New VW Golf 8.5 lands with major tech, EV and infotainment upgrades

Volkswagen has revealed the new Golf, complete with over 60 miles of EV range in plug-in hybrid form and a new infotainment system built from scratch.

Although only a mid-life facelift for the eighth-generation Golf, the new 8.5 model carries a lot of weight on its shoulders. Arriving in the 50th year of the Golf, it is tasked with undoing mistakes made by the previous generation, particularly in terms of infotainment performance and interior ergonomics.

To that end, Volkswagen says the 2024 Golf is equipped with “a next-generation infotainment system with fast processor, intuitive operation and intelligent voice assistant.” We’ve already tried out the new voice assistant, which is called IDA (pronounced “Eye-da”) and taps into the intelligence of ChatGPT to help answer questions and act on requests given by the driver or passenger.

Although guilty of making some mistakes in our brief demo at the CES tech show, the Golf’s new voice assistant could yet be transformative, just as long as VW can effectively harness the powers of ChatGPT.

Also new are a set of 'IQ Light LED matrix' headlights with what VW describes as a “high-performance main beam” with a range of up to 500 metres. There are also revised rear lights and an illuminated Volkswagen logo on the front.

Inside, the Golf 8.5 has an all-new infotainment system and freestanding touchscreen available in two sizes. Called MIB4, the system promises to be ergonomically optimised, with key functions easier to find than in the previous Golf. The touch-sensitive sliders, positioned on a shelf below the screen and used to adjust cabin temperature and music volume, remain. But they are now illuminated – a baffling omission from the previous-generation system that plagued cars from several VW Group brands.

The all-new infotainment system runs on a standard 10.4in display or optional 12.9in screen, both with a 16:9 aspect ratio and designed to look as if they are a free-standing tablet mounted to the dashboard. To help with ergonomics, the infotainment home screen and menu structure have been redesigned. Drivers can assign shortcuts for their most-used functions to large, easy-to-tap areas of the home screen, while menu bars at the top and bottom of the screen remain permanently displayed. A head-up display is available as an optional extra.

Another improvement born out of customer feedback is the steering wheel, which has had its finickity touch-sensitive buttons replaced by conventional ones.

New driving tech features for the 2024 Golf include Park Assist Plus, a new 360-degree aerial view and Park Assist Pro, with the latter letting drivers manoeuvre the car in and out of parking space remotely, using a smartphone app. This feature is convenient when larger cars are blocked into a tight space, but could also come in handy with the more compact Golf, especially if someone has parked selfishly close to the driver’s door, or you have a particularly narrow garage.

Tech improvements continue with the drivetrain, where the new plug-in hybrid Golf GTE and eHybrid have DC quick charging of up to 50kW and a 19.7 kWh battery capacity, up from 10.6 kWh in the old model. AC power when connected to a home charger has also increased, from 3.6 kW to 11 kW. Volkswagen says the plug-in hybrids have an electric range of up to 100 km (62 miles) and a total range, using electricity and petrol, of around 1,000km (620 miles).

Both hybrids are equipped with a single electric motor and a 1.5-litre turbocharged TSI petrol engine. The Golf eHybrid produces 201 horsepower and the sportier Golf GTE is rated at 268 hp. A whole host of non-hybrid models are also available, with DSG automatic or manual gearboxes, petrol or diesel, and engine capacities of 1.5 and 2.0 litres. The latter is fitted to the new Golf GTI, which produces 261 horsepower – slightly less than the GTE plug-in hybrid, but still 20hp up on its predecessor.

Easy ways to tell the GTE from the GTI are how the former has blue details and the latter has red. Both have GT-specific bodywork and wheels, plus the sporty Golf’s trademark honeycomb front grille and chequered seat fabric. Both get the larger touchscreen display, 30-colour ambient lighting and three-zone climate control, while the GTI has optional interior carbon fibre details for the first time.

Volkswagen hasn’t yet revealed pricing or detailed performance figures for the new Golf. The company says sportier Clubsport and Golf R variants will be along in the second half of 2024, with the latter having all-wheel-drive. Further all-wheel-drive models will arrive in 2025.