Golf Mk8 has been delayed a couple of months but we’ll have plenty of new diversions from VW NZ in the meantime.

FOUR high-profile Volkswagen products are still tracking true for New Zealand though volume count for several might hit speed bumps as the year unfolds.

This from the brand’s New Zealand boss, Greg Leet, who says while the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown certainly haven’t made life easy, neither has it completely thrown impending introductions of the T-Cross and T-Roc – crossovers with huge volume potential through giving VW solid standing in the sub-Tiguan compact sector -  the Golf GTi TCR and a new Touareg V8.

 Though new car sellers are bracing for 2020 to be a tough year, with stock supplies looming and growing likelihood that registrations could be down by at least 40 percent on the bumper 2019 tally, the Auckland distributor’s intents not only remain more or less on track but could yet be further emboldened by heartening by latest news from Germany.

Notwithstanding the huge hit the global car industry has taken from coronavirus – first with parts supply problems and then with complete production shutdowns – Volkswagen Group is already looking set to imminently re-open some plants in Europe, albeit with social distancing measures in place.

On top of this, prior to the virus’s impact, it was already re-establishing  models that had been delayed or briefly curtailed last year as result of the brand being challenged to  meet Europe’s WLTP emissions testing requirements.

Also, while the national sales network is closed to the public, the Auckland-centred head office has remained busy – albeit with staff working from home – in planning life beyond lockdown, including localised implementation of the latest, simplified VW logo, which became official today.

Additionally, products built and shipped out of plants, mainly in Europe, have already landed or are set to ship in soon, so will be available to the public as soon as is allowed.

The first big T-Cross shipment landed just days before the nation went to Level 4 on March 26, so just a handful of the Polo-based front-drive model made it into dealerships – but more are awaiting dispersal.

The car (above) initially represents in $34,240 Life and $38,490 Style formats, with a turbocharged three-cylinder petrol that produces 85kW of power and 200Nm of torque and mates to a dual-clutch automatic transmission, with these to be joined by an R-Line, taking a 110kW/250Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder. VW NZ has also secured 42 examples of a launch special, in First Edition trim, this also with the smaller engine and a bespoke trim. This costs $39,990. 

Meantime, the T-Roc, which shares a Golf platform, is now tracking for local release in July – three months later than expected, because the first NZ-bound consignment missed a sailing through being held up at the Spanish border.

It will also provision in three levels of specification, topping with a continuation of the R-Line trim that briefly availed last year with the surprise introduction of cars originally built for the United Kingdom that were subsequently made available as a one-off taster for NZ.

The Life and Style models feature the same 1.5-litre as T-Cross, with identical outputs, while the R-Line keeps the 140kW/320Nm 2.0-litre already experienced in those 150 examples already here and also holds the same price: $51,990. The Life and Style models, meantime, sticker at $39,990 and $44,990. As with T-Cross, T-Roc runs with a dual clutch transmission. But it’s also going to have all-wheel-drive in the top spec.

The cars adopt similar stylings but in different sizes. T-Cross is a longer overall (by 54mm) and in wheelbase (by 13mm) than the Polo and is 112mm taller, but only fractionally wider (at 1750mm) than VW’s smallest hatch. T-Roc is around 250mm shorter than the Tiguan, and otherwise similar in stance to its donor.

A First Line special edition part of the Touareg V8’s introduction; this $149,990 edition packs delivers with the 48-volt active roll stabilisation system that is a $7500 cost-extra on the mainstream alternate, which will retail for $141,990. The First Line also has a Black Pack trim and a top-level Dynaudio sound system that, again, aren’t standard to the cheaper variant. 

Of course, the main attraction is the powerplant, a version of the mighty eight-cylinder turbodiesel that has until now restricted to richer fare, in the shape of Audi’s SQ7 and SQ8 and the Bentley Bentayga.

VW NZ anticipates keen interest in the twin-turbo 4.0-litre unit that stands as a new-era equivalent of the V10 turbodiesel that figured in the first generation Touareg and was developed at the behest of Ferdinand Piech to simultaneously elevate the diesel engine and the VW brand.

The incoming unit isn’t the premium version, in that it doesn’t take the electric supercharger that Bentley’s rig also achieves, but with 310kW and 900Nm nonetheless generates 87kW more power and 151Nm more torque than the old 10-cylinder, and of course utterly gazumps the current V6, which in strongest format makes 210kW and 600Nm.

Also set to satisfy sporting tastes is that Golf GTI TCR, probably landing in July and intended as a swansong not just to the current GTI but also to the Golf 7.5 range – though, in that respect, because of coronavirus the current line will now be around for the remainder of the year, rather than replaced in October by the Mk 8 form in October.

Leet’s new plan now is to introduce new generation in January. Hopefully. Meantime, VW Germany will keep making the 7.5 version for NZ - on the same line that is otherwise pumping out the next generation for many other markets – with an R Limited model also coming to keep up mainstream interest while the TCR targets hard-out enthusiasts.

 The latter should move through the showroom as quickly as it nails all the usual performance tests.

Named in recognition of a brand involvement in Touring Car Racing  that has since discontinued, the special dethrones the GTI 40 Years as the most powerful Golf GTI ever. In that it has a permanent peak power figure of 213kW from its 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-pot engine – as opposed to the 40 Years, which could only reach the same power on overboost.

Peak torque comes in at 350Nm, the same as with a regular GTi. The grunt is delivered exclusively to the front wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission – so, not the seven-speed going to some other markets.

Dynamic deftness is enhanced with it using a limited-slip differential on the front axle, a firmer suspension set-up that rides 5mm lower than the GTI, a unique adaptive chassis control system and beefed-up front brakes.

It also announces with a unique engine note provided by the bespoke exhaust system. VW reckons on 0-100kmh in 5.7 seconds. That’s 0.6s quicker than the 40 Years and just 0.9s shy of the R.

Price? It’s still being finalised, but should be just over $65,000. And availability? Well, best be quick: Just 40 units are earmarked.

Visually, the TCR is distinguished by its honeycomb decals, 19-inch alloys wheels and black roof, plus three exterior paint colours – Pure White, Pure Grey and Tornado Red.

The interior treatment includes Alcantara accents on the gear lever and door trim inserts, black and red cloth upholstery, GTI steering wheel with perforated leather on the hand positions and a red 12 o’clock marker.

Other exclusive standard equipment includes LED headlights with dynamic cornering function and dynamic light assist.

These features build on a standard GTI provision which includes GTI body styling, electrically folding exterior mirrors, keyless entry and start, an 8.0-inch infotainment system with sat-nav, active info display, city autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian monitoring, adaptive cruise control with lane keep assist, traffic jam assist, emergency assist, blind spot monitor, rear cross-traffic alert and a rearview camera with park assist.

Speaking of kit. Even though the T-Cross will seem a bit pricier than some compact rivals, it also promises to perhaps have a longer features list than usual, with all high-level safety and driver assists standard, including pedestrian and cyclist monitoring. Adaptive cruise control, lane and side assist, a rear view camera, park assist and park distance is also standard.

Meantime, VW here is considering further additions to these families, but says the T-Roc convertible has already been decided against while performance-tuned R version is perhaps several years away.

Also unlikely to be seen for a while yet is the Touareg R Hybrid, revealed internationally in February and VW’s very first R model to have a plug-in hybrid powertrain, in this instance delivering ability to run solely on electric power at  up to 140kmh and for 30km range thanks to a lithium-ion battery pack mounted beneath the boot.