Volkswagen Golf appeal boosted with new hybrid and diesel engine options

It may have just received its mid-life facelift earlier this year, but further tweaks have come to the Volkswagen Golf with an array of new engines and adjustments to the trim levels. 

Volkswagen is adding a 1.5-litre eTSI mild-hybrid petrol and a diesel 2.0-litre TDI to the Golf Black Edition, while the Match trim level will receive the plug-in hybrid ‘eHybrid’ powertrain. All are available to order from 21 November. 

Pricing for the Black Edition 1.5 eTSI and 2.0 TDI kick off at £33,690 and £35,500 respectively. Both engines have 148bhp and are mated to a seven-speed automatic gearbox, with the mild-hybrid petrol taking 8.4 seconds to go from 0-62mph, and the diesel taking eight seconds exactly. 

Sitting one rung below the GTE in the Golf line-up, the Black Edition comes with 18-inch alloys, IQ.Matrix LED headlights, illuminated door handles, heated front seats and black exterior trim. 

At the same time, the eHybrid PHEV – previously only offered with Style and GTE trim levels – is now offered with Match trim, lowering the price of the cheapest plug-in hybrid Golf by £995 to £36,140. The PHEV comes with a combination of a petrol engine and electric motor that develops 201bhp and is capable of a 0-62mph time of 7.2 seconds. More importantly, Volkswagen claims it’ll do up to 88 miles on its 19.7kWh battery alone and can receive a recharge rate of 40kW. VW also says it’ll return 141.2mpg. 

The Match trim level, which was reintroduced to the wider Volkswagen range recently, sits above the entry-level Life trim. As standard it gets 17-inch alloys, LED headlights, a rear-view camera, adaptive cruise control, an integrated sat-nav system, Volkswagen’s Park Assist Pro package and lane assist. 

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