Welcome Megy!
Good choice of incoming car
You’ll love it!
I have a standard one but white and also added some CM wheels 19’s (Reifnitz reps though as they’re “more GTI” and a bit different)
Mods wise there is gradually a bit more choice appearing.
An aftermarket metal footrest from a mk7 is a cheap start, plus there are add on spoilers and splitters if that’s your thing.
I had a mk7 R and Clubsport Ed40 too so a similar background.
Bet there can’t have been many Ed40’s in Abu Dhabi?
Which of your 7's did you prefer?
I took both mine on the Yas Marina track and the CS was a lot better on track, I did for the CSS front discs which made a big difference too.
How does the 8 compare to the 7 for driveability?
The R was a very common car over there, with some crazy mods done to some, the locals especially loved to spend money on their cars, the CS sold well, but they only imported a few, I think I knew 6 or 7 others with them, one was a manual (one of 5 imported).
There were a few good driving roads over there, the best by far was a mountain called Jebel Jais, was fast becoming very popular with people even shipping cars into UAE to drive it, Mr JWW for one.