Volkswagen Golf and T-Roc Hybrid details revealed

The Volkswagen Golf Hybrid and T-Roc Hybrid are now available for pre-order in Germany and, as such, full specifications about the new drivetrain are now online.

As we discovered earlier this year, the system pairs a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with a pair of electric motors, with one acting as a generator and the other as a drive motor, either by itself or in conjunction with the petrol engine.

Now, we know total system output is rated at 125kW and 310Nm. In this application, the 1.5-litre turbo engine makes 110kW, as well as 250Nm between 1750rpm and 4000rpm, while the electric drive motor makes a maximum of 125kW.

A 1.6kWh NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) lithium-ion battery lives under the boot floor.

Pedal to the metal, the Golf Hybrid can complete the 0-100km/h dash in a claimed 7.5 seconds, and top speed is said to be 180km/h. The T-Roc Hybrid has the same top speed, but requires 8.5 seconds to hit the century mark.

As far as petrol consumption goes, the Golf Hybrid has a combined WLTP fuel economy rating of between 4.6L/100km and 5.1L/100km. In the same testing regime the T-Roc Hybrid drinks between 5.1L/100km and 5.5L/100km.

This compares reasonably favourably, at least on paper, to the 144kW 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated Corolla hybrid available in Europe, which is rated at 4.7L/100km. The 138kW 2.0-litre Corolla Cross hybrid has a fuel economy rating of 5.1-5.2L/100km.

The new Golf and T-Roc hybrids are, as we expected, more efficient than their mild-hybrid counterparts. The 110kW mild-hybrid drivetrain with the 1.5-litre turbo engine has a WLTP fuel economy of 5.2-5.8L/100km in the Golf, while in the T-Roc it is rated at 5.6-5.9L/100km.

According to Volkswagen's website, the hybrid system uses a single-speed transmission.

We suspect the basic driving experience will be similar to the e-CVT setup used in a wide variety of Toyota and Lexus models, as the drivetrain has three drive modes it switches between automatically: electric, series (where the petrol engine acts as a generator for the electric motor and battery pack) and parallel (where the petrol engine drives the wheels with a boost when necessary from the electric motor).

At present in Germany, the hybrid drivetrains are only available in the more expensive Style and R-Line trims. Pricing starts at €41,400 (A$67,000) for the Golf R-Line Hybrid, while T-Roc Style Hybrid kicks off at €44,470 (A$71,900).

Volkswagen Australia has yet to confirm if the Golf Hybrid or T-Roc Hybrid will be sold in Australia, with the company telling us in May it is prioritising plug-in hybrids because from a "purely rational perspective, a plug-in hybrid is a hybrid that has the additional advantage of EV-only range".

The second-generation T-Roc is coming to Australia in 2027, and it will be available exclusively, at least from launch, with mild-hybrid drivetrains.

MORE: Explore the Volkswagen Golf showroom | T-Roc showroom