Report

Refreshed Volkswagen Golf due early next month

Big interior changes are coming for VW's compact hatchback.

Amidst all the turmoil of Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal, the German automaker will introduce the mid-cycle refresh of its critically acclaimed Golf compact in Wolfsburg.

According to Autocar, don't expect much of a visual update for the new Golf. This will be a relatively simple mid-life update, with tweaked front and rear bumpers, updated headlights with LED running lights, and freshened LED taillights. VW will likely focus on the interior, where the company will make more dramatic changes to keep the Golf fresh against increasingly tough competition in the compact market.

That will include Volkswagen's version of Audi's excellent Virtual Cockpit. A Volkswagen insider tells Autoblog the new system is called Volkswagen Digital Cockpit, while Autocar reports it will feature a 12.5-inch display. On top of Digital Cockpit, the report states that VW will update the Golf's disappointing infotainment system with a new ­– and huge – 9.5-inch display for high-end models. Check out our coverage of the Golf R Touch concept from the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show for an idea of what the gesture-capable system will look like.

It's much more difficult to predict what kind of powertrain changes are coming to the US-market Golf. As a British pub, Autocar gets a bunch a fun, funky, and fuel-efficient powertrains we won't see in the US. In the UK, the Golf will get a 1.0-liter, turbocharged three-cylinder gas engine previously offered in the Up! and Polo, while VW shelved plans for petrol and diesel-powered, 1.5-liter four-cylinders. Here in the States, we'd bet on carryover powertrains, perhaps retuned for more power or fuel economy.

We'll have more the new Golf early next month.

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