2025 VW Golf '8.5' price and specs announced

The refreshed 'Mark 8.5' Volkswagen Golf, unveiled in January 2024, is due in Australian showrooms this April.

Australia's Golf range will again kick off with the entry Life, followed by the Style, R-Line, GTI and the performance flagship, the Golf R.

The 2025 Volkswagen Golf Life, Style, and R-Line variants retain the 110kW/250Nm 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine previously offered, coupled to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

As ever with the Golf range – and despite growing interest in the option among other brands – Australia will continue to go without the hybrid and plug-in hybrid options available in Europe.

Some will also be pleased to note the capacitive steering wheel of GTI and R models has been replaced with the same version fitted to standard Golf variants, which sees a return to physical controls – in line with VW's shift away from touch-sensitive buttons to address customer 'frustration'.

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2025 Volkswagen Golf equipment

Golf Life

The Life is still a couple grand more expensive than where the Golf kicked off from only two years ago, but it's also better equipped than ever before.

Standard kit includes 17-inch alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors, Park Assist, a rear-view camera, LED headlights with Light Assist, keyless entry and alarm, surround lighting, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, single-zone climate control, a 10.3-inch infotainment display, DAB+ digital radio, a ventilated wireless smartphone charger, and wireless App-Connect.

Interior niceties are rounded out with carpeted door pockets, a multi-tier adjustable centre armrest, vanity mirror lights, and rear air vents – all elements that Volkswagen's local arm describes as "long ignored" by "several other competitors".

Standard safety features in the Golf Life include Travel Assist (combining adaptive cruise control and Lane Assist), Front Assist with pedestrian and cyclist detection, and Side Assist with rear cross-traffic alert.

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Golf Style

The Golf Style grade boosts the premium appointments with 18-inch alloy wheels with chrome exterior highlights, dark-tinted privacy glass, and LED Plus headlights.

The cabin gets a larger 12.9-inch infotainment screen with integrated navigation and IDA voice assistance.

Thirty-colour ambient lighting is also standard, along with an ErgoActive driver's seat with 14-way electric adjustment and memory, and ArtVelours microfleece upholstery throughout the five-person cabin.

Golf Style buyers can also option a panoramic sunroof and a 'Sound & Vision' package, adding Harman/Kardon audio, a head-up display and a 360-degree camera system – the latter being a first for the Golf.

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Golf R-Line

The R-Line tops the 'regular' part of the Golf range, adding a sports focus while retaining the 1.4-litre 110kW/250Nm engine.

Standard features for the R-Line 18-inch alloy wheels, driving profile selection (including Sport mode), progressive steering for sharper responses, R-Line specific exterior and interior styling including front sport seats, and now, standard Vienna leather-appointed upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats, plus electric driver’s seat with memory function.

The R-Line is also available with the optional sunroof and Sound & Vision package.

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Golf GTI

VW's sports icon, the Golf GTI, gains a handful of updates for the 2025 model year.

Under the bonnet, the GTI's long-serving EA888 2.0-litre turbo petrol four-cylinder takes a handy power boost, mirroring the European market's leap from 180 to 195kW.

This isn't the first time we've seen a 195kW Golf GTI in Australia, but it's the first time the regular model has had the treatment. Torque is unchanged at 370kW, and that's plenty for this front-wheel-drive hot hatch.

The transmission on offer remains an auto-only affair, but this time it's not just Australia – where the manual was dropped in 2018 – but also for Europe. Flags at half-mast, folks.

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Other performance-focused updates to the Golf 8.5 GTI include revised steering and DCC Pro adaptive chassis control as standard, and new 19-inch alloy wheels – up from 18, when 19s were a box to tick.

The rubber package hasn't been detailed, but the previous GTI's optional 19s were wrapped in Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3 or Bridgestone Potenza S005 tyres.

Other standard features include a 12.9-inch main display, metallic paint, fog lights, the new Park Assist Plus, tri-zone climate control, LED Plus headlights, and 30-colour ambient lighting.

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The panoramic sunroof is now available as a standalone option on the GTI, separate from the previous Luxury Package. Uniquely, this change means buyers can choose the classic tartan cloth trim with the sunroof for the first time.

A new Leather Package is also available, offering Vienna leather trim, along with an electric driver's seat and heated/ventilated front seats, without the need to include the sunroof.

The Sound & Vision package for the GTI adds a 360-degree camera (Area View), a Harman/Kardon audio system, and a head-up display.

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Golf R

The flagship Golf R also gets a power bump, now producing 245kW as standard – a 10kW increase over the outgoing series production model.

Standard kit for the 2025 Golf 8.5 R includes LED Matrix headlights, premium LED tail-lights, Nappa leather upholstery, an electric driver's seat with memory, heated and ventilated front seats, Harman/Kardon audio, Area View, and 19-inch alloys.

For 2025, the Golf R gains a torque-vectoring rear axle, joining Sport ESC and Special modes, including Nurburgring (usable on road and track) and Drift (track only) modes.

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Golf R Black Edition

A Golf R Black Edition will also be offered, featuring brooding dark accents throughout.

Both R models list a 0-100km/h of 4.6 seconds.

And, if you missed the news, the Golf R wagon was dumped back in 2023. Fans looking for a quick wagon in the VGA stable can, at least, turn to the newly updated Octavia RS.

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