2017 VW Golf to be unveiled in November
Volkswagen will unveil a facelifted version of its seventh-generation Golf next month ahead 2017 spring launch
Has a phrase ever been as apt as ‘there’s life in the old dog yet’ when applied to the VW Golf? It’s been a mainstay on the automotive scene since it was launched in 1974, and is now in its seventh incarnation.
The family-sized hatchback replaced the Beetle which had been developed to be the ‘people’s car’ from the ‘People’s Automobile’ (German translation of Volkswagen). The rear-wheel drive format of the Beetle was replaced by front-wheel drive and the engine was moved from the back to the front, and the first-generation Golf was born.
VW has now announced that the latest Golf will get a makeover in November. It’s a mid-life nip and tuck for the seventh-generation of the firm’s best seller. Only Dr Who has been regenerated more times than the Golf.
The Golf refresh follows the pattern of other cars built on the VW Group MQB platform, with a mid-life facelift around this time. In the summer, the Audi A3 was updated, a new Skoda Octavia and Seat Leon has been unveiled.
It comes in the same year that the Golf GTi celebrated its 40th birthday, however, details of the upcoming refresh are scant at the moment, other than to say the updated Golf it likely to hit the road in the first quarter of 2017 and will remain a three and five-door hatchback and five-door estate.
Since its birth, the Golf has found a home with 32.5 million buyers, meaning over its lifespan, a Golf has been bought every 40 seconds somewhere across the globe. Four countries have manufactured the Golf including Brazil, China, Germany and Mexico and the car has been made with five powertrains; diesel, petrol, hybrid, electric and gas.
We’ve taken a look at the history of the Golf with our ‘The Making of a Legend – VW Golf’. Click here to find our more.
