Volkswagen Golf GTI Original, Golf R Grid to sharpen the prices
New Volkswagen Golf GTI Original and Golf R Grid models will touch down in Australia soon, the German car maker has revealed.
Both models will join their respective lines as new price leaders, opening the GTI and R badges up to buyers shopping on a tighter budget.
In a strategy similar to that employed by BMW with the M3 Pure, Volkswagen has cut a few nonessentials from each model to bring down prices – although it is not yet detailing just what you’ll miss out on.
As its name suggests, the GTI Original will join the very first Golf GTI in being offered with three doors only. The Golf R Grid, on the other hand, will come in five-door hatch and wagon form.
Both of the new entry-level performance hatch options will be available with either a six-speed manual or with a DSG dual-clutch automatic – six-speed for the GTI, seven in the R. The R wagon will continue as a DSG-only offering.
Power in both cases will mirror that of their regular counterparts, with the GTI Original matching the 169kW/350Nm of the newly updated GTI, and the R Grid getting the same 213kW/380Nm numbers recently bestowed upon the regular R.
Specific pricing for either model is still to be revealed, although the company’s local arm has confirmed the GTI Original will be offered from below $40,000 – undercutting the regular GTI’s $41,990 starting price.
The GTI Original will also join the far pricier DSG-only $47,990 GTI Performance Edition 1 in being the only variants to be offered in three-door form, and this fact alone could see the manual-equipped Original’s price start from close to or even below $38,000.
Likewise, the Golf R Grid will cut the price of entry into the ‘proper’ R range, dropping below $50,000 for the first time. An exact starting price is still to be revealed, but with the regular R kicking off from $52,990, there will be a saving of at least $3000 to be had with the Grid model.
The GTI Original will go on sale in the first quarter of 2018, while the R Grid will arrive before the end of 2017. Volkswagen says it will reveal full pricing and specs for both new badges "in the coming weeks”.
In the meantime, watch for our review coverage of the Golf 7.5 GTI and R models to come this week.
Source: caradvice.com
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