A familiar cabin
The interior layout will make previous VW owners feel right at home. The typical all-black dashboard puts the majority of controls at the same exact locations. Granted, styling is more refined and up to date. Edgar Oliver, Product Strategist at Volkswagen Canada, puts it like this: "interior design that gives a premium impression -- without the premium."

The interior layout will make previous VW owners feel right at home.

For the first time in Canada, the Golf receives leather seats (exclusive to the 5-door Highline model). Meanwhile, the 3-door Sportline model gets a firmer suspension and unique 17-inch wheels, making it a cheaper alternative to the powerful GTI.

The company says that the 2010 Volkswagen Golf is quieter inside thanks to the use of thicker side glass, more aerodynamic outside mirrors and a more silent-running climate control system. "You’ll probably not even notice that it’s on!," claims Mr. Oliver.

Available in seven exterior colors, the new Golf starts at $20,175 -- $200 above the price of a comparable 2009 Rabbit.

At last, a TDI!
The 2.5-litre, inline 5-cylinder gasoline engine again comes standard along with a 5-speed manual transmission or, optionally, a 6-speed Tiptronic autobox.

However, the big news for the 2010 model year is obviously the return of diesel, more precisely a 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine (same as the Jetta’s) that produces 140 horsepower and torque to spare. In this case, power is sent to the front wheels through a 6-speed manual gearbox or the automaker’s fantastic 6-speed DSG.

This powertrain is exclusive to 5-door models, though. "The previous 5-door TDI model met about 80 percent of the demand," pointed out John White, President and CEO of Volkswagen Canada. "For the 2010 Golf TDI, we saw fit to channel our efforts around this variant only."

Of course, TDI buyers prefer richly-equipped models, according to Edgar Oliver, who adds: "These customers want more features in their car, possibly because they travel over longer distances and plan to keep it for a longer period of time."

The new Golf can be equipped with a new turbodiesel TDI "clean" engine.