New Mk VII VW Golf Gives You A Bigger Load

Volkswagen has lifted the bed sheets off its new seventh generation Golf, revealing a car that’s sexier, bigger and more slippery than its predecessor.

Despite its new attributes, however, the new Mk VII’s also some 100kg lighter than before, making it up to 23 per cent more efficient. But enough of the boring bits, let’s talk power.

From first deliveries in January, the Mk VII Golf will come equipped with two petrol and two diesel engines, ranging from 84bhp in the 1.2-litre TSI to 148bhp in the brawniest 2.0-litre oil-burner. In between there’s also a 138bhp 1.4-litre petrol (with cylinder shut down) and a 1.6-litre diesel with 104bhp.

Also on the way early next year is the juiced-up GTI version that runs a 260bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol motor. Given its 50bhp hike in muscle, the Mk VII should smash the 6.9sec 0-62mph time of the current 210bhp GTI; one thing's for sure, we can't wait to find out.

So what’s changed for the Mk VII? Inside, VW has adopted BMW’s fabled driver-angled centre console, boosted rear legroom by 15mm and increased the new Golf’s boot capacity by 30 litres to 380 litres. It's also made the new car 28mm lower than before, giving the Mk VII a 10 per cent improvement in drag co-efficiency.

As standard, the new Golf comes with an electronic parking brake (you can forget handbrake turns) and a 5.8-inch colour touchscreen. Optional extras include four driving modes – Eco, Sport, Normal and Individual – plus adaptive cruise control and a front passenger seat that folds fully forwards, for up to 2412mm load space. Throw in some window tints and a mattress and you're sorted...

VW’s tight-lipped on more info, but all will be revealed at the Paris motor show later this month. Car Throttle will be reporting live from the event, so stay tuned.