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Introduction background 2
summary 3
production 4
Design exterior 5
roof 6
interior 6
climate control 7
Engines 1.2-litre TSI 105 PS 8
1.4-litre TSI 122 PS 8
1.4-litre TSI 160 PS 9
2.0-litre TSI 210 PS (GTI) 9
2.0-litre TSI 265 PS (R) 9
1.6-litre TDI 105 PS 10
2.0-litre TDI 140 PS 10
BlueMotion Technology 11
gearboxes 11
servicing 12
Running gear front and rear axle 13
electro-mechanical power steering 13
braking system 13
XDS Electronic Differential Control 14
hill hold function 14
Equipment highlights S 15
SE, GT, GTI 16
R 17
Technical highlights and wind deflector 17
factory fit options luxury pack 17
bi-xenon headlights 18
parking sensors and Park Assist 18
Driver Alert System 18
satellite navigation systems 19
telephone preparation 19
Safety and security features 20
Euro NCAP results 21
line-up with insurance groups 21
Warranties details 22
History development of the original Golf Cabriolet 22
timeline 23
THE GOLF CABRIOLET
With total sales of around 1.42 million units, Volkswagen is one of the world’s most successful producers of convertibles. Part of this success story lies with the Golf Cabriolet: from 1979 to 2002, 684,000 Golf Cabriolets were sold. That was chapter one. Chapter two began after a nine year absence, with the soft-top Golf returning in 2011 – and in better shape then ever.
First shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 2011, the new two-door, four-seater, front-engined soft top joined the range alongside the Eos hard-top convertible. It is fitted as standard with an electrically-powered fabric roof which can be lowered in just 9 seconds including on the move at speeds up to around 18 mph. No separate roof cover is needed, contributing to the very rapid opening time, and resulting in less bootspace intrusion and meaning that even with the roof down, there is 250 litres of available space.
The Golf Cabriolet is around 20 cm shorter than the Eos, measuring 4,246 mm in length, 1,423 mm in height and 1,782 mm wide. The 2,578 mm wheelbase (same as Mk VI Golf hatchback) ensures there is plenty of interior space for all four passengers, while a 50:50 split/folding rear seat and Easy-Entry function ensure maximum practicality and good access to the rear.
At the front, the grille and bonnet make the new soft-top model clearly identifiable as a Golf; however from the heavily raked windscreen back, it’s all new, giving a sportier appearance. At the rear, new lights plus a deep crease in the bootlid are distinctive design features.
What can’t be seen from the outside are the differences that have been incorporated under the skin. In changing the hatchback to a soft-top, modifications were made to ensure that safety, comfort and refinement were not compromised in the cabriolet version. These include reinforced window frames and structural modifications to the underbody, side panels, cross-members and doors to endow the new car with an extremely high level of torsional rigidity. Also benefiting refinement is the design of the fabric roof which has an additional exterior skin, as well as new window and door seals.
Safety has always been a Golf attribute and the Cabriolet is no different in this respect. An active rollover protection system is employed, ABS, ESP and front and side head/thorax airbags are also all standard.
The Golf Cabriolet is available with a choice of seven engines. These comprise five petrols: a 1.2-litre TSI 105 PS, 1.4-litre TSI 122 PS, 1.4-litre TSI 160 PS and 2.0-litre TSI units with 210 PS for the GTI (introduced in June 2012) and 265 PS for the range-topping R model (introduced in May 2013); plus two diesels: a 1.6-litre TDI 105 PS and a 2.0-litre TDI 140 PS. DSG automatic transmission is offered while BlueMotion Technology modifications are applied to the diesel engines to ensure high efficiency and low emissions.
Five trim levels are available – S, SE, GT, GTI and R – and all have a high level of standard specification, featuring 16-inch alloy wheels, and Bluetooth among other items. Moving up to SE, features such as 2Zone climate control, cruise control, parking sensors and automatic lights are added, while GT adds a number of new highlights including sports suspension, Alcantara upholstery and 18-inch alloy wheels. At the top of the range the GTI model takes styling cues from the iconic hatchback, including the honeycomb grille and red colour details, plus ‘Jacara’ tartan cloth, while the R adds, among other items, unique R trims and leather upholstery.
