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Visit autoexpress.co.uk for all the latest new cars news IF there’s one person worth listening to on the subject of technology, it’s BMW’s British board member (and Auto Express Brit List winner) Ian Robertson (above). Having launched BMW’s i brand to establish his company at the forefront of electric car tech – which is now paying off handsomely – he’s now at the forefront of BMW’s autonomous push. “We’re building a big resource base in-house to take this forward,” Robertson told us. “We’re building a new campus in Munich and in the second half of this year we’ll put forty 7 Series on the road with the autonomous next steps on board. Over the next four-and-a-bit years we’ll develop the tech and that will be delivered within the next i…

▪ Refined yet punchy new 1.5-litre petrol engine impresses ▪ Technology includes bigger, higher-res screen, gesture control First for news every week @johnmcilroy THE Golf has been the default family car choice for generations, thanks to its mix of practicality, comfort, performance and efficiency. The current version has been around since 2014, though, so Volkswagen has given it a thorough mid-life overhaul. Ostensibly called the Mk7.5, the new car gets tweaks to its styling, with a revised front bumper and optional LED headlamps, plus LED tail-lights on all editions. It’s still clearly a Golf – but this has always been a car that has evolved in small steps. Indeed, this Golf has the same MQBbased chassis as the outgoing car, so its internal dimensions and boot capacities – 380 litres,…

@Jonathan_burn WHEN the original Volkswagen Golf GTI launched back in 1975, its 1.6-litre engine was churning out a modest 109bhp. Fast-forward 42 years and today’s updated seventh-generation GTI is producing more than double that, with 227bhp from a 2.0-litre turbo. That’s a big increase over the original GTI and 10bhp more than the model this car replaces. In today’s market, the most powerful front-wheel-drive hot hatches have more than 300bhp. But that’s not what the GTI is about. The Golf has always been the middle ground, and a capable one at that. As before, an optional Performance Pack is available, adding a further 15bhp and a limited-slip differential, but the model we’re driving here is the standard version paired with a six-speed DSG gearbox. Before we get on to what…

VW GOLF FROM £17,625 DESPITE Volkswagen claiming an average price cut of around £650, the entry point for the stalwart of the family car market will remain the same, with the threedoor Golf 1.0-litre TSI petrol in S spec costing £17,625. All cars get the same updates as on more expensive Golfs, with LED tail-lights as standard, alongside an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The cheapest diesel in the new Golf line-up will be the 114bhp 1.6 TDI, priced at £19,770. The 123bhp 1.4-litre TSI petrol will cost £20,070 in five-door SE trim. VW has not yet announced prices for the versions due on sale later in the year – including the one driven on Page 8. VW GOLF GTI FROM £27,865 VW will continue to offer a range of high-performance…

@Jonathan_burn ONE thing you’re not short on with the updated Volkswagen Golf is variety. The range on sale in the UK is made up of 113 variants, so it’s rather unlucky that this particular version driven here – a fourwheel- drive Estate – isn’t on that list. You can have a Golf Estate with 4WD, of course, both as a rugged Alltrack or 306bhp range-topping R, but on a standard 2.0-litre diesel, it isn’t offered to UK buyers. The Estate has been subject to the same round of exterior and interior tweaks as every other Golf, while more on-board tech and safety features have also been added. In any estate, though, practicality is the focal point. Little has changed from the pre-facelift model, but the Golf still scores well. The…

THE next VW Golf is likely to ditch its smaller diesel engines in favour of micro-hybrids using 48-volt electrics, the company’s boss has suggested. The newly facelifted Mk7.5 Golf is offered with a mix of 1.6 and 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesels, with power outputs ranging from 113bhp up to 181bhp. However, speaking at the launch of the car, VW boss Dr Herbert Diess admitted that the future of smaller diesel engines is now uncertain, because of the increasing costs of cleaning up the technology for ever-tightening legislation. “The next Golf – the Mk8 – will lead a strong roll out of 48V electrics,” said Diess. “I think we will have to substitute some of the diesels for micro-hybrids in that car. They will have similar fuel efficiency and better acceleration, but…