The 7th Generation Volkswagen Golf – Launched!

 

 

 

The 7th Generation Volkswagen Golf has just been launched in Malaysia and its got huge shoes to fill, particularly when considering that in the past 36 years since the first Golf was put to the streets, more than 29 million units have been produced in various incarnation. Aside from the Beetle, the Golf is probably the only other car in VW’s line-up that has achieved cult status with huge number of fans worldwide.

 

 

Design

 

 

Measuring 4,255mm long, 1,799mm wide and 1,452mm high, the Mark VII is 56mm longer, 13mm wider and 28mm lower compared to the 6th Gen. Wheelbase is similarly increased by 59mm to 2,637mm and this translates to a larger cabin. The lowered roof line and design also helps reduce the Coefficient Drag value to 0.27 (for comparison sake, a Porsche 911 Carrera has a cd value of 0.29 and this means the Golf is more slippery in the wind compared to the Porsche)

 

 

Up front, the design of the Mk VII has the following features:-

 

• Lines of the bonnet that forms a V-shape.

• Redesigned headlights with new xenon headlight’s LED daytime running light

• Narrower band of the radiator grille.

• At the bottom the radiator grille is bordered – to the left and right of the chrome Volkswagen badge – by a chrome bar

• Bottom air inlet is now body-coloured beneath the headlights & has more horizontal lines

 

 

 

At the sides, you’ll note the following design cues:-

 

• Front wheels moved 43mm further forward which creates an image of a longer bonnet & cabin moved backwards
• Character lines below the door handles that starts and stops at the front and rear wheel arches. The lines, together with the lines found at the rear and front bumper lends an impression of a car with a lowered center of gravity
• C pillars look thicker and more solid as no lines mar its surface
• Redesigned roof contour
• A more prominent wheel arch that can accommodate wheels up to 18″

 

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At the back, the Mk VII comes with redesigned rear light clusters with striking L-shaped contours, narrower on the inside and ending at the C-pillar on the outside and to the tailgate. A horizontal light-refracting edge near the bottom of the tailgate that continues on the bumper, and the boot sill running parallel below this underline the full width of the car. The bumper itself is fully painted right down to the bottom, with only the centrally integrated diffuser, which also incorporates the exhaust pipe, kept black. I don’t know … I prefer to see the exhaust pipes …. keeping it hidden is kinda like working so hard to have a 6-pack abdomen only to cover it with layers of clothes everyday.

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And these are the rims we’re getting here; Dover 16″ wrapped in 205/55 tires which are the same size as the previous non-SE Mk VI

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Performance

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In the engine department, Volkswagen Malaysia offers only one variant which is the 1.4-litre TSI 140 PS. In other countries, the engine comes with Active Cylinder Technology, which can deactivate two of the cylinders. Unfortunately, the Malaysian spec-ed unit has this feature removed …. presumably to keep the cost down.

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There will not be anymore more TwinCharged 1.4litre TSi engine like in the Mk VI (too expensive, too complex, apparently) it’s paired to a 7 speed DSG gearbox

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VW seems to be taking emissions and fuel consumption very seriously as they introduce BLUEMOTION technology in the Mk VII, a system consisting of engine start/stop function, and regenerative braking. Despite not having the Active Cylinder Technology, our 1.4s still manages an impressive 5litres per 100km combined fuel consumption and a CO2 output of only 116g/km

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A video of how it works, HERE

 

 

 Ride and Handling

 

 

Like every new generation, the Golf promises better handling and ride precision and shaving weight off the car has always been a focus of every manufacturer. VW seem to have done some pretty serious liposuction on the MkVII by throwing 100kg out of the MkVI window. The areas where the reduction took place is as follows:

 

• Electrical – up to -6kg
• Engines – up to -40kg
• Running gear – up to -26kg
• Superstructure – up to -37kg

 

The MkVII is able to achieve so much is largely due to a new lightweight platform called the Modular Transverse Matrix (or MQB of short) which is the 2nd model in the group after the Audi A3 to use it. The MQB will be used in virtually all types of vehicles (hatchbacks, sedans, SUV, etc) of Volkswagen Audi Group’s future car lineup …. from VWs to Skodas and Proton …. wait, they haven’t decided on getting Proton yet. Sorry.

 

 

What on earth is an MQB? Think of it as a piece of Lego platform where you can change the width or the length of wheelbase (like from a Polo to a Toureg) at whim. The engine and gearbox mounting positions will be identical and considering everyone is spawning model variants with just a handful of engine types (think Prince engine and Peugeot), having a platform that has the same mounting points makes a lot of sense.

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As part of the MQB set up, the new engine is inclined 12 degrees towards the firewall. This new mounting position standardizes the exhaust line, drive shafts and gearbox mounting positions.

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The VW Golf’s steering now uses a variable ratio system that offers more agile steering in dynamic driving situations and if you specify the latest generation Park Assist, the new Golf VII will even park itself in a space no more than 80 cm longer than the vehicle (Ford Focus beware). Sadly, if you do want the Park Assist, you’d have to retrofit it elsewhere like in Singapore.

