Volkswagen’s diesel scandal is far from resolved, but the brand still must sell cars even as it deals with a maelstrom of its own creation. Indeed, VW is fighting to get back on its feet in the U.S. market while also maintaining its huge volumes and leadership roles in Europe and China. Here’s what we know about what’s coming—and what won’t be coming—from Volkswagen in the near term.
GOLF: VW’s global bestseller will debut its long-expected facelift in late 2016, and the updated Golf hatchback will arrive in the U.S. in early 2017 for the 2018 model year. VW’s focus: Keeping ambitious contenders like the much-improved Opel Astra, the new Chevrolet Cruze, and offerings from Japan and Korea in the rearview mirror. To that end, the most important changes pertain to the user interface: The Golf will be available with a full TFT gauge cluster similar in concept to that of the new Audi TT and R8, as well as the European-market Passat. This premium feature will be able to be configured to show a wide, three-dimensional navigation map. And we are told that connectivity will be further improved.
Visually, changes will be relatively modest, but they will help the car appear fresh: VW will fix the flimsy-looking bumpers, and there will be new head- and taillights. The optional bi-xenon units will be history; VW is going LED. Beyond the new instrumentation, there also will be new upholstery choices and materials inside.
Few changes will be made mechanically, but the fully electric Golf is expected to get upgraded to deliver more than 100 miles in range (up from the current 83). VW is also planning to get the TDI diesel version back on American roads, but much work is still to be done to convince the EPA to allow that to happen.
As to the next-gen Golf MkVIII (about which you can read more here), don’t believe the reports that a two-door version isn’t happening. We’re hearing it’s likely.
JETTA: As early as next year, VW will launch an all-new Jetta sedan that’s based on the now-ubiquitous MQB platform. Lighter and far better-equipped than the current, PQ35-based model shown above, it will look to move the Jetta’s reputation almost back to the position it once occupied with the MkIV. That car was once conceived by then VW Group CEO Ferdinand Piëch as a BMW 3-series fighter of sorts. It didn’t happen, but it’s good to see VW once again thinking of the Jetta as something more than a German Toyota Corolla.
Massively important for the U.S. market, VW will continue to offer the Jetta with efficient four-cylinder gasoline engines, as well as in sporty GLI and—again, if the EPA approves—TDI diesel trim. The future of the hybrid is currently unclear.
TIGUAN: While Europe enjoys the all-new, second-gen Tiguan built atop the MQB architecture, the first generation gets another lease on life for the U.S. market, as it will still be built until next summer. Production has shifted from Wolfsburg to the former Karmann plant in Osnabrück.
Meanwhile, VW is preparing the long-wheelbase variation for America; it will be the only version we’ll get, and will offer optional third-row seating. VW also will offer the stretched Tig in Europe and China, although it will be sold alongside the shorter model.
THREE-ROW SUV: VW’s as-yet-unnamed mid-size SUV will slot between the Tiguan and the Touareg in terms of price, but it is larger than the latter. VW has pushed the limits of its MQB architecture, and this crossover SUV is so wide that the company believes it will be virtually unusable on Europe’s narrow streets. That’s why it won’t even be offered there.
U.S. buyers of the Tennessee-built mode will have a choice of front- or all-wheel drive, as well as a choice of turbocharged four-cylinder engines or the well-proven, naturally aspirated 3.6-liter VR6. A plug-in hybrid is possible but not yet confirmed. Styled to look large and in charge, we expect the SUV to make its world debut at the Los Angeles auto show this fall.
TOUAREG: The overdue, third-generation Touareg (the current model is pictured above) moves from the old, robust FL71 platform to the less off-road-capable MLB modular-longitudinal bones found beneath myriad VW Group products. Other SUVs that use the platform include the the Audi Q5 and Q7, the Porsche Macan and Cayenne, the Bentley Bentayga, and the upcoming Lamborghini Urus.
But the new platform is much more flexible. It can accommodate anything from a four-cylinder to a plug-in hybrid powertrain to a W-12; in the Touareg, we expect to see six-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines, with the possibility of a V-8 for markets like Russia or the U.S. There will be an optional off-road package with specific settings for the air suspension, but the low-range transfer case offered on early Touaregs won’t make a return appearance.
Styling-wise, the Touareg won’t deviate much from the T-Prime concept that launched in Beijing last month. If that vehicle’s face reminds you of the CC and the Phideon sedans (the latter of which is detailed below), that’s on purpose. Look for the next ’Reg at dealers in late 2017.