The new model is built at Volkswagen Osnabrück (formerly the Karmann company) in Germany. UK order books opened on 1 July 2011, with the first customer deliveries taking place in September that year.
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SUMMARY
· First shown early in 2011 and premiered at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2011
· New two-door, four-seater, front-engined soft top joins the range, alongside the Eos which has a folding hard top and integrated sunroof
· New Golf Cabriolet is fitted as standard with an electrically-powered soft top which can be lowered in just 9 seconds including on the move at speeds up to around 18 mph. No separate roof cover is needed, contributing to the very rapid opening time, and resulting in less bootspace intrusion: even with the roof down, there is 250 litres of available space
· External dimensions: 4,246 mm (length), 1,423 mm (height) and 1,782 mm (width) (208 mm shorter than Eos); 2,578 mm wheelbase ensures maximum interior space for all four passengers
· Has a split/folding (50:50) rear seat; Easy-Entry function ensures good access to the rear
· Clearly identifiable as a Golf, though heavily raked windscreen gives a sportier appearance; new lights plus a deep crease in the bootlid are distinctive rear design features
· Despite similar styling, in changing the hatchback to a soft top, modifications were made to ensure that safety, comfort and refinement were not compromised in the cabriolet version. These include reinforced window frames and structural modifications to the underbody, side panels, cross-members and doors to endow the new car with an extremely high level of torsional rigidity
· Also benefiting refinement is the design of the fabric roof which has an additional exterior skin, as well as new window and door seals
· Safety is also key, with an active rollover protection system, ABS, ESP, airbags all round and a driver’s knee airbag all fitted as standard
· Seven engines are available: five petrol – a 1.2-litre TSI 105 PS, 1.4-litre TSI 122 PS, 1.4-litre TSI 160 PS, 2.0-litre TSI with 210 PS (GTI) or 265 PS (R); and two diesel – a 1.6-litre TDI 105 PS and 2.0-litre TDI 140 PS
· DSG automatic transmission is offered with selected engines, and standard on R. BlueMotion Technology modifications are applied to the diesel engines to ensure high efficiency and low emissions
· Five trim levels are offered in the UK: S, SE, GT, GTI and R. All have a high level of standard specification with 16-inch alloy wheels, a fully automatic electro-hydraulically operated soft top, DAB radio and Bluetooth
· With total sales of around 1.42 million units, Volkswagen is one of the world’s most successful producers of convertibles; from 1979 to 2002, 684,000 Golf Cabriolets were sold
· New model is built at Volkswagen Osnabrück (formerly the Karmann company) in Germany
· Order books opened in July 2011; first customer deliveries in September 2011. Range-topping GTI went on sale in the UK in June 2012; R in May 2013
· The best-sellers are the SE 1.6-litre TDI 105 PS accounting for around 30 per cent and the GT 2.0-litre TDI BlueMotion Technology 140 PS with 16 per cent of sales
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Production
The Golf Cabriolet is produced at the Volkswagen plant in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany and covers an area of 361,000 square metres.
With an annual production capacity of some 100,000 vehicles it covers all aspects of vehicle production – from the development and tools and systems through press shop, body shop, paint shop and assembly to shipping. Osnabrück also has its own component production for body part systems which operates independent of vehicle production. By the end of 2011, Volkswagen will have invested a total of €300 million in vehicle development, products and ramp-up costs. Structural measures included items such as the refurbishment of 13,440 square metres of floors and 5,000 litres of paint.
Production of the new Golf Cabriolet at the Osnabrück plant began in March 2011 and there are plans to expand Osnabrück into a multi-brand facility as part of the Volkswagen Group production network. As such the size of the workforce is likely to rise from 1,250 employed in March to 1,800 by December.
The paint shop is the centrepiece of the Osnabrück plant. It is one of the Group’s most advanced and most efficient paint shops and features prominently in the plans to turn the plant into a multi-brand facility. Designed for a capacity of approximately 100,000 vehicles, the 50,000 m2 paint shop is extremely flexible and well suited to handling different brands and products. 480 bodies can be painted per working day, and the paint shop can handle all the paints typically associated with the different Group brands. Changing the colour of the paint from Sunset Red to Pure White only takes a few seconds. And in that time, a self-cleaning system has readied the pipes and nozzles for the new colour. The paint shop is automatically programmed to manage 130 colours, and can also process all special colours mixed to customers’ individual wishes.
