Had a good look at a white MK8 today whilst waiting for my car to be serviced. It was a hands off from the outside only look and conveniently it was parked next to a few MK7.5s for comparison. Not sure what model it was but it was a manual and looked fairly basic. The dash layout was okay, not what I would choose but not enough to entirely put me off, the 7.5 looks a little dated in comparison but is what I prefer. The small touch panels were difficult to assess through the window but did not have any air of a quality look about them. The exposed key hole on the drivers door looked cheap, the handles all appeared to have little lights on them unless they were some form of sensor, if they were lights then I'm not sure of the point of them.
The overall styling of the bodywork isn't too far off a MK7 although the high swage line continues through the rear quarter lining up with the rear lights. It's still clearly a Golf but I feel it has been changed only just enough, not to create a new car. The rear lights are in keeping with other VW models. But, those headlights and the front end. Really, what have they done. It looks like they have made a mistake and fitted the front from a different car. Did the designer who did that know what car it was for? No matter how many times I looked, no matter from what angle, it looks wrong. I wouldn't go as far to say hideous or awful, but it is just wrong. They will have to make the R and the GTI versions truly amazing to overcome that front. And it's not just because it was a base model, it was parked next to a base 7.5 and that looked so much better.
I could've been a MK8 customer prior to buying my TCR, but I'm so glad I grabbed a 7.5 whilst I could. They say the MK8 is a more refined drive but that alone wouldn't tempt me, it's not like mine is terrible to drive
. Sorry VW, for now you can keep your MK8, it's not for me.
