2023 Mk8 facelift rumours already?

[jon87]

Hi all, new member here. Although, been following the forum for quite a while.

Had a Mk7 GTD DSG which I kept for just under 5 years, loved that car! Recently changed to a manual i30n facelift, it's a great car too, but if I'm honest I miss the Golf and regret selling it. The Golf had much more comfier seats than the Nlight seats I've got currently, especially for longer journeys. The Golf also felt lighter, and I'm missing the DSG.

I was thinking about trading the i30n (I know, already!) for a MK8 GTI, however have been told it's around a 9 month wait. I also came across this article which has rumours of a facelift, potentially late next year (apologies if it's already been shared on here):

https://www.latestcarnews.net/vw-golf-2023/

I can imagine them improving the interior quite a bit for the FL. I'm kind of stuck now whether to order the GTI now or just hang on another year for some concrete news on the FL. This article does make sense though and surely VW wouldn't leave it any later. Has anyone come across anything?

[fredgroves]

If it was coming, it would be at roughly 3 or 4 years by typical historical timings.

I think though the mk8 this time will go a bit longer (there won't be a mk9) so maybe a few years to go.

Basically if you order now you'll get the face lift 

[karlos]

Interiors are rarely updated for a facelift, and if they did the changes would be pretty minor. 

I would expect the front end styling to be tweaked, maybe change the wheels and a few options becoming standard with some new ones made available. I wouldn't hope for much more than that.

[SRGTD]

If it was coming, it would be at roughly 3 or 4 years by typical historical timings.

I think though the mk8 this time will go a bit longer (there won't be a mk9) so maybe a few years to go.

Basically if you order now you'll get the face lift 

With the launch of the mk8 in 2019, IMHO mid life facelift will probably appear towards the end of next year / beginning of 2024.

Interiors are rarely updated for a facelift, and if they did the changes would be pretty minor. 

I would expect the front end styling to be tweaked, maybe change the wheels and a few options becoming standard with some new ones made available. I wouldn't hope for much more than that.

Agree. External changes are usually limited to bumpers, light clusters and alloys. VW won’t be looking to incur significant costs with a facelift; the main objective of the facelift is to maintain customer interest and sales at minimum cost. There may be some cost cutting changes too, to help offset the cost of any enhancements.

New infotainment screens and instrument displays are likely to be the extent of any interior refresh. Some models of the mk7 Golf gained the AID (digital instrumentation display) and the larger glass infotainment screen when it got its mid life face lift to the mk7.5. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the slider panel below the infotainment screen in the mk8 become backlit. All very speculative though - and I dare say much of the content of article at the link posted by @jon87 is speculative too.

@jon87 IMHO life’s too short to worry about ifs, buts and maybes. I’ve never let the prospect of a forthcoming facelift at some point in the future delay my order / purchase decision, and I’d say if you’ve decided to order a mk8 GTI, go for it now.

[Guzzle]

Mk7 became the Mk7.5 at around the 4 year point. The Mk7.5 lasted a further 3 years before the Mk8 was launched.

Mk5 was heavily reworked to become the Mk6 after 5 years but then lasted a further 4 years before the Mk7 came out.

It is all speculative as to exactly what we can expect, VW rarely reveals specific plans long in advance of a model launch.

If there really won't be a Mk9 (which I don't believe VW have officially confirmed yet), they may decide to stretch the lifespan of the Mk8 to suit. This could mean longer between facelifts or they may decide to do two facelifts.

VW didn't really play around much with the Mk7.5 over the Mk7, most of the improvements are tech based and are compatible to a degree between the two cars. However they've just done a big upgrade of the T-Roc interior as lots of people criticised the original cheap feeling interior.

Sometimes it's worth waiting for the new model, sometimes it isn't. I wouldn't think there's enough definite information out there yet to decide one way or the other.

[evo1986]

VW’s pattern is facelift after 4 years and then new model after 7-8 years.

That said the MK8 was such a dragged out launch with Covid, March 2020 was when it was supposed to be but that hardly happened with Covid and basically the entire of 2020 in and out of lock downs.

At some point in 2 ish years time they will thrown some spec at as standard but by then it will be £50k for a standard GTI 

Yes 40+ weeks minimum for anything performance Golf as a fresh order placed.

Dealers still cannot order any allocation of stock where as typically we used to be able to order 15-20 Golf every month.

[jaceyboy]

MK8.5 will be just a way to raise the prices yet again...

[fredgroves]

There definitely won't be a mk9 simply because we are three to eight years away from the end of ice in Europe (depending on country).

Absolutely no point in spending more rnd money on ice now, or at least not on something as vanilla as a golf.

Vw need to spend more money on their electric future as at the moment they are losing that game to Koreans.

[Kgti8]

I thought VW confirmed some time last year that there would be new generations of the Golf, T-Roc, Tiguan etc but that models such as the Arteon would not be replaced.

[fredgroves]

Not quite sure where they will be selling them then... Most countries outright ban ice in 2030. Including Germany. Here in the UK you've got another five years of hybrid but that's it.