have the 8.5 from new for 3 whole days now
, here are my first impressions (and questions)
Drive: been keeping low revs till after i hit the fist 800 miles or so, but what a piece of machine this is... coming from the GTI mk6, the difference is immense. Be it city, countryside or open roads, this is a beast. Very responsive, even though i haven't put it to its limits obviously, but from what i gather, it can cope with pretty much everything. Sound > nice pops here and there especially when downshifting manually, THAT grawl while accelerating makes me smile every time, sporty without being noisy.
Ride: 19'' wheels fitted with DCC, i must say pretty happy for splashing a few extra quid for the combo, expected it to ride harder overall and it does when you set it nearer the sport end, but when DCC is set on comfort, makes for a comfortable ride
Looks: stunning. Got moonstone grey, black estorils and s/r. I would have preferred a slightly bigger spoiler end but overall, damn impressive design. Fog lights - how i wish it were night all day long just to keep those on
Got some condensation in both headlights when I gave it its first wash the other day, soon dissolved, initially thought that it could be insulation issue, then it occurred to me that i had the engine running for some time before and temperature change may have caused that.
Cabin quality: could improve but a solid 8. Nice sporty seats, super steering wheel (no illuminated shift paddles though, same as in mk8, whereas the 7.5 has those lit up along with rest of wheel). Other than that, not much has changed.
Infotainment: the Good > compared to wife's mk8, this is a treat, fast response, even though i find it lacks some shortcuts (e.g. more buttons on top for quick access could be useful than the 4). The annoying > absolutely huge fonts when you play media or radio, getting older but not that old. Jury still out on Harman Kardon, i kind of feel that Dynaudio in my 7.5 sounded, won't say better but definitely louder. HK has more settings to play with and maybe i have yet to hit the sweet spot, but i expected it to sound louder for 480kw output. This is the one area I would improve.
Questions: still trying to figure out a couple things, activated trial for Dynamic Background Lighting but for the love of me, can't see why anyone would shell 50 pounds or so to get this for life. Connect plus for 2 years and connect for a further 8 with zero cost is a nice touch, spotify for free but how much music can one listen to? Also getting some problems with mobile hotspot connectivity.
Finally, wasnt able to add a second user yet (not a guest), it seems to need to be a user with an active VW ID, when i try to go through the steps, that's what it requires. Any ideas here are welcome.
Next steps: ceramic coating when the weather permits.
Hope this helps future buyers
C.
