Volkswagen has officially revealed the facelifted 2017 Golf. The German carmaker says the main focus of the the new version is – alongside new engines and revised styling – a completely new generation of infotainment systems.
On the outside, moderate design changes include new bumpers at the front and rear, new halogen headlights with LED daytime running lights, new full LED headlights instead of xenon headlights, new front wings, new full LED tail lights – which come as standard for every version of the Golf – as well as new wheels and colours.
The update of the Golf is most noticeable on the inside, because the 2017 model year offers a new and increasingly digital display and control concept, as all of the existing infotainment systems have been replaced with a new design and larger touchscreens.
For example, the current 8.0-inch screen of the top-of-the-range “Discover Pro” system gets replaced by a 9.2-inch touchscreen, with the resolution increased from 800 x 480 to 1280 x 640 pixels. The new “Discover Pro” will also be the first Volkswagen infotainment system to offer both touch- and voice-command operation with gesture control in addition to proximity sensors – a world first in the compact car segment, according to Volkswagen.
Under the hood, the new Golf initially sees the debut of the new turbocharged petrol engine, the “1.5 TSI Evo” – a 148 bhp four-cylinder turbo with Active Cylinder Management (ACT). This will be followed by a BlueMotion version producing 128 bhp.
Volkswagen has also improved the performance of the GTI models. With 227 bhp, the standard version is now as powerful as the previous Performance version, while the power output of the new GTI Performance has risen to 242 bhp.
A newly-developed 7-speed DSG dual clutch gearbox will also gradually replace the current 6-speed DSG used in high-performance Golf variants.
The latest revised edition of the seventh-generation model is expected to be eventually replaced by the all-new, eighth-generation Golf sometime in 2019.
Source: Volkswagen
