New look, next-gen VW Golf in 2017: report

A GERMAN motoring publication has claimed it not only knows what the next-generation Volkswagen Golf Mk VIII will look like but that it will arrive in 2017, four years after the current Mk VII model landed in Australia.

According to the report in Auto Motor Und Sport , the Golf VIII will be based on the same MQB platform as the current model, but the body will have a broader and flatter look with distinctive headlights and tail-lights.

The magazine also said the new Golf will come with many of the driver assistance systems which will feature in the upcoming Passat, such as Park Assist, Area View and the head-up display.

New engines are also mooted for the next-gen Golf, according to the report, with cylinder deactivation technology and the chance of a three-cylinder diesel variant.

Volkswagen Australia general manager of communications Karl Gehling said he had not seen the story and was unable to comment.

It is possible the next-generation Golf will have a flatter and wider look if recent design concepts are anything to go by.

Last year Volkswagen revealed its GTI Design Vision concept which has a sleeker and wider stance, while retaining the Golf family resemblance.

Following this was the similar-looking GTI Roadster concept, which was created for the Grand Turismo 6 game and then built as a full-scale real-life version this year.

Both concepts came from the minds of Volkswagen’s designers and could point to the look of the next-generation Golf.

Whether the German publication has inside information or is just making a safe bet of the launch date is uncertain, but what is known is that a new Golf being launched in 2017 is entirely possible.

The current seventh-generation Golf launched in Europe in 2012 and Australia in 2013 only five years after the 2008 arrival of the Golf VI.