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Model specific boards => Golf mk8 => Topic started by: Yorkshire gti on 09 February 2026, 11:37
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Hi
Didn’t want to jump on the other post re decisions. I’m looking at replacing my car in May. It’s 5 years old then and although it’s got low mileage and is in good condition I feel even with the All In Plan which comes to the end also in May it’s time to say goodbye.
I am mulling over
MK 8.5 GTI which could be the car I was hoping for back in 2021 and didn’t get!
What are peoples thoughts on the ID3 GTX performance? Electric cars in general?
Luxury car tax, didn’t apply in 2021 and is a factor to consider in especially with more changes in April to VED.
Other alternatives I.e. non performance cars, what have people gone for if not VW.
Sorry for so many questions
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I looked at quite a few cars and very nearly bought a 230i coupe, but it didn't feel right. When I test drove my CS I knew within a minute it was the one for me. Considering the VED will be the same, why not look at a CS? Enjoy a few more years of ICE and give electric car technology more time to evolve, it might be the better choice in another 5 years.
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Thank you for your suggestions. I have been thinking along the lines of is it best to leave electric cars to develop further.
My local VW dealer has a 25 CS in at the moment. Maybe it’s time to do a test drive?
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Thank you for your suggestions. I have been thinking along the lines of is it best to leave electric cars to develop further.
My local VW dealer has a 25 CS in at the moment. Maybe it’s time to do a test drive?
Definitely :smiley:
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You won’t go far wrong with an 8.5 GTI/Clubby/R, VW have got the recipe just about right again with the facelift revisions.
The ID.3 GTX would be a great car to have if you get company car benefits especially in Fire & Ice trim. Quick, spacious, RWD fun but horrendous residuals right now, so more of a company car lease prospect than a longer term purchase.
I’m far from anti-EV but agree with Watts in that they’re still in the beta testing stage in some respects. There’s no disguising there’s half a tonne of battery under your bum which is both good (low centre of gravity) and bad (bloody heavy).
The ID.GTI will be interesting (in my eyes) as will the forthcoming Peugeot GTI and the A290 already very much is. Real world quick, hopefully not too heavy and a well controlled chassis being prerequisites to carry off hot hatch status.
The venerable Golf is still the Levi’s/Heinz beans of hot hatches though, and hopefully can still fight its own corner for a good few years yet.
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The venerable Golf is still the Levi’s/Heinz beans of hot hatches though, and hopefully can still fight its own corner for a good few years yet.
I saw an interesting thing the other day.... the markets had been for a number of years saying that "peak oil" will be in 2030.... they have changed that in the last few weeks to 2050 at the earliest.
What this means is that the consensus is that electrification of the world is not happening as fast.
This message will sink in with car OEM's I am sure.
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Hi
Didn’t want to jump on the other post re decisions. I’m looking at replacing my car in May. It’s 5 years old then and although it’s got low mileage and is in good condition I feel even with the All In Plan which comes to the end also in May it’s time to say goodbye.
I am mulling over
MK 8.5 GTI which could be the car I was hoping for back in 2021 and didn’t get!
What are peoples thoughts on the ID3 GTX performance? Electric cars in general?
Luxury car tax, didn’t apply in 2021 and is a factor to consider in especially with more changes in April to VED.
Other alternatives I.e. non performance cars, what have people gone for if not VW.
Sorry for so many questions
Just dipped my toes into EV with company car, a Cupra Terramar 272PS PHEV which was due to the company mandating PHEV/EV as choice plus incentives, plus the huge fall in BIK so a lot of up front saving £ - Seeing it as a free hit to test out the EV world for potential future own car purchase
However, do not have a drive and having to use the local chargers and using the 150KWH - 360KWH charges are super expensive, 15KWH costs £13.14 at 83p a KW and 0.39p session fee, which took the battery charge from zero to 80% in about 30 mins
You really would not want to charge an EV at them rates, as be way more than tanking up an ICE.
There is the lesser options of 21-24KW chargers, which is about half that price, but the trade off is having to wait a whole lot longer, and even more so with the 7KW chargers out there.
If use chargers outside of your drive, you going to be spending a lot of time waiting, or multiple top ups to get batteries up to the 80% mark which is recommended for battery health (you likely only go to 100% if going on a longer journey)
Was given a £700 charging voucher so none of this is costing me money at the moment so have settled on using the 24KW chargers to get as much bang for buck from that, and spending an hour at the dedicated charging station which is set up with lots of huddles and working areas and has a Costa, so its no different from having a coffee out as wait for it to charge.
Payment is super easy, presently just waving an RFID card at machine, but you do same with contactless, or you can sign up to something like Gridserve at £7.99 a month and get 25% off each session.
