It may not look it, but this is the all-new Volkswagen Golf. 

While there’s no denying the exterior styling of the eighth-generation Golf is almost identical to the version it replaces, VW says the latest iteration is crammed with a host of technology.

The popular family hatchback will, from 2020, feature a semi-autonomous mode that allows the car to drive itself at speeds up to 130mph, a communication system that talks to other vehicles and a function to call ahead to reserve a table at your favourite restaurants. 

It will go on sale in December and arrive in the UK early next year, priced from around £20,000 – and we have identified 10 things we think you need to know about what is almost certain to be one of Britain’s best-selling cars.

The Golf has been around for a long time. Since 1974, to be precise. And VW has sold more than 35 million examples in that time.

But while much has changed in the last 45 years, the design principles behind Volkswagen’s stalwart hatchback remain almost untouched.

In fact, if you line the 2020 car alongside the one coming to the end of its lifecycle you’ll struggle to tell them apart.

Size it up with a tape measure and you’ll find that the Mk8 has grown just marginally. And, of course, the traditional boomerang-shaped C-pillar – an iconic feature of the Golf’s look – has been retained for the eighth time of asking. 

That said, it does have a new face – with a longer bonnet, squinting headlights and a narrower grille. 

But it’s the changes under the skin that are the biggest talking points for this car…

1. It’s got more screens than a Currys TV department

The German car maker says the Golf is the first model in this price bracket to feature a ‘completely digital cockpit’. That’s because the driver’s display and instrument cluster has been bundled into a new 10.25-inch screen and controls for the temperature, connectivity and radio are housed in another high-definition panel.  

Buyers of entry-spec models in Germany and the rest of mainland Europe will have to slum it with an 8.5-inch touchscreen as this second ‘infotainment’ display. Whereas customers in Britain get the bigger 10-inch screen as standard. Thanks Brexit (and right hand drive).

If that’s not enough to make your eyes go square, there’ll also be an optional wide-screen head-up display that beams information directly onto the front window.

While this will likely make the Golf cabin feel like sitting in a TV department of Currys, it does mean there’s hardly any buttons. Even switches for the lights and window heating have been removed in favour of a digital panel to give the interior the sort of minimalist design Kevin McCloud waxes lyrically about. 

2. Who needs a key when you have a [compatible] phone?

A new app will allow owners to lock, unlock and start their Golf with a smartphone, but only if it’s a Samsung.

Volkswagen UK says this feature will not be available from launch on UK cars and there will be no communication to customers about this function (or did we just let the cat out of the bag?). Probably a good idea given the recent spate of relay vehicle thefts.

However, it isn’t ruling out introducing the feature at a later date. Hopefully you won’t need to store your phone in the fridge to fend off keyless car thieves.

3. ‘I wasn’t speeding, officer. It was the car!’

This is the first Golf to feature semi-autonomous driving technology. In fact, it’s a first for any model in this segment.

Called ‘Travel Assist’, it gives owners the option of letting the car share some of the driving – but only on motorways. The vehicle steers, accelerates and brakes itself and the system will operate at speeds of up to 210kmh – that’s 130mph in English.

For legal and safety reasons, you can’t just kick back and let the Golf take you around the M25, even if you stick below the 70mph speed limit. Drivers will have to keep one hand on the wheel at all times, or else be beeped at and jolted by the car and – if you don’t put your mitts on the wheel within the designated time-frame – you will eventually be brought to a standstill.

4. It talks to other vehicles behind your back

The robots are officially taking over; this car can communicate with other vehicles.

That’s because it’s the first VW model to use a feature called Car2X. This allows it to talk to other models with this system installed. In order to share information the two vehicles need to be within an 800-metre radius. Data can be pinged from one to the other in a matter of milliseconds.

It won’t be gossiping about you to other Golfs, though. Instead it can send and receive alerts about accidents, broken-down vehicles, traffic jams, roadworks and any emergency vehicles in the immediate vicinity.

5. It can become your PA (but it won’t pick up your dry-cleaning)

Another first for the Mk8 Golf is something call an online connectivity unit (OCU) that essentially Googles all the information about the destination you’ve entered into the navigation system and presents it to you on the screen.

For instance, if you’ve entered a restaurant as the locations you’ll be visiting, the OCU will go online to find the phone number, plumb it into the display so at the push of a button you can call ahead to make sure they have a table spare.

The OCU is part of the WeConnect feature, which VW says will be offered for three years as standard in the UK, rather than one year in Germany. Double Brexit win.

6. Don’t you dare say dieselgate!

Four petrols – all turbocharged – will be available from launch. Two will be three-cylinder 1.0-litre units while the more potent variants will be 1.5-litre motors with active cylinder shutdown – knocking out one of the four cylinders when you’re driving in town to conserve fuel.

As for diesels, there’ll be a pair of 2.0-litre TDI powerplants. VW says they’ve been ‘significantly optimised’ to cut CO2 emissions and have ‘dual AdBlue injection’ to reduce NOx outputs by up to 80 per cent. We imagine the authenticity of these will be extensively scrutinised by the powers that be.

‘TGI’ models with natural gas engines will be sold in Germany, but the UK head office says they’re a no-go for British dealers.

7. The Golf GTE lives on

Volkswagen will offer three ‘mild hybrids’ and also the full-blooded (or is that volted?) plug-in GTE. 

The German brand says the one the UK market is getting is geared towards performance, packing a total output of 242bhp. It will use a 1.4-litre petrol engine, electric drive motor, six-speed DSG automatic gearbox and 13kWh lithium-ion battery that is said to have 50 per cent more energy capacity than the Mk7 GTE. That should get you across town without using a drop of unleaded, VW claims. 

While the GTE was revealed, there was no GTI unveiled. The wraps are likely to come off that next year. That means the plug-in hybrid is the most powerful Mk8 Golf you can buy at launch.

8. …but the e-Golf is dead

While the GTE has escaped the guillotine. the e-Golf’s a gonner.

That because Volkswagen will launch it’s all-electric ID. range from next year, starting with the ID.3, which is almost identical in size to the Golf.

9. It’s nicked one of Elon’s ideas

One of the best features of Elon Musk’s range of Tesla cars is that they can receive software updates wirelessly. And this will be the case for the Golf, too.

Existing features will not only be updated by going online, owners will also be able to upgrade their cars and add functionality they – or the first registered keeper – didn’t originally choose. 

10. Hate the thought of automatic speed limiters? It has one (sort of)

There was a fair bit of public uproar earlier this year when it was revealed that EU decision makers are considering making built-in speed limiters mandatory for all new cars from 2022. Well, the Golf already has the technology in place.

Its adaptive cruise control system – when being used – can read speed limit road signs and automatically slow the car to keep within the restriction. Even better than that, it uses GPS tracking and continuous mapping to identify when it’s approaching a tight turn, junction or roundabout and progressively reduces the speed before arriving at it.

Intelligent safety kit has also been given an overhaul. As well as the normal features you’d expect from a modern car, it gets an enhanced Cyclist Monitoring mode to help you avoid pedallers and an automated system that recognises when you’re turning at a junction and stops you from pulling out when another vehicle’s approaching. 

Full UK details regarding specifications (including claimed fuel consumption), prices and availability will be released at a later date.