1. Rich History
Design work on the Golf began in 1971. Production then began in Germany in March 1974 and later that year the Volkswagen Golf Mk1 was launched in Europe as a successor to the iconic Beetle. Four years later, the front-wheel-drive hatchback arrived in South Africa and was launched in May 1978.
Within 31 months of being in production, the Mk1 had already sold 1 million units and its success would continue in South Africa.
Following 1978, a number of variants were introduced into the model line-up including a diesel version at the end of 1978 and the high-performance 1600cc Golf GTS with its matt black bumper, extra-wide radials, bib spoiler, four headlamps, GTS logo and stripes along the bottom of the doors and quarter panels.
In less than 12 months (April 1979), the 20 000th Golf was already produced in Uitenhage and by February 1980, the 50 000th Golf, a GTS model, left the production line. By 1981, the 100 000th Golf had been produced - just over three years since its introduction.
After 30 years and more than 813 000 Golfs made in Uitenhage, production of Golf was stopped in South Africa in December 2008.
This was due to the rationalisation of models to maximise volume production and meet objectives of the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP).
2. Golf R Upgrade
Since being first launched in South Africa, over 350 000 Golfs have been sold in the country (global sales well in excess of 33 million) and since the launch of its seventh-generation Golf range the Golf GTI, Golf GTD and Golf R models have made up more than 45% of all Golf sales in South Africa.
Recently, Volkswagen added more power to its seventh-generation Golf R. It now puts out an additional 15 kW of power, from the initial 213 kW to now 228 kW - making it the most powerful Golf ever sold by VW South Africa.
The seventh-generation Golf R continues to be a benchmark for driver assistance systems in the compact class, employing technologies that significantly improve safety. These include the optional Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Traffic Alert as well as Adaptive Cruise Control with Front Assist and Autonomous Emergency Braking System.
Along with a power boost, there were also revisions made to the design. New exterior design highlights include the optional R Performance Titanium exhaust, as well as, optional R Performance brakes with black brake calipers with the ‘R’ logo. Standard features include the ‘R’ designed bumpers, LED headlights and LED taillights that create a design that gives the Golf R a dynamic look. The tailpipes are placed further out to the sides giving the car a wider appearance. The exterior mirror housing caps come in Matte Chrome or optionally in Carbon. There are also various 19-inch wheel choices – the standard being the "Spielberg" 19-inch alloy wheels or the optional 19-inch "Pretoria" alloy wheels in grey metallic.
3. Technical Innovations
The Golf VII sparkles with technical innovations. For the first time in the compact class, the new Discover Pro radio-navigation system can be operated via gesture control. The performance car sports a 9.2-inch touch screen, the optional system complements the Active Info Display.
As before, the new car sits on the familiar MQB, Modularer Querbaukasten (Modular Transverse Matrix) platform, which means it benefits from the latest available technology and shares elements of its underpinnings with other successful models such as the latest award-winning Passat and latest Tiguan.
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