Mk 8 Golf

[king monkey]

Starting to get UK reviews on the 8 coming through now; 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R41_B7zO3bk

Gti & R due mid 2020 apparently?

Hmmm, pretty much confirms my existing concerns regarding the button-less tech extravaganza.  More and more I'm feeling that the GTI is going to have to drive sensationally to tempt me out of my 7.5.

It’s not exactly a glowing review, is it? The cost cutting is once again pointed out which seems to be a bit of a worrying trend with VW which isn’t inline with the increasingly larger price tag. Not sure about this at all.

[SRGTD]

Starting to get UK reviews on the 8 coming through now; 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R41_B7zO3bk

Gti & R due mid 2020 apparently?

Hmmm, pretty much confirms my existing concerns regarding the button-less tech extravaganza.  More and more I'm feeling that the GTI is going to have to drive sensationally to tempt me out of my 7.5.

K
It’s not exactly a glowing review, is it? The cost cutting is once again pointed out which seems to be a bit of a worrying trend with VW which isn’t inline with the increasingly larger price tag. Not sure about this at all.

I’m not a fan of the largely buttonless interior - more difficult to use on the move than conventional buttons and knobs for basic functions such as heating / ventilation and lighting. As for the cost cutting examples cited by the reviewer (whose voice really began to grate on me after about 30 seconds ) - not particularly good examples IMO;

• the hard plastic trim on the dashboard is effectively a trim insert - it extends into the trim strip on the doors, and there’s been a hard plastic trim strip on the dashboard of the Golf since the mk5. The upper plastics on the dashboard are soft feel, textured plastics as they are in the mk7/mk7.5
• Hard plastic door cappings on the rear doors - doesn’t the outgoing model have these?
• Unpainted underbonnet area? I’m sure VW won’t have literally left this as bare metal; it’ll either have been left in the primered state or base coat with no clear coat. My mk6 Golf engine compartment wasn’t clear-coated (it was base coated), and I suspect this is what the reviewer means. Other manufacturers (e.g. BMW) also adopt the same approach to painting the engine compartment, and have done for a number of years.
• Under bonnet gas strut replaced with a manual bonnet stay; I’ve read elsewhere that omission of a gas strut was a safety measure - orientation of the manual stay under the front edge of the bonnet is less likely to cause pedestrian injury than a gas strut. I’m not sure I buy that reasoning, as another forum member pointed out that the new Skoda Octavia has a gas bonnet strut. So the absence of a gas strut does seem like a cost cutting measure.

Don’t know if I’d buy a mk8 though as I’m not a fan of the front end styling.

[fredgroves]

Firstly, there are two choices when it comes to production of anything:

1) Raise the price to the consumer
2) Try to reduce manufacturing costs

You can't escape inflation - well, probably your employer can by not giving you a pay rise, but apart from that.

If you don't do either of those things, your prices will rise.

Secondly, if you don't like buttonless interiors you probably should stop buying new cars. This negative reaction to change is not new, you can find Greeks and Romans writing about it too.

Lastly, personally, I don't give a fig about a gas strut for the bonnet. That's engineering space and I'm just the helmsman. Let the guys in the greasy overalls worry about that. I've never seen so much nonsense posted about a minor thing before. Every discussion everywhere on the internet about the Mk8 seems to contain this ridiculous rant.

[Splashalot]

..... if you don't like buttonless interiors you probably should stop buying new cars. This negative reaction to change is not new, you can find Greeks and Romans writing about it too.

My dislike of buttonless controls is based on personal experience.  Touch screens and buttonless controls are simply a worse solution for the driver than the buttons they replace.  IMO bordering on dangerous. 

And no, I won't have to stop buying new cars - just the ones with this idiotic, cost-cutting-ahead-of-safety "feature".  Hence why my current 7.5 will likely be my last Golf.  Lots of other good options out there, such as Focus, i30 and Mazda 3 in various guises.

As for the bonnet strut and undercoat bonnet underside, I too don't really care.  My other bugbear is the obsession with soft touch plastics.  The only time I've ever poked a dash/door card to see if it is soft is in the showroom.  Never whilst owning and using the car (cleaning aside).

[Talk-torque]

Well, I’m an old guy who still does daft things like checking the oil level, coolant level and brake fluid level and filling the screen wash tank. We have two cars, my GTI and my wife’s Skoda Fabia estate, which does not have a bonnet gas strut. It still comes as a slight surprise every time I lift the Skoda bonnet, even after having the thing for 15 months. I would not welcome that same surprise on a Mark 8 costing what will probably be around £35K.

[Ulysses31]

Interior look is fine.
Exterior looks range between mediocre to ugly.
Lack of hard buttons inside is bad.
Overall, it's a no from me. Will be sticking with my two year old, mint 7.5 GTI for a long, long time.

[ar899]

Interesting review of the Mark 8 by Andrew English in the DT at the weekend. He didn't really think it was a big change and summed up by naming it a 'Mark 7.55'.

[BobbyT]

I wonder if the new A3 and Leon will have the upper hand on styling over the Mk8. I really don't like the look of the front, I guess seeing it in the flesh may change my mind.... 

If they keep downgrading the interior I'd be hard pushed to warrant the extra cost over the Leon. I may even pay the little extra for the four rings again.

[king monkey]

Interesting review of the Mark 8 by Andrew English in the DT at the weekend. He didn't really think it was a big change and summed up by naming it a 'Mark 7.55'.

Surely it’s be a MK7.75?? 

I’m going to reserve judgement until I see a performance MK8 in the metal as I often don’t like cars when I first see new models. Must say though, I do prefer the ID from the first picture of both cars.

[Jim_mk7.5]

Interesting review of the Mark 8 by Andrew English in the DT at the weekend. He didn't really think it was a big change and summed up by naming it a 'Mark 7.55'.

Surely it’s be a MK7.75?? 

I’m going to reserve judgement until I see a performance MK8 in the metal as I often don’t like cars when I first see new models. Must say though, I do prefer the ID from the first picture of both cars.

I also actually think the ID3 looks better than the Mk8. But guess they need to make it appealing if they are going to lure people away from the combustion engines!