MORE GOLF LESSONS (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_volkswagengolf_2020

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 73

Volkswagen reimagined what its Golf family hatchback should be with this eighth generation model, packaging it very differently from its predecessor. Under the skin, hybrid engineering was prevalent further up the range but for potential buyers, what will probably matter most is the more distinctive look and the classy minimalist digitalised cabin. Loyal Golf owners will find lots to like here. Here, we look at the pre-facelifted 2020-2023 version of this MK8 design.

Modelsword count: 14

5dr Family Hatchback / Estate (Life, Match, Style, R-Line, Alltrack, GTI, GTI Clubsport, R)

Historyword count: 606

An awful lot has happened to Volkswagen since the Golf was first launched back in 1974, replacing the classic Beetle. By 2020 one thing hadn't changed though. This enduring family hatchback was still the brand's most important model - and the one that most fundamentally defined it. So what of this 8th generation version, launched in early 2020? As a used family hatchback, might it be all the car you'd ever need? By then, there was of course plenty of Golf lineage. The promise of the MK1 'Typ 17'-series car in 1974, which then rather quickly visually entered middle age with the MK2 'Typ 19E'-series version of 1983 and the MK3 'Typ 1H' design of 1991. A cleaner, sharper-looking MK4 'Typ 1J'-series Golf model followed in 1997, which Volkswagen tried to make a little plusher with the MK5 'Typ 1K'-series model of 2006 and the barely changed MK6 'Typ5 K'-series design that very quickly followed it in 2008. Perhaps the biggest change in Golf history came with this current car's predecessor, the MK7 'Typ 5G'-series car that launched in 2012, the first car in the Volkswagen Group to adopt that conglomerate's all-new MGB Modular Matrix Transverse platform for its compact models, a chassis still used by the MK8 version. That seventh generation model was significantly updated in 2017 to see out the decade until the launch of the car we're going to look at here. These previous Golf designs encapsulated what family hatchback motoring used to be. What it was going to be in the future was surely closer to another car the brand launched in 2020, a model that back then some were seeing as a potential Golf replacement - the all-electric ID.3. So with this MK8 Golf, there had to be new and more compelling reasons why this car should retain its commanding position in the Volkswagen model range - should retain its existence at all. Merely another dose of the things that had marked out the evolution of the seven previous Golf generations - a quality feel and carefully progressive design - simply weren't going to cut it. All that being the case, it was initially a little disappointing then with this MK8 design to find so much carried over from before - there was much the same MQB platform and the fundamentals of most of the engines hadn't changed much either. Because of the ID.3, there was no all-electric replacement for the old eGolf and the GTE plug-in model's basic powertrain dated back to 2016. But if you're loyal to the Golf model line, as so many customers are, don't despair in considering this MK8 version in its original form. This car did try valiantly to re-invent itself. Most notably with its more fashionable front-end look. Which, as it turns out, was more than just mere window dressing. There was a completely new digitalised cabin, mild hybrid technology could now feature beneath the bonnet and there was the kind of media and safety tech that until a 2020, family hatch folk could only dream about. Best of all, in this form the Golf remained what a lot of people still wanted it to be: a family hatch with the quality of a premium brand model at a price close to that of the volume maker offering in this segment. As one former Volkswagen Group Chairman once pointed out, “the biggest mistake any Volkswagen Golf can make is to stop being a Golf”. This Mark 8 model didn't make that error. Here, we'll focus on the early 2020-2023 versions of this model, the cars produced before the mid-term facelift that arrived in early-2024.

What You Getword count: 414

The Golf is always been one of those cars that almost everyone recognises. That continued with this 8th generation version but you'd certainly know that it was a slightly more progressive interpretation of a classic theme - 'an indicator of the present', according to Head of Volkswagen Group Design Klaus Bischoff at launch in 2020. 'Its design', he said then, 'represents the evolution of millions of people feeling at home'. The main exterior visual talking point was the way the designers had changed the front end, with its lower nose and slimmer grille flanked by full-LED headlights. At the back, there was the same clean, sharp finishing that's always pleased Golf customers, but perhaps with more of a chiselled look, featuring wide LED tail lamp clusters and a more sculpted bumper arrangement disguising the fact that this 8th generation model had become 10mm narrower and sat 36mm lower than its predecessor. Behind the wheel, the quality on offer is satisfyingly Golf-like. The classy full-width strip of vents we first saw in the MK8 Passat embellish the mid-level of the fascia, below a smart trim-dependent decor strip. Ambient multi-coloured lighting was standard and the lower centre console became much wider with this MK8 design, delivering something of the feel of a larger, more expensive car. The big news with this eighth generation Golf was the cabin's so-called 'digital revolution', this MK8 Golf's 'Innovision' cabin concept seeing a 10-inch 'Discover Media Navigation' centre-dash touchscreen matched with a 'Digital Cockpit Pro' instrument binnacle display of the same size. Conventional switches were replaced by capacitive touch buttons and there was a clever new optional “Hello Volkswagen” intuitive voice control system. As for the rear seat, thanks to the extra 16mm of length between the wheels with this MK8 design, there's a fraction more legroom than there was with the old MK7 design, so a pair of six-foot adults can be accommodated reasonably here, providing front seat occupants don't slide their seats fully back. As for the boot, well your seller may well be keen to reference the fact that the 381-litre space provided here is 40-litres more than you get in a rival Ford Focus, but that's not saying much. Pushing forward the conventional 60:40 split-rear bench frees up 1,237-litres across a load area that'll be virtually flat if you have the boot floor in its upper position. If you do need lots of regular cargo versatility, you'll obviously be better off choosing the Golf Estate body style.

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