Admittedly, aside from getting to know how ACC works, you could jump in a previous generation Golf and quickly get familiar with its user friendliness and quality of (most of the) controls. Previous generations to that was even easier. Everything felt solid and just worked.
But it ain’t 1990 anymore.
Or 2019.
The new tech is readying us for the BEV’s of tomorrow and the gradual change to autonomous.
Unfortunately right now we are in that crossover period where the engineers have developed the mechanical bits to their ultimate incarnation (despite the emissions crap stranglehold) but the tech is still in its relative infancy with too many things pulling in too many different ways, reflected by VW themselves.
Yes, some of the digital controls can be lethally dangerous to use on the move. The tech that is supposed to aid us is anything but helpful at times but still (marginally) safer than fiddling round with a wired in iPod to change playlists etc.
The tech is glitchy, granted. But is it really that bad?
Mine is an early build, used daily on bad roads. I get screen crashes from time to time, I get sporadic warnings flash up some days and so on but generally the car is great.
I don’t have rattles (yet), squeaks (yet) or any other strange noises.
The engine pulls like a train. The chassis and steering combo is sublimely confident. The brakes are amazing. I even got 40mpg the other day (stuck behind someone admittedly).
I had an early build M135i X-Drive too. The BMW felt even more solid, the interior was a class above. The engine pulled like an even bigger train, the gearbox wasn’t as unpredictable, the brakes were also fabulous.
However, more in tune to this current discussion, the BMW infotainment didn’t crash once, was much slicker and the controls were mostly better to use.
Would I recommend anyone to buy a Golf in a trim anywhere below R-Line? Absolutely not. For the first time in 30 odd years I really wouldn’t and that even includes the sh!tty mk3 days.
The basic Mk8 Golfs are ugly and the UI is poor by VW standards. There has to be better things out there right now. My son’s new A3 is quite nice, a 1 series M-Sport trim is nice, an A Class is funky... hell, even my other son’s three year old (MQB) Ibiza doesn’t lag massively behind the mk8 in quality or tech for far less money.
But for a GTI level car I reckon the Golf still has it. The chassis is superb, it really is. Not the sharpest, but definitely über confident and therefore confidence inspiring. VW have continued to put a lot of development into a chassis that was already excellent in 2012.
Don’t give up on it yet Buttons.