There are so many cars that are given icon status, but the Volkswagen Golf is one that has earned the moniker after half a century of outstanding popularity.
And 50 years on from the original’s release, VW has unveiled the refreshed Mk8 version (we’ll call it the Mk8.5), which gets tweaked looks, a big tech upgrade and a flashy new parking feature.
But its reveal comes with a heavy heart and a lump in the throat, as this will be the last newly-launched Golf with a combustion engine.
Here’s a quick look at eight things you need to know about the newest VW Golf and Golf GTI.
End of the road for the petrol Golf: The facelifted Mk8 Golf (left) will be the last new example of VW’s mainstay hatchback sold with internal combustion engines. Here’s eight things you need to know about it
1. It’s the last new Golf with a combustion engine before going electric
Volkswagen is bidding auf wiedersehen to its petrol-powered Golf as plans have been laid for the Mk8.5 facelift to be the last launched with internal combustion engines.
It marks the beginning of the end for one of the most popular motors Britain’s drivers have come to know and love over the last half century.
VW first revealed the Golf in 1974. Since then, the nameplate has been a mainstay of our roads.
It is the most-built VW of all time, its GTI hot hatches have a cult following and it was the best-selling car in Europe for 14 consecutive years between 2008 and 2021. Still today, it remains one of the most popular family hatchbacks in both European and British showrooms.
VW first revealed the Golf in 1974. Since then, the family hatch has been an evergreen model of Britain’s roads across eight different generations
However, VW’s switch to electric cars means this revised ‘Mk8.5’ version will be its last with a petrol engine.
Bosses last year confirmed that the next-generation T-Roc crossover in 2026 will be the final new combustion engine model to launch before the brand fully commits to electric. This ultimately means the Mk9 Golf will have electric propulsion.
‘With that [the Mk8 facelift], the car is set until the end of the decade. Then we have to see how this segment develops,’ Thomas Schaefer, CEO of VW cars, told German magazine Automobilwoche in April.
‘If the world develops completely differently than expected by 2026 or 2027, we could develop a totally new vehicle – but I don’t think it will. So far that is not expected.’
The unveiling of the VW Golf Mk8.5 marks the beginning of the end for one of the most popular motors Britain’s drivers have come to know and love over the last half century
Golf is the most-built VW of all time, its GTI hot hatches have a cult following and it was the best-selling car in Europe for 14 consecutive years between 2008 and 2021. Still today, it remains one of the most popular family hatchbacks in both European and British showrooms.
he Mk8.5 will continue to be available as a conventional hatchback and spacious estate car from 2024 – and should stay in showrooms for the next few years
VW is due to launch 10 new electric models by 2026, including the ‘affordable’ ID.2 crossover, which is promised to cost less than €25,000 – that’s around £22,000 – when it hits the market in three years’ time.
The car maker plans to keep the Golf name for a future electric model, but the earliest this is likely to be released is 2028.
The Mk8.5 will continue to be available as a conventional hatchback and estate from 2024.
2. There’s one engine option that can already go 62 miles in electric mode
The new Golf GTE plug-in hybrid offers an electric-only range of 62 miles. This means British drivers could, in theory – based on an average daily mileage of 18 miles – recharge it once a week and complete their daily commutes without the petrol engine
Volkswagen is going out with a bang with its last combustion-engined Golf, offering a variety of powerplants before they kill them off for good. Nine powertrain variants will be available in total.
The most popular will be the 1.5-litre petrols. These are available with and without mild-hybrid technology, producing 114bhp and 148bhp. An uprated 2.0-litre petrol will also follow later with 201bhp – some 13bhp more than the previous unit produced.
Diesel options are to remain, too, with the choice of a 114bhp or 148bhp 2.0-litre TDI units.
And VW has also upgraded its plug-in hybrid powertrain, selling two options from 2024. Both use a combination of 1.5-litre petrol engine (replacing the outgoing 1.4), with the new TSI eHybrid using a 201bhp electric motor and the GTE getting a 268bhp e-motor – an uplift of 20bhp over the current versions.
The new PHEVs are now equipped with a 19.7kWh battery (up from 10.6kWh) and DC fast-charging up to 50kW.
Using electric power exclusively, VW says it can go for 62 miles without use of the combustion engine – and the two combined should be good for 620 miles of driving before needing to stop to refuel and/or recharge.
3. GTI lives on – Golf R to follow
This is the updated Golf GTI, which continues to use a potent 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol. Power has now been upped by almost 20bhp from 242 to 261
Big news is that buyers will only get it with a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox as Volkswagen has taken the controversial decision to ditch the manual ‘box – something that’s likely to irk traditionalists. However, there is a return for the teledial alloy wheels, which haven’t been available for the hot hatch since the Mk6 model
If the Golf is an icon then the Golf GTI is a legend. And enthusiasts will be glad to hear it will still be available for the next few years.
