After months of anticipation, leaked photos and preliminary information, Volkswagen has finally revealed the seventh generation of the Golf. It uses the MQB platform that debuted on the Audi A3 and then on the Seat Leon. The vehicle is 4,255mm long (56mm longer than before) and has a 2,637mm wheelbase (59mm more). The German carmaker said that the front wheels are located 43mm further than before to make more room inside the cabin, while the width has increased by an extra 13mm, standing at 1,799mm. It is important to mention that the Golf 7 is 28mm lower, at 1,452mm, while the drag coefficient has been reduced by ten percent at 0.27 Cd.
As a consequence of the increased dimensions, there’s additional 15mm rear legroom, 31mm front shoulder room and 22mm elbow room. The cargo space has also gone up by 30 liters to 380 liters, while with the front passenger seat fully folded the loadspace grows to an impressive 2,412mm. Even though the car is larger, it manages to be up to 100 kg lighter than the model it replaces so fuel consumption should be better.
There are many engines which will be offered upon start, such as the 1.2-liter TSI with 84 hp that returns 48 mpg or 4.9 liters / 100 km and has CO2 emissions of 113 g/km. Customers can also get the new Golf with a 1.4-liter TSI with 138 HP engine that benefits from the Active Cylinder Technology that can shut down two of the cylinders, allowing the vehicle to return 49 mpg (4.8 liters / 100 km).
As far as diesels are concerned, there’s the 1.6-liter with 104 HP that achieves 61.9 mpg or 3.8 liters / 100 km, along with a beefier 2.0-liter with 148 HP that manages to return 57.4 mpg (4.1 liters / 100 km). The most frugal version of the Golf will be the BlueMotion model that promises CO2 emissions of just 85 g/km and a fuel consumption of 73.5 mpg (3.2 liters / 100 km).
