Volkswagen Golf update to carry over engines

Volkswagen's mid-life upgrade for the Golf 7 will go on sale in Australia from July of this year, but without the much-vaunted 1.5-litre engines that promise significant fuel economy gains.

According to Volkswagen Australia's Public Relations Manager, Kurt McGuiness, the landed cost of the 1.5-litre variants (both petrol and diesel) was prohibitive for our market.

“It would be probably too expensive for our market, given the market conditions, and it's less of a benefit to our market,” he told Australian journalists in Spain for the global launch of the Golf 7.5 update.

When the revised Golf is launched locally it will introduce a revised range comprising 110TSI and 110TDI drivetrains first. The 92TSI variants are dropped and the 110TSI will take up the mantle of the entry level in the range. Volkswagen is not discussing pricing or full specification just yet, but McGuiness says the manual 110TSI is expected to sell for “hundreds, not thousands” more than the current 92TSI counterpart.

The new Golf will introduce many of the new technical features we've reported previously, but not right across the range, necessarily.

“Golf remains for us our flagbearer,” said McGuiness, revealing that the range will feature 16-inch alloys, autonomous emergency braking and an eight-inch infotainment touch screen as standard. Higher-grade models will be offered with a 9.2-inch screen and Active Info Display – VW's equivalent of Audi's Virtual Cockpit – will be optionally available. Gesture control is “TBC” for the entire range, says McGuiness, but it's anticipated to be bundled with cars fitted with the 9.2-inch screen.

Mainstream Golf variants will comprise the base 110TSI with manual or DSG (dual-clutch) transmission, but the higher-specification Comfortline and Highline models will be DSG-only.

At the end of July, just four weeks after the volume sellers launch in Australia – including Golf wagon and Alltrack – Volkswagen will launch the GTI and the Golf R.

Asked about the Golf R wagon, McGuiness said that the company was “still working on a wagon” for Australia, but that won't be “in the first-round launch.”