GOLF R400: After the diesel-related departure of VW’s engineering chief Heinz-Jakob Neußer, this ultra-high-performance version of the Golf was back-burnered. Now we are told it’s dead. The Golf R400 was to feature all-wheel drive, like the Golf R, and be fitted with a 2.0-liter turbo four tuned to deliver around 420 horsepower. It would have posed the ultimate challenge to Europe’s hottest hatches: The Audi RS3 Sportback, the BMW M135i, and the Mercedes-AMG A45. We hear a collective sigh of relief from Ingolstadt, Munich, and Stuttgart. But VW has bigger, if less delicious, fish to fry right now.
As much of a bummer as this is, there is hope for a promising relaunch of the Golf R in the next model generation. One scenario sees the Golf R continue in its current mold, with well over 300 horsepower and brimming with premium technology and luxury features. Another scenario sees VW taking considerable weight out of the Golf R, turning it into a lean, high-tech machine that will deliver superior performance in a purer package. There’s even hope that VW will once again offer a six-speed manual. It’s lighter than the dual-clutch automatic, after all. We expect the MkVIII Golf R to be launched in 2020.
CC: VW is struggling to support its claim to being a premium brand, and the next-gen Touareg, the China-only Phideon, and the next CC will be given the task of bolstering public opinion on the matter. Both the Touareg and the Phideon use the Audi-developed MLB platform; the CC moves to the MQB architecture with transverse-mounted engines.
The CC was closely previewed by last year’s Sport Coupe Concept GTE; there will be very few changes made to the production version of this low-slung four-door, its design penned by Marc Lichte before he moved to Audi. The front end with horizontal headlights positioned high and connected to a grille that stretches into the bumper echoes that of the Phideon and the next Touareg: This is the new face of VW’s premium vehicles. It will be shared with the next-generation Phaeton—if that car ever comes to market—but it won’t trickle down to VW’s mainstream models.
Like the current CC, the next model won’t attempt to chase down the Mercedes-Benz CLS (which it emulated) or that car’s direct competitors like the Audi A7; its closest spiritual analogue will be the BMW 4-series Gran Coupe. With a turbocharged 2.0-liter four, a turbocharged evolution of the VR6 with more than 300 horsepower, and a plug-in hybrid version, it will be offer plenty of performance. We also hear VW engineers have attempted to achieve “class-leading” handling and steering precision. The CC will be launched in late 2016 or early 2017 and will come to market in the U.S. as a 2018 model.
BEETLE and SCIROCCO: These models spun off from the PQ35 platform (which was used for the current Jetta, as well as the discontinued and Golf V and VI) have been pronounced dead many times, but they carry on with moderate success, and VW sources tell us there is not the least bit of urgency in killing them off. Both might or might not get successors, but we think it’s likely they will. Out intuition says—hopes?—that the next-gen Scirocco will come to the U.S. as well. Don’t expect major changes for the next two years.
UP!: We don’t get VW’s frugal but fun-to-drive city car in the U.S., which is a pity. Especially since VW is adding a turbocharged version to its lineup this summer—essentially the same car that we drove as a prototype four years ago, but detuned to make 90 horsepower. It’ll give the Up! a much-needed boost in power and torque, but the real rocket is coming in another year or so: VW is working on a top-level Up! that likely will make 120 horsepower or more, and it could be called the Up! GTI. (We vote for ’Roided Up!—but we doubt that would fly.) While an attractive pocket rocket, such an Up! GTI wouldn’t even come close to exploring the limits of the model’s three-cylinder engine architecture. Last year, VW talked about a turbocharged 1.0-liter three with an electric supercharger that would produce a full 272 horsepower.
PHIDEON: VW doesn’t offer any sedan based on the Audi-developed MLB architecture either in Europe or the States, but it’s a different story in China, where the now-discontinued Phaeton has sold well and will be sorely missed. VW is kinda, sorta trying to fill the gap with the Phideon, a full-size sedan closely related to the Audi A6 and produced by VW’s joint-venture partner SAIC. Its top engine will be the EA837 turbocharged 3.0-liter VR6; the powertrain lineup also will include a smaller four-cylinder turbo and a plug-in hybrid. While the original Phaeton was a full-fledged S-class fighter, the Phideon feels more at home in the E-class segment. That’s respectable, but obviously still too ambitious for Europe and the U.S.: The Phideon will remain a China-only car.
PHAETON: No recent Volkswagen is more politically charged than the Phaeton. A brainchild of former VW CEO and supervisory board chief Ferdinand Piëch, who also happens to own a significant chunk of the company, it serves as the totem for the VW Group’s ambitions for a full 15 years. A replacement was postponed time and time again, and the current official line is that it will return as a fully electric flagship a few years down the road. But it might eventually become a different vehicle, and it still could be offered with conventional powertrain choices. We also hear that the flagship could also get a different name. Meanwhile, while production stopped on March 18—the famous glass-walled factory is being turned into an electric-mobility “interpretive center”—you can actually still buy one at Chinese dealerships, as VW produced cars in excess of demand.
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