Overview
OUR BOX SEAT as highway testers on the infinite merry-go-round of latest automobile mannequin launches satisfies automotive curiosity, however it might probably additionally spark a way of loss—nearly as good automobiles we admire are displaced by electrification and sophisticated expertise that not all Australian drivers have requested for.
Relying in your perspective, the speed of change within the automotive business could make such fashions really feel outdated—or reassuring. Within the case of the up to date Volkswagen Golf vary, the latter applies.
Delicate however worthwhile adjustments distinguish the brand new ‘Mk 8.5’ Golf now on sale in Australia. Beneath the updates, it stays a compact (4282mm lengthy, 1789mm large) and comparatively mild (1345kg) hatchback that appears proper at residence in nearly any locale.
It’s not electrical or perhaps a hybrid, and we’d argue the Volkswagen’s turbo-petrol tech is now not streets forward (because it was a decade in the past). However the ‘Mk 8.5’ package deal nonetheless displays what we wish from a contemporary Golf: playful once you need; completely mature and complicated the remainder of the time.
Small automobile gross sales in Australia have fallen from 233,000 to 92,000 models yearly over the previous decade, with compact and midsize SUVs filling the shortfall. That Volkswagen nonetheless presents a six-variant Golf vary is testomony to the mannequin’s enduring significance for the model.
All people is aware of anyone who has owned a Golf. It was as soon as omnipresent in Australia, however it’s more and more area of interest. And costly: with growth of electrics the main focus, Golf pricing has elevated by round 20 per cent within the 5 years for the reason that underlying eighth-generation mannequin launched regionally (partially offset by additional options).
That’s unlucky, because the Mk 8.5 represents a real return to kind. The unique Mk 8 launch was hindered by sluggish infotainment software program and inconsistent construct high quality—whereas the wind was taken out of the sails of the native launch because of the Covid pandemic. Missteps akin to capacitive contact controls additional undermined the Mk 8’s vital enchantment.
The Mk 8.5 replace addresses earlier issues, although the mechanical package deal stays unchanged. The 110TSI variants retain Volkswagen’s EA888 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine (110kW/250Nm), driving the entrance wheels through an eight-speed torque converter computerized—slightly than a dual-clutch unit.
Pricing begins at $38,690 plus on-road prices for the entry-level Golf Life, rising to $43,690 for the mid-tier Golf Fashion—a belated however worthy successor to the previous Mk 7.5 Highline. The R-Line tops the 110TSI line-up at $47,990, earlier than stepping as much as the two.0-litre turbocharged GTI ($58,990) and the all-wheel drive Golf R (from $70,990).
Volkswagen argues there isn’t any true base mannequin Golf as a result of Australians don’t need one.
In keeping with that positioning, the entry-level Life presents cleanly on 17-inch alloy wheels with body-coloured trim. The Fashion variant provides polish with 18-inch wheels, chrome accents and a full-width entrance mild bar with an illuminated VW badge. The R-Line adopts a sportier look, decreasing the experience peak and changing brilliant work with gloss black trim.
Customary gear ranges are first rate. The Golf Life contains keyless entry and exit, computerized wipers, full LED lighting, dual-zone local weather management with rear vents, a ten.2-inch Digital Cockpit Professional instrument show, 10.3-inch touchscreen with wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, six-speaker audio, 45W USB-C charging, and a space-saver spare wheel.
The Fashion feels value its $5000 upcharge, substituting the Life’s pretty flat entrance seats for noticeably nicer ErgoActive ‘sport consolation’ pews with 12-way energy adjustment, reminiscence and therapeutic massage for the driving force, plus a 12.9-inch display with navigation, an additional speaker, privateness glass, and highly effective LED Plus projector headlights.
An additional $4300 upgrades patrons into the R-Line, which drops the experience peak and switches the design of the 18-inch wheels whereas including selectable drive modes, progressive steering, Vienna leather-based upholstery, and heating and cooling for the entrance seats. An area-saver spare wheel is commonplace, range-wide.
