Evolutionary history of Volkswagen GOLF

There is such a car, which has experienced 46 years of history and is still enduring. Its emergence perfectly explains the compact hatchback.

This car is not only a household name in China, but also fascinated by a large number of fans all over the world. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and football superstar David Beckham are its owners. It isVolkswagen Golf.

The first generation of golf: 1974-1983

In May 1974, the first generation of golf officially entered people’s sight.. Italian car designer Giorgetto put forward the design concept of "origami", with angular overall shape, black plastic air intake grille, two round headlights, straight bumper and simple lines, which are very intriguing.

The first generation of golf used a hatchback design, and there are two versions of three-door hatchback and five-door hatchback.

The engine adopts front drive, and the chassis suspension adopts front McPherson and rear semi-trailing arm dependent suspension.

In terms of power, the first-generation golf that was originally launched was equipped with a 1.1-liter inline four-cylinder engine.Since then, golf with 1.3-liter, 1.5-liter, 1.6-liter and 1.7-liter gasoline engines and 1.5-liter and 1.6-liter diesel engines have been introduced one after another, matched with 4-speed and 5-speed manual gearboxes and 3-speed automatic gearboxes.

In June 1976, Volkswagen introduced the Golf GTI, a golf derivative model.

The acceleration time of 0-100km/h is only 9 seconds for a 1.6L engine with 108 horsepower.This data is a very attractive car even now. Perhaps golf has defined what a real "small steel gun" is.

The global sales of the first generation golf totaled 6,780,050 sets, so the "National God Car" gained a firm foothold.

The second generation of golf: 1983-1992

In August 1983, Volkswagen introduced the second generation golf, and the models were still three-door and five-door hatchbacks.. Although the head shape of the second generation golf seems to have no obvious change from that of the first generation, it is smoother as a whole, and the size of the whole car has increased compared with that of the first generation, and the wheelbase has increased by about 70mm to 2470 mm.

In terms of power, the second generation golf is equipped with 1.3-liter, 1.6-liter and 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder engines. According to different models, the second generation golf is equipped with 4-speed and 5-speed manual gearboxes and 3-speed automatic gearboxes to choose from.The global sales of the second generation golf totaled about 6,301,000 sets.

The Third Generation Golf: 1991-1997

The third generation of golf appeared in August 1991.In terms of appearance, the third generation golf is more rounded, and the headlight shape has become an inner oval style. The turn signals and fog lights on both sides of the bumper are designed in one piece, and the thick black rubbing strips echo with the black lips below. Configuration has increased, such as electric sunroof, remote control key and airbag.

It is worth mentioning that,The 2.8L VR6 naturally aspirated engine was used for the first time in the third generation golf.. By 1994, the engine displacement of Golf VR6 was increased to 2.9L. Within a six-year life cycle,About 4,805,900 sets of third-generation golf were sold.Although the competition of hatchback cars is becoming increasingly fierce, millions of sales still prove the strong product strength of the third generation golf.

The Fourth Generation Golf: 1997-2003

The fourth generation of golf should be the most impressive for domestic consumers.Because FAW-Volkswagen introduced it to China in 2003.

The fourth generation golf, which was introduced in 1997, has gradually become familiar with people. The design concept of the car follows the "arched" design language of Volkswagen in that year, that is, "Arched" design language.At the same time, this generation of golf put the Volkswagen logo in the middle of the steering wheel, and it is still in use today.

Domestic golf is equipped with naturally aspirated engines with displacement of 1.6L, 1.8L and 2.0L.This year (2003) was also the year when overseas golf models were discontinued. However, the domestically produced golf still maintained the high quality of overseas models, which can be described as full of virtue.

In fact, Golf 4 also has GTI version, but FAW-Volkswagen did not introduce it, which also led many golf fans to transplant Audi TT engine in the later period to achieve GTI performance.

In 2002, Volkswagen introduced the Golf R32, which was equipped with the same 3.2L V6 engine of Audi TT, and the acceleration time of 0-100km/h was only 6.6s This kind of power should be the peak of the small steel gun at that time.

The Fifth Generation Golf: 2003-2008

Volkswagen released the fifth generation golf at the Frankfurt Motor Show in October 2003., and it was officially released one month later. After nearly 30 years of evolution, the recognition of golf design has become stronger. The body size has also been continuously lengthened, reaching 4204X1759X1479mm (length/width/height) and the wheelbase is 2578 mm.

