Mark VII Golf

AugustusMinimus

Disappointing style wise. Looks almost exactly the same as the Mark VI which wasn't much of a departure from the Mark V. All they seem to have changed is to go with squarer head lights and Audi style rear light clusters.

Anan1

That's pretty dull. Aesthetically I think the Mk1 and Mk2 were the best - the Mk4 looked well at launch, but it hasn't aged as well as the Mk2.

colm_mcm

Wow, how derivative and boring. Should do well.


Then again, do cars need to be radical and completely different if the basics are right. Sometimes if you don't start with a blank canvas you can make something better through evolution.

Still though...

AugustusMinimus

Anan1 wrote: »

That's pretty dull. Aesthetically I think the Mk1 and Mk2 were the best - the Mk4 looked well at launch, but it hasn't aged as well as the Mk2.

Agreed. The Mk 4 now looks quite dated, whereas the Mk 5 still looks modern enough.

Of the later models, I must say I really liked the Mk 5 GTi. Stylewise it looked good with the circular - friend egg rear lights cluster and had plenty of poke with the 2.0L turbo engine.

The Mk 7 though appears to be nothing more than a Mk 5 with a few minor details changed.

Nissan doctor

Anan1 wrote: »

That's pretty dull. Aesthetically I think the Mk1 and Mk2 were the best - the Mk4 looked well at launch, but it hasn't aged as well as the Mk2.

For most, it doesn't matter a dam how they look, drive or anything else. All that's required is a VW badge on the front.

Atlantic Dawn

The fuel filler cap is an interesting shape, that is all

colm_mcm

Actually the C shaped line around the back doors/back lights is back from the mk4. I quite liked that line when the mk4 came out.

mailforkev

Looks exactly like a newer Golf, VW weren't going to fix what wasn't broken.
What will povvo spec look like though? Mind you, that one in the pics has wheels that look a bit too big.

C4Kid

Thanks for highlighting this Augustus and you're spot on.It's a fairly lazy attempt on behalf of the designers at VW IMO, even the interior is almost identical to the mk6. I ask myself why bother with this model at all FFS leave it for a year or two and do something more radical.

This golf really shows that designers have been stumped as to what the new modern design concept should be Interiorwise, the concept of silver plastic and a few chrome pieces has been around for years & theres nothing considerably new or innovative about it tbh. I find it common and boring by this stage.

People really will accept anything nowadays as long as it's diesel and has the current year on the reg.

Alanstrainor

Honestly can't see any difference from the mark VI. Boring.

The Pontiac

If it's not broken, don't fix it?

The Golf sells in large numbers, so VAG aren't going to risk it. Ford risked it with the MK1 Focus and it paid off big time (probably because the escort was so far behind rivals). But the Focus was really a radical design back in 1998, believe it or not.

The Golf changes were always evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. The Golf always sells, even the woefully unreliable MK4.

colm_mcm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Honestly can't see any difference from the mark VI. Boring.

It's got a little window near the mirror.

bazz26

Come on lads, you didn't really expect it to be any different, did you?

MuppetCheck

bazz26 wrote: »

Come on lads, you didn't really expect it to be any different, did you?

Exactly - it was obvious since the launch of the Mark VI that the 7th generation would be much of the same. They don't want to upset their customer base and this is exactly where their expectations lie.

Leonard Hofstadter

The new car is losing the independent rear suspension that the current and previous generation cars had, unless you go for the expensive models like the GTI, which of course no-one will buy in Ireland.

So it won't be good to drive either, not that it will matter to your average Golf buyer, all they need is the VW badge on the bonnet:rolleyes:.

kbyte61

Is that not just a Jetta with the boot chopped off? :pac:

JHet

The worlds laziest designer :rolleyes:

Plowman

This post has been deleted.

ION08

BORING!

Even if this were to have been the new Mk5 Golf, it would still be a boring evolution from the Mk4!

The picture below says it all.. hardly 3 generations (15 years) worth of Design evolution when you compare the 1998 Mk4 and the 2013 Mk7 :rolleyes:

JoeA3

I think it looks great. What do people expect? Every iteration of the Golf has been an evolution of a timeless, no bullsh1t design. No unnecessary swoops, curves and slashes. And that's just the ordinary model. I'd expect the GTI / R to look very tasty indeed.

Agreed on the interior - the BMW (before they messed it up) inspired dash with the centre console angled to the driver. Nice.

Anan1

ION08 wrote: »

BORING!

Even if this were to have been the new Mk5 Golf, it would still be a boring evolution from the Mk4!

