New Golf refines the formula

Volkswagen has taken a leaf out of new owner Porsche's book with the latest generation of its iconic Golf hatch. Just as the latest 911 refines its immediate predecessor, the Golf VI -- thanks to detailed refinements in almost every area -- is the best Golf ever built.

Launched in Iceland in a three-week long shuffle that involved over 1300 journalists and a million dollar pavilion on the side of a dormant volcano, the new Golf VI might have a new face and softer interior, but under the skin it is very much essentially a recycled, but thoroughly refined, Golf V.

Indeed, the 'all-new' tag with which the car has been labelled is not quite what it seems. The Golf VI is built on the same floor plan as the older car, yet the way it has been put together is substantially different. It shares the same windscreen rake and A-pillar configuration (the screen itself is a new acoustically laminated design) and the roof panel is carried over unchanged from the old car, but virtually every other part of the car has been updated.

The new VI's wheelbase is identical (2578mm) to Golf V and the track front and rear (1540/1513mm) are varied only by wheel-style offsets. At 4199mm the new car is just millimetres shorter -- thanks to a trimmed front overhang, VW's design reps say.

The suspension, though now equipped with adaptive dampers, is essentially carried over as are the base floor pan structure, axles, wiring looms and fuel tank assembly.

Reportedly too expensive to build in its Golf V generation to generate the profits the company needs to compete head-on with the Japanese, Volkswagen was expected to de-content Golf VI to help put profit back into the car.

By recycling and refining the existing Golf platform and its production, consumers and VW's accountants arguably get the best of both worlds. The bank-vault build quality of the Golf was retained but VW has effectively been able to bank the otherwise billion dollar bill it would have cost to develop a new Golf from scratch.

Quiz VW's line-up of launch 'experts' and they're cagey when the subject of profitability is raised. Executive Vice President, Detlef Wittig, is happy to confirm the Golf VI will help the bottom line. From an average of 35 hours per car, the build time has been trimmed to around 25 -- a massive improvement.

According to Wittig, savings have been poured back into the car via higher quality interior materials and equipment. The massive reduction in the build time and complexity will benefit reliability and quality, VW's worldwide sales boss says.

The styling of the car too is evolutionary. Golf buyers are essentially conservative, Wittig opines. A significant part of the purchasing decision revolves around the "investment" quality of the Golf nameplate.

"A Golf must always remain a Golf," exterior styling team member Frank Josef Breuse told the Carsales Network. "The Golf VI introduces new design elements to the car, but it is still clearly identifiable."

Cleverly VW's team has added some drama to the car's lines; in the process reducing the rear wedge and lowering the beltline to give rear passengers (especially children) better sight lines. Though the more horizontal orientation of the car makes it look lower, it is essentially the same height as the Golf V.

At the front end, new pedestrian safety standards have been met without giving the car the exaggerated front overhang or bluff high-bonneted look of some hatches.

The Golf VI introduces the new mass market 'face' of Volkswagen. Key trim elements are more horizontal than the previous generation. In the mainstream models chrome is used sparingly to define the front elements. The grille features piano black polished bars, thought to be a first for external brightwork on a production vehicle.

Much of the development focus of the new car has been spent on refining the tactile aspects of the interior and also reducing noise vibration and harshness.

There has been a significant upgrade in perceived quality of the interior. This was necessary, says Wittig. The sales boss says feedback since the Golf V's introduction in 2003 has been that the current generation was a step back from Golf IV. He says the VI redresses the balance, and then some.

Overall the Golf VI presents as a car from a class above the traditional C-segment hatch. Insiders say there has been real transfers of the lessons incorporated into the new Golf cabin that were learned in VW's Phaeton flagship limo.

The new Golf's interior door skins feature soft-touch scalloped panels and 'attention to detail' standouts include the flock-style lining of the door pockets, glovebox lid and other nooks and crannies.

A new dash greets the driver with deeply recessed instruments and a new, more sculptured multi-function steering wheel 'borrowed' from the upcoming Passat CC. Meantime, the new centre console is less 'formal' than the Golf V's and features VW's latest generation satnav/audio integration and climate control air (the latter standard equipment at all export trim levels).

VW insiders keep using the word 'cocooning' when they talk about the VI's cabin.

Under the skin much effort has been expended on making the car quieter. Indeed, VW claims a 5dBA reduction in sound level in the new car.

Measures include thicker side glass, an acoustic windscreen (as used by Peugeot and Renault in their Golf-sized cars) and the use of new lightweight sound attenuation materials that surround the main cabin. The latter material essentially replaces the traditional heavy bituminised sheets that were once the bread and butter of the acoustic engineer's trade. VW's acoustic experts say the sort of materials developed for the Golf VI have helped shape a new 'philosophy' for addressing acoustic issues in vehicles.

As much attention or more has been expended on controlling the mechanical components of NVH at their sources. The front guards feature foam inserts that trap tyre and road noise -- another Phaeton feature.

Under the heavily insulated bonnet, the Golf's new TSI engines (see separate story) feature sound reducing covers and new acoustically optimised sumps. New engine mounts isolate vibrations and even the aerodynamic undertray features sound attenuating profiles -- think of the wall of a recording studio.

And all of these changes, improvements and added equipment come with a claimed net increase in mass of 1kg, and a price increase of around Euro200 in VW's home market...

Perhaps theses are the most impressive stats of all...

The Golf VI hatchback will be rolled out across the world over the next six to eight months with derivatives such as the GTI, Variant (wagon) and Golf Plus to follow. Australia is early in the roll out and will beat the USA, China and other key markets to the punch.

VW head office sources say the five-door mainstream hatchback versions will arrive Down Under in the second quarter of 2009.

Keep an eye out for our launch review of the new Golf VI and other VW news direct from Iceland over the next few days.

To comment on this article click here