This is the new 2024 Volkswagen Golf!

January 24: Now it's official, here's the facelifted 2025 VW Golf!

The 2025 Volkswagen Golf has debuted in Europe ahead of its Australian launch around 12 months from now. Get all the details at the linked story below. 👇

January 19: Our first unofficial look at the updated Mk8.5 Volkswagen Golf is here.

Leaked on Instagram by Wilco Blok, the images show several key variants of the overhauled model range including the wagon, iconic GTI hot-hatch and the plug-in hybrid Golf GTE.

As expected, the exterior design is an evolution of what’s come before but subtle exterior tweaks do bring a sharper appearance for 2024.

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A full-width light bar features, as does an illuminated Volkswagen logo. New alloy designs and updated headlights and taillights are other telltale tweaks.

Volkswagen has been gearing up to reveal the Mk8.5 Golf for a while now. A camouflaged GTI was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas earlier this month, which confirmed a move back to physical buttons for the interior and the integration of ChatGPT.

Keep reading for more details on the updated Golf range and keep your eyes peeled for the official reveal. It can’t be far away now…

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December '23: The facelifted 2024 Volkswagen Golf small car has been teased ahead of its expected debut early next year.

Volkswagen passenger cars CEO Thomas Schäfer confirmed the updated Golf hatch and wagon will debut sometime in 2024 during a video highlighting the brand’s product launches of 2023 including the new Tiguan, Passat, and ID.7 electric sedan.

The teaser confirms the facelifted ‘Mk8.5’ Golf will receive an illuminated front Volkswagen badge, along with a revised light signature similar to the latest Passat and the brand’s ID range of electric vehicles.

Other design revisions are tipped to include new-look alloy wheels, 3D-effect rear tail-lights, and the removal of faux exhaust outlets for standard variants.

Inside, it is expected to adopt a larger 12.9-inch touchscreen running an updated infotainment system, illuminated climate and volume touch sliders for easier use at night, a revised centre console, suede-like recycled fabrics for the door cards, and an automated parking system that can retrace up to 50 metres of prior driving.

Under the skin, the existing MQB Evo architecture could be treated to similar revisions as the latest Tiguan, meaning stiffer mounting points and improved rigidity.

In Australia, Volkswagen previously announced it hoped to introduce the GTE plug-in hybrid model with the facelift – however it has now backtracked on these plans, confirming electrified versions of the Golf and Tiguan won’t come here to instead focus on its ID-branded electric vehicle line-up.

"We were very interested in PHEV, particularly in Golf and Tiguan, but the reality is the market shifts very quickly and no doubt the entire industry has observed the rapid increase in electric vehicle sales," said Volkswagen Australia spokesperson Daniel DeGasperi.

The facelifted Golf, due in Australia in 2025, will come here as a hatch only after Volkswagen’s local arm confirmed it’ll be axing the wagon body style – including the Golf R wagon.

Volkswagen has confirmed the Mk8.5 Golf will become the last combustion-engined model, with the Mk9 model due around 2028 to all-electric, based on the Group’s new unified Scalable Systems Platform (SSP).

“It's clear that we won't give up iconic names such as the Golf, Tiguan and GTI, instead we will transfer them into the electric era,” said Thomas Schäfer in April.

“Especially with the Golf, the future model has to have the correct DNA. Simply naming another vehicle that way won't happen. We don't make the mistake.

“That's why we're only launching the electric Golf when it really has Golf genes. That will include a flatter roof compared with the ID.3.”

Below: The current Mk8 Volkswagen Golf hatch

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