With the next-gen VW Golf said to go electric, thus inevitably replacing the similarly-sized ID.3, the Mk8.5 is believed to be the last one to feature internal combustion power.
The German automaker gave it a mid-cycle refresh that premiered a month ago, with the car benefitting from visual updates inside and out, added gear, and a few other revisions that will help it remain attractive for a few more years until it leaves the production line for good.
The R (hatch and wagon) will top the family when it debuts, likely in a few weeks/months, and it is expected to have a slight power boost alongside the visual tweaks and fresh gizmos. The current one's 2.0L four-pot steams out 315 horsepower (320 ps/235 kW) and 310 pound-foot (420 Nm) of torque.
Europe's latest Golf GTI, which remains a front-wheel drive hot hatch, unlike the upcoming R, which is an all-wheel drive machine, enjoys 261 horsepower (265 ps/195 kW). That's a small boost over its predecessor, which had 242 hp (245 ps/180 kW) to play with and solely comes with a DSG transmission.
Photo: Instagram | a.c.g_design
Blink, and you will certainly miss the design updates, as Volkswagen chose to keep them subtle. Between us, we think the 2024 Golf GTI (2025 in the United States) is an appealing proposal, and it's great to see that certain car manufacturers have remained committed to this segment.
But the styling part is not to everyone's liking. You see, there are some people out there who think that it would look better with a few tweaks here and there. A.c.g_design on Instagram is part of this category, so they set out to imagine it with an alternative design language.
The changes are more obvious here, as they include not only the refreshed headlamps with a more aggressive daytime running light signature but also the bumper, which looks a bit more complicated. Instead of the wide and tall shape of the lower grille, the rendering artist gave it a smaller one, flanked by a pair of side vents and new trim to the outer edges.
It also sports new side skirts with GTI branding and not much else. The wheels are identical to those equipping the real thing. The same goes for the GTI logos on the front doors and every other aspect of the car.
Honestly, our opinion is that the actual VW Golf GTI Mk8.5 looks better than the one depicted in these unofficial digital illustrations, and we cannot wait to see what it's all about when it goes on sale here in a few months. But is this model something you'd be interested in? And would you favor it over a similarly-sized crossover? Let us know what you think about it by dropping a line below.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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