2015 VW Golf Debuts in August at $17,995

Volkswagen seems to have done everything right with the 2015 VW Golf, making the next-gen models bigger, more powerful, more fuel efficient, lighter in weight and stocked with more standard goodies, all while lowering the price of admission to $17,995. On the other hand, achieving the latter feat means re-booting the two-door version of the Golf in this country—which, to be clear, is a good thing—and that sub-$18K price is offered only on a limited-edition launch model.

After the Launch Edition, the starter 2015 VW Golf S—a two-door, manually transmissioned model—will open at $18,995, and a four-door Golf S, with sunroof, begins at $20,995. The upscale SE and SLE trims will be four-door-only affairs, offered solely with automatic transmissions and MSRPs of $24,495 and $26,995. For a little bit of context, the three other mainstream-ish four-door compact hatchbacks currently in the marketplace all have MSRPs below $20K, with those entries including the Kia Forte5 ($19,700), Mazda Mazda3 ($18,945) and Hyundai Elantra GT ($18,750).

The 2015 VW Golf will, however, provide a nice boon for diesel enthusiasts, since Volkswagen is adding a new entry model to the Golf TDI team and it features an MSRP of $21,995—representing a $3,200 discount versus the least expensive 2014 Golf TDI. And notably, this is not a case of the company lowering the price by lowering the number of doors on the vehicle: All TDI models will remain four-door hatchbacks.