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Cabin Convenience

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Interior wise, this generation offers the largest cabin yet. The following seating improvements can be found in the Mk VII:-

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• Front seats have been moved 20mm further behind
• Rear legroom can still be improved by 15 mm.
• Front shoulder room is improved by 31 mm to 1,420 mm (at the rear it is 30 mm wider which means ladies can stuff more cuddly bears behind)
• Elbow room by 22 mm to 1,469 mm (20 mm wider at the rear).

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As you can see in the cockpit picture above,  the centre console is now angled more towards the driver, giving them easier, more ergonomic and direct access to auxiliary controls, including the new generation of touchscreen infotainment systems that is available on the Volkswagen Golf.

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There is a marked difference in the steering wheel design of the MK VII compared to the MK VI. There are more buttons neatly arranged with each other. I am guessing the left set of buttons control audio and cruise control whereas the right are the Multi Info Display toggle buttons as well as telephone (Still find it hard to believe that we’re getting BT finally)

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The meters looks similar but the Reset button is now in the middle instead of the right in the MK VI.

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From the picture above, we can conclude that:-

1. The car has front and rear fog lights
2. Auto leveling headlamps as there is no manual adjusters

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Touchscreen systems will be a norm and the Mk VII offers a 5.8 inch “Composition Media” color touchscreen infotainment system with its menu keys and dials. Features include DAB digital radio, auxiliary inputs (including USB, SD card slot), access to vehicle trip information and Bluetooth connection (did I read right? The first VW model sold in Malaysia with Bluetooth??). The system keeps passengers entertained via an 8 speaker system set-up. I wonder if I can retrofit a Mk VI headunit (such as the RNS 510) to the Mk VII and vice versa.

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Air conditioning controls are as simple as it can be for a Dual Zone system.

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Handbrakes are so old school …. the Mk VII has electronic parking brakes with Auto Hold function.

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It is interesting to discover that the CD and SD card slot is found within the glove compartment (which still remains huge)

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On top, the controls are painted black and this adds a touch of class in the overall feel of the car’s ambiance.

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One of the improvements over the Mk VI I am glad to see is the side mirror controls which are angled more posteriorly and facing the driver better instead of it aiming too far forward.

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Rear legroom felt roomier but the rear seat incline remains the same, somewhat upright position. Also found behind are ISOFIX latches as well as rear air conditioning vents found at the back of the center console.

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An interesting discovery on the B pillars …. a rudimentary tire pressure monitoring system?

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The boot is 30 litres larger, at 380 litres and perfect for ladies with shopping bags is the Mark VIII has a low 685 mm sill to make loading effortless (incidentally, the Mk VIII has the lowest boot sill height in its class at 665mm). The front passenger seat can also optionally fold fully forward, creating a loadspace which is up to 2.4 mm long; you could probably stuff a street light pole in there.

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Safety

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In some markets, the Golf has a slew of  active and passive satefy features that was previously only available in their higher range models:-

 

• Doubt we’ll get this – Multi-collision brake system that automatically brakes the vehicle after a collision, to reduce kinetic energy significantly and thus minimise the chance of a second impact. Video of how it works HERE

 

• Nope – PreCrash system that detects the possibility of an accident, it pre-tensions seatbelts and closes the windows and sunroof, leaving just a small gap, to ensure the best possible protection from the airbags.

 

• Don’t think we’re that lucky to have this – Adaptive Cruise Control that uses radar sensors to maintain a set distance from the vehicle in front. If a car suddenly decides to overtake at a slower speed than what you were traveling, the system automatically slows down and accelerates to the set speed once the car cuts back into the slow lane. Here’s a video that explains ACC very well: Borsch

 

• Nope, I suspect not – Front Assist System that can bring the vehicle to a complete stop and operates at speeds of up to 150 km/h. Video of how it works HERE

 

• Nope, I think the Ford Focus need not worry the Golf will have this – City Emergency Braking that operates at up to 30 km/h (approx. 19 mph), and can reduce or prevent the chance of accidents occurring . Video of how it works HERE

 

• Maybe the 2.0litre  GTi can have this but I don’t think the 1.4 TSi will get this – Driver Alert System, as introduced on the Passat, that monitors the driver’s inputs to detect any signs of tiredness and alert you via audio signals and a message on the MFD

 

 

• Nope, we’d be paying through our noses if the car comes with these – Camera-operated Lane Assist system can help keep the car in a specific lane, providing countersteering assistance where necessary

 

• Nice to have but uh uh – Dynamic Light Assist system optionally masks the vehicle’s high beam lighting through the use of a camera on the windscreen. This function is technically implemented by a pivoting masking aperture between the reflector with the xenon filament and the lens. Along with lateral swivelling of the entire module and independent control of the left and right headlights, this additional aperture geometry is able to mask the light source and thereby avoid dazzling traffic ahead or any oncoming traffic. Previously available in the Toureg, it has made its way to the Golf and the video of how it works can be found HERE

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Here, we get the following:-

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• 7 airbags
• ESP
• ABS
• EBD
• BA
• Park Assist (parking sensors front and back)
• Multi Collision Brake

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Ownership and Maintenance

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The 1.4 TSi Mk VII retails for the price of RM157,888 (excludes insurance) and comes with 5 years unlimited mileage warranty. No idea about its maintenance costs yet.

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Against its competitors, here’s how the new Golf stacks up:

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So in summary, you get a car that’s:-

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• Longer
• Wider
• Saves you more fuel
• Less ponies
• More torque

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Sounds like a good package to me