Volkswagen's big unveil at
Geneva 2011 will be the Golf Cabriolet, a four-seat, soft-top convertible that's about the same size as the Beetle and Eos drop tops.
Still, this Golf will be more practical (and much better) than the former, while being cheaper than the latter. No prices have been released as yet, but it goes on sale in July with first deliveries in September.
Much of what you need to know about the drop top Golf can be assumed from the pictures: it has an electric folding soft top and two doors. The roof, if you're interested in this sort of thing, folds down in 9.5 seconds and will do so at any speed up to 18mph.
The roof is also multi-layered to keep noise out, though whether it will have the same acoustic dampening properties as Audi's acoustic roof from the
A5 Cabriolet remains to be seen. Or heard.
Three trim levels come to market: S, SE and GT. Volkswagen evidently hasn't nailed the spec yet, but says all Golf Cabriolets will probably have alloys, Bluetooth and a DAB radio. Air conditioning is conspicuous by its absence. As is a massive sunglasses holder.
Volkswagen is claiming a 250-litre boot space with the roof down. Compare that to the 350-litre space of the
regular Golf, and the 201 litres provided by the Beetle Convertible with its roof up.
We'll let you know how much it costs when VW makes the announcement.
Mark Nichol - 23 Feb 2011