When go pure EV the 65 miles range it gives you goes super quick, couple of run outs and you back charging! so have settled on hybrid which still seems to run the battery down pretty quick, so do use the preserve battery option, which for me gives a nice blend of EV and ICE, as yes you use more petrol, but having a well topped up battery allows you to use the performance modes to fullest and put the full 272PS on tap, with the EV boost its certainly no slouch for an SUV.
Did run it at 0% for a while and it does reserve hidden battery as you do get EV 'boost' but predominantly ICE which is a 1.5 ltr engine producing 172BHP which to be honest you can poodle around in without really noticing any difference aside from getaways not being as brisk.
Averaging just short of 50MPG on ICE. Usually put in £160-£180 a month in the outgoing petrol. Can see, with taking the EV charging into account monthly spend will be about £100 but only done 700 miles so need to give a few months to see if that's reality.
I have been translating this experience to what living with a full EV would be like, and i would 100% want to charge at home to get best cost and avoid long waits (if mine takes 30 mins on 360KW chargers, what would a pure ICE be?) or multiple trips to charge.
Think those who have EV can give you a full description of what it is like to live with one but based on my experience with a PHEV i am definitely out till cost and experience is at least equal to an ICE on a forecourt.
PHEV is perfect for me now though, saving me a load of £ and Cupra Terramar is a super impressive car, and as its a lease and likely to be retiring in next 12-18 months will just hand it back without any of the depreciation concerns.
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I don't really understand the plug in hybrid idea.... seems like the worst of both worlds? Extra weight and still largely dependent on buying petrol? Couple that with no home charging (cheaper and convenient)...
I can't decide if a self charging hybrid is a better bet? That basically runs like a disiel electric train I think?
I'm tending towards the idea that its all ICE or all EV and hybrids are compromise on both.
Definitely with no home charging any EV is going to be costly, which gives concern about societal equality in an electric world.
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I don't really understand the plug in hybrid idea.... seems like the worst of both worlds? Extra weight and still largely dependent on buying petrol? Couple that with no home charging (cheaper and convenient)...
I can't decide if a self charging hybrid is a better bet? That basically runs like a disiel electric train I think?
I'm tending towards the idea that its all ICE or all EV and hybrids are compromise on both.
Definitely with no home charging any EV is going to be costly, which gives concern about societal equality in an electric world.
As said, its a free hit for me being a company car and by company mandate you can now only select a PHEV or EV.
But there has been upsides, the Cupra Terramar itself is a really nice car, super impressed with it and enjoying it way more than the outgoing BMW 128ti the seats in particular with memory function are a completely different level to anything sat in previously. Passengers love it also, not had anything less than a complimentary comment.
On the heaviness, its super light in the hand, easy town driving car, you do not feel that heaviness at all, would say its better to drive than the the BMW 128Ti, can push it in to bends with full assurance and though there is a little more lean, its minor.
The main win is financial, as BIK has plummeted from near 13k pa to £798 pa and it will definitely prove to be circa £80 cheaper to run a month, and when add in the £700 charging voucher, my first year in particular will provide quite a lot of saving.
Complete rookie to EV and it did take me some trial and error and time to just understand how to get the best experience and think have got that now,
EV Setting - Pure EV: You get about 65 miles range at 100% which is pretty decent for a PHEV. But 65 miles goes pretty quickly and if use fast chargers that's way more cost (as outlined above) than fueling even a performance ICE.
Hybrid Setting - Mix of ICE and EV: Seems this setting prioritises EV around town and so, though its a mix of both, the charge does run down relatively quickly though obviously your ICE MPG can be in the 80's-90's MPG
Hybrid Setting + Preserve Battery Toggle: My pre-flight setting now, the car still blends ICE and EV, but prioritises ICE which for running around town etc is perfectly fine, it brings you back 45+MPG so far but the major plus is that with regeneration the charge level hardly moves even though lots of indication of EV use (there is a blue battery use 'rev' counter, ICE is next to it in White, when both used together on a foot down, the white turns blue)
The additional benefit is you have lots of battery to get the best out of the car, as when stick it in 'performance' and then most aggresive 'Cupra' mode it gives you all the full beans of the 272PS and its lively, the EV boost gets it going immediately and the merged EV and ICE pushes it on. - The strange part is you are obviously off the line quick, but its super smooth even with some fake noises in them modes, so its a bit cossetted when we all like a bit of noise and fuss. Another reason is its a raised SUV on bigger tyres and newest DCC.
But think would say the Hybrid + Preserver Battery toggle is near equal to self charging hybrid given maintains charge, but with added advantage in that it is a much bigger battery so gives more performance.
Would have one for myself? Once the benefits of company car are removed, then answer is no? I would have the AWD 280BHP ICE version of the Terramar as its a great car, but not the PHEV.
I would only have a pure EV if the forecourt costs and charging times improve, as no chance of a drive where live. Performance wise think EV is really good, can imagine the EV - R for example being something special, its all about the charging times and costs for those with no drives and given amount of flats being built, that will be majority.
My next car is highly likely to be a used MK 8.5 Golf R Black Edition when retire with Performance Pack.
But glad dipped toes into PHEV/EV as it has certainly proved had some previous misconceptions that now have clarity on.
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You won’t go far wrong with an 8.5 GTI/Clubby/R, VW have got the recipe just about right again with the facelift revisions.
The ID.3 GTX would be a great car to have if you get company car benefits especially in Fire & Ice trim. Quick, spacious, RWD fun but horrendous residuals right now, so more of a company car lease prospect than a longer term purchase.
I’m far from anti-EV but agree with Watts in that they’re still in the beta testing stage in some respects. There’s no disguising there’s half a tonne of battery under your bum which is both good (low centre of gravity) and bad (bloody heavy).
The ID.GTI will be interesting (in my eyes) as will the forthcoming Peugeot GTI and the A290 already very much is. Real world quick, hopefully not too heavy and a well controlled chassis being prerequisites to carry off hot hatch status.
The venerable Golf is still the Levi’s/Heinz beans of hot hatches though, and hopefully can still fight its own corner for a good few years yet.
Think the potential for EV performance is really good, as sure they can make them more involved and lighter, but over time, the negative column still outweighs the positive column for the majority.
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People often mix the units of energy and power. Power is measured in kilowatts, kW. Energy is measured in kilowatt-hour, kWh.
Energy is the integral of power over time. Is power is constant, Energy = Power x time.
Chargers have a nominal power in kW, battery capacity and the “filled energy” are measured in kWh.
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People often mix the units of energy and power. Power is measured in kilowatts, kW. Energy is measured in kilowatt-hour, kWh.
Energy is the integral of power over time. Is power is constant, Energy = Power x time.
Chargers have a nominal power in kW, battery capacity and the “filled energy” are measured in kWh.
Agree and that is part of the apprehension for folk as you not quite sure how to measure usage/cost against your previous petrol usage and cost. Some are savvy like you, but many including me (and consider myself of standard intelligence and can work out most things, eventually!) struggle to understand the correlation. What you describe is very much part of the uptake anxiety and think the companies actually feed the confusion so folk do not understand the real cost if charge in the wild, super chargers are super expensive and no way you can run a car on them.
EDIT: Based on your succint description, have edited my post accordingly, thank you!
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Thank you all for your input. Much food for thought re electric cars and charging. I do have a drive so could charge at home easily. I am retired now so car purchases are from my income so need to watch the budget somewhat.
The Clubsport at the dealers doesn’t have the winter pack unfortunately which I have found a necessity not a luxury the last few years up here in Yorkshire.
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Thank you all for your input. Much food for thought re electric cars and charging. I do have a drive so could charge at home easily. I am retired now so car purchases are from my income so need to watch the budget somewhat.
The Clubsport at the dealers doesn’t have the winter pack unfortunately which I have found a necessity not a luxury the last few years up here in Yorkshire.
This is what annoys me about VW, Performance Cars level should not have winter pack as an option, its ridiculous, this is basic kit on even most basic car and someone has not bought a CS simply as its missing.
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Heated seats and steering wheel (so effectively a "winter pack") has been standard on the GTI / CS since the MK 8.5 was launched.
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Heated seats and steering wheel (so effectively a "winter pack") has been standard on the GTI / CS since the MK 8.5 was launched.
Will retract that statement then, as know you used to have to option it on new models till became standard and so maybe Yorkshire GTI needs to recheck if its fitted, be an easy physical check.
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There is an "extended" winter pack I believe which gives you heated rear seats. Probably a rare enough option.
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Heated seats and steering wheel (so effectively a "winter pack") has been standard on the GTI / CS since the MK 8.5 was launched.
I was being a little lazy about not ringing the dealer to check. Checked and rechecked the specifications and it isn't showing but there are so many to list that it could have just been overlooked.. Will have to make the trip over there if it ever stops raining and do a test drive. I seem to have a fear of visiting the dealership for some reason 😂.
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Heated seats and steering wheel (so effectively a "winter pack") has been standard on the GTI / CS since the MK 8.5 was launched.
I was being a little lazy about not ringing the dealer to check. Checked and rechecked the specifications and it isn't showing but there are so many to list that it could have just been overlooked.. Will have to make the trip over there if it ever stops raining and do a test drive. I seem to have a fear of visiting the dealership for some reason 😂.
If you’re relying on the content of a VW Approved Used car advert to be correct as far as the vehicle’s spec is concerned, be aware they’re often just a ‘cut and paste’ effort that can be littered with errors and omissions.
From my own personal experience, IMHO many car sales staff also have limited knowledge, so won’t always know - or be able to accurately confirm - the spec of the vehicles they're selling. The cynic in me would say that a time-served car sales person with a particular car brand who is an enthusiast with a comprehensive knowledge and a genuine love of the product they’re selling is a rare beast these days; many are only interested in hitting their sales targets to earn a sales bonus….:whistle:.
Therefore, if you do your own research and pick the brains of forum members (as you are doing) before going to view the car you’re considering, it’ll make it easier for you to confirm yourself that it has all the standard equipment it should have and also what additional options it’s got.
Assuming you have an existing car to sell, it’s also worth doing your research on what it’s worth and the various options available to you for selling it - car buying services such as Motorway or Carwow might mean you get more for your car than you would trading it in against a replacement car at a car dealership.
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Thank you again for all the advice it’s very helpful.
Washed and vacuumed my car today ready for a potential visit to test drive the Clubsport and get an indication of what mines worth.
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Thank you again for all the advice it’s very helpful.
Washed and vacuumed my car today ready for a potential visit to test drive the Clubsport and get an indication of what mines worth.
Keep us updated how you get on always volkswizard and motorway as options to sell yours my well get better than trade in price.
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I’m in the same situation but with a 2019 7.5 Performance which has just passed 50,000 miles.
I used to “scratch the itch” every couple of years but this has been such a great car.
In the next couple of months I will order a Skoda Octavia vRS which as you will know is pure Golf 8.5 GTI under the skin.
I looked at other options by this is the only thing that floats my boat…… and takes me back to my pre-Golf days of 2010 when I had a new vRS to succeed a couple of A3s.
The vRS is no longer a “cheap” alternative but in terms of value it looks good. And essential extras like metallic paint and 19” alloys are free (VW please note!!!!)
The vRS hatchback still comfortably slips in below the dreaded extra 40k tax band as well.
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Forgot to say……the vRS has more buttons too :grin: :grin:
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This is what I’m going for …..
(https://i.postimg.cc/L4z8c5FN/IMG-5847.png) (https://postimg.cc/fkRsXwL9)
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I’m in the same situation but with a 2019 7.5 Performance which has just passed 50,000 miles.
I used to “scratch the itch” every couple of years but this has been such a great car.
In the next couple of months I will order a Skoda Octavia vRS which as you will know is pure Golf 8.5 GTI under the skin.
I looked at other options by this is the only thing that floats my boat…… and takes me back to my pre-Golf days of 2010 when I had a new vRS to succeed a couple of A3s.
The vRS is no longer a “cheap” alternative but in terms of value it looks good. And essential extras like metallic paint and 19” alloys are free (VW please note!!!!)
The vRS hatchback still comfortably slips in below the dreaded extra 40k tax band as well.
I like the Octavia :cool:. The three box shape is quite deceptive - it looks like a saloon car even though it’s a hatchback.
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Someone will get a very well cared for 7.5 GTI when you make the move.
Great thinking P6GTD, a good decision on many levels. Great styling, great packaging and a very well proven recipe. I can’t believe more people don’t buy Octavias instead of nasty SUVs.
And another bonus is you’ll never get done for speeding. Every car in front of you will be doing 1mph below the limit in case there’s an eruption of blue lights from behind your grille 😁
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Motorway traffic ahead will part like the biblical Red Sea!
It’s the blue lights behind me that might be the problem……
I just have the feeling that 2026 is a sweet spot for my residual value.
Another 12 months and 5,000 miles might be less so.
At the moment DTD is offering around 17% discount using PCP contribution on top of dealer contribution.
Motorway suggest circa 19 for my car (would hope to get more when full details are disclosed). Just been serviced and MOT to 3/27, new Goodyears, one owner, etc.
So cash equivalent cost to change is not savage but can only go in one direction.
I paid £28k new in 3/19 so value has been good for me.
To get the options I would want in a new GTI 8.5 would put me over the MRP £40k limit and on principle I won’t do that.
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The romanticist in me thinks your car should be sold privately so you can vet the buyer rather than a stone cold trade sale of a modern classic in the making that might end up in the hands of someone who will ruin it.
I’m 100% with you in your thinking and rationale and especially the point around VED as that really grates me too. The Octavia has that 7.5 Golf undertone with its styling and interior as well as being distinctly Skoda. My neighbour’s daughter has a year old vRS estate in Race Blue that I admire every Sunday when I’m out washing my car.