This is the all-new Volkswagen Golf 8

Say hello to the brand new Golf 8. Launched to an international audience in Wolfsburg, Germany, earlier this evening, the eighth generation of what is perhaps one of the world's most-loved hatchbacks is said to be the most dynamic and technologically advanced Golf ever offered to global customers.

Replacing the long-lived seventh-generation model, the Golf 8 is a striking piece of design with a face - especially in the case of the range-topping GTE - that is unashamedly aggressive. Especially with that new LED light bar that spans the space between the headlamps and the grille badge - there will be no mistaking a Golf 8 on the streets after dark. 

On the inside practically all displays and controls are digital: the new instruments and online infotainment systems meld together into a display landscape featuring touch buttons and touch sliders. A windshield head-up display is optionally available to further enhance the range of information available.

The new Golf 8 will be available in no less than five hybrid drive versions. Its debut also celebrates 48-volt technology: a belt starter generator, 48-volt lithium-ion battery and the latest generation of efficient TSI engines form a new mild hybrid drive in the eTSI. Volkswagen claims this offers 'tangible benefits': consumption has apparently been cut by up to 10% (on the basis of WLTP) and the vehicle is extremely agile and comfortable when moving off from a standstill. Volkswagen will offer the Golf in three eTSI output stages: 81kW, 96kW and 110kW.

The eighth-generation Golf will also be available in two plug-in hybrid drive variants. A new efficiency version generates 150kW while the very sporty GTE delivers 180kW. Both Golf versions with plug-in hybrid drives will launch with a new 13kWh lithium-ion battery on board that enables larger electrically-powered ranges of approximately 60 kilometres, and temporarily turns the Golf into a zero-emissions vehicle.

The drive options also include two four-cylinder petrol TSI engines with 66kW and 81kW as well as two four-cylinder diesel TDI engines with 85kW and 110kW. The new TSI variants have particularly low consumption values and emissions thanks to elements including the innovative TSI Miller combustion process. There has also been a new innovation spliced into the TDI powertrains: Volkswagen uses twin-dosing technology (two SCR catalytic converters) to significantly reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80%; in addition, TDI consumption is lowered by up to 17% compared with its predecessor.

The Golf 8 will go on sale in Germany from December 2019 and will filter through to other global markets from the beginning of 2020.