Kudos to VW for bringing back some buttons! It takes character to admit one made a big mistake and try to rectify that mistake. (I'm looking at you, Mercedes, bmw and audi.. )
@@hughlevantjames905 lol, but that didn't really matter tho? Anyway, they're doing this out of greed, not because they want to make better cars. Let's pad them on the shoulders, tho. Maybe they'll continue improving 😅
@@torsung81 They only improve when people stop buying their cars. Recall original release of Golf 8 - hard plastic, glossy plastic, capacitive buttons. VW cuts costs wherever it can, but still very basic Golf trim with 1L TSI engine and manual transmission costs from 30k euro! At the same time Chinese and Korean automakers are stepping up in quality and keeping prices relatively low. European carmakers could face grim future, if they wouldn't do anything quickly enough.
It took them 4 years (!!) to swap out a steering wheel and add an LED to their touch slider. During this time, Chinese manufacturers develop entire generations of impressive cars! At this rate, VW is doomed..
When they launched the golf 8, they said that "customers wanted capacitive buttons" and now they haven't said we were wrong, just that costumers weren't.uying the car as much as Volkswagen wanted. They haven't admitted anything!
I don't get how you could say the original 8 looks bad when looking at this one... It's clearly a continuation of the same design language. 7 or 7.5 looks much more "classic Golf" than 8 or this new 8.5.
I don’t understand this obsession with the high-gloss black plastic interior/exterior trim. It scratches so easily and doesn’t look good. It feels like built-in obsolescence. Capacitive buttons and shiny, black plastic trim need to disappear. Infotainment screens could also do with being smaller and less distracting, especially when the climate controls aren’t physical. It cannot be safer doing it this way. After all, we are operating heavy machinery at speed. Being able to develop muscle memory for ventilation, lighting, while keeping your attention on the road is vital for safe operation. That can only be done with physical switch gear, IMHO.
Yeah - conforming to evolution and change of tastes is rather difficult. You have to understand that the current generation are already sitting on their tablets and smart phone that have developed muscle memory on interfaces that can easily be transferred. Similar to know where physical button are, you still need to discover where they are to start the muscle memory. Where the physical feedback from physically pressed buttons to indicate an input is now replaced with audio-cues on button presses on touch screens to indicate. My Audi is all touch screen and it did not take long to navigate that without taking my eyes off the road similar to my VW that had physical buttons where I still needed to look just as well to ensure I've accomplished what I wanted. Totally agree with the black plastic trim. It degrades fast.
Totally agree on the shiny, black plastic. I test drove a new Mazda 3 and it was already scratched after only being at the dealer for a week. The console is where you put cups, coins, keys and jewellery so having the most heavily used part of the car in piano black is an instant fail.
Bigger screens are not any more distracting and make it easier and safer to operate while driving. But of course the climate controls should not be on the screen or capacitive!
Thank you, you mