Interesting to read your initial thoughts Ms. B, and yes, those stalks are a bit cheapo! Having now lived with a mk7 for a few weeks under two years I've become so familiar with some bits that it's good to be reminded by a pair of fresh eyes some of the details.
I'm a bit split on whether the R interior is just a bit too black or not and on balance I prefer the GTI interior with the red accents.
Maybe a bit more blue trim would have been nice in the R? Maybe VW tried that and it didn't work? We will probably never know.
I was never a big fan of the mk6 steering wheel but the mk5 GTI 'wheel is head and shoulders above all the other steering wheels in any Golf I've owned IMO. I even prefer it to some of the nice MOMO items I had in pre-airbag days. The mk7 steering wheel is 'OK' but the buttons are a bit fiddly.
I found the steering a bit twitchy in Sport setting or Race or whatever it is in the R after a while so just have everything in Normal now and to be honest I find the settings a gimmick. One shared by almost all marques though. But it's interesting that you're another that has commented on the turning circle.
Wigit mentioned this a few times amongst others but I hadn't really noticed it until I tried a tight turn one day in the R.
When I first got my GTI I swung into a tight layby that I use to turn around on a coast road route (beautiful estuary views) I occasionally use and noted that it turned into it sharper than my mk6 did. It's a really bad angle to drive into too requiring a sharp 180 degree turn.
So I can't quite fathom whether the mk7 has a worse turning circle or not but your driveway suggests it's not good!
Good to see you're bonding with the car well anyway!
And to those suffering enjoying Legoland this weekend - you have my sympathies!
You must be a soft touch though Ms. B as there's no way my worse half would have let me skive off on a jolly if she was taking the snot nosed ones away for the weekend. I'd have been press ganged into driving them.
Mind you mine are a bit old for all that now. As I type this at 5am my eldest is still not home after going out with his mates for the night! Oh to be young again! The only reason I see 5 am is because I've got to work stupid hours....
5am? The night is still young, for the young!
I don't mind the blackness of the R interior, but agree, it is lacking something and maybe you put your finger on it with the suggestion of a bit more blue. Although, if overdone, could be very tacky. As you say, perhaps they tried it and thought better of it. Maybe some blue footwell LEDs might be enough to lift the interior. They have been added to the 'future buys' list.
Yes, the Mk5 GTI steering wheel was a classic, a hard act to follow. But I do like the Mk7 version, although the button placements are not as intuitive or ergonomically positioned as they were on the Mk6 steering wheel. And I'm really missing having a mute button which I used countless times a day, when having to listen to my child's constant chatter from the back seat, interrupting my enjoyment of my music.
Without a doubt, the turning circle is bigger. Even getting into certain parking spaces requires an additional manoeuvre, either that or my driving has deteriorated rapidly overnight, lol.
As for Legoland? Well day 1 of 2 complete and I have survived, though I feel like I've been financially mugged, again and again. Braced for more fun and extortion tommorow, then the drive home. Drive to Windsor in the R was a total breeze, quiet, refined, and at times, very rapid.
PS, You're the same age as me iirc, so not 'a bit too old' at all.