The picture below says it all.. hardly 3 generations (15 years) worth of Design evolution when you compare the 1998 Mk4 and the 2013 Mk7 :rolleyes:

Sure you can only see the most recent car in that pic.

ION08

Anan1 wrote: »

Sure you can only see the most recent car in that pic.

I'm sure people are familiar with the Mk4 without needing to see a full pic of it!


Anyway, boring design aside, the engine line up sounds good - there is also a rumor of a Golf R-Diesel with a 2.0 twin turbo and 222bhp

Zonda999

captainspeed wrote: »

The new car is losing the independent rear suspension that the current and previous generation cars had, unless you go for the expensive models like the GTI, which of course no-one will buy in Ireland.

So it won't be good to drive either, not that it will matter to your average Golf buyer, all they need is the VW badge on the bonnet:rolleyes:.

Where did you hear that? There was talk of them doing that before the Mk6 launched too, and they never went ahead with it, I doubt they will this time either

Leonard Hofstadter

Zonda999 wrote: »

Where did you hear that? There was talk of them doing that before the Mk6 launched too, and they never went ahead with it, I doubt they will this time either

It was in Autocar. You'll note that the recently launched Seat Leon has lost its independent rear suspension on the cheaper models as well.

Zonda999

captainspeed wrote: »

It was in Autocar. You'll note that the recently launched Seat Leon has lost its independent rear suspension on the cheaper models as well.

Few details about the Golf’s chassis have been revealed, but Autocar understands it will be sold with two different suspension systems. Lower-end models will receive MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the rear; higher-end models get a more advanced combination of MacPherson struts at the front and multi-links at the rear — the combination found on all sixth-generation Golf models.

That is disappointing news indeed. Guarantee they will try and just justify it under the mantra of saving weight though... There may be time for a U-Turn yet though, hopefully...

For Forks Sake

JHet wrote: »

The worlds laziest designer :rolleyes:

No, he works at Audi.. take picture of A4, place on copier, press enlarge..hey presto..an A6. Rinse and repeat to 'create' the A8.

I think its looks good actually, being a mk5 golf owner myself I wouldn't like to see a radical change to be honest as I like the look of the golf.

Cant wait to see a 3 door in GTI guise, the interior also looks like a very nice place to be.

Henry Ford III

It's fine. It'll sell well too. It's an evolutionary design and commercially the right thing to do.

What is significant is the chassis which is all new.

Chavways

They should just reproduce the Mark I with a bit of technology thrown in and watch the customers form an orderly line at the door.

ION08

Chavways wrote: »

They should just reproduce the Mark I with a bit of technology thrown in and watch the customers form an orderly line at the door.

you mean like this?

http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/wheeldeal/2009/11/02/end-of-the-road-for-citi-golf/

Chavways

ION08 wrote: »

you mean like this?

http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/wheeldeal/2009/11/02/end-of-the-road-for-citi-golf/

Was that sold in Europe at all?

bazz26

Chavways wrote: »

Was that sold in Europe at all?

Not offically, I think they were built in South Africa. A few found there way here a couple of years ago via the second hand import route but they were asking mental money given what you were buying.

ION08

Chavways wrote: »

ION08 wrote: »

you mean like this?

http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/wheeldeal/2009/11/02/end-of-the-road-for-citi-golf/

Was that sold in Europe at all?

Just in South Africa as far as I know, and production has ceased there of that model

Matt Simis

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

Disappointing style wise. Looks almost exactly the same as the Mark VI which wasn't much of a departure from the Mark V.

This thread topic comes up with each new Golf and the same things are said, its dull, boring, derivative, similar. All totally true, but the peoples love their boring Golfs. Like Porsche's, its a strictly defined identity thats key to their success.

On the flip side, look at the new Focus to see how to massively cheapen and rubbish a good car model vs the old one.

RedorDead

Henry Ford III wrote: »

It's fine. It'll sell well too. It's an evolutionary design and commercially the right thing to do.

What is significant is the chassis which is all new.

Having driven the new A3, I can say the new MQB chassis is a huge evolution compared to the previous model. If the new A3 is anything to go with the new Golf will drive far far better.

Jimbob 83

OSI wrote: »

Yep. The VI was a facelift of the V, the VII really needed to be a proper departure, and looking at it, I'd struggle to tell it apart from a VI if it was driving past.

The VI was just a reworked V to reduce manhours in production as far as i know.

The VII looks very boring just a slightly fatter VI tbh

colm_mcm

RedorDead wrote: »

Having driven the new A3, I can say the new MQB chassis is a huge evolution compared to the previous model. If the new A3 is anything to go with the new Golf will drive far far better.

