2019 VW Golf Gets Huge Power Cut but Added Safety Features

The 2019 Volkswagen Golf will roll into showrooms boasting the same iconic look it’s carried since 2015, but it will receive a handful of important under-the-metal change, including a big power decrease.

The huge change to the 2019 Golf is eliminating the 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder in favor of the same 1.4-liter four-cylinder powerplant used in the Jetta. This new engine will produce 147 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, which are huge cuts relative to the 1.8-liter engine’s 170 horsepower and 199 pound-feet of torque.

The 2019 Golf will get a few upgrades in the transmission department too. VW will scrap the outdated five-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions and replace them with six-speed manual and eight-speed automatic units.

While there likely will be big performance decreases from the power drop, the powertrain swap and new transmissions should boost fuel economy. Unfortunately, we won’t find out about that until the new Golf is closer to hitting showrooms.

The 2019 VW Golf also will get some new standard safety equipment on the base S trim. These new goodies will include forward collision warning with autonomous emergency braking, pedestrian monitoring, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. The SE trim will get a new optional Driver Assistance package that adds adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, high-beam control, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels.

The 2019 Volkswagen Golf will be available in just two trims — S and SE — and pricing will be as follows:

• S manual transmission: $21,845
• S automatic transmission: $22,945
• SE manual transmission: $24,145
• SE automatic transmission: $25,245