2017 Volkswagen Golf facelift images leaked

Pictures of the facelifted Volkswagen Golf 7 have been published a day before its official launch by Italian magazine Quattroruote, which seems to have since deleted them.

The low-quality images meet expectations of the first major update since VW’s seventh-generation hatchback went on sale in 2014, with changes based around subtle exterior and interior tweaks.

There’s a revised front bumper, with the most noticeable change for the flagship Volkswagen Golf R – which now features a reverse-shaped air dam and reworked side intakes featuring C-shaped LED lights.

The GTI and R also highlight a new LED headlight arrangement, which includes a switch from U- to C-shaped main LED beams.

A change for the LED tail-lights is subtler, with barely anything else of note for the rear end.

More intriguing is a bright-yellow Golf featuring large, stylish alloy wheels, a sporty front bumper, and a black diffuser-style rear bumper. It’s unknown at this stage whether this is a new-look GT, an R-Line edition, or even a new, mid-range model.

The interior pictures show a Golf with the 12.5-inch HD virtual cockpit that will be borrowed by the Passat and give buyers a digital display option over the standard analogue dials.

And central on the dash is a top-spec, high-resolution infotainment display, expected to feature the gesture control capability first hinted at by last year’s Golf R Touch concept.

The Golf is also tipped to gain the Passat’s low-speed semi-autonomous-driving system, called Traffic Jam Assist, as an option.

Limited changes are likely under the bonnet, particularly as new 1.5-litre turbo petrol and diesel units have reportedly been delayed by the ‘dieselgate’ affair.

Instead, speculation points to the recently introduced 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo becoming more prominent in the range, while there could be tickle-ups for the 1.4-litre turbos used in regular versions of the Golf sold in Australia, as well as the GTI and R performance models.

The update will carry Europe’s best-selling car towards the Mark 8 generation due in 2019.