It may be more than a month away but we are already starting to hear news about models that will break cover at the Geneva Motor Show. According to German title Auto Bild VW are busy putting the final touches on the facelifted Golf 7. It is only a few years old but with ever shortening life cycles it is about time for a mid-life refresh of the C-segment hatch.
Other brands are trying to halt the sales success by beating VW to the punch when it comes to updates and facelifts. Mercedes-Benz’s facelifted A-Class will soon debut locally.
New face and interior
With the Golf experiencing such strong sales it would be silly for VW to mess with the winning formula too much. International reports suggest that the frontal aspect will be tweaked ever so slightly and that LED headlamps will be added as standard equipment across the range.
More attention will be paid to the interior. VW recently debuted the e-touch Golf at the CES show in Las Vegas. This model boasted a large-format, all touch and gesture control infotainment screen with digital instrumentation, similar to that of an Audi TT.
The interface in the updated Golf 7 may not be as large as the e-Touch screen but it will probably feature some of the functionality of this new system.
Tar burner
Best news for VW performance fundis is that the much-hyped Golf R420 is set to finally make its production debut. The all-wheel drive turbocharged monster is said to deliver well over 300 kW, firmly trouncing the 258 kW of the recently launched Ford Focus RS, which we drove a few days ago.
This new model is set to light up the hot hatch segment with a claimed 0-100 km/h sprint time of close to 4 seconds and a top speed of about 280 km/h.
