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VW’s drop-top Golf6 will become available to South African sun-seekers during the first quarter of 2012.
The launch of VW’s latest soft-top will be perfectly timed to make the most of the local summer driving season’s cabriolet appeal.
As a signature model of the Golf range since its introduction back in 1979 - check the gallery for what the original looked like - the cabriolet has not been available for nearly a decade due to VW choosing not to engineer a Golf5 version of the famous drop-top.
Thanks to an ironic twist of irony, this all changed with the bankruptcy of Osnabrück-based Karmann in April 2009. VW acquired the Karmann facility and so happened upon the specialist capacity to again assemble a cabrio Golf.
STYLISH SOFT-TOP COMEBACK
One of the best-selling cabriolets of all time (680 000 units in the production period 1979-2002), VW’s hatch-based cabriolet makes a comeback as part of Golf6 range with all the sophistication that includes. The Golf6 cabriolet’s soft-top folds away in only nine seconds and of course, due to its fabric construction, there is very little loss of boot capacity - at 250 litres it's only 25 short of its five-door hatchback sibling.
Although the signature Golf cabrio fixed roll-bar is notable by its absence (replaced instead by a hidden, pyrotechnically deployed roll-over protectors), the Golf6 cabriolet manages to convert the hatchback’s neat surfacing to a more dynamic aesthetic courtesy of its lower roofline, more rakish windscreen and all-new rear section, finished off with LED-embedded tail lights borrowed from the GTI.
Powering the new Golf cabriolet will be a range of forced-induction engines catering for all customer requirements, from frugal entry-level fuel-savers to high-performance powertrains. VW’s 77kW 1.2 TSI engine is the buy-in point, shifting via a six-speed manual transmission.
SAVING FOR HERITAGE
Two 1.4 TSI engines (in 90 and 118kW incarnations) flesh out the range, introducing seven-speed DSG, before the GTI-sourced 2.0 TSI engine, good for 155kW, headlines the Golf6 cabriolet’s performance offering. The 2.0 TSI Golf cabriolet will only be available with a six-speed DSG transmission as opposed to the 1.4 TSI models that feature seven-speed shifters.
For those Golf cabriolet customers who prefer turbodiesel power, a five-speed manual 77kW 1.6 TDI and six-speed DSG 103kW 2.0 TDI derivatives are also available, with the 1.6 TDI capable of 4.4 litres/100km average consumption.
Part of the Golf6 cabriolet’s appeal is the heritage of being a soft-top VW built in Karmann’s factory where the legendary Ghia - for many, the most striking of all VW cabriolets – was first assembled five decades ago.
So, if you need justification to start arranging your finances for a post-Christmas 2012 purchase, at least you’ll be able to thread some (rather thin) logic of the Golf6 cabriolet possessing a proper coachbuilding heritage (of sorts).
The launch of VW’s latest soft-top will be perfectly timed to make the most of the local summer driving season’s cabriolet appeal.
As a signature model of the Golf range since its introduction back in 1979 - check the gallery for what the original looked like - the cabriolet has not been available for nearly a decade due to VW choosing not to engineer a Golf5 version of the famous drop-top.
Thanks to an ironic twist of irony, this all changed with the bankruptcy of Osnabrück-based Karmann in April 2009. VW acquired the Karmann facility and so happened upon the specialist capacity to again assemble a cabrio Golf.
STYLISH SOFT-TOP COMEBACK
One of the best-selling cabriolets of all time (680 000 units in the production period 1979-2002), VW’s hatch-based cabriolet makes a comeback as part of Golf6 range with all the sophistication that includes. The Golf6 cabriolet’s soft-top folds away in only nine seconds and of course, due to its fabric construction, there is very little loss of boot capacity - at 250 litres it's only 25 short of its five-door hatchback sibling.
Although the signature Golf cabrio fixed roll-bar is notable by its absence (replaced instead by a hidden, pyrotechnically deployed roll-over protectors), the Golf6 cabriolet manages to convert the hatchback’s neat surfacing to a more dynamic aesthetic courtesy of its lower roofline, more rakish windscreen and all-new rear section, finished off with LED-embedded tail lights borrowed from the GTI.
Powering the new Golf cabriolet will be a range of forced-induction engines catering for all customer requirements, from frugal entry-level fuel-savers to high-performance powertrains. VW’s 77kW 1.2 TSI engine is the buy-in point, shifting via a six-speed manual transmission.
SAVING FOR HERITAGE
Two 1.4 TSI engines (in 90 and 118kW incarnations) flesh out the range, introducing seven-speed DSG, before the GTI-sourced 2.0 TSI engine, good for 155kW, headlines the Golf6 cabriolet’s performance offering. The 2.0 TSI Golf cabriolet will only be available with a six-speed DSG transmission as opposed to the 1.4 TSI models that feature seven-speed shifters.
For those Golf cabriolet customers who prefer turbodiesel power, a five-speed manual 77kW 1.6 TDI and six-speed DSG 103kW 2.0 TDI derivatives are also available, with the 1.6 TDI capable of 4.4 litres/100km average consumption.
Part of the Golf6 cabriolet’s appeal is the heritage of being a soft-top VW built in Karmann’s factory where the legendary Ghia - for many, the most striking of all VW cabriolets – was first assembled five decades ago.
So, if you need justification to start arranging your finances for a post-Christmas 2012 purchase, at least you’ll be able to thread some (rather thin) logic of the Golf6 cabriolet possessing a proper coachbuilding heritage (of sorts).