It will continue to use a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol, though with power upped by almost 20bhp from 242 to 261. Big news is that buyers will only get it with a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox as Volkswagen has taken the controversial decision to ditch the manual ‘box – something that’s likely to irk traditionalists.
However, appeasing GTI fans will be the reintroduction of the teledial alloy wheel designs as an optional extra for 2024 – the first time these have been available since the Mk6 version sold between 2008 and 2012 – and the continued use of red flashes across the headlight clusters (blue for the GTE) to identify it from a standard Golf.
A honeycomb grille and ‘air guides’ in the front spoiler are also exclusive to the GTI, while customers can order genuine VW carbonfibre interior trims for the very first time. Of course, the tartan cloth seats are a tradition carried forward to the 2024 facelift, too, though there is the option for leather sports seats.
While not yet confirmed, an all-wheel-drive Golf R will follow, though likely not until 2025. Given the GTI’s power upgrades, the last petrol Golf R might be the most potent to carry the iconic nameplate.
4. The first illuminated front badge
New EU regulations mean car makers can now have illuminated badges on their vehicles – and the Golf will be one of the first to have this feature
The biggest talking point about how the facelifted Golf looks is its illuminated VW badge on the bonnet.
Previously, any lit element of a car’s exterior bar the lights themselves were illegal, but a recent change in Europe’s advertising laws means makers can now use these on their new models.
As for the headlights themselves, customers will be able to pay extra for VW’ latest IQ Light HD matrix tech. These are said to cast a beam distance of up to 500 metres.
5. Has VW fixed the terrible infotainment setup?
Following massive criticism from owners, Volkswagen has made wholesale changes to the infotainment system of the Golf for ease of use…
The volume and heating controls at the bottom of the touchscreen are now backlit so the driver can see them at night. This was a big problem with the Mk8 sold until now
Hopefully, yes!
One of the biggest criticisms of the Golf Mk8 has been its infotainment system – mostly the control functions to adjust the temperature and volume level, which before were operated using an unlit haptic touch slider.
These are backlit from 2024, so drivers can locate and use them more easily at night. And the touch sensitive buttons on the steering wheel – which were previously temperamental and infuriating to operate – have been replaced by physical switches.
The Golf Mk8.5 gets a central – landscape-orientated – touchscreen, which in cheaper models is 10.4-inches, while higher-grade vehicles have a larger 12.9-inch screen
Touch sensitive buttons on the steering wheel – which were previously temperamental and infuriating to operate – have been replaced by physical switches for the facelifted model
Volkswagen says the rest of the ‘hardware and software of the Golf’s infotainment system are completely new’ for 2024.
This includes the debut of ChatGPT in one of its models, meaning drivers can ask their Golf any question and receive a spoken response.
It gets a central – landscape-orientated – touchscreen, which in cheaper models is 10.4-inches, while higher-grade vehicles have a larger 12.9-inch screen. These have the latest ‘MIB4’ operating system, which includes a new menu structure with the screen divided in two to keep shortcut functions visible at all times so a driver or passenger can easily navigate around the commonly-used functions.
The Digital Cockpit Pro instrument cluster is now a 10.2-inch screen and can be supplemented with an optional widescreen head-up display.
6. You can park it with your smartphone
The arrival of a new Park Assist Pro2 feature means buyers of the new Golf can park their car from outside the vehicle using just their smartphone
One of the headline new features of the Golf is the arrival of Park Assist Pro2.
This enables the car to be driven into and out of parking spaces using the driver’s smartphone while stood outside the vehicle.
Another upgrade is to the latest Area View2 system, which provides a 360-degree all-round view by merging four cameras to provide a bird’s eye view of the Golf and its surroundings on the infotainment screen.
7. It’ll be here in April and stay until the end of the decade
The newly refreshed Golf should be arriving in UK showrooms in months. Prices are not yet confirmed, though we’re expecting a slight premium over current RRPs
UK dealers are expecting to load their showrooms with the facelifted Golf in April.
Volkswagen bosses say the raft of updates made to the Mk8.5 should see it through to the end of the decade, with the electric Golf 9 expected close to 2030.
The hope is that a fresh supply of vehicles can push the Golf back up the registrations pecking order in both the UK and Europe.
Last year, the Golf slipped out of the top 10 best sellers list for the first time in decades, while in Europe it is now outsold by the T-Roc SUV – as well as the Tesla Model Y, Dacia Sandero, Renault Clio and Peugeot 208.
8. How much will it cost?
VW UK has yet to announce how much the Golf will set buyers back, though the expectation is for the starting price for the entry 1.5-litre petrol to edge closer to £30,000. The Golf GTI will be around £40k – the Golf R even more.