If you were to magically drop into a European VW dealership and check out the brand’s compact offerings, you’d find the following options: Golf hatch in 3 and 5-door trims; Golf Plus, Jetta sedan, Golf Variant (estate), Golf Cabriolet, Eos Coupe-Cabriolet, Scirocco coupe, Tiguan SUV, Touran MPV and the Beetle range.
We suppose with a little bit of effort and imagination, you could justify the existence of most aforementioned models, but you’d still be wondering what’s with the Golf Plus, which is neither a hatch or a minivan yet tries to be both.
VW continues to believe in the concept, and at the Frankfurt Motor Show, it presented its successor in the guise of the near-production Golf Sportsvan concept.
While it may look like it’s only taller than a Golf hatch, in reality, the Sportsvan actually rides on a 50mm longer wheelbase than the former (and consequently, the Golf Estate too) at 2,685 mm, which is also 107mm longer than the previous Golf Plus.
From bumper to bumper, it measures 4,338 mm, making the concept car 134 mm longer than the Golf Plus, 83 mm longer than the Golf hatchback, but 224 mm shorter than the Estate. At 1,807 mm, the Sportsvan is also 8 mm wider than the Golf and Golf Estate; the previous model was 48 mm narrower.
The Sportsvan and Plus are nearly identical in height without roof rails at 1,578 and 1,580 mm, respectively, the Golf, however, is 126 mm lower, and the Golf Estate without roof rails is 117 mm lower.
Rounding up the dimension talks, the Sportsvan has a 20 mm shorter front overhang than the Golf Plus, while the rear overhang was lengthened by 46 mm to improve size of the luggage compartment
Other than that, you won’t find many difference over the regular Golf models, with the most important being the adjustable rear seat bench and the slightly modified dashboard design.
The engine range of the production model that will follow next year is sourced from the hatch and includes six diesel and gasoline units ranging in output from 85PS (84hp) to 150PS (148hp), all fitted with a stop-start system as standard.
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