Choices centre on a $1900 sunroof and $2000 Sound & Imaginative and prescient Package deal (each obtainable solely on Fashion and R-Line). The latter provides a helpful 360-degree parking digicam, plus a 480-watt, nine-speaker Harman-Kardon stereo and heads-up show. Apart from non-metallic Pure White, 5 premium paints appeal to an $800 surcharge.
Volkswagen claims the identical 6.3L/100km mixed gas consumption and 143g/km mixed CO2 for all 110TSI grades (cut up between 8.1L/100km city, and 5.4L/100km freeway). Its 50-litre tank requires not less than 95-octane premium petrol to offer a theoretical vary of 793km.
Driving impressions
Motoring journalists (and frequent readers) could be conditioned to count on fixed change—however the evergreen driving dynamics of the Golf are a breath of recent air. The Mk 8.5 doesn’t deviate from expectations.
A part of the explanation the Golf is so dynamically constant is that comparatively little has modified mechanically for the reason that Mk 7 was launched atop the (then-new) MQB platform in 2013. Volkswagen has tinkered with {hardware} and upgraded {the electrical} structure to MQB Evo stage—however there’s a substantial serve of baked-in goodness.
We staunchly imagine that there’s a right manner for sure kinds of automobiles to experience and deal with: just like the Porsche 911 amongst GT automobiles, and the G20 BMW 330i in luxurious sedans, the Volkswagen Golf 8.5 continues to set the benchmark for suspension and steering tuning within the small automobile phase.
That form of achievement doesn’t exit of favor: simply because the Golf hasn’t reinvented the best way it proceeds down the highway doesn’t make it old-fashioned. However evergreen suspension tuning is one factor—powertrains have a tougher job protecting tempo after they aren’t upgraded over time.
That’s the downside for the Golf’s 1.4-litre engine, which Australia continues to obtain years after Europe moved on to a extra frugal, 48-volt 1.5-litre substitute with equal energy and torque—albeit with 20 per cent decrease claimed mixed gas consumption.
It’s true: the torquey, refined 110kW/250Nm EA288 Aussies are served continues to be one of the best engine within the class, nevertheless it has been in stasis for a decade. Given Volkswagen Australia lobbied for Euro-style effectivity requirements (now in place), certainly it’s truthful to maintain tempo with our European cousins.
Volkswagen makes no 0-100km/h declare for the 110TSI, however it’s possible between 8-9 seconds: punchy sufficient. However we all know the claimed gas financial system has gone backward since VW severed the frugal however quirky seven-speed dry dual-clutch transmission from the Golf package deal. Our examined results of 7.2L/100km is suitable however not glowing.
Volkswagen Australia subbed-in an eight-speed torque converter that (theoretically) avoids DSG quirks—besides it doesn’t! Delayed shifts from the eight-speed are too widespread whereas the ‘field overreacts to throttle inputs, flaring revs past peak torque vary. Not less than paddle shifters are commonplace, permitting you to grab management in spirited driving.
It’s doable that through the lifespan of the Mk 8.5 in Australia, Volkswagen will transfer past the 1.4-litre/eight-speed mixture in reversion to a DSG and the 1.5 ‘eTSI’ delicate hybrid. With trendy DSGs being extra dependable than previously, we’d welcome such a transfer.
We nitpick on powertrain, as a result of relating to the chassis, the Volkswagen Golf hardly ever places a foot fallacious. It begins with subtle {hardware}: MacPherson-type struts are commonplace on the entrance whereas the rear suspension is an unbiased, four-link kind for all grades. Life and Fashion roll on consolation suspension; the R-Line on decrease sports activities springs.
Pushed back-to-back on Victoria’s wonderful Yarra Ranges roads (after which on suburban Melbourne streets), it’s apparent that—among the many 110TSI fashions—the dynamic candy spot is the newly-added Golf Fashion, booted (because the R-Line is) in a 225/40 R18 wheel/tyre package deal.
However the R-Line goes too far by abandoning the Golf’s candy consolation suspension, creating only a little bit of crashiness over repeated bumps. That’s by no means a problem within the Golf Fashion, which demonstrates alluring confidence in providing completely no adjustable drive modes. The default and sole ‘mode’ is near-perfect.