The A3 probably has a better suspension setup though?

Leonard Hofstadter

RedorDead wrote: »

Having driven the new A3, I can say the new MQB chassis is a huge evolution compared to the previous model. If the new A3 is anything to go with the new Golf will drive far far better.

Considering that the Golf won't have the independent rear suspension that the A3 has (unless you get the very expensive models, which obviously no-one will buy here, they probably won't even be available here anyway knowing what Ireland is like), I very much doubt it.

If anything, I would expect it to be quite a step backwards from the current and last generation car (which of course is the same as the current model anyway, the "Mk6" Golf is just the Mk5 with some external and internal changes, should have been called a Mk5.5 really) because VW are too cheap to fit proper suspension on the Golf. I thought VW were supposed to be a cut above the norm, no?

Then again, most people will buy this simply because it's a Golf!

Stallingrad

It's dull but it's also a masterclass by VW. Nobody short of Porsche knows there customers better and this is exactly what they want. The crease line is new, and presumably there so it is not mistaken for a Polo. It'll sell by the shed load.

JoeA3

captainspeed wrote: »

Considering that the Golf won't have the independent rear suspension that the A3 has (unless you get the very expensive models, which obviously no-one will buy here, they probably won't even be available here anyway knowing what Ireland is like), I very much doubt it.

If anything, I would expect it to be quite a step backwards from the current and last generation car (which of course is the same as the current model anyway, the "Mk6" Golf is just the Mk5 with some external and internal changes, should have been called a Mk5.5 really) because VW are too cheap to fit proper suspension on the Golf. I thought VW were supposed to be a cut above the norm, no?

Then again, most people will buy this simply because it's a Golf!

Absolute load of tripe.

Where's it been absolutely confirmed that the cheaper cars will not have the independent suspension? (Not that 99.9% of drivers would notice the difference either way mind you). In the USA, the MK6 did not have the independent rear at all, whereas in Europe, all models did. So I'd like to see what the actual European / Irish specs are when it eventually goes on sale.

I would expect quite the opposite. I expect the MK7 to be a very good car indeed, particularly the ones I'd be interested in, the go-faster versions.

Not all of us buy "Paddy spec" cars, that you seem to bang on about in every 2nd post on this forum. From what I can see, the days of the poorly equipped irish spec'd cars are generally a thing of the past.... in fact the irish spec is often a bit better than the UK equivalent (in VW's case, cruise control and folding mirrors are costly options on a GTI - they are standard here!). BMW specs are identical here to the UK, etc, etc.

Leonard Hofstadter

JoeA3 wrote: »

Absolute load of tripe.

Where's it been absolutely confirmed that the cheaper cars will not have the independent suspension? (Not that 99.9% of drivers would notice the difference either way mind you). In the USA, the MK6 did not have the independent rear at all, whereas in Europe, all models did. So I'd like to see what the actual European / Irish specs are when it eventually goes on sale.

I would expect quite the opposite. I expect the MK7 to be a very good car indeed, particularly the ones I'd be interested in, the go-faster versions.

Not all of us buy "Paddy spec" cars, that you seem to bang on about in every 2nd post on this forum. From what I can see, the days of the poorly equipped irish spec'd cars are generally a thing of the past.... in fact the irish spec is often a bit better than the UK equivalent (in VW's case, cruise control and folding mirrors are costly options on a GTI - they are standard here!). BMW specs are identical here to the UK, etc, etc.

It is NOT a "load of tripe".

It was confirmed in Autocar that there will be two suspension setups, a torison beam for the poverty spec models which most people in Ireland will buy, and a proper multilink for the higher spec cars.

Poverty spec Paddy spec cars are still alive and kicking, you'll note that Ford and Toyota don't fit a/c as standard on the Focus and Auris/Corolla even though obviously the UK cars have had a/c as standard for donkey's years (since 2004 in the case of the Auris/Corolla).

It was funny that you should mention the GTI/GTD as being a case of the Paddy spec cars doing better than the UK, because that couldn't be more wrong if it tried!

Granted the electric folding mirrors are £140 extra and cruise is £235 extra in the UK and they're standard here.

However, the UK cars have dual zone climate control, surprise surprise the Paddy spec cars only have basic single zone a/c.

Oh and the UK cars have leather, the Paddy spec ones have cloth.

Leather in Ireland is a minimum of €1,930 for a GTI (or more depending on VRT band), climate control is a minimum of €932.

And you were saying that the UK extras were "costly" :rolleyes::eek:?

