VW: "I know what, let's move one of the screens and take away most of the functional buttons"
Car buyers: "Wow, look at this modern interior!!!"
Give me a break.
Well said
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I can think of one or two current mk7 owners who have been waiting for this car and will soon be singing its praises non stop and photo blogging it at every opportunity having convinced themselves already it’s the new Messiah of hatches, but in all honesty it’s a sows ear of styling and anyone who said the new 1 series was butt ugly now has a new contender as this isn’t even as pretty as “the one” inside.
The 7 was a handsome car from most angles but I can’t really see a good angle on this new design yet, inside or out.
Yeah, we’ll be bombarded with photo-blogging from certain members next year as we gradually get brainwashed to accept the design and their expertise on the invaluable gimmicks but...
...roll on the first facelift!!
Let’s hope Audi, SEAT and Skoda pull off prettier designs.
Granted that VW, BMW, M-B et al are constrained by EU (and US) safety laws that demand the bonnet to be a soft landing when you run over the paper boy/girl so we have to have bulging bonnets/hoods.
For me historically one of the great things about the Golf was its restrained, discreet but well balanced styling. Classless but a certain elegance. For enthusiasts like me it was a great canvas to add a few simple visual tweaks to give it that je ne sais quoi, adding a sense of purpose and panache. Those little details that make all the difference to enthusiasts.
This is an Eos/Scirocco hybrid face that doesn’t sit well on a Golf and the other styling additions (pig’s lipstick) just don’t sit well to these weary eyes. It doesn’t look integrated.
The ID is actually a prettier car in my eyes, or at least it has potential from an enthusiasts eye (add decent wheels, bit of a drop)
It’ll sell well because it’s a Golf. People on here will buy one because it’s a Golf.
Details. Well there are things that irritate me, things I quite like and things that just leave me feeling “meh”.
VW may have loaded the run out mk7’s with extras such as the ultra useful self dimming headlights, plus rear camera and other little toys but they’ve loaded the list price accordingly and removed the under Seat cake drawers and various little bits of trim that drop the interior ambience down a notch.
Removing the gas lift bonnet stay and the treatment of some of the interior plastics going from the vids is bringing the Golf down to SEAT/Skoda and Ford level.
The wrap around screens might have Mercedes style funkiness of graphics but they lack the A-Class’s panache (but hopefully don’t share the M-B’s cheapness of switchgear) yet the screens look like bolt ons either side of the main dial binnacle. No better than the previous gen A3/A-Class in some respects.
Cheaping out aside, I do like the fact the rear doors now seem to have LED’s. That’ll help my car interior OCD!
The DSG clitoris? The less said the better maybe.
Give me a Golfball gearknob any day.
What’s it up against though?
The Focus is all lumps and bumps and I hate its styling with a passion (it looks ok in white as that shade seems to hide some of the ‘styling’).
The A-Class looks like a woodlouse that’s been in the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique for a makeover.
The 1 series looks err... better than the outgoing model, nice inside though (but I’m not at all keen on the dials).
The previously hideous Civic now looks suddenly ahead of its time rather than an explosion in a video games arcade.
The Korean stuff is actually starting to look more German than the German stuff!
The GTI has heritage but is probably a bit left behind in certain areas as far as the mk7 is concerned (TCR apart) so there is room for improvement there as far as the mk8 goes.
The 7R had its own unique slot in the market and nailed it. We now have a load of heavy hitting German marque cllones who have taken the simple formula - mid range Diesel company car looks, 4wd system and 2.0 300ish PS etc watering down that niche so much there is barely a fag paper between any of them.
So, yeah, it’ll sell well because it’s a Golf up against mediocre opposition. VW didn’t exactly have to try hard and so they didn’t bother.
I hope it grows on me.