Have you ordered an 8.5 ?

[JoeGTI]

You guys complaining about luxury car tax and a GTI that breaks the 40k barrier - have you seen what us mugs here In Ireland have to stump up for one? 

The 8.5 starts here at about €58k! Which is actually a little cheaper than the outgoing car. So if you only tick a couple of options (wheels, paint, etc), you'll easily top €60k here for one.

No prices have been released for the CS or the R yet. I'd expect the CS to be about €4.5k on top of the standard GTI. Road tax on them here is about €450 per annum, there is no equivalent here of a luxury car tax. However, if you go wild with the options list, you could potentially put the car into a higher tax bracket (as the tax is based on Co2 emissions), which would both make the purchase price higher and the annual road tax higher - for the entire life of the car!

Personally I have my MK8 CS almost 3 years now and I've been very happy with it. I'd be tempted to go for a new CS next year perhaps, just need to see how the numbers stack up. One thing making me hesitant is that I don't even use the car that much, especially since my wife got a new car recently, which has taken over the "Family car" duties.

[joet]

Ordered 4th July. Standard GTI with moonstone paint only, to keep under £40k. Will change the wheels to something aftermarket. Popped in last week and provisional build week 36, I should have it mid October.

I ordered exact same spec on 15th July and my dealer had just been in touch to say it's got a confirmed build in week 36 as well. Looks like they are building a batch of them that week

[JoeGTI]

Also - can't believe those horrid 18's are still the standard wheel offered on the CS. It makes spec'ing a wheel option pretty much obligatory.

I wish they'd done something with the door stripe too, extend it into the back door, or dare I say, actually add a "CS" logo somewhere on the car. Such a lazy effort in that regard.

On the positive side, I do love the styling tweaks, the front end looks a lot lot better... amazing what tweaking the headlights shape slightly can do. And the gloss black plastic trims are much better than before although they will be easily marked! Interior wise, that new screen is a huge improvement... We've an ID4 in the household with the same infotainment screen and its night and day compared to the MK8 effort.

[fredgroves]

BTW, do we know anything about this ED50 yet? Just exterior styling I assume?

No nothing yet other than it will arrive late 2025/ early 2026.

Likely to just be a pile of expensive options and some stickers, but as it is 50 and likely the last ED...I might just be tempted.

[Exonian]

I had a 7.5 R for 2 years and I find my 7.5 GTI more fun to drive.

BTW, do we know anything about this ED50 yet? Just exterior styling I assume?

The 8R is a much sharper drive than the mk7(.5), I’ve had both albeit a 2015 7R. The front geometry tweaks the 8R shares with the Clubsport make more of an immediate noticeable difference than the rear diff, the latter being the area most ‘reviewers’ tend to bang on about. But you can feel the clutches shifting the drive around on fast tight bends. You pay for the pleasure at the fuel pumps though!
Having said that I somehow managed to achieve 40mpg on my early morning commute today which is a first.
The 8.5R and Clubsport both benefit from the anti-lag turbo so should be even better to drive. You’re dead right saying it’s the car the mk8 should have been.
Small tweaks can make big differences to those that care about such things.

With the Worthersee GTI Treffen now moved to Wolfsburg I reckon the Ed50 might well be a bit special. Or at least they will probably do something big to mark the anniversary.
I can just imagine the groans if VW announce “we will be marking the anniversary by launching the Electric GTI…” 😁
For now we know nothing.
But keep an eye on Andy Mindt (andymindtofficial) if you do social media. He’s VW’s design guy.

I've been quoted on a new clubsport with a decent discount to replace my 2 year old clubsport, but just not sure it's worth swapping for something pretty much identical that will cost me more money?

Maybe you’ve answered your own question there!

There will be tweaks, the turbo anti lag addition being one. Maybe a test drive would be needed to see if it justifies the change.

[jon87]

Who know's for the ED50 they may bring the manual back for a limited amount of cars. A long shot, but wouldn't write it off.

[WelshGolf]

I had a 7.5 R for 2 years and I find my 7.5 GTI more fun to drive.

BTW, do we know anything about this ED50 yet? Just exterior styling I assume?

The 8R is a much sharper drive than the mk7(.5), I’ve had both albeit a 2015 7R. The front geometry tweaks the 8R shares with the Clubsport make more of an immediate noticeable difference than the rear diff, the latter being the area most ‘reviewers’ tend to bang on about. But you can feel the clutches shifting the drive around on fast tight bends. You pay for the pleasure at the fuel pumps though!
Having said that I somehow managed to achieve 40mpg on my early morning commute today which is a first.
The 8.5R and Clubsport both benefit from the anti-lag turbo so should be even better to drive. You’re dead right saying it’s the car the mk8 should have been.
Small tweaks can make big differences to those that care about such things.

With the Worthersee GTI Treffen now moved to Wolfsburg I reckon the Ed50 might well be a bit special. Or at least they will probably do something big to mark the anniversary.
I can just imagine the groans if VW announce “we will be marking the anniversary by launching the Electric GTI…” 😁
For now we know nothing.
But keep an eye on Andy Mindt (andymindtofficial) if you do social media. He’s VW’s design guy.

I've been quoted on a new clubsport with a decent discount to replace my 2 year old clubsport, but just not sure it's worth swapping for something pretty much identical that will cost me more money?

Maybe you’ve answered your own question there!

There will be tweaks, the turbo anti lag addition being one. Maybe a test drive would be needed to see if it justifies the change.

Well, developments are I’ve been offered one with a couple of options for £420 a month with £1k deposit… not sure I can turn that down?

[Exonian]

Depends on how it compares to your existing deal WelshGolf.
Be interesting to know what the dealer is putting in towards your deposit.
Assuming it’s your car plus £1k? 48 months and 8k mileage a year?

[WelshGolf]

Depends on how it compares to your existing deal WelshGolf.
Be interesting to know what the dealer is putting in towards your deposit.
Assuming it’s your car plus £1k? 48 months and 8k mileage a year?

I put more money in last time, if I put the same deposit in this time I would be paying the same a month but decided against it.

Dealer has a 2.5k contribution, plus I have a couple of grand equity in my car, plus there is a loyalty bonus so all adds up to a good chunk towards the car.

Base price of the clubsport has gone up 4k since I bought mine so was expecting everything to go up but this “feels” like a good deal?

4 year term is out 8k mileage.

[Sharpe]

Depends on how it compares to your existing deal WelshGolf.
Be interesting to know what the dealer is putting in towards your deposit.
Assuming it’s your car plus £1k? 48 months and 8k mileage a year?

I put more money in last time, if I put the same deposit in this time I would be paying the same a month but decided against it.

Dealer has a 2.5k contribution, plus I have a couple of grand equity in my car, plus there is a loyalty bonus so all adds up to a good chunk towards the car.

Base price of the clubsport has gone up 4k since I bought mine so was expecting everything to go up but this “feels” like a good deal?

4 year term is out 8k mileage.

I managed to get £5.5k from the dealer (inc the £2.5k which is from VWFS), give them a harder push!