Due to the hot sale of Golf 4 in the domestic market, and considering that the fifth generation golf is not very popular in Europe, it has not been introduced into China.

This generation also has GTI version, 2.0T engine, the maximum power is 197 horsepower, and the acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h is only 6.9sHowever, due to the high import price, many domestic fans missed their dreams. Although golf is not on fire, its sedan version is on fire-Sagitar.

Sixth Generation Golf: 2008-2013

The 6th Generation Golf debuted at the Paris Motor Show in 2008., which is based on the upgrade of PQ35 platform of the fifth generation golf. The inspiration of the new car comes from the first and fourth generation golf. The shape of the blackened headlights on the front of the car has changed slightly, and the curve on the inside of the headlights has been changed to a nearly right-angle design.

In 2009, the sixth generation golf models continued to be imported from FAW-Volkswagen. This generation of cars is also the first car for many domestic consumers. The overall working materials and configuration level of the interior have been strengthened, and good sales results have been achieved in both domestic and other markets.

Although there are only 1.6L and 1.4T engines made in China, they still can’t resist the buying enthusiasm of domestic consumers, and once there was a phenomenon of raising the price to pick up the car.

However, the problem was quickly exposed, that is, the life of the 7-speed dry dual-clutch gearbox.Many car owners feedback that the vehicle shifts jitter, abnormal noise, and sometimes even insufficient power output. Although Volkswagen finally gave the promise of extending the gearbox warranty, consumers were very sad about this hurdle.

It is worth mentioning that,In March 2010, the domestic golf GTI was officially listed, with a price of 235,800 yuan.. The domestic production of golf GTI injected fresh blood into the gradually refined automobile market at that time. Domestic golf GTI is basically the same as overseas models, but the power is weakened.Adopt the same 200 HP 2.0TSI engine as Magotan.

In 2011, Golf R was officially imported and sold in China, which brought good news to "steel cannon" lovers.

Seventh Generation Golf: 2013-present

At the 2012 Paris Motor Show, the seventh generation of golf was officially unveiled., sharing the MQB platform with Audi A3, and being equipped with 1.2T EA211 engine for the first time, the power and fuel economy have been improved.

The body size has been improved, with the length, width, height and wheelbase of 4259/1799/1476mm and the wheelbase of 2637mm respectively.

The appearance is more tough, and the headlights are perfectly integrated with the air intake grille. Standard LED daytime running lights and LED taillights also make Gao 7 more avant-garde, and all these changes make its prospects look almost perfect.

However, for the sake of cost, the seventh-generation golf rear suspension is reduced to torsion beam non-independent suspension.This incident was suddenly detonated in the domestic market. This time, Volkswagen was forced to make a change again, changing the rear suspension of the 1.4T model into an independent suspension in the redesigned model, and this matter subsided slightly.

However, even if the suspension is changed and the DSG gearbox is improved, it is difficult for Golf 7 to reach the peak of Golf 6.

Eighth Generation Golf (2020)

On October 24, 2019, the eighth generation golf was officially released in Wolfsburg, the birthplace.. After 45 years, Volkswagen Golf has been deeply rooted in people’s hearts, and many people have their own unique feelings for it. The evolution of golf is more like a microcosm of the evolution of German industry.

Golf can be regarded as one of the most classic models.For this kind of vehicles with inheritance responsibility, shape design is particularly important.

Can’t easily make too much change, because it is still a golf; But it has to be changed, because it has attracted much attention.Therefore, if the designers want to make a breakthrough in design, they must innovate.

At the beginning of the design, Klaus Bischoff, the design director of Volkswagen brand, put forward the design of the eighth generation golf.More fluent, more sporty and more unique."requirements. Compared with the seventh-generation model, the front of Golf 8 is flatter and lower, and the new LED daytime running lights look more unique.

Digitalization "is the main design language of this generation of car interior." The interior eliminates a large number of physical buttons, and the 10.25-inch LCD instrument panel is matched with the 8.25-inch central control screen.

In addition, the automatic transmission model will cancel the mechanical shift mechanism and replace it with an electronic shift lever.The newly designed bumper is somewhat similar to the Porsche 911, but shorter and smaller in size.

In terms of power, two gasoline engines-a 1.0t three-cylinder engine and a 1.5T four-cylinder engine-will be launched soon after domestic production.

At present, the GTI model has been released overseas, and it is believed that it will be introduced into China in the near future. At the same time, the "GT" family may also introduce GTE models.

Golf is still golf, which can never be replaced by fans.