This is the new Volkswagen Golf Mk8

Updated October 14, 2019

Even with one of Volkswagen’s own family members, the electrified ID.3, trying to cut its lunch, the eighth generation of the venerable Golf is big news. It’s why we tolerate the drip-feed reveal process.

The end is near, with Volkswagen locking in October 24 in Wolfsburg, Germany, as the date we finally get to see the finished product.

The decision to delay the reveal and sidestep the Frankfurt motor show in September afforded the new ID.3 all the limelight.

Volkswagen has released official renders and sketches of how the all-important hatch will look, alluding to the new design inside and out.

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However, if you want to see the real deal, then scroll below as Wheels previously showcased undisguised pictures found on Instagram.

It’s an essential model for Volkswagen to get right, especially given its history and the fact that some 35 million units have been sold globally since its 1974 release.

According to Volkswagen, the Mk8 Golf will feature more “digitalisation and connectivity than ever before” and the five-door hatch will be “packed with innovations” with a “highly expressive design”.

It’s clearly an evolutionary, not revolutionary design, with cues taken and reshaped from the Mk7 Golf – and that isn’t a bad thing.

Where the most change will be seen is inside the cabin, which, if the drawings are to be believed, could do away with buttons for a screen-based layout.

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Digitisation and big touchscreens (think Touareg) now look set to be the norm. Volkswagen says it will be a “trendsetter”, with the Golf said to gain “assisted driving features and online-based functions and services”.

The Golf is expected to find its way to certain markets by December 2019, while we’ll have to wait a little longer for it to lob down under in the second half of 2020.

Do you like the design of the upcoming Mk8 Volkswagen Golf? Tell us what you think.

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Original story posted August 8, 2019

Here are the first images of the new Volkswagen Golf Mark 8 that briefly popped up on Instagram before being pulled down.

The images were taken on the streets around Getafe in Madrid, Spain, and posted by users @mr_utanda and @getafenses who spotted the familiar yellow metallic vehicle that was apparently on set filming for an ad.

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Unlike previous spy pics, this appears to be the final production trim vehicle, and while the images aren’t very clear, it’s not hard to distinguish the most visible change around the face and rear. But really, it isn’t far removed from the seventh-generation Golf currently on sale here.

Up front, the headlights look sharper and the grille gets a few tweaks. Thankfully, VW hasn’t caved in to the big-grille craze, keeping the aesthetic familiar and sleek, taking cues from the upcoming ID.3. At the back, the tail-lights see the biggest change, with a new lower diffuser and rectangular exhaust tips underneath.

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The German maker was planning to unveil its new hatchback at the Frankfurt motor show next month but delays in production will likely see it revealed to the public in October.

As reported by Wheels earlier this year, local fans can look forward to the Golf arriving sometime in the third-quarter of 2020, and both the hot GTI and even hotter R are set to arrive before that year’s end.

“We’re still on track for early Q3 2020 at which time we’ll launch GTI together with the broader range with R to follow later in the year,” said a spokesperson at the time.

It is tipped to come loaded with all the company’s best tech, including new, larger digital screens and displays and an internet-connected software system for over-the-air updates.