2023 Mk8 facelift rumours already?

[jon87]

Exactly the reason for me querying the facelift. Whilst I liked the looks and drive of the GTI, the all touchscreen interior I didn't like (software glitches aside), and was the main reason at the time for looking elsewhere. I would be very surprised if they don't update it significantly in the facelift to make it more user friendly.

I agree the past facelifts have mainly consisted of minor exterior and interior updates with a price hike. However, the amount of criticism from the media and also potential customers who were originally looking to upgrade to the Mk8 but didn't will have an impact on how much effort VW put into the facelift. Same thing with the t-roc, the interior had a lot of criticism, and the changes VW have made to the facelift are pretty significant.

Honda made a U-turn on the touchscreen interior after much criticism. I'm not saying VW will, and at the same time I wouldn't rule anything out either, but I can imagine they will put a lot of effort into the facelift to win back lost customers.

[AndyGTI]

Seems early to be talking about facelifts but think many people are hoping that a facelift will bring a revision to interior controls.
Interesting article on link from OP. Although feel it’s a little far away to get an accurate idea on details.
Volkswagen have already confirmed (as mentioned by someone else in thread) that there will be a mk9 Golf. It was confirmed by VW at one of their financial events such as group results presentation.
I know we are getting excited about 2030 and end of ICE but for parts of rest of world they will be selling ICE  for 5/10 or 15 further years.
We in UK may lose out on Golfs but doesn’t mean it won’t be possible to buy one in other countries while we go electric.
Anyway I will try and find the VW press release that says they are working on future models of Golf, T-Roc and Tiguan

[Splashalot]

The whole "no buttons" thing is just out of control Internet crap tbh......Honestly it's just some idiot reviewers.

Nah, it's not, Fred.  It's good you (and others) get on with the digital interface, but I can't stand it.  In fact we recently bought two cars and only considered those which had traditional dials and buttons.  I know what works for me, and touchscreens definitely ain't it.  And I know I'm far, far from alone,

[Splashalot]

I just don't understand the assumption that going 'electric' means no buttons?

Can anyone shed some light on this?

It's by no means a given that it has to be like this.... look at the fully electric cars from Porsche and Audi.... plenty of quality buttons still in there.

Spot-on.  I don't buy the "it's the future, get used to it" thing.  It's just another form of cost-cutting dressed up as some sort of so-called advancement - which is the exact opposite. 

Looks like someone forgot to tell Honda in their brilliant Honda-E that touchscreens are the future.  All conventional HVAC controls:

https://images.pistonheads.com/nimg/43068/DSCF1446.jpg

[Foxy367]

Having had six months of touch screen Golf 8 life and haptic controls, I was sceptical at first but it really isn't an issue. Most things you need the touch screen for wouldn't be changed on the move anyway. changing the temperature is easy just tap the button with no light and adjust it. The steering wheel buttons for changing the radio/ volume etc work well and the slide for volume is really quick (much quicker than the buttons in the 7.5).

Don't get me wrong when I first started driving the car I hadn't even test drove it and was like "What the f@$% Have I done?" but after a proper sit on the drive having a play and then driving it more and more i find it more intuitive than I expected and with shortcuts on the swipe down menu the really important ones are a swipe away and it really isn't as bad as every reviewer seems to slate.

My wife has a Kodiaq with a touchscreen Nav (the Pro version out of the golf 7.5) and normal rotary dials for heating but even in that we may only change the temperature at the start and then leave it around the 21 mark and it does its job of controlling the climate

[fredgroves]

Spot-on.  I don't buy the "it's the future, get used to it" thing.  It's just another form of cost-cutting dressed up as some sort of so-called advancement - which is the exact opposite. 

But cost cutting is important... well, assuming you don't want to be paying 50k for a Golf...

[fredgroves]

Having had six months of touch screen Golf 8 life and haptic controls, I was sceptical at first but it really isn't an issue. Most things you need the touch screen for wouldn't be changed on the move anyway. changing the temperature is easy just tap the button with no light and adjust it. The steering wheel buttons for changing the radio/ volume etc work well and the slide for volume is really quick (much quicker than the buttons in the 7.5).

Don't get me wrong when I first started driving the car I hadn't even test drove it and was like "What the f@$% Have I done?" but after a proper sit on the drive having a play and then driving it more and more i find it more intuitive than I expected and with shortcuts on the swipe down menu the really important ones are a swipe away and it really isn't as bad as every reviewer seems to slate.

My wife has a Kodiaq with a touchscreen Nav (the Pro version out of the golf 7.5) and normal rotary dials for heating but even in that we may only change the temperature at the start and then leave it around the 21 mark and it does its job of controlling the climate

Quite...

Don't get me wrong, if you read my test drive write up on here I was really struggling in the 40 mins I had! I kept pressing the heated steering wheel button by accident.

Haven't done that once since I owned my own Mk8.

I had a few days of figuring it out but since then... its mainly easy and second nature. Certainly no harder than the Mk7.5 was...

[JoeGTI]

I wish they'd kept the climate/heating settings in a separate panel tbh. Everything else is fine.

I like heated seats, especially this time of year obviously. But I find that its a bit of a faff switching them on/off via the screen. If my wife is with me in the passenger seat, she has to ask me to do it for her seat too! I hate voice control, it just never works for me, so I will never bother with it. For the cabin temp, I nearly always leave it at 22 degrees, so thats fine, I don't need to change that very often. However whenever I used the supposed "shortcut" to turn on/off the heated seat (double tap the temp slider), I end up inadvertently changing the cabin temp by a degree or two!

I'm fine with the haptic buttons on the wheel too. I like that I've the option to slide the volume up/down as well as press. However, where is the phone button? Loads of buttons on the wheel and there isn't one for the phone.


As an aside, I have noticed that the climate control (de-misting functionality in particular) doesn't seem to be as effective as I think it should be. Anyone else notice this, that the windows sometimes fog-up.... I rarely ever needed to use the full-power demist function on previous Golfs but I've had to use it a few times in the MK8.

[fredgroves]

Yeah it does fog more than the Mk7.... its something to do with both the placement of the vents and the default "smart climate" mode of AC.

The other thing you get when its cold is that the front camera gets obscurred by mist too - generating bongs about front assist, dynamic lighting etc.... you need to use the max blower button to make that go away.

For heated seats, just press the button on the screen.... easy enough, without the "hack"

I honestly don't spend any time changing the cabin temperature  - its set all year round to the same temp. I must be weird like that, because everyone else seems to like to fiddle with it constantly.

[JoeGTI]

For heated seats, just press the button on the screen.... easy enough, without the "hack"

I honestly don't spend any time changing the cabin temperature  - its set all year round to the same temp. I must be weird like that, because everyone else seems to like to fiddle with it constantly.

As I said, I rarely change the temp either. I generally leave it at ~22. But toggling the heated seat setting is a faff, whether its via the screen or via that hack, where you end up changing the cabin temp inadvertently.

Say via the screen...

I often have the main screen in CarPlay mode. So if I want to adjust the heated seat, I end up having to navigate away from CarPlay mode and into the "Climate" screen. That screen then persists forever unless I press X to dismiss it again. When I press X, I think it does go back to where I was (CarPlay) but not always. Its just an awkward experience, too much faffing about when your eyes should be on the road...