Volkswagen Golf range to gain 4MOTION and R

Volkswagen’s new Mk7 Golf only debuted four months ago at the Paris motor show – it’s expected here in April – but there are already other derivatives waiting in the wings.

Among them is the range-topping Golf R, which Volkswagen has encased in ice as part of a teaser campaign that culminates in its official reveal on February 11 and its world public debut at the Geneva motor show on March 5.

Stuffed with a more potent version of the new EA888 engine that propels the upcoming GTI, the Golf R could pack a 215kW punch, which would represent a handy increase on the 199kW eked out by the outgoing model (although Oz-spec cars make do with 188kW).

Expect the new R performance flagship to be equipped with a beefed-up version of the fifth-gen Haldex AWD system that debuts in the new Golf 4MOTION, with power channelled to the axles via six-speed manual or DSG dual-clutch transmissions.

Based on the MQB architecture that’s set to underpin just about everything in the VW range, the Mk7 Golf R should be around 100kg lighter than its predecessor, helping sharpen performance and dynamics.

Volkswagen this week also released first official details of 4MOTION all-wheel-drive variants of the new Golf, which will be pitched mainly at snowbound regions in Europe and North America, continuing the tradition established by the first all-paw Golf back in 1986.

VW is touting the new 4MOTION’s all-wheel-drive system as one of “the most modern and efficient of its kind”, even though it still relies on a Haldex coupling – albeit a fifth-generation iteration.

According to the company, the new all-wheel-drive system weighs 1.4kg less than the previous set-up, requires no pressure accumulator and reacts “extremely quickly to every conceivable influence exerted on it”.

What this is claimed to translate to is greater active safety and improved handling.

The 4MOTION models will be offered in Europe in three trim levels and with a choice of two turbodiesel engines – a 77kW motor and a 110kW unit, which consume just 4.5L/100km and 4.7L/100km respectively.

VW claims the 110kW engine is 15 per cent more fuel efficient than the outgoing 103kW Golf 4MOTION, despite offering superior performance.

Among the standard features across the range are four-wheel EDS (electronic differential locks on both axles), XDS front and rear axle transverse lock, an Automatic Post-Collision Braking System, seven airbags and daytime running lights.

In Europe, the 4MOTION Golf models command a premium of AU$2320 over their front-wheel-drive equivalents.