Volkswagen

What: Golf Mk8 small hatchback 
Variants: 1.0 turbo, 1.5 turbo
When: TBA
How much: At least S$100k

UPDATE: The Mk8 Volkswagen Golf has made it here at last, and here’s our full road test review, as well as our video review below

Uncharacteristically the next Golf, the Mark 8, is quite late to market here, having been unveiled globally in October 2019. VW Singapore says the car is definitely coming to Singapore in 2021, it’s just a question of when. Also up in the air are variants: There’s a 1.0-litre turbo with 90hp or 110hp, and the more powerful 1.5-litre turbo with 150hp. We can’t see the 90hp version here unless it really does well in VES to justify an entry level model, while the 110hp and 150hp models have a new 48V mild hybrid system which should help them score well in efficiency and be priced better too.

We expect a comprehensively digital cockpit with very few buttons – there’s no longer a handbrake and the gearshifter is shift-by-wire – as well as active safety systems that have already proliferated in the mainstream segment. The top-line cockpit will feature a 10.25-inch instrument display screen paired with a 10.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

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What: Golf GTI hot hatch
Variants: 2.0 turbo, 1.4 PHEV
When: TBA
How much: At least S$140k

UPDATE: We’ve driven the new Golf GTI as well, and here’s our verdict on the latest iteration of VW’s iconic hot hatch

The Golf GTI is no longer the entry-level hot hatch it used to be, but rather it runs near the front of the high-tech hot hatch club though it’ll still be less expensive than cars like the BMW M140i. As covered in our news story of the car’s debut, the car is the Mark 8 Golf given a comprehensive sporty makeover, everything from engine to suspension and appearance, and also has a new electronic dynamics system ‘Vehicle Dynamics Manager’.

More interestingly there could even be a less expensive version in the form of the GTE plug-in hybrid, which has a 150hp 1.5-litre engine but also a 114hp electric motor for the same output (245hp) as the standard 2.0-litre GTI. If the GTE does go on sale here, it’ll be two firsts: The first hybrid from VW, and also the smallest plug-in hybrid model available.

What: Golf R super hatch
Variants: 2.0 turbo
When: TBA
How much: At least S$170k

The Golf R continues the tradition of supercar baiting, although with performance extending the way it is, the car will probably have to make do with giving other German high-performance cars stuff to worry about. It’s the most powerful production Golf ever, at 320hp, although its 0-100km/h time of 4.7 is on paper slower than before. But it does have a lot of tricks up its sleeve, such as a trick all-wheel drive system that allows you to drift, as well as a ‘car wide’ dynamic performance system to link all its systems together for optimal control or fun, as the driver demands.

Volvo 

What: XC40 Recharge plug-in hybrid small SUV
Variants: 1.5 PHEV
When:  Q4 2020
How much: TBA

UPDATE: Here’s our review of Volvo’s smallest PHEV in Singapore

Volvo’s smallest and least expensive PHEV is coming in 2021. With the XC40 a good seller for Volvo since its launch, the top-line PHEV model will be the T5 Twin Engine model,  powered by a 1.5-litre turbo engine combined with an electric motor for a total of 260hp. Thanks to its 10.7kWh lithium battery pack it can travel around 40km on a single charge. What will be interesting is whether customers warm to the idea of a small luxury PHEV, as the XC40 will be one of the first of the small luxury SUV class to have a PHEV option.

What: XC90 Recharge plug-in hybrid 
Variants: 2.0 PHEV 
When: Q1 2020
How much: TBA

UPDATE: And here’s their largest, with the XC90 Recharge being given the CarBuyer review treatment too

Just like the S60 sedan and XC60 SUV, the most powerful version of the XC90 SUV seven-seat SUV will be the T8 plug-in hybrid, although in Singapore it’ll carry the moniker ‘XC90 Recharge’. A 2.0-litre turbo with an electric motor pump out 400hp and more than 600Nm of torque, but being a PHEV it also can travel more than 40km on a  11.6kWh lithium ion battery pack. Like its siblings, it should provide more power while also being more efficient than the standard XC90. As with the ‘60’ series plug-ins, the car is likely to be offered in R-Line trim.

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