Volkswagen Golf range shrunk
BY RON HAMMERTON | 25th Oct 2018
VOLKSWAGEN Group Australia’s revamped Golf range has been trimmed from 19 variants to 12 for the 2019 model year, with diesel variants and the entry-level 110TSI hatch and wagon disappearing from the refreshed range that goes into showrooms this week.
As expected, the new point of entry for the all-petrol range is the 110TSI Trendline manual hatch at $24,990 plus on-road costs. This variant – the sole remaining manual Golf available in Australia – is $260 cheaper than the superseded Trendline manual hatch, but raises the point of entry to the Golf range by $1000.
However, the Trendline’s value has been improved with the addition of front and rear parking sensors and auto headlights and wipers.
Volkswagen blames production restraints caused by Europe’s switch to the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) – rather than dieselgate – for the axing of the three diesel variants in the Highline hatch and sedan, and Alltrack Premium.
Replacing the old New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) testing regime, WLTP has thrown European car manufacturers into a spin with its new fuel consumption, and carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions on more rigorous, real-world driving data.
As previously reported, the big news of the Golf revamp is the popular GTI which gains more power and torque from its 2.0-litre turbo engine – up from 169kW and 350Nm to 180kW and 370Nm – along with an upgraded wet-clutch seven-speed dual-clutch transmission in place of the old six-speed auto, plus a front differential lock, and upgraded front and rear brakes borrowed from the flagship Golf R.
The manual GTI that sold for $41,990 has been dropped, meaning the automatic – now $45,490 – is the most affordable GTI.
And as we have reported, the GTI range will be extended in the first half of next year when a new variant, the GTI TCR, arrives in Australia at a price to be announced.
The manual version of the Golf R hatch has also been axed, meaning that R pricing starts from $56,490 for the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic hatch and $58,490 for the auto wagon – up $500 in each case.
The Golf R Special Edition tops the range at $61,990. This variant will enter the market with a bang in November when a shipload of 400 units lands to sate demand.
The Golf is by far the best-selling VW model in Australia, racking up 15,066 sales in the year to date – double the sales tally of the next best, the Tiguan (7222).
Golf sales are up almost 15 per cent this year, making it the fourth best-selling small car in the land after the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Hyundai i30.
2018 Volkswagen Golf pricing*
2018 Volkswagen Golf pricing*
| Trendline 110TSI | $24,990 |
| Trendline 110TSI (a) | $27,490 |
| Trendline 110TSI Wagon (a) | $28,990 |
| 110TSI Comfortline (a) | $29,750 |
| 110TSI Comfortline Wagon (a) | $31,250 |
| 110TSI Highline (a) | $35,990 |
| 110TSI Highline Wagon (a) | $37,490 |
| Alltrack 132TSI (a) | $35,250 |
| Alltrack 132TSI Premium (a) | $39,490 |
| GTI (a) | $45,490 |
| R (a) | $56,490 |
| R Wagon (a) | $58,490 |
| R Special Edition (a) | $61,990 |
*Excludes on-road costs
