Although the VW Golf Mk 7 has been around for quite a while (appearing on our shores in 2012 and updated in 2016), its timeless progressive design has earned the status of Europe's best-selling hatchback. While it may no longer dominate the C-segment class as it once did, the Golf is renowned for being a comfortable, practical and economical choice. As we await the Mk8, we slipped inside the current model for a closer look at this family favourite. VW has delayed the launch of the next Golf to ensure its ID.3 basks in the media limelight at the IAA this week.
Golf is also the biggest-selling model in the VW range in the UK, accounting for approximately one in three new Volkswagens sold here each year. The fleet/retail split for the Golf in the UK is broadly 65% fleet / 35% retail. Its rivals include the likes of the Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra and Honda Civic.
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Interior focus
In terms of trim level, the Golf hatchback range starts with S and rising through SE, SE Nav, GT, R-Line, GTE, GTE Advance, e-Golf, GTD and GTD BlueLine to GTI Performance and, ultimately, R. The R-Line that we took out and about this week featured lots of kit as standard, including plush sports seats, rear parking sensors and automatic wipers. It also came loaded with optional extras, including keyless entry, rearview camera, 'panoramic' sunroof (that stretches to the B-pillars) and a winter pack (comprising headlight washers, heated front seats, heated windscreen washer jets and low washer fluid warning light). The R-Line looks the business too with its sporty body kit, lowered sports suspension and large alloy wheels.
Infotainment
The desire for a spacious interior, something always equated with luxury, is prompting interior designers to use new combinations of electronics and mechanical functions to modify or move pre-existing systems like heating/cooling and audio facilities. In terms of controls, touchscreens offer space-saving possibilities, but designers are faced with the problem of distracting the driver's attention too much. Although the touchscreen is not new, its application for a centre stack display is becoming a popular way to improve the human-machine interface.
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By GlobalDataThe redesigned entry-level VW Golf Mk7 is a case in point. It comes equipped with a 'Composition Media' system that includes a colour eight-inch touchscreen, Discover Navigation, DAB digital radio, CD player, MDI interface (for iPod or MP3 player), Bluetooth telephone preparation and audio streaming and eight speakers. The Discover Navigation system includes a licence for Car-Net Guide & Inform that provides online access to information such as traffic, fuel pricing, parking space availability, weather and news feeds.
Gesture control
The Golf is the world's first compact car to offer gesture control. This means menus on the infotainment system can be accessed with the swipe of the driver or passenger's hand. A swipe gesture moves the horizontally arranged menu items to the left or right. This enables the driver to scroll through the main menu, change radio stations, scroll forward or back through the playlist or browse in the picture viewer and music albums.
Ambient lighting
Not so long ago, car interior lighting consisted of central and side headliner lights, complemented by low-level ambient lighting located mainly in the cockpit area. Today, the accent has changed, thanks to widespread use of LEDs enabling personalisation of car interiors. To some extent, the Golf follows the trend with its ambient interior lighting. This feature includes lights in the front door armrests, light strips below the trim in the front doors and reflectors in the front and rear doors plus front footwell illumination.
Instrumentation
The 12.3-inch instrumentation cluster, or Active Info Display as VW prefers to call it, is familiar from the latest Passat and Tiguan. There are five different information profiles to choose from, namely: Classic, Consumption & Range, Efficiency, Performance & Driver Assistance or Navigation. The 1,440 x 540 pixel resolution provides a crisp, clear presentation of all details.
Lightweighting
Until recently, the use of carbon fibre in vehicle manufacture has been confined to high-end, low-volume vehicles – a fashionable choice for the automotive elite. Yet times are changing. The latest generation Golf offers a carbon fibre roof as an option on performance models. The roof saves approximately 20 pounds which will help improve performance and fuel economy. This move demonstrates how far the use of carbon fibre in vehicle manufacture has come.
Advanced driver assistance systems
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) defines five levels of driving automation, ranging from 'no automation' (you do all the work, level zero) to 'full automation' (level 5). A key distinction is between level 2, where you perform part of the dynamic driving task, and level 3, where the automated driving system performs the entire dynamic driving task for you. These automated driving levels are also referred to feet off, hands off, eyes off and ultimately brain off.
Although there is a buzz around level 3 – 5 cars at IAA this week, most new cars already have some level of basic driver assistance. The updated Golf provides a good example of just how far we have travelled in terms of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) fitment on mid-segment cars. The latest incarnation includes adaptive cruise control, a driver alert system, predictive pedestrian protection, lane assist and traffic jam assist. The latter enables semi-autonomous driving in traffic jams.
Another notable ADAS feature fitted to the Golf is Emergency Assist. This notices if the driver is incapacitated and initiates various measures to rouse them in escalating stages culminating, if the driver remains inactive, in carrying out an emergency stop.
Other optional driver assistance features on the updated Golf include Trailer Assist with Park Assist. Linked with the rearview camera, Trailer Assist technology helps the driver reverse with a trailer or caravan attached. The system helps reverse a trailer or caravan into a parking bay or entrance from the street. To operate, the driver selects reverse gear and presses a button. The driving angle and subsequent possible driving angles are displayed on the instrument cluster. All the driver then has to do is operate the accelerator pedal and brake, while the system automatically controls the direction of the car, using Park Assist to move the trailer backwards into the required position.
In its third iteration, Park Assist makes it possible to park semi-autonomously in any parking space that is parallel or perpendicular to the road; in addition, the system can exit from parallel parking spaces. For perpendicular parking spaces, not only is parking in reverse supported for the first time in a Golf, it is also now possible to drive into a parking space semi-autonomously. The first generation of Park Assist helped the driver by performing automated steering for parallel parking. The second generation of Park Assist added automatic steering for reverse parking into spaces perpendicular to the carriageway, and it could handle smaller parallel parking spaces. In addition, automatic exiting from parallel parking spaces was also possible. The third generation of Park Assist also makes it possible to park forwards into parking spaces semi-autonomously.
On the road
A firm ride on 17-inch wheels and low-rolling-resistance tyres averaged 47.6 mpg compared to the official combined test cycle of 51.4 mpg. Fully loaded up with passengers and paraphernalia, a 2.0-litre diesel with a seven-speed automatic gearbox delivered more than enough power when needed thanks to the turbocharger (shifting from 0-62mph in just 8.7 seconds). On balance, the dark and moody interior of the Golf R-Line is spacious and well thought through with enough kit to justify the base price of £27,900. Other standard pieces of equipment on the R-Line include manual air-con, power windows and folding mirrors, adaptive cruise control, sat-nav, Bluetooth and digital radio. None of these exotic features were available on my Mk2 when I was a lad, of course. VW Golf drivers have never had it so good and with so much choice.
