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2011 Volkswagen Golf 6 Cabrio Review

February 2011
Filed under: VOLKSWAGEN Car News | VOLKSWAGEN Headlines

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In its presentation of the Golf 6 Cabriolet at the 81st Geneva International Motor Show, Volkswagen is writing a new chapter of a global success story. The four-seater has an innovative soft top with an electro-hydraulic drive that opens the Golf's top in just 9.5 seconds.

The new Volkswagen's styling follows that of its hard-top three-door counterpart, but it shows a high level of independence with a new rear section, lower profile roof line and more swept-back angle of its front windscreen frame. The convertible's image is especially dynamic when ordered with optional bi-xenon headlights. Always a standard feature: the LED rear lights like those of the GTI. Other standard safety features offering peace of mind are the automatically deploying roll-over bar, front airbags, side head/thorax airbags, knee airbag for the driver and ESP.

The Golf 6 is one of the quietest convertibles today. Its soothing quietness is attributable to the new soft top that was optimized in specific ways. It also has a standard hydraulic drive that opens the Golf's top extremely quickly. The top can also be opened or closed during driving at speeds of up to 30 km/h.

Ideal for cruising with a convertible are the six turbocharged direct-injection engines whose power outputs range from 77 kW / 105 PS to 155 kW / 210 PS. Four of the petrol engines (TSI) and one diesel (TDI) are available with the DSG dual-clutch gearbox; while three of the engines are available with energy-saving BlueMotion Technology. Just how efficiently the Golf 6 Cabriolet handles fuel is illustrated by the 1.6 TDI with 105 PS and BlueMotion Technology: It only consumes 4.4 l/100 km (equivalent to 117 g/km CO2).

In Germany, advance sales begin tomorrow with prices starting at 23.625,- Euros. Essentially, all of the features offered in the classic, hard top Golf are also available in the Golf 6 Cabriolet. The only feature that will definitely not be offered is a sunroof ...

FIRST SIGNS OF SUMMER APPEAR AS GOLF 6 CABRIOLET BREAKS COVER

The first images of Volkswagen's Golf 6 Cabriolet have been revealed ahead of the car making its public debut at next week's Geneva Motor Show.

The two-door, four-seater, front-engined soft top is the first Golf Cabriolet available since the Mk IV Golf, and builds on the company's heritage for producing popular convertibles which started with the original Beetle cabriolet and still continues today with the Eos. With sales of around 1.42 million units, Volkswagen is one of the world's most successful producers of convertibles.

But the latest Golf Cabriolet marks a whole new era of open-top motoring, boasting an electrically-powered soft top which can be lowered in just 9.5 seconds including on the move at speeds up to around 18 mph, a range of efficient petrol and diesel engines as well as the highest levels of quality, refinement and safety.

Measuring 4,215 mm in length, 1,424 mm in height and 1,779 mm in width, the Golf Cabriolet is smaller than the Eos. Yet despite being 208 mm shorter than the Eos, the cars share a 2,578 mm wheelbase, resulting in maximum interior space for all four passengers. From the front the new model is unmistakably a Golf, and adopts the now familiar `face' incorporating the latest Volkswagen `design DNA'. The heavily raked windscreen gives it a sportier appearance than the hatchback model, while at the rear, new LED lights and a deep crease in the bootlid endow the Golf 6 Cabriolet with its own individual style. Inside the Golf Cabriolet's appearance matches very closely that of the hatchback, adopting the same high-quality materials and design.

The Golf 6 Cabriolet will be offered in the UK with a choice of trim levels - S, SE and GT - and all will have a high level of standard specification which is likely to include 16-inch alloy wheels, a fully automatic electro-hydraulically operated soft top, DAB radio and Bluetooth.

As customers would expect from any car in the Golf family, the Cabriolet will be equipped with the highest levels of safety equipment. This will include an active roll-over protection system, ABS, ESP, airbags all round and a driver's knee airbag.

In addition to active safety equipment, protection is built into the Golf Cabriolet's design. A reinforced window frame and structural modifications to the underbody, side panels, cross-members and doors endow the new car with an extremely high level of torsional rigidity which benefits safety, comfort and refinement.

Also having a positive impact on noise reduction and refinement is the advanced design of the Golf Cabriolet's fabric roof which has an additional exterior skin, as well as new window and door seals. The heated rear windscreen is integrated in the soft top with high frequency welding. When the top is down, the upper side of the leading edge (the segment the directly connects to the windscreen frame) covers the entire top surface of the roof storage box, eliminating the need for a separate cover. This contributes to the very rapid opening time, and means it does not need to descend as deep into the bootspace. Even with the roof down, there is 250 liters of available space.

A choice of six engines will be available: three from launch (a 1.2-litre TSI 105 PS, 1.4-litre TSI 160 PS and a 1.6-litre 105 PS TDI) and a further three later in the year (a 1.4-litre TSI 122 PS, 2.0-litre TSI 210 PS and a 2.0-litre TDI with 140 PS). BlueMotion Technology modifications will be applied to the diesel engines to ensure high efficiency and low emissions.

Volkswagen UK plans to begin taking orders for the Golf 6 Cabriolet in July, with the first customer orders arriving in September. More details and pricing information will be available closer to launch.

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