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2006 Volkswagen Golf Plus Preview

Oddball VW Optimizes Space

It is said that if you leave an idea to sit for a lengthy period of time, someone will be bound to pick it up and reuse it. Not a decade ago, the "retro" theme was deeply unfashionable, but today its a completely different situation.

People still cant seem to get enough of classic 50s and 60s-style Kitchenaid stand mixers, retro martini cocktail parties and modern cars with styling from that time period, but now the trend is spilling over into other, more recent, decades. Fads like disco may never again be in style, but quirky vehicles, such as the ugly space wagons and stretched hatchbacks of the past, may be on their way back.

From the late 70s

Fads like disco may never again be in style, but quirky vehicles such as the ugly space wagons and stretched hatchbacks of the past, may be on their way back. (Photo: Volkswagen of America)

to the late 80s, a handful of car manufacturers experimented with producing practical, space-efficient vehicles out of regular, run-of-the-mill compact cars. Included in this less-than-glamorous list were the tough, but ugly, Toyota Tercel and Corolla 4WD wagons, the frumpy Eagle/Mitsubishi Colt wagon and the pinnacle of the group, the Honda Civic Wagon. Plaid

The newest addition to the Golf range is destined to plug the gap between the traditional compact hatchback and the seven-seat mini-minivan Touran (not available in North America). (Photo: Volkswagen of America)

dress shirts, puffy bubble ski vests and mullet haircuts, all of which hailed from that era, have staged successful comebacks, so why not the cars?

While the majority of manufacturers have pushed the memories of these less-than-appealing oddball vehicles out of consumers minds with attractive compact sport utility vehicles, Volkswagen will enter this segment for the first time with the Golf Plus. The newest addition to the

The Golf Plus is 3.74 inches taller than the regular Golf, yielding greater interior space and improved versatility. (Photo: Volkswagen of America)

Golf range is destined to plug the gap between the traditional compact hatchback and the seven-seat mini-minivan Touran (not available in North America) by offering additional space and room for five passengers without resorting to a blocky, minivan body style.

As its name might suggest, the Golf Plus shares the same advanced components of the Golf including the super-stiff chassis, multi-link rear suspension and self-centering electric power steering, but the similarities go beyond simple component sharing. The two have near-identical dimensions in terms

To attract and entice buyers, and to provide a degree of visual separation from the regular Golf, the Plus model makes a few alterations to its exterior. (Photo: Volkswagen of America)

of overall length and width, but the Golf Plus is 3.74 inches taller than the regular Golf, yielding greater interior space and improved versatility.

The Golf Plus is different from other attempts at creating a tall-body hatchback, in that its designers incorporated the Golfs key styling points for the new vehicle as opposed to simply building upwards on a pre-existing model.

The integrated structure and frame of the Plus follows the general shape of the Golf, as the roofline peaks at the midpoint of the front doors, flowing back to the trademark boomerang-style rear pillars. Taller doors were also crafted especially

Elements of the Golfs interior have been intertwined with the higher driving position and layout of the Touran. (Photo: Volkswagen of America)

for the Plus to keep the metal-to-glass proportions close to that of the regular Golf. Its easy to see that Volkswagens engineers and designers werent out to cut corners or save a quick buck in the design of the Plus.

To attract and entice buyers, and to provide a degree of visual separation from the regular Golf, the Plus model has a few additions to its exterior. More sleekly-styled headlamps with active curve technology (which swivel to light a path around dark corners) have been fitted. Their new design leads upwards to a new hood which has been beveled down towards the fenders.

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