Steering and suspension engineers will quietly admit that selectable modes are normally dangerous, as a result of they dilute the sweet-spot the professionals have recognized. On this case, we’d be completely happy to imagine it, because the supple Fashion soaks up damaged highway surfaces with out breaking a sweat.
But the Golf Fashion’s unimaginable composure whereas absorbing bumps doesn’t come on the costly of dealing with dynamism. The steering isn’t too quick however has a pure ratio; whereas there’s noticeable physique roll, it’s contained and alleviates stress on the chassis, permitting the Golf’s deft stability to shine via, partaking its rear axle, pivoting intuitively in quick corners.
Regardless of technically extra country-friendly higher-profile 225/45 R17 tyres, the Life doesn’t really feel as candy—and also you additionally roll round in its much less supportive seats. And the R-Line’s decrease (but nonetheless passive) suspension has much less bandwidth and can’t match a GTI’s 15-stage adaptive dampers.
Our critique of the Life and R-Line ought be learn comparatively: the Golf 8.5 demonstrates a slick, class-leading stability of consolation, compliance, and physique management—the Fashion is solely one of the best of them; we’d choice it with paint and sunroof ($46,390+ORC) however keep away from the Sound & Imaginative and prescient Pack because the Harman-Kardon stereo isn’t clear sufficient to justify additional outlay.
A part of that lack of stereo readability comes from a uncommon demerit of the Golf’s dynamics: a unbroken stinginess relating to cabin insulation. In comparison with the lavish refinement of the remainder of the package deal, imposing highway noise at 100km/h dilutes stereo listening enjoyment quick.
Leisure whereas road-tripping is, nevertheless, bolstered by the creditable tuning of the Golf’s IQ Help security suite: Journey Help, which mixes clever adaptive cruise management and lane-centring, works practically flawlessly and in impact drove autonomously for greater than 50km of a boring phase of our launch drive (with supervision).
Autonomous emergency braking (detecting automobiles, pedestrians and cyclists and moreover working whereas reversing), blind spot monitoring, and fatigue detection are commonplace; Fashion provides rear cross-traffic alert and ‘exit warning’ that detects cyclists or pedestrians earlier than you open the door.
Whereas the sensible wagon physique type has been deleted, the Golf’s inside packaging must be lauded for doing a lot with small dimensions. 4 adults match and revel in a cabin that’s airier within the Life/Fashion because of a cream headliner, which the R-Line replaces with moody black.
Enhancements to the processing energy of the touchscreen and driver shows is noticeable in speedy responses to the contact, whereas VW must be credited with humbly reverting to intuitive onerous buttons on the leather-wrapped steering wheel spokes in response to suggestions.
The Apple CarPlay connection was flawless—although we proceed to advocate for Australian patrons to be granted full entry to on-line connectivity and a distant smartphone app for the Volkswagen fashions regionally, because the momentary stand-in GoConnect app may be very primary.
Rear seat legroom just isn’t monumental for the tallest of passengers, however it’s enough, whereas headroom is spectacular. The plushness of cabin supplies does step again in row two, although the Fashion and R-Line’s fitment of three-zone local weather management is sort of remarkable on this phase.
Handbook tailgates stay the order of the day, accessed from behind the rear Volkswagen badge (with out grievance—it’s fast, mild and simple to close). Capability measures a strong 374 litres whereas a twin boot flooring permits the 60/40 cut up rear seats to fold flat; a 12-volt socket is fitted.
It isn’t onerous to understand the tweaks and changes Volkswagen has made to the eighth-generation Golf in up to date Mk 8.5 format: the introduction of the Fashion grade is impressed, whereas the cabin is now faster and simpler to work with.
However with our sweet-spot, optioned Fashion a $50,000+ proposition as soon as driveaway costs are thought of (and even an un-optioned Life breaching $40,000 on-road), it’s onerous to think about patrons flocking again to an curiosity in Golf to the identical diploma as earlier than.
Finally, as an ‘if you already know, you already know’ proposition for individuals who can stretch their price range, the Volkswagen Golf stays, past dispute, the small automobile king.
