New Volkswagen Golf GTI Original and Golf R Grid
models will touch down in Australia soon.
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.
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 230 Hp/350 Nm of the
newly updated GTI, and the R Grid getting the same 290 Hp/380 Nm 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 AUD 40,000 – undercutting the regular GTI’s AUD 41,990 starting
price. The GTI Original will also join the far pricier DSG-only AUD 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 AUD 38,000.
The Golf R Grid will cut the price of
entry into the ‘proper’ R range, dropping below AUD 50,000 for the first time. An
exact starting price is still to be revealed, but with the regular R kicking
off from AUD 52,990, there will be a saving of at least AUD 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”.
