Volkswagen intends to give the Golf a facelift next year, and rumor has it that the biggest change will be the complete discontinuation of the manual gearbox option.
We are told that the GTI hot hatch and all other manual modifications of the Golf will go automatic. The alleged reason is that the company is facing the need to make the Golf lineup compliant with the strict Euro-7 emission requirements – or discontinue it altogether.
Per the official information, the Golf GTI that lets you row your own gears produces mere 2 grams of extra CO2 compared to its automatic counterpart – 162 grams versus 160. Even so, if you recalculate the emission numbers taking into account the total number of cars produced and extrapolate them onto a year of regular use, the difference becomes substantial.
According to Volkswagen Brand’s Board Member for Technical Development, Kai Grünitz, all Golf models may end up without the stick shift soon. It will be the end of an era for the Golf GTI in particular, which has been going manual since 1975.
Grünitz added that the decision is not final yet. The Euro-7 standards haven’t been finalized yet with discussions still ongoing. If they do get adopted in their current form, Volkswagen will have no other choice but to say goodbye to the stick shift. There is no comment on whether the manufacturer’s other manual cars may be affected as well.