The Volkswagen Supervisory Board laid the foundation for building new cars at the Karmann site is Osnabrück on November 20, 2009. This marked the start of negotiations with the Karmann holding company and the administrator to acquire land, machinery and equipment. The decision was also taken to establish a Volkswagen subsidiary, Volkswagen Osnabrück GmbH, which entered the commercial register in December 2009 and immediately began preparations to build the Golf Cabriolet. The land, buildings and production facilities were taken over in March 2010. 292 employees from technical development were transferred to the new company in December 2010 and were joined by a further 329 employees from the metal unit in March 2011.
Osnabrück car collection
Exactly 2,517,964 Volkswagen brand vehicles have been produced in Osnabrück since 1949. If the Porsche (35,508) and DKW/Audi (192,736) models are added to this figure, a total of 2,746,208 Group vehicles have left the lines in Osnabrück (and Rheine).
With the start of production for the new Golf Cabriolet, Volkswagen is continuing the success story of that model which was built there between 1978 and 2001; during that period 600,765 models came off the production lines in Osnabrück.
In order to preserve this tradition, Volkswagen and the administrator reached agreement of the transfer of 73 selected models tracing the history of the Volkswagen Group and the Osnabrück location. The legendary Karmann Ghia, the Beetle Cabrio, the three Golf Cabriolet series, the Scirocco or the Corrado are milestones in Volkswagen’s automotive history. Fascinating collectors’ items such as the Porsche 356 B hardtop coupé, the Volkswagen-Porsche or the Volkswagen SP-2 remain with the Group, too. The collection also includes unique specimens designed by the legendary Italian designer Giorgio Giugiaro and considered to be the forerunners of the Scirocco and the first Golf.
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DESIGN
Exterior
The Golf Cabriolet – as the name suggests – is clearly a Golf by design, incorporating all the award-winning features of the successful hatchback model. But it has a sportier appearance with a more heavily raked windscreen at the front and a visually very short boot. When the roof is down, the Golf Cabriolet looks long and elegant; with the roof up, the compact and crisp styling lines reflect the character of the previous generation convertible Golf. One key difference: thanks to new rollover protection systems, the old Golf Cabriolet’s distinctive so-called ‘strawberry basket’ handle is no longer needed.
At the rear, smoked LED lights were adapted from the Golf hatchback, but the rest is all new with the bootlid extending low into the bumper when closed, and opening high to allow unimpeded access to the practical bootspace. A continuous chrome strip extends right from the A-pillar, along the window line to the back, where it forms a visual contrast between the lower edge of the soft top and the bootlid.
GolfCabriolet / Eos / Golf
hatchback
length, mm / 4246 / 4423 / 4199
width, w/out door mirrors, mm / 1782 / 1791 / 1779
height, mm / 1423 / 1444 / 1480
wheelbase, mm / 2578 / 2578 / 2578
front track, mm / 1535 / 1545 / 1541
rear track, mm / 1508 / 1547 / 1514
bootspace, roof up, litres / 250 / 380 / 350
bootspace, roof down, litres / 250 / 205 / N/A
From hard-top to soft-top
Although the Golf Cabriolet bears comparison to the hard-top Golf, it was not created by simply removing the roof and replacing it with fabric. Substantial changes were made to ensure the Golf remains one of the most refined and comfortable cars on the road.
The soft top itself consists of a linkage, a roofliner, insulating filler layer throughout and exterior cover. The joints of the longitudinal seams of the exterior cover fabrics (centre panel and two side panels) are designed to serve as an additional drip rail. What’s more, mounted between the longitudinal frames of the top linkage are a total of four roof cross bows and the so-called front roof bow (the first large transverse element behind the windscreen frame). The soft top is joined to the roof bows by screw-fastened fabric retention strips meaning that even at higher speeds, the fabric roof does not fill with air, which has a positive effect on aerodynamics.