winterkorn said.
The new Golf will go on sale across Europe in November and is set to reach U.S. showrooms about a year from now.
First introduced to the Volkswagen lineup in 1974 as a replacement for the original Beetle, the Golf has racked up over 29 million sales worldwide over the past 38 years. That makes it the company's best-selling model and the financial foundation for the German carmaker.
As tradition dictates, the new Golf receives an evolutionary look, with the classic exterior design cues of the original preserved in newly interpreted form: the simplistic front end, the pronounced front-wheel arch flares, the general shape of the greenhouse, the extra-wide C-pillar and upright rear end.
Styled by Marc Lichte, who was also responsible for the design of the sixth-generation model, there is no doubt about its identity despite a newfound edginess to detailed features, including a prominent swage line running beneath the door handles.
A further subtle change in appearance can be detected in the new Golf's overall proportions, with a longer hood and the cabin shifting farther back.
Along with the initial five-door hatchback, Volkswagen plans a three-door hatchback, a high-roof five-door hatchback (Plus), five-door wagon (Variant), four-door sedan (CC) and two-door cabriolet versions of the new Golf. The new look will also be reflected on upcoming replacements for the Jetta, Touran, Scirocco and Caddy, VW said.
Unlike the current Golf, which was a heavily face-lifted version of the fifth-generation car, the new model has been re-engineered from the ground up. "We have replaced or modified each single component. It is new in every sense of the word," says Ulrich Hackenberg, head of development at Volkswagen.
Behind the evolutionary appearance of the new Golf is a new platform known as the MQB (modularen querbau, or modular transverse), which is set to underpin more than half of all Volkswagen models by the middle of the decade. The highly flexible structure makes use of a higher percentage of high-strength steel than its predecessor, the PQ35 platform, leading to a 81.6-pound weight reduction for the platform alone.
In combination with other weight-saving measures, including a 88.2-pound reduction in the 1.4-liter gasoline engine, 57.3-pound reduction in the chassis and 13.2-pound reduction in the electrical architecture, the new Golf weighs as much as 240.3 pounds less than the sixth-generation model introduced in 2008, with a claimed curb weight of 2,314.8 pounds for the most basic model, VW says.
2014 Cadillac CTS
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