In A Hurry: Volkswagen To Launch Next-Gen Golf By 2012

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: January 22nd, 2011

in a hurry volkswagen to launch next gen golf by 2012

Didn’t the Golf MK6 just come out? Well, it appeared in late 2009, and some alleged it wasn’t a full generation, facelift would have been the better term. Maybe that’s why Volkswagen is in a rush to introduce the next generation Golf, the Mk7 “by end of 2012,” reports Automobilwoche [sub].

The Mk7 will be the first Volkswagen to be built with the new “MQB” erector kit. “MQB” stands for “Modularer Querbaukasten” (“Modular Transverse Matrix”). The MQB allows the Volkswagen Group companies to design a wide variety of transverse, front-engined, front-wheel drive models. Some 3 million vehicles group-wide are to be built using the MQB kit:

Volkswagen expects savings in the double-digit percentage range from using the kit technology.

#BertelSchmitt #Germany #GolfMk7 #MQB #Volkswagen

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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10 of 36 comments

Tyler Armstrong on Jan 23, 2011

Jesus, I'm going to quit questioning the prospects of owning a hatchback over a sedan, you would've thought I shoved the Holy Mother herself into a sedan. Rule 1: Don't question hatchback drivers on their purchasing decision.

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- Cackalacka on Jan 24, 2011
  
  Rule #2: don't feign astonishment when you discover that the rest of humanity doesn't ascribe the same priority of form over function. The aesthetics of hatches or plaid seats are debatable. That a hatch returns significantly greater economics and practical functionality over an identically-equipped sedan/coupe is not. The hatchback is just another in a long-list of counterexamples disproving the necessity of owning mobile high-rise apartments to move passengers and cargo.
  
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TheEuropean on Jan 23, 2011

Just my 2 cents...that white "Golf" prototype is not the next MK7 Golf but rather a 2011 Beetle...

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Tedward on Jan 24, 2011

Personally I think the newest Polo should be the next US Golf, and the Scirocco should be used as a GTI/coupe premium option. I think that would probably be more in line with VW's strategy of reducing base prices on intended volume models, it'd give them a much nicer halo hatch at the same time, as well as a coupe-ish body to sell with non turbo engines.

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- Joeaverage on Jan 24, 2011
  
  Tedward - GREAT idea. At least bring the Polo here and call it the Polo. Not the Fox please...
  
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- Tedward on Jan 25, 2011
  
  joeaverage thanks, I know my VW fan-buddies would consider it sacrilege, but ze Golf is too expensive and the IRS means it can't compete with the Fit on usable interior volume. Of course if this happens that'd leave the Mazda3 and new Focus as kings of the US hatch hill but...I doubt VW selling the Golf and the Polo simultaneously is going to happen so I'd prefer the Polo.
  
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- Cackalacka on Jan 25, 2011
  
  Meh, I'll admit to cross-shopping the GTI and the Fit. The Fits interior? Genius. The Fits fit-n-finish? Absolute crap, which is an understatement. Doubling down on our experience, we had an opportunity to peer into a used '09. What looked like crap in the new models morphed into something even worse. With $25 spent in soft plastics and fabric, Honda may have kept a customer. The feminine seating position and god-awful interior materials unfortunately made it a no-brainer. I would have loved cross-shopping a Polo with a Golf, but we preferred 4 doors for a plethora of reasons. I see a lot of adults driving the 4-door Golf/GTI/TDIs these days; it looks like VW did its homework on which piece of steel to haul over the Atlantic.
  
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- Tedward on Jan 25, 2011
  
  cackalacka I did the same thing (shopping the GTI vs. Fit), and I agree with your criticism of the Fit to a point. The problem is that the 2.5 Golf at $18k gave up too much fuel economy and interior space to the Honda, and still cost a little bit more. So you're left looking at the GTI, starting at $25k vs. the $17k-ish Honda. I still wonder if I wouldn't have preferred the extra torque of the 2.5, but with a high miles/large dogs cargo requirement, the Honda wins. edit: also, while the GTI has a good manual, the Fit's is great (imo of course). I wasn't as impressed with the regular Golf's.
  
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- Joeaverage on Jan 25, 2011
  
  cackalacka - what is a feminine seating position? ;) It really bugs me when a car manufacturer gets so close to having the details right. My 13 year old daily driver VW is about $150 from being really, really good. All the stuff that has broken on that car was plastic stuff that should have been made out of something better like aluminum like water outlets, thermostat housings and a few interior things. A car manufacturer ought to do this stuff and I'd happily pay the extra $150. VW should have really gone the extra mile. Instead, they went about 50 extra feet on these items. Still like the car though. So are the rear seats in the Fit even usable? The one I sat in for 10 mins riding with a couple of coworkers was awful. I mean torture chamber awful. The rear seat headrests hit me right in the middle of my back. Tell me they telescope upwards? I didn't ask or try.
  
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Cackalacka on Jan 25, 2011

Tedward- Yeah, the gear-shift on the Fit was top-drawer. Throws were nicer than any box I drove. In terms of driving that the one items the Golf has against it. One of the top items I'm considering updating is putting in a short-shifter on the GTI. As for the price, I got a pretty freakin' sweat deal on the GTI (sunroof/4door for a grand+ south of the 25k number, with practically free-money financing.) That puts it ~6 k north of the Fit. I'll be the first to admit that, all things the same, if it weren't for the blissful 2.0, that chunk of change would have been a non-starter and I'd still be with the H-badge. If I were to cross-shop the 2.5 or the TDI, the Fit would have likely come out on top. Hell, if they had dropped an extra $25 on the interior quality, the Fit would have likely come out on top against the GTI. Hell+2, if the salesmen at both Honda dealerships I went to weren't self-righteous gum chewing pricks who thought it was 1990 and not 2010, and presumed that because my previous two wheels were Hondas (and all my previous wheels Japanese) that I would be enamoured with their inventory, I probably would have driven off with a Fit. I guess you can say, I am a jaded lover. Aside from your ride, and the now-deceased Element, they haven't made a piece of steel worth looking at since 2004.

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