The sixth generation of the popular compact car comes with new headlights, a large chromed grille and an altogether sleeker design, the newspaper said.
A VW spokesperson in Wolfsburg refused to confirm or deny the report. "We in principle do not comment on such speculation," he said.
Part of the VW cost-cutting strategy is to reduce the choice of engines in the Golf series and the number of technical gadgets.
In turn the car maker is planning to fit the new Golf with more high-quality interior materials and offer air conditioning as standard for all Golf models.
The engine range starts with the frugal 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine.