Final combustion encore arrives as Volkswagen reveals Golf 8.5

Teased at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas at the beginning of this month in GTI guise, Volkswagen has taken the wraps off of the facelift Golf 8, now called the Golf 8.5.

End of an era

The final generation that will be sold with an internal combustion engine as the follow-up Mk 9 will be fully electric, the Golf 8.5 follows the same route as the preceding Mk 7.5 that originated from the Golf 7 after a mid-life refresh in 2016.

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Entering its 50^th year of production this year with total sales since 1974 of 37-million units, the Golf 8.5 carries over the conventional five-door hatchback and Variant estate bodystyles, with the former again privy to the plug-in hybrid GTE and the final non-electrified GTI.

Sharper looks

Said to address the criticism emanating from the Mk 8’s delayed unveiling in 2019 as a result of software issues, the Mk 8.5’s evolutionarily design draws visual hints from the new Passat by consisting of an illuminated badge, a new grille with an LED bar connecting the restyled headlights, a new lower air intake and slimmer graphics for the LED taillight clusters in a look seemingly derived from the Golf 7.5.

As for the lights themselves, the Passat and new Tiguan influence continues in the standard fitting of LEDs, or the new Matrix I.Q. diodes capable of providing illumination on main beam 500 m ahead.

Rounding the exterior off are new alloy wheel designs up to 19-inches and four colours out of a total of 11; Oyster Silver Metallic, Grenadilla Black Metallic, Anemone Blue Metallic and Crystal Ice Blue Metallic.

Almost new inside

Sporting the same dimensions as the Golf 8, but with a simplified trim level structure of five grades for the regular model; base, Life, Style and R-Line, the biggest change has been to the interior which received the severest backlash following the Mk 8’s reveal.

As indicated by the GTI teaser, plus comments by Volkswagen Passenger Car CEO Thomas Schäfer two years ago, the Golf 8.5 takes leave of the much-lamented touch-sensitive steering wheels buttons in favour of physical items, with the actual wheel also being new.

Along with illuminated touch sliders for the climate control system, the Mk 8.5 debuts Volkswagen’s new MIB4 software complete with not only an improved layout, but also integrated ChatGPT, better voice recognition and over-the-air updates.

Carried over from the Passat, the setup features on both infotainment systems; standard 10.4-inch and the optional 12.9-inch, both angled towards the driver as part of the new dashboard and flanked by a revised version of the 10.2-inch Digital Cockpit Pro digital instrument cluster.

Upgraded materials, a new, optional, Head-Up Display projected onto the windscreen and slimmer centre console rounds the interior off, together with more standard features and safety systems, the latter – depending on the trim level – comprising the new Park Pro Assist, a revised 360-degree camera system and the semi-autonomous Travel Assist.

In terms of practicality, no alternations have taken places, meaning a boot capacity of between 380-litres and 1 237-litres for the hatch, and between 611-litres and 1 642-litres for the Variant.

Petrol, hybrid, diesel or PHEV

Up front, the Golf 8.5 derives motivation from the same engine options as the Mk 8, albeit without the entry-level 1.0 TSI and with an uptake in grunt for the GTE and GTI.

As such, the conventional petrol range kicks-off with the 1.5 TSI Evo in two states of tune; 85 kW and 110 kW, and ends with the eTSI utilising the same engine, but with the addition of a 48-volt mild-hybrid system and with the same outputs.

Despite reports of the Mk 8.5 taking leave of the manual gearbox, the Mk 8’s six-speed continues, but only on the regular TSI as the eTSI’s sole option is a seven-speed DSG.

On the diesel side, the 2.0 TDI now conforms to Euro 7 emissions regulations and produces 85 kW when paired to the six-speed manual, or 110 kW when mated to the seven-speed DSG.

Completing the range, the eHybrid retires the 1.4 TSI for the 1.5 TSI Evo in addition to a receiving a larger 19.7-kWh battery pack.

Taken from the Passat, the setup directs 150 kW to the front wheels through a uniquely tuned six-speed DSG. The claimed all-electric range, therefore, increases from the Golf 8’s 80 km to 100 km.

More powerful GTI

Kicking the performance Golf 8.5 range off, the GTE also gets the same powerplant and battery pack as the eHybrid, but with a 20 kW uptake in grunt from 180 kW to 200 kW.

Similar to the eHybrid, the GTE’s claimed all-electric range is 100 km and a waiting time of 25 minutes from 10-80% required when using a DC charger up to 50 kW.

The biggest attraction until the arrival of the unseen Golf 8.5 R, of which nothing is known for now, the Mk 8.5 GTI becomes the most powerful non-special edition derivative ever made with an output of 195 kW and unchanged torque figure of 370 Nm.

An increase of 15 kW over the Mk 8, the Mk 8.5’s performance figures are unknown as no mentioning was made.

What is known though is that newfound poke will go the front wheels through a seven-speed DSG only as the six-speed manual officially bowed-out last year in the limited run US-only Golf GTI 380.

Not revealed at the official launch either, besides any information of the R, was the Golf GTD that made 147 kW from its 2.0 TDI mill.

South Africa awaits

Going on-sale in Europe within the coming months, the Golf 8.5 is set to have a comparatively short production of two years should a teaser sketch of the Mk 9 GTI, released last year by Volkswagen Head of Design Andreas Mindt confirming 2026 as the date of reveal, be accurate.

For South Africa, the standard Golf will continue to be off-limits, leaving the GTI and the R as the sole derivatives the local market will continue to get.

It means that the Golf 8.5 GTI will most likely only become a reality towards the latter stages of this year, with the R following in 2025.

An official announcement by Volkswagen South Africa is expected to be made at a later stage.

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