End of the road for the Golf, friends.
Volkswagen
The Volkswagen Golf will no longer be sold in the US, the German brand said on Wednesday. After two years of hinting that the hatchback will leave these parts, VW finally decided to give us a straight answer. However, it’s not all bad news. The eighth-generation Golf GTI and Golf R will still come to America. It’s just that American buyers have largely shunned compact cars in recent years, and the standard Golf just wasn’t cutting it on VW’s sales charts.
In fact, the far more expensive Golf GTI actually outsold the standard Golf handily during the seventh-generation hatchback’s time. Shoppers still looking for a compact car from VW will have to set their sights on the Jetta instead, or the upcoming Taos crossover. The little SUV should be far more agreeable to American buyers in a car market obsessed with utility vehicles.
Following the Golf’s introduction in 1974, VW managed to sell 2.5 million of them locally. If you’re hoping to nab one of the last ones, there’s still time, though. The brand said while production of the US-spec Golf ended in Mexico last week, the final 2021 model year is stocked at dealers nationwide. If you find one, it comes in just a single variant as the brand shows it the door: the TSI trim. The Golf TSI includes a 1.4-liter turbo-four engine mated to a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission and rocks 16-inch alloy wheels, leatherette upholstery and standard heated seats. Smart keyless entry and a suite of driver-assist features all come standard on the final Golfs, too.
Prices for the latest of the Golfs start at $24,190, but the Golf TSI equipped with an automatic costs a few hundred bucks more at $24,990. Both prices include a $995 destination charge. We’ll get our first taste of the new Golf already on sale in Europe when VW ships the first 2022 Golf GTI and R models to the US this coming fall.
Watch this:
5 things you need to know about the 2019 VW Golf GTI
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