Opinion re HUD and Winterpack

[Ceefeesh]

Hi. Despite convincing myself I do not need to change I am now actively looking to replace my 2018, 7.5 GTI 14.5k, with a Mk 8 GTI. I’d really like a Clubsport but I don’t think I want to pay for the used ones on offer and I don’t want to buy new. My current car is in great condition but for a variety of reasons the time to change is nigh. I am looking at a couple of nearly new cars and amongst the decision is HUD and Winterpack. I know there’s speculation re the HUD and polarised sunglasses. I am a short sighted git and I wear prescription Ray Bans nearly always during the day. Is there any point in holding out for HUD? Is it useful or a gimmick? There is also the question of a winter pack. What does it consist of and how much was it to spec? I’d be grateful for your advice which will help me decide amongst the available cars.

[JoeGTI]

Winter pack is heated front seats and heated windscreen washers. Oddly the heated steering wheel is standard. Heated seats are a lovely feature. I think there’s another winter pack which also includes heated rear seats.

I’m not sure about the HUD in the VW but I experienced it in BMW’s and it doesn’t play well with polarised lenses.

[fredgroves]

Yeah winter pack comes in two versions, one is front heated seats, two is front and rear.

Hud is quite good, shame its a bit limited in what it can display, but I'd probably spec it again.

[Exonian]

I don’t have the HUD in my 8CS but had it in my M135iX.
For years I thought it would be the best thing ever, until I actually had it.
In the BMW it was a nice gimmick because the actual main display isn’t the clearest and if I’m being picky it contains a little bit too much information on that car.

The Golf GTI has a lovely speedo within a rev counter that has great graphics, and I never tire of admiring it, so therefore to me a HUD would be rendered irrelevant. I’m a huge fan of the binnacle display in the mk8 GTI’s, I find it really clear with just the right amount of info.
If you drove with map screen in the binnacle then maybe the HUD would come into its own.

So I’ll go with fun gimmick but not the be all and end all.


Winter pack worthwhile if you use the car in very cold weather.
The alcantara doesn’t generally really feel cold so it’s far from essential to have heating, and this is from someone who gets in a car left outside all night at 4:30am all through winter.
Mine has no heated seats and I don’t miss them having had them on plenty of other cars.

The heated steering wheel is standard (and lovely).


My view, and I doubt it’ll be a popular one, is that a Clubsport is the best mk8 and unless you enjoy spending lots of money needlessly it ought to be specced to sit under £40k as it’s just a bloody Golf.

Ok, the Ed45 is a bit more special so you’ve got to pay the extra tax.

If you like throwing money away then an R is a car that really needs to be specced up more and its starting point is over £40k anyway these days.
Trouble is once you’re throwing getting on for £50k at a Golf there are better cars for the money in my opinion. Many would strongly disagree.

[Rudedog]

Can I ask where the climate screen sits in the mk8 options?  It's one option for my mk7.5 that I would have held out for but just couldn't find it without all of the others bits that I didn't want.

[Exonian]

Heated windscreen?

Not available as far as I’ve seen.

I had it on my TCR.

I find the mk8 defrosts ok without it, doesn’t take long.

[Brenbo]

Climate Windscreen was omitted by VW as the heating layer in the glass does not play well with HUD when projected on to the windscreen.  I do miss not having climate windscreen.

I have HUD and winterpack specced on my Golf R Mk8.  HUD at first was great to use and made sense seeing the speedo etc in your field of view while driving. But now we are in the spring and summer months and wearing sunglasses is becoming a regular occurrence I use HUD a lot less.  I have Oakley Carbon Blade sunglasses with 'Prizm' day polarised lenses.  I have found when wearing my sunglasses, if i tilt my head to the right a little i can see the HUD fine, but when my head is not tilted HUD becomes really faint (but doesn't  disappear entirely).  If VW included the feature to move the HUD projection to the right a bit i think i could happily wear polarised lenses and still see the HUD fine... but it is not to be at present, unfortunately.  I would say HUD is great when not wearing sunglasses with polarised lenses, but i have found myself naturally looking at the dials on the MFD more than HUD.  If climate windscreen was still available i would get it instead of HUD.  Also with cost of new cars going through the roof i suspect i would not miss HUD on my next car... if i can afford new by then?

[Rudedog]

I really wanted to try the climate screen to control the reflected heat in the car as I have to park in a spot where the screen is in full sun... interesting that many of the French cars have a purplish tint to their screens and I'm sure I've seen the same on the newer Peugeot's that have that little HUD screen above the dash.

Some of the newer expensive cars seem to now have a metallic greenish tint to their front screen...not sure what this is.

[Foxy367]

As a Clubsport owner I would say at least try one of the used ones I have to agree with Exonian they are worth the extra over the standard GTI. The alcantara seats definitely don't miss the seat heating. They are warm in winter and cool in summer. With the heated steering wheel and a cabin that heats up ridiculously quickly I don't miss them.

In a standard GTI then perhaps a bit more so as the seat material always seems colder (It always was in my mk7.5 too).

 

[MaggotsRus]

I’ve got the HUD and full winter pack with heated front and rear outer seats on my clubsport 45 and think they are worth the extra cost. I believe when you are paying top end money for these sort of cars spec the car you would like, can afford and enjoy the use of these items. After all there are other items you may not use all the time but the HUD certainly displays the warnings and accuracy of the road up ahead. I have made sure the speed limit warns when you start creeping over national speed limits. This Indication is also reflected in the HUD display.