The Volkswagen Golf is a phenomenon, regardless of its particular generation. Positioned in the compact class, this style icon defies all automotive and social class distinctions. No other car in this price segment has even come close to reaching as large a cross-section of people. The Volkswagen Golf is the only one that always fits right, and the new one is even better fitting.
It was perfected in every detail. It is also the quest for perfection that has elevated the styling of the Volkswagen Golf to a new level. The team headed up by the Group's chief designer, the Italian Walter de Silva, has succeeded in giving the Volkswagen Golf a presence, a sharpness, a power that generates even more fun. Fun to look at and fun to drive. An intelligent car. Data such as an average fuel consumption of 4.5 liters per 100 kilometers for a 110 PS TDI put fuel prices in their place. Upon request, the VW Golf can park itself nearly automatically in the city thanks to "Park Assist", it can maintain an ideal gap on the freeway by distance control (ACC), and at the push of a button it can transform itself from a cruiser to a sports car when the new "DCC Adaptive Chassis Control" system is on board.
Body
The design targets for Volkswagen Design could not have been set any higher: "Our challenge is to create the iconic cars of the future." This memorable sentence was spoken by Italian Walter de Silva as he assumed overall design leadership at Volkswagen AG in February 2007. It indicated just how conscious the team around de Silva was of its responsibility to take world successes like the Golf forward into the future.
DESIGN - REALIGNED AND SHARPENED
In 2008 came the Golf, one of the first cars to receive its final touches under the new leadership of de Silva. The team retooled one of the most popular automotive designs in the world for contemporary times. The powerfully and clearly designed Golf completes the circle begun by the especially influential Golf generations I (1974 to 1983) and IV (1997 to 2003). The unique character of the overall design and orientation of the headlamps, taillights and side profile are also a reflection of the realignment of the overall design of all Volkswagen models.
The VW Golf is part of a strategy that will sharpen the brand's design in all classes. That is because all of the most successful European car brand's design criteria were completely redefined under the orchestration of Walter de Silva.
In the process, Walter de Silva, Flavio Manzoni (Group director for creative design) and Klaus Bischoff, (design chief for the Volkswagen brand), have not by any means jettisoned the powerful design details of days past. On the contrary: "We have assembled a selection of core elements, which can be described as 'historical DNA'. Successful new Volkswagen designs - such as the one now realized on the Volkswagen Golf - will take on this DNA to create both a familiar impression and yet new feeling in the eye of the beholder", says Walter de Silva.
Anyone looking at the new Golf quickly recognizes what this signifies. The sixth generation does not exhibit any radical break from previous models; instead it clearly remains "the Golf" from any perspective. An original. Unique. Stable, timeless and class-free, reliable and with universal appeal. "Volkswagen's formal design language as realized on the Golf", says Klaus Bischoff, "creates a new feeling in product design. It is easy to understand, yet very difficult to recreate." So far, the logic of this design has not been mimicked by any VW Golf class competitor, nor have they matched the car's continual advanced development or success over more than three decades.
The layout of Volkswagen Golf styling follows the Volkswagen DNA rearranged by de Silva, Manzoni and Bischoff. A key aspect here is an extremely high level of value; this image is reflected par excellence in the new Golf: "We have cast the Golf's core components in a precise, new mold", explains Walter de Silva. And he emphasizes this: "The Golf is the global icon of car making. So the architecture and styling of new model must also be absolutely clear and unique." Truly an icon of the future. At the same time, the sixth Golf has a sportier and more distinctive appearance than any previous generation of the model series. De Silva: "It is more accentuated, more three-dimensional than its predecessor; with precisely defined lines and edges, and with finely proportioned flared surfaces and recesses." And Klaus Bischoff, Chief Designer for the Volkswagen brand, adds: "Every detail is uncompromisingly aimed at improving value."
Especially in a direct comparison of generations V and VI, it becomes clear just how much the new Volkswagen Golf has changed. The team headed up by de Silva, Manzoni and Bischoff crystallized out the Golf's essential DNA and sent it on a trip into the future. Style details include the clarity of the front end of the first generation and the C-pillar perfected in the fourth generation.
The roof section now rests - similar to the new Scirocco - on a prominently contoured shoulder section. Responsible for this is a dominant curved line that - like a muscle trained down to the last fiber - extends from the headlights back to the taillights. This side profile line - which Volkswagen Design calls the "character line" - also gives the Golf a fuller, lower stance on the road from a lateral perspective.
All body surfaces are more relaxed, more athletic. As mentioned, in front the new car adopts the horizontally aligned radiator grille of the first Golf generation; the grille itself is in high-gloss black. The lines of the bumper match those of the radiator grille. Beneath this is a section with another air scoop. Also presented over a black background are the chrome light housings of the dynamically styled headlamps.
The rear too is marked by a predominance of horizontal lines. The taillights - now very wide - are marked among other things by an unmistakably unique night design. Stylistically, the crystal-clear line of turn signal and backup lamps bears a resemblance to the taillights of the Touareg. Overall, the new Golf - in the interplay of all of its design characteristics - gives the appearance of a significantly wider, low-profile and higher end car.
