Press Release
Golf Plus - In detail
Volkswagen's other Golf
- All-round vehicle: Golf Plus unites numerous strengths of Golf and Touran
- Cleverly designed: multi-variable rear seating system and 1,450 litres storage capacity
The clever design of the new Golf Plus includes, among other features, a lengthways adjustable rear seat with a newly-developed folding kinematics system, first-class ergonomic seating, and with up to 43 storage and attachment possibilities offering space in abundance. Apart from ESP and various airbags, an added safety standard making its d??????????????????but in the Golf class is the particularly quickresponse integrated LED tail-lights. Another innovation on board the Golf is the optional active curve lights.
Golf Plus - in good company: Five Golf Generations, five evolutionary phases, thirty years of continuous development, thirty years at number 1. The Golf. A design which became the nucleus of the most successful car family of all time. Bora, New Beetle, New Beetle Cabriolet, Caddy Live, Touran - all these carry the Golf gene. Last year, more than 1.35 million of the world's population chose one of these models. During the first ten months of 2004, around 665,000 car drivers in Western Europe alone selected a Golf or Touran.
Dimensions: Although instantly recognisable as a Golf on first sight, the stylistic details overflow with independence and open up a completely new Golf perspective. The starting point? The height: with its 1.58 metres the Golf Plus surpasses the Golf by exactly 95 millimetres, but remains 5.4 centimetres below the Touran. The Golf Plus is immediately recognisable as a Golf through the characteristic radiator grille, the front wing and the bonnet, the C-pillar, the bumper and the large hatch back design. For the Golf Plus is a further developed version of the original Golf design with more height and space, and no mere reflection.
A detailed view of the Golf Plus bodywork
The Golf Plus designers re-created doors, bonnet, bumper, wing, roof, headlights and tail-lights for the new model. The only bodywork parts remaining the same are the wing mirrors, VW-logo, door handles and optional navigation system antenna.The Front: The V-shape bonnet continues the classic line of the radiator grille in the case of both Golf and Golf Plus. Yet while this "V" can be found deeply embedded between the high-arching wings in the classic model, the proportions used in the "new" version are just the opposite. The V-modulation is contoured upwards, while the wings, on the other hand, lie lower down. In this respect, the Golf Plus follows the stylistic example set by both Touran and Touareg, meeting the demands of a correspondingly high vehicle, as the bonnet, must, in this case, fuse homogeneously with the higher-built windscreen.
The wing contour changes prove striking, while the headlights, with their three round integrated light elements (indicator, dipped beam and full beam), are as large as they are impressive. These stretch, similar to the Touareg (four by four), far into the respective wing. During the first six months of 2005, the Golf Plus will additionally be available with active curve lights, whose beam constantly follows the steering direction, thus offering an evident safety advantage.
Silhouette: The headlight extension starts off a side line, which continues at door handle height until finally reaching the tail-lights. This lends the Golf Plus a clear tension, dividing as it does the naturally high door surface in the upper quarter. At the same time, this line ensures that both front and rear wings appear broad and muscular.
The Rear: The rear of the Golf Plus has also been subject to the redesigning process. The inwards-pointing, trapezium-shaped taillights and the large rear window extend as far as the C-pillars. Typical Volkswagen: the round functional components which form the revolutionary Phaeton-style LED tail-lights, used for the first time in this class. The rear area is also characterised by being extremely well-suited to everyday life: the edge is a mere 62.4 centimetres high, the narrowest storage loading width is 100.8 centimetres, with the maximum height 84.2 centimetres. The hatch back opens up to an impressive 2.08 metres in height.
LED tail-lights: functions: The Golf Plus' LED tail-lights consist of two basic elements, located outside on the wing and inside in the boot respectively. In the outer section, the LEDs form the tail-, indicator- and brake- lights. This forms an added safety feature, particularly as far as brake- and indicator lights are concerned: In contrast to conventional light bulbs, LED-lights excel by means of a far faster response time. The following traffic is thus alerted earlier. A further advantage is the homogeneous nature of the lit surfaces. The use of LEDs allows functional surfaces to be constructed completely with brilliant optics without coloured interim discs for the first time. The inner parts of the lighting unit are, in contrast, fitted with light bulbs, as this technology does better justice to the job performed by reverse and fog lights. The third brake-light, integrated into the roof edge spoiler, also functions with LEDs.
