New VW Golf Mk7 specs, pictures and details

The new VW Golf Mk7 has been officially revealed to the public at an event in Berlin.

The all-new Golf will be one of next year’s most important cars. It'll go head-to-head with the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra, and VW promises it will revolutionise what people expect from a family hatch, with ultra-efficient engines and huge amounts of technology.

There’s nothing revolutionary about the new Golf’s looks, but it’s certainly smarter than the outgoing model. The roof is 28mm lower, helping to create 
a sportier profile, which is also set off by a bold feature line running the length of the doors.

The lights are more angular front and rear, while the larger bumpers lend the new Golf a touch of the outgoing GTI model’s sporty style.

Lightweight design

Underneath the new body is the VW Group’s MQB platform. This combines with a high-strength steel body and lighter engines to reduce the kerbweight by a total of 100kg.

That’s despite the new car being 56mm longer and 13mm wider than the MkVI it replaces.

Those weight savings help it become the cleanest Golf yet; in ultra-efficient 1.6 TDI BlueMotion spec it manages 88.3mpg and emits just 85g/km of CO2 – better even than the Polo BlueMotion.

The petrol engines are eco-friendly, too, as a 1.4-litre TSI with cylinder deactivation joins the line-up. This can run on two cylinders, helping it to achieve 58.8mpg and 112g/km of CO2.

Upgraded interior

Interior quality has always been a Golf trademark and VW intends to move the game on, with a newly designed layout that gets a driver-angled centre console.

This console now incorporates touchscreen infotainment as standard, with the unit on high-spec models recognising when the driver is about to touch it.

We’re hoping the new Golf will be great to drive, too, thanks to the XDS electronic differential, previously found only on the GTI.

Safety is just as important, and the Golf gets autobraking, fatigue detection, lane assist and a system that pre-tensions the seatbelts and closes the windows before an accident.

VW claims that the new Golf won’t cost any more than the existing car, too. That means a price of around £17,000 when it goes on sale early next year.