So yeah, tell me about how the Irish spec cars having a 'better spec' than the UK ones is working out there?

Turbulent Bill

Stallingrad wrote: »

It's dull but it's also a masterclass by VW. Nobody short of Porsche knows there customers better and this is exactly what they want. The crease line is new, and presumably there so it is not mistaken for a Polo. It'll sell by the shed load.

Precisely, there's no way VW would alienate existing customers (who might buy another Golf in the future) by making radical changes, especially when current sales are decent. It also goes some way to protect the resale value of current cars.

From VW's perspective, if it ain't broke...

JoeA3

captainspeed wrote: »

It is NOT a "load of tripe".

It was confirmed in Autocar that there will be two suspension setups, a torison beam for the poverty spec models which most people in Ireland will buy, and a proper multilink for the higher spec cars.

Poverty spec Paddy spec cars are still alive and kicking, you'll note that Ford and Toyota don't fit a/c as standard on the Focus and Auris/Corolla even though obviously the UK cars have had a/c as standard for donkey's years (since 2004 in the case of the Auris/Corolla).

It was funny that you should mention the GTI/GTD as being a case of the Paddy spec cars doing better than the UK, because that couldn't be more wrong if it tried!

Granted the electric folding mirrors are £140 extra and cruise is £235 extra in the UK and they're standard here.

However, the UK cars have dual zone climate control, surprise surprise the Paddy spec cars only have basic single zone a/c.

Oh and the UK cars have leather, the Paddy spec ones have cloth.

Leather in Ireland is a minimum of €1,930 for a GTI (or more depending on VRT band), climate control is a minimum of €932.

And you were saying that the UK extras were "costly" :rolleyes::eek:?

So yeah, tell me about how the Irish spec cars having a 'better spec' than the UK ones is working out there?

OK, you win the internet. Happy now?

For what it's worth, leather was only added as standard fairly recently to UK GTI's (for the run-out I guess).
The car has also become quite expensive in the UK in recent years, pushing over the £30k stg mark (€38-40k) so there isn't a lot in it overall.

MuppetCheck

Does it have to be termed Paddy spec and mentioned so bloody regularly Captain? It's a derogatory term tbh.

I also assume you're driving some luxobarge with all this talk of specification!

Stallingrad

If the Captain is a Paddy, he can use the term "Paddy spec' all he wants, but if he is one of them foreigners then the International Court of Human Rights will be hearing about it!

:rolleyes:

Leonard Hofstadter

Stallingrad wrote: »

If the Captain is a Paddy, he can use the term "Paddy spec' all he wants, but if he is one of them foreigners then the International Court of Human Rights will be hearing about it!

:rolleyes:

I'm Irish, so unfortunately for the rest of ye, it's neither racist nor discriminatory of me to use the phrase 'Paddy spec':).

The Dagda

captainspeed wrote: »

It is NOT a "load of tripe".

It was confirmed in Autocar that there will be two suspension setups, a torison beam for the poverty spec models which most people in Ireland will buy, and a proper multilink for the higher spec cars.

Autocar didn't "confirm" anything about the two suspension setups, all they said was they "understand" that two suspension setups will be offered. It hasn't been mentioned anywhere else.

My guess is that if they do offer a simpler suspension, it'll only be in some markets, most likely emerging markets where costs are tighter.

I doubt VW will do it in this part of the world, where the competition to be the best handling car in the class is so fierce.

Stallingrad

Yes, and we all know how fussy Golf drivers are about their suspension, it really is a non issue.

The Dagda

LIGHTNING wrote: »

What I find funny is that people get there knickers in a twist about it not having full independent multi-link rear suspension most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference if they drove them.

Stallingrad wrote: »

Yes, and we all know how fussy Golf drivers are about their suspension, it really is a non issue.

What strange posts!?!

It's a motoring forum that is used mostly, I guess, by people who are interested in cars.
Surely it's a valid subject to discuss; the technology included in the latest incarnation of one of the most common cars on the road?

The Dagda

LIGHTNING wrote: »

My point is people giving out about the cheaper ones having a solid rear axle like they will be using them as race cars. Most non-GTI golfs wont be driven that hard that you would even notice a different rear suspension setup. Might I add that some of the most fun cars I have driven have what you would call a primitive rear suspension setup.

Who's giving out about the suspension?!

Stallingrad

It is a valid subject to discuss, and we are. Real enthusiasts may expect a multi link suspension and it looks like they will get it. Everyone else probably won't know the difference.

I've no doubt the car will be incrementally better in every area, despite what is seen by some as a retrograde step with regard to the suspension.