The Volkswagen Golf, one of our favorite compacts, is still selling in good numbers?and therefore the company feels no particular rush to come out with its mid-cycle revision. Sources tell us that we’ll see the updated version this fall, at the Paris auto show, and that the car will hit European dealerships by the end of 2016.
U.S. buyers, though, will have to wait longer. Here, the facelifted version will be launched in mid-2017 for the 2018 model year. We think there is no compelling reason to await the new model, however. The changes will be largely cosmetic, and the only major improvement will pertain to the all-electric e-Golf, which gets an improved battery pack with more range (currently it’s rated at 83 miles between charges). And we certainly hope that by that time, VW will have figured out a way to make its TDI diesel version compliant with EPA regulations.
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Unfortunately, it seems that there is little reason to wait for a series-production model of the Golf R400. Green-lighted by motorsport aficionado and former VW R&D chief Heinz-Jakob Neusser, it was to be fitted with a variant of the EA888 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder with at least 400 horsepower. But since Neusser was dismissed in the wake of the diesel-emissions scandal, the car has lost its chief proponent and we might never ...