Mk8 Golf spied roaming South Africa

  • Thread starter CodeRedR51
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FT-1
It's currently not available on the Golf, but the ID.3 has this feature.
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I can live with this, but I hope we don't end up with more and more manufacturers making the fronts of their cars look like Christmas trees. BMW are already doing light up grilles.
 
Best shots of the Mk8 Golf R to date, featuring smoked headlights, sports seats with blue accents, an automatic gearbox and a big ol' wang:
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ROAD_DOGG33J
I think if I was considering one these touch controls would make me cross it off the list.

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It is nice to hear the driving improvements of the MK8 from the MK7.5. I own an MK7.5 and it's enjoyable, but I don't find myself pushing the limits yet. Mostly because I'm just driving it on the street and maybe in a spirited manner on fun backroads once in a while, so I suppose I wouldn't notice the biggest benefits. The refinement of the MK8 would be nice as mine has a lot of road noise, but as you said, the touch controls are a huge turn off for me. I just couldn't live with the frustration.
 
Camissa says the Mk8 is terrible, particularly the infotainment system and general cost-cutting.



I would not get one simply because of the infotainment system. That, and the fact that every GTI since the Mk4 has been uninspired, boring, and miserable.
 
It's hilarious to me that Cadillac came out with CUE and it was nonresponsive and clunky and a chore to navigate due to capacitive controls (even having an ATS for 3 years with the newer hardware and it's still kinda fiddly even after I learned all the shortcuts) and Cadillac was ripped for it for 8-ish years until they gave up trying to improve it. Then Cadillac goes back to a hybrid approach that favors buttons that works better and is lauded even though it's ugly.



Then the German brands start dumping buttons for crappy capacitive controls that barely work.
 
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Tornado
German brands
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They remind me of Japanese video game developers. They have zero awareness of the market, market trends, or market desires, and just pump out whatever machines German engineers think are cool. And then they act like they're the leaders and trend setters and price things accordingly.
 
Keef
Camissa says the Mk8 is terrible, particularly the infotainment system and general cost-cutting.
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I can see the cost cutting in mine (R Line spec) with all the hard plastics but I haven't had a problem with the infotainment. A few shortcut buttons would be nice (for nostalgia's sake) but getting around it is intuitive enough. It came with the latest update so maybe it's fixed a few things since then.

Tornado
Then the German brands start dumping buttons for crappy capacitive controls that barely work.
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The touch sensitive (with haptic feedback) buttons on the steering wheel are one of the worst ideas I've seen in a car but seeing as I've only had the car for a day and only drove 3 miles home in it, hopefully I'll get used to them being there.

The one thing I'll say for the car is it looks a hell of a lot better in the flesh than in pictures. I ordered mine back in January and couldn't look at, never mind test drive one so all I had to go on was the internet. Seeing it for the first time in the showroom yesterday was a great first impression and the drive home didn't disappoint. Apart from turning the volume up turning right and down turning left anyway. The displa changing mid corner was kinda distracting too...
 
Just from that still picture in the video above, that red Golf looks like a Megane crossed with Corolla.
Guess I miss the A2/Mk2 Golf. Stubby squared hot hatch piece of proportionate perfection.
 
I dislike fwd and vag products in general but man, its clear VW sets the tone for what a quasi lux fwd hot hot hatch is supposed to be.

You get a lot of pretenders with their N division and what have you but really, there's nothing as good, as well resolved as a Golf and especially a GTI or better. Its clearly a no brainer. If you like this kind of thing and can afford it, why bother with anyone else? Unless you have lots of money and can afford an Audi S3 but I dont think Audi does 'performance' fwd?

Any manuals this time for the GTI?
 
TonyJZX
I dislike fwd and vag products in general but man, its clear VW sets the tone for what a quasi lux fwd hot hot hatch is supposed to be.

You get a lot of pretenders with their N division and what have you but really, there's nothing as good, as well resolved as a Golf and especially a GTI or better. Its clearly a no brainer. If you like this kind of thing and can afford it, why bother with anyone else? Unless you have lots of money and can afford an Audi S3 but I dont think Audi does 'performance' fwd?

Any manuals this time for the GTI?
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Depends on what you want. I wanted a sporty but still practical car and bought a Veloster N. I tried a mk7.5 GTI and I found it surprinsingly boring to drive. It's a fast, luxurious and practical car, but not that fun to drive. I still have no regrets and would buy my "pretend GTI" again if I had the choice.
 
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Is that a police car with SCMODS? Jimini Cricket! Thank goodness it’s not the ‘80s during the crack epidemic. Glass Insurance would be sky high for these cars.
 
GranTurNismo
That’s quite nice looking. A shame it will never reach the States.
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Super lame that companies don't do this. There is an obvious gap in the market and it would be the only hot wagon sold in America. They'd sell every single one they bring here, easily.
 
