The new Volkswagen Golf Mk8 – everything you need to know

The big news here is not the design: the panels may be new and the detailing different but the strong-shouldered, fat C-pillar outline mean it could only be a Golf. It’s as classy and understated as people like their Golfs to be (you can read our history of the VW Golf here). It’s the same size as before but more aerodynamic (Cd: 0.275).

The big news is under the bonnet – cleaner diesels and lots of hybrids – and in the cabin which has gone touchscreen-based and digitally-connected in a major way. It’s also in the driving, or rather in the relaxing behind the wheel. As long as you keep one finger on said wheel (and the car will tell you if you don’t) the new Golf with the Travel Assist feature is able to steer, accelerate and brake itself at speeds up to 130mph.

Just as well then that the car is wirelessly connected to its environment so it can predictively warn of hazards – such as road works, accidents or tailbacks – on the road ahead. “Car2X” means your Golf will communicate with infrastructure and other cars about hazards within a radius of half a mile.

We have heard of these things before but not in this class of car, even if they will cost extra. Incidentally Car2X is standard on all Golf 8s. As are new LED lights, an all-digital dashboard called Innovision, keyless start, infotainment and services that are permanently online, and assorted safety assists for lane-keeping and pedestrian-spotting.

There is masses more available across what is, inevitably, a huge range, and that’s only the models we know about so far. GTI, GTD and Golf R models, among others, are yet to have their covers taken off. VW claims in fact that Golf 8 comes with the widest range of options available in the hatchback class.

If you want it – head-up display to mood lighting, Cyclist Monitoring to smartphone key – VW has got it (or in the case of smartphone-as-car-key, will have it a bit later). And if you didn’t tick the box when ordering don’t despair: for the first time features like adaptive cruise control, main-beam assist, WiFi hotspots and voice control can be enabled retrospectively.

Some things don’t change: the sub-£20k entry model is likely to be a Golf S with 89bhp and a six-speed manual gearbox – a centre front armrest is extra. Daily rental fleets queue here. The engine’s a new one for the Golf though, a 1.0-litre three-cylinder, turbocharged, of course. It’s also available in 108bhp form.

The trim ”walk”, that British private buyer’s favourite the Golf SE, is next, followed by the SEL with luxury emphasis and R-Line with sporty add-ons. It’s a hierarchy is just as it was for Golf 7, at least in the UK (trim levels are different in the rest of Europe). With six months until it reaches UK showrooms, the exact specs and prices are still being finalised.

We do know what you can have under the bonnet. The choice is TSI petrol, TDI diesel or one of no fewer than four different hybrid options in the UK. There’s a mild hybrid (eTSI) which adds a 48-volt starter generator to assorted petrol motors to eke out the miles per gallon. Then there’s the plug-in e-Hybrid. This, to begin with at least, forms the top new Golf in the shape of the GTE eHybrid, based on the outgoing GTE.

As before it’s only a 1.4-litre petrol engine but paired with a 13kWh lithium-ion battery and electric motor it can now call on 242bhp, 40bhp up on the old model. Of more interest to buyers will be its ability for electric-only running, sufficient says VW for most people’s daily urban journeys. And a fully electric Golf? Not yet.

VW has not shied away from diesels with Golf 8, but there’s only one 2.0-litre TDI available. It sounds familiar but is in fact new. Claims to fame are that it cuts fuel consumption by up to 17 per cent over its predecessor and – more relevant for many – takes up to 80 cent of harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions out of the exhaust by using an AdBlue injection system. The diesel comes in either 113 or 148bhp forms with either manual ‘box or DSG.

For many Golf lovers the biggest shock of the Mk8 will come on the inside. There’s been a technology revolution, with VW claiming the Golf is the first model within its price bracket with a completely digital cockpit as standard. It’s based around instruments in a 10.25-inch display behind the steering wheel and a 10-inch infotainment touchscreen.

They are linked together with permanent online connectivity (via a SIM) in a new digital architecture which not only provides that Car2X hazard early warning system but also accesses online-based functions and services provided by the Volkswagen We Connect system. Touch buttons and touch sliders provide the intuitive ergonomics that Golf owners are used to, says VW, and there’s a new natural voice recognition system too. And when all else fails, you can always Ask Alexa. She’s built in too.

Thirty five million Golfs after the first in 1974, the Golf 8 stays Golf-like in all the right places while clearly evolving into a car of its times. There’s no word yet of how it goes, stops or handles, or even how well it’s going to be put together. But then it’s a Golf. For many that still says it all.