Emissions are also reduced to 178g/km of carbon dioxide in the Volkswagen Golf GTI’s new 2-litre TSI engine and it can return 37.6mpg on the combined cycle – a 2.7mpg increase.

It’s at the front where the design has been tweaked the most, with a wide lower grille and fog lights pushed to its extremities in a bid to make the Volkswagen Golf GTI looks as wide and ground-hugging as possible.

The headlights and taillights also get a makeover to bring them more in line with the Volkswagen Scirocco – the rear clusters being less curvaceous than before.

Volkswagen Scirocco slide show

And, its twin exhaust tailpipes have been moved apart to the far sides of a new rear bumper diffuser, in a new design move which will feature on all forthcoming Volkswagen GTI’s.

Handling should be excellent thanks to advanced dampers which can adjust in a fraction of a second depending on driving conditions.

It’s expected the ‘Adaptive Chassis Control’ (ACC) will have Comfort, Normal and Sport settings which allow the driver to choose how firm the ride and handling should be.

Volkswagen Golf GTI slide show

An electronic differential fitted to the front axle will allow the front wheels to grip harder and improve performance during extreme cornering.

The Volkswagen Golf GTI will be officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show at the start of October, and we’ll be there, so be sure to check back for all the latest news.
 
It will go on sale in the UK next summer and go head-to-head with the facelifted Ford Focus ST, Mazda 3 MPS, Seat Leon Cupra and Honda Civic Type-R.

Check out this video of the all-new Volkswagen Golf: