- The regular Golf keeps the third pedal alive.
- VW offers plenty of Golf versions, just not in America.
- This is the cheapest Golf money can buy.
When the Volkswagen Golf got a facelift earlier this year, the company sadly killed the manual gearbox in the GTI and R. The hot hatches are the only flavors of the compact we get in the United States. But Europeans are spoiled for choice with a ton of other trim levels, including this refreshingly basic configuration. Notice anything special? Yes, it has a stick shift.
Aside from having a third pedal, this entry-level Golf also has something you won't find on the American model. We're talking about steel wheels, a 15-inch set with glorious hubcaps. Inside, cloth seats will have to suffice for this base model. However, Europeans can get a nicer Golf with a manual transmission by stepping up to higher trim levels, all the way up to an R-Line.
Although there's a rich variety of Golf versions in Europe, there is a problem. Cars are much more expensive, mainly because of value-added tax. VAT is 19% in Germany, which is why even this standard configuration starts at €28,330. That works out to about $31,600 at current exchange rates. VW hasn't released 2025 Golf GTI pricing in the United States but the pre-facelifted 2024 version costs only about $1,600 more than the latest entry-level Golf in Germany.
The most attainable Golf in Europe makes do with 114 horsepower from a turbocharged 1.5-liter gasoline engine. Seeing the glass half full, at least VW discontinued the tiny three-cylinder 1.0-liter engine with the facelift. With the update launched a few months ago, the German automaker also dropped the GTD, which was essentially a diesel-fueled GTI that America also didn't get.
But the real forbidden fruit is not the hatchback. It's the wagon, a more practical body style offered in Europe in spicy R guise. It's all the car you’ll probably ever need since it offers space and pace in an all-wheel-drive compact vehicle. A few more physical controls wouldn’t hurt but at least the steering wheel on the R-Line, GTI, and R has reverted to hard buttons, following criticism about the hard-to-use sensitive keys.
Although this is the final Golf generation with combustion engines, the recent updates likely don't count as a mid-cycle facelift. VW has suggested the Mk8 could stick around until 2035 when the European Union will ban sales of new cars that produce harmful emissions. Since it's only 2024, logic tells us additional tweaks to the Golf could be planned to keep the car fresh and competitive.
The fully electric Mk9 is expected to arrive before the end of the decade. That means VW will sell two generations of the Golf at the same time for several years. When the EV arrives, it'll probably kill the ID.3. Ironically, the latter was launched in 2019 as a replacement for the e-Golf.
