Volkswagen Golf Mk7 engine line-up announced

The Volkswagen Golf has traditionally been offered with an extensive range of petrol and diesel engines, and the new Volkswagen Golf Mk7 is no exception.

At launch, the range will kick off with a pair of turbocharged petrol engines: a 1.2-litre unit making 85bhp and a 1.4-litre boasting 138bhp. 

The frugal 1.2 promises a claimed 57.7mpg and CO2 emissions of 113g/km, while the 1.4 returns 58.9mpg and 112g/km, helped by a cylinder deactivation system that cuts out the two middle cylinders to reduce fuel consumption between 1400 and 4000rpm.

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Also planned, but not yet officially confirmed, are a more powerful version of the 1.2 and a less powerful 1.4. The 1.2 will make 103bhp and the 1.4 120bhp, although they aren’t expected here until later next year. 

The technologically advanced (but expensive to make) 158bhp 1.4-litre TwinCharger engine, endowed with both a turbocharger and supercharger, has been dropped. However, word on the rumour mill suggests that VW could bring a turbocharged 1.8-litre engine to the new Golf line-up with a rumoured 178bhp, which would bridge the gap to the more performance-orientated models in the Golf range. 

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Diesels will major on 1.6 and 2.0-litre capacities. The 1.6 is a lightly reworked version of today’s unit, while the 2.0 is a heavily revised version of the current engine.

In standard tune, the 1.6 will make 103bhp and boast 74.3mpg and 99g/km. The more frugal BlueMotion variant claims 14mpg better at 88.3mpg, with CO2 emissions improved by 14g/km at just 85g/km. 

A significant change with the 2.0-litre diesel is a new installation that switches the engine by 180deg for more efficient cooling. Power is 148bhp, with claimed economy of 68.9mpg and CO2 emissions of 106g/km. Also in the pipeline is a 177bhp version, to be badged GTD.  

Sources close to VW engineering chief Ulrich Hackenberg also say there are moves to introduce a new performance-orientated Golf R diesel. Nothing is official at this stage, but talk centres around a twin-turbocharged 2.0-litre engine producing up to 222bhp. 

Also planned for launch next year is a compressed natural gas-powered Eco Fuel version running a turbocharged 1.4-litre engine, although it’s unlikely that the model will be sold in the UK.

Further in the future, VW plans to launch both petrol-electric hybrid and all-electric E-motion versions of the new Golf.