Keef
Super lame that companies don't do this. There is an obvious gap in the market and it would be the only hot wagon sold in America. They'd sell every single one they bring here, easily.
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I wish this were the case, but there's a reason why there's zero entry-level performance wagons offered in the United States. Petrol heads like you and I may drool over a Golf GTI/R wagon, but I seriously doubt a good enough number of folks would actually buy one if they were sold here. Besides, in the era of electrification and streamlining the number models for many brands, VW bringing over a performance wagon stateside is probably last on their priorities list.
 
Fun fact about my Mk8 Golf R Line, you have to pay for the privilege of folding your door mirrors and most of the options hidden in the infotainment like voice control and mood lighting have to be paid for. Voice control wants £39 off me and changing the lighting is around the same price. There's a headlight helper thing for about £400, too.

I like the looks and it's fun to drive but I doubt I'll have another based on the above.
 
GranTurNismo
there's a reason why there's zero entry-level performance wagons offered in the United States.
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That's exactly my point. There is a reason that an entire segment doesn't exist, because there aren't enough buyers to justify an entire segment. But there are likely plenty of buyers to support a single offering. There are a ton of STi buyers, many of whom wish there were a hatch or wagon. There are a ton of Golf R buyers, some of whom may want even more cargo space. There are plenty of Type R and Hyundai N buyers who want AWD. There isn't any car in the US market that really satisfies the itch of these people, so they make do with what is offered.

Keep in mind that there wasn't a market for minitrucks in the US until Ford decided to blow the doors off the single most popular completely new market segment on the continent. OEMs love to dismiss markets that nobody thinks exist until they find out they do.
 
www.linkedin.com

Thomas Schäfer on LinkedIn: #volkswagen | 26 comments

Our industry is in the midst of a big transformation – what is crucial now from my point of view: listening carefully to our customers, learning and providing… | 26 comments on LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com www.linkedin.com

Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars and on the board of VAG, posted on LinkedIn saying that they are listening to feedback and removing the capacitive touch buttons on the steering wheel. He also says that by 2026, there'll be 10 new EVs

▪️ We are stepping up the brand’s electrification; by 2026, we will have launched ten new electric models worldwide, in every relevant segment.

▪️ We are sharpening our portfolio and our design, plus creating a new simplicity in operating our vehicles. For example, we are bringing back the push-button steering wheel! That’s what customers want from VW.
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Looking back at the facelifted Mk8 Golf in a previous post, you can already see the buttons in the prototype. Hopefully they'll update the infotainment system as well in the future

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VW kills the manual GTI and manual Golf R in North America. In return, we get the GTI 380, the final model with a manual

www.motor1.com

2024 VW Golf GTI 380 Debuts As Final Model With A Manual Gearbox

Volkswagen has announced the 2024 Golf GTI 380, a special equipment set for the last of the manual-equipped GTI models in North America.
www.motor1.com www.motor1.com

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The Volkswagen Golf GTI with the manual transmission is going away. To honor the gearbox before it's gone, the automaker has announced the new 2024 Golf GTI 380 package for manual-equipped models regardless of the trim, celebrating the gearbox's heritage.

The equipment set is standard on every Golf GTI trim with the six-speed manual and features several visual enhancements. It rides on the 19-inch gloss black aluminum-alloy wheels from the Golf R 20th Anniversary Edition that the company wraps in summer performance tires. Volkswagen also paints the roof and mirror caps in gloss black, which contrasts with the GTI's standard exterior red accents.

The package gets its name from the Mk8's internal model code. It pays homage to 2002's GTI 337, which cribbed the internal designation from the Mk1 GTI.

Under the hood of the GTI 380 is the model's EA888 turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. The mill produces 241 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque, which is also available with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic that Volkswagen will continue to offer in the hot hatch and Golf R variants.

[Even] the R is losing the stick shift after the 2024 model year. While the 380 doesn't receive any engine updates, it does come standard with the DCC adaptive damping system.

The 2024 Volkswagen Golf GTI 380 S will start at $32,485 (all prices exclude the destination charge) when the model goes on sale in early fall. The SE will cost $37,285, while the top Autobahn spec will command $40,625 to start.
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Interestingly, Volkswagen was teasing a new model using a Rabbit the other day


 
Shame the Golf has turned into a terrible looking eyelasshed fugly car. Not a fan of the newer GTI or R, always been R32 or MK6 R for me. I think the newr ones, they look too soft and not aggresive enough. Hyundai are even doign a better job with their N cars despite the rocky goodwood launch fail, lol.

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There are other Skodas and Seats that kick the GOLF backside, to the kerb, in terms so driving style, looks and interior feel.
The VAG group just wanna focus you on their ID cars to detract you from a fledging ICE car like the GOLF.
 
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