2020 Volkswagen Golf Mk 8 is now OFFICIALLY revealed

The new 2020 Volkswagen Golf Mk8 has been officially revealed this evening, featuring evolved styling, new interior and hybrid powertrains.

We already know what this new VW Golf Mk8 looks like thanks to a leak of official images this morning, so nothing’s a huge surprise.

From the evolutionary styling designed to keep existing Golf lovers on board to the more trendy and connected techy interior to keep younger buyers happy, VW has decided not to be too brave with the new Golf offering, saving their brave pills for the electric ID range instead.

There are design changes of course, with a slim grille and narrow headlights flowing in to the wings, and new bumper designs differing by trim to denote its place in the range.

The tail lights are new too and there’s the new VW logo in evidence, but the Golf’s trademark chunky C-pillar is still in evidence.

But, as we saw this morning, it’s the interior where VW has been bolder, with a more minimalist approach than the conventional Mk7, dominated by a pair of screens with the driver faced by a 10.25″ virtual cockpit dashboard – which is fitted to all trim levels – and a similar-sized infotainment screen sitting alongside.

All the screens means there are almost no buttons at all – which some may call progress – with just about everything on the dash, except the hazard lights, forsaking a physical switch.

Under the skin VW has gone big on hybrid tech with a 48v system giving a boost to the 1.5 litre petrol (in 128bhp and 148bhp guises) and to the 109bhp 1.0 litre three-pot, although the 89bhp 1.0 litre TSI makes do without.

For now, the swiftest new Golf will be the plug-in GTE with a 148bhp 1.4 litre petrol mated to a more powerful motor than before to deliver 242bhp, pretty much high-end GTI power from the Mk7. VW claim a 43-mile EV range for the new GTE thanks to a new 13kWh battery.

Lots of tech and connectivity arrive with the new Golf, with a new Adaptive Cruise allowing semi-autonomous driving up to 130mph, and Car2X allowing communication with other connected cars to track hazards and gather other useful data.

Sale of the 2020 VW Golf will start in the UK in February 2020, with first customer cars arriving in April.