VW Golf goes big on tech
While not the volume seller it once was, the VW Golf is still a big part of what the brand stands for. So what will the new one stand for?
What will be the hook that will keep the Volkswagen Golf in the game? In a word: Connectivity.
This is why the next-generation car, just revealed ahead of a stepped global launch that aims to deliver it locally next September, is packed with every latest technical musthave. Save, that is, a fully electric edition. There are hybrids, including plug-ins, yet the purely electric e-Golf that is quietly gathering New Zealand volume is rendered defunct by the ID line of pure electrics – a strategy with a speedbump, insofar that the like-sized pathfinder ID.3 mightn’t arrive until 2021.
Meantime, the new Golf will trade more now from being treated to advanced connectivity – including ability for car-to-car ‘‘chat’’ with predictive hazard warning – and semi-autonomous features that will represent as class-first and are intended to ultimately proliferate all VW cars, but will have particular relevance with the pure electrics. The factory suggests they’ll only be available with those services.
Because the Mark 8 Golf has only just been revealed to the world, Volkswagen New Zealand has its hands full understanding what functionality will be released beyond Europe and whether this country can cope.
‘‘There’s still a little bit of guess work I suppose,’’ says managing director Greg Leet. ‘‘We’ve got a bit of work to do. The connected features are absolutely amazing and will bring it well into the future and that’s really exciting.’’
Availability aside, the need to keep the Golf’s cost span contained also figures in his thinking. Opening the door to all the extra enhancements risks pushing it into a premium spot that he, and customers, might not be comfortable with.
‘‘We haven’t had any indication of pricing. Golf is an iconic model but it has always been a mainstay, goodvalue car. The Golf moving forward is becoming a slightly more premium car [but] we cannot, as a tradeoff, ask for massive premiums for new technologies as some of our