The 2019 Volkswagens Are Here, We Chart the Changes

We’ll start with the Atlas, which gets some small changes in trim levels and equipment. Front assist, blind spot monitoring, and rear traffic alert are now standard across the line. Bringing more active safety to more people. Digital Cockpit is expanded too, now standard on SEL models.

The base Atlas S adds a bunch of cool stuff including auto headlights, auto wipers, and heated mirrors. SE gets three-zone climate control and the tech pack SE can have a panoramic roof and 20-inch alloys.

The Beetle is saying goodbye for 2019. The first time in more than seven decades there won’t be a new Beetle. So there is going to be a Final Edition SE and SEL trim choice that adds some special extra kit. Mostly 17-inch alloys, chrome accents, keyless accents, a special Safari Uni dash pad, and a Beetle Badge in place of the Turbo badge. The SEL has 18-inch alloys, xenon headlights, LED lighting at the rear, and Fender audio with nav. Base S and SE trims will be offered and they add blind spot monitoring this year. The S adds body-colour mirrors and door handles.

SEE ALSO: 2019 VW Beetle Final Edition Marks the End of an Icon..For Now

There are just two trims of Golf again this year. S and SE. They trade the 1.8L four for the 147 hp 1.4T from the Jetta. That gets a six-speed stick or eight-speed auto. S adds forward collision warning and emergency braking as well as blind spot monitoring and rear traffic alert. SE adds driver assist pack with adaptive cruise, lane keeping, and auto high beams.

The Golf Alltrack doesn’t change the engine but does add a six-speed stick to the SEL. It also adds the same optional driver assists as the Golf SE to Alltrack SE along with adaptive LED headlights.

The GTI adds a bump for all trims to 228 hp and a new special GTI Rabbit that sits between S and SE. That one gets 18-inch black alloys, black trim, adaptive LEd lights, Rabbit seat tags, and comes in four colours. SE adds leather seats and an option pack with Fender audio and dynamic chassis control.

Sportwagen Golfs get the new 1.4T engine, except with 4Motion all-wheel drive. That one keeps the 1.8. They get the driver assistance package as an option on S models and SE adds adaptive lighting, adaptive cruise, auto brights, and lane keeping.

The Golf R adds some flavor. The five original colors stay, but the company is adding 40 new colors, from all over the spectrum, as options. They cost a little extra, but these hues, many from the classic VW archive, will absolutely stand out.

The Passat replaces the S with a Wolfsburg Edition that also gets 17-inch alloys and a 6.3-inch touchscreen infotainment. Keyless entry and leatherette seats come with. The SE R-Line adds LED lighting and navigation as well as the full active safety suite, replacing the old R-Line with more of the stuff from the SEL. The V6 is gone.

Tiguan is mostly the same, but moves an alarm as standard down from SEL to SE and digital cockpit from SEL Premium to SEL. The SEL R-Line will be swapped later in the year with the SEL R-Line Jet-Black that adds black wheels and trim.

This has been your 2019 Volkswagen update. Please stay tuned for your regularly scheduled broadcast, already in progress.

A version of this story originally appeared on VW Vortex.