The Stunning New Volkswagen Golf Could Spark a Hot Hatchback Revival
This eight-generation VW Golf boasts sleek lines and a futuristic “digital cockpit.”
It’s no secret that Americans aren’t the biggest fans of small cars—the top six best-selling models in 2018 were pickups and SUVs. But the new Volkswagen Golf—with its smooth lines and futuristic features—might just spark a revival of the hot hatchback.
At least that’s what Gear Patrol believes. And we’re inclined agree based on these renderings of the eight-generation Golf, which is set to be revealed on October 24 at the VW headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Images depict a subtly retooled shell in comparison to the seventh-gen predecessor. While it maintains that instantly recognizable Golf silhouette, the hood appears to be sloped and elongated, making the entire front end ever-so-slightly reminiscent of luxurious British sports cars from Aston Martin or Jaguar.
Exterior air channels are deeper with rounded edges, an LED bar connects the front wheel wells, and the rims boast a seriously wild arrangement of angled alloy spokes.
But the Golf’s “digital cockpit” is where VW is really hanging its hat. At the center of the interior is a button-less touchscreen that sits atop the dash’s integrated air vents, The provided rendering also doesn’t show a steering wheel, but the production version will certainly have one.
A leaked image published by Motor 1 offers a better look at what is supposedly the new Golf’s interior.
Per Motor 1,
The fully digital instrument cluster is joined by the large infotainment system to create the illusion of a giant screen, with the display on the center console angled towards the driver. To the driver’s left side, a panel that blends with the instrument cluster holds the controls for the defroster and some other functions we can’t make out because of the image’s low resolution.
The lower center console appears to be relatively simple without anything noteworthy. The gear lever for the six-speed manual gearbox takes up a significant amount of space, as do the two cup holders between the seats. Other items we notice include the silver start/stop button and two black controls, with one of them likely being the electronic parking brake since we’re not seeing a conventional brake lever.
The side air vents have a flat and slim design, while the ones in the middle are slightly thicker. Between the central air vents and the infotainment system appears to be a stack of touch-sensitive buttons, but we only know this because of an older spy shot revealing what we think are the controls for the climate system.
Stay tuned for an official look at the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf next week.
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