The eighth generation is only months away from being officially revealed and still the Golf continues to dominate its segment. What’s more, this remains far and away the best selling vehicle in the European region. Volkswagen has even been adding new variants, the latest and likely final one being the Touring Car Racing version of the GTI.
Germany and Britain are the stand-out markets for Volkswagen’s regional best seller. Year to date, the Golf is of course in its usual position as the number one model in its homeland, deliveries numbering 69,406 over the first four months. The Tiguan, Germany’s second most popular vehicle, trails the Golf by more than 40,000 units as at the end of April.
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The battle for second place in Britain
In the UK, the Fiesta is the best seller of 2019 (29,080) with the Golf (21,365) in second place. That’s not a commanding lead over others though – far from it – as the Focus is very close with 21,233 registrations with the Corsa in fourth on 20,375, the A-Class in fifth (20,216) followed by the Qashqai (20,211) which is some 4,000 vehicles ahead of the Polo.
Britain likely won’t see the next Golf in dealerships until the first quarter of 2019 so the title of best selling C segment model is still very much up for grabs. It’s easy to see either the current car, the A-Class or the Focus taking the title in 2019 yet arguably VW, with the oldest model of the three, is doing the most to keep its contender in prime position. It took Volkswagen a long time to get all variants compliant with WLTP regulations so in theory there should be little reason why the car doesn’t now stay in the lead, waiting lists for certain engine/gearbox/trim levels having been largely worked through.
Fastest series production GTI yet
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By GlobalDataThe new TCR has given the Golf range both a publicity boost and another high-priced addition to add to the car’s upscale image. This, the fastest series production Golf GTI, was revealed as a prototype in May last year at a Volkswagen-supported gathering in Reifnitz am Wörthersee. The annual event in the Austrian town attracts more than 7,000 cars and draws in around 125,000 visitors.
The 213kW (290PS) and 380Nm (280 lb-ft) GTI TCR, which was released six months after its premiere at Wörthersee, is the road version of the two-time overall winner of the international Touring Car Racing series although that car’s engine is tuned to 275kW (350PS). The front-wheel drive TCR, which competes with the likes of the Mercedes-AMG A 35 4MATIC, R.S. Megane and Honda Civic Type R, has a standard seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (DSG) and a front axle differential lock.
Three high-performance Golfs: 245, 290 or 300PS
Positioned below the (300PS) R and above the (245PS) GTI Performance, the TCR has a maximum speed of 250km/h (155mph), but this can be increased to 264km/h (164mph) by removing the limiter. Doing so makes it faster than the more expensive Golf R. Zero to 62mph takes 5.6 seconds and the NEDC CO2 number is 151g/km. On the WLTP Combined cycle, it’s a fairly representative 36.7mpg which is an amazing number considering the performance on offer (the press car returned 37.1mpg).
Unlike its Honda and Renault rivals, the TCR neither looks nor feels wild. Yes you can pay to have honeycomb pattern decals for the car’s sides but would you? Especially when these cost GBP555. To me, the car looks way better without stickers.
At the rear you can tell it’s the TCR by a six-fin underspoiler finished in gloss black, flexible plastic. Black mirror casings and unique bumpers are other bespoke touches while ‘TCR’ appears as a sticker on the rear quarter panels (the tailgate only has the VW logo and a GTI badge). As you’d expect, the suspension is lowered and there are 225/40 series tyres on special 18-inch alloy wheels.
The test car came with an optional Performance Pack which costs GBP2,900 and gives you even more extreme suspension settings plus 235/35 tyres and 19-inch wheels. The driver can choose between Eco, Normal, Comfort and Sport settings via a button to the left of the DSG transmission selector lever. Volkswagen has got these settings spot on. Leave the car in Normal and hardly ever would you find the ride too hard yet switching to Sport brings an additional edge which usually lets you enter traffic-free roundabouts without the need to brake. The chassis’ balance is so convincing it makes you think all Golfs should be set up this way.
Standard dual clutch transmission and front-wheel drive only
Some may wish for a six-speed manual gearbox option but the standard seven-ratio DSG is hard to fault. It will allow the engine to rev to 6,500rpm before upchanges and there is the most delicious sound from around 4,000rpm all the way to that redline.
Torque steer? Yes, a tiny bit on wet roads if you floor the throttle but it’s banished almost instantly. I’d thought the four-wheel drive of the AMG A 35 might make the TCR feel inferior but that’s far from the reality: the Volkswagen is just as capable and lets the driver feel a lot more involved. You could of course argue that the A 35, along with the Audi RS 3 Sportback and BMW’s just-announced M135i xDrive, should be grouped with the all-wheel drive Golf R and that’s a fair point.
About the only place where the TCR feels slightly dated is in the cabin (just the one USB socket for example) and even then, to many of us, it’s refreshing compared to the great looking but not always great in practice A-Class and its digital controls.
Everything you could want is a touch away on the Golf’s dashboard screen and the physical controls are all intelligently designed, e.g. the hold function of the parking brake is automatically activated after the car stops in traffic for a couple of seconds and releases equally seemlessly. It’s interesting though that Volkswagen gave this car a key rather than a button for the ignition: what a welcome novelty not to have to find a place to store it where it won’t rattle around.
Conclusion
Would I pay the GBP34,650 asking price for the GTI TCR (before options)? I would, as the Touring Car Racing is even more entertaining than the GTI Performance, the extra 45 horsepower being hard to do without once you’ve sampled both cars. A word of caution though: a TCR can easily become a very high-priced hatchback indeed if you add certain things such as a GBP1,000 glass sunroof and the GBP2,900 Performance Pack. Including those side decals mentioned earlier plus some other additions such as tinted rear windows (GBP100) and a Vodafone tracker (GBP534), the test vehicle’s on the road price came in at an eye brow raising GBP40,674.
Mark VIII
The next Golf will be revealed in October, initially to Volkswagen staff only, the company has stated. The timing is tricky for the company as the ID.3 will also have its premiere during the same month. That though will be a proper public debut with the electric car set to be the star of the Frankfurt motor show.
Build of the mark eight Golf will apparently commence in December, although not all variants will be coming down the line at Wolfsburg from the start of production: the GTE (plug-in hybrid) and GTI will likely be added a few months later. This time around there won’t be an e-Golf as the ID.3 effectively takes over from the car. One of the major engineering changes for the Golf line-up will be the adoption of 48-volt electrics and a mild hybrid system.
As for production plants, the big news will be the end of Golf production at Puebla. That doesn’t mean that buyers in North America won’t be offered the next generation GTI – expected to again be the most popular variant in the US, but rather that it will come from Germany. The Mexican factory will gain a new model to replace the Golf five-door and wagon which it presently builds, and yes, it’s an SUV.
A few days ago, Volkswagen Argentina revealed some details of its future Tarek as well as the VW316 codename. This SUV will be manufactured for the Americas at two plants: Pacheco (Argentina) and Puebla (Mexico). Build at the South American factory will commence in 2021 with launch variants to be front-wheel drive and powered by a turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol engine. No date for Job 1 at Puebla has been announced as yet, suggesting that Volkswagen won’t be replacing Golf production at the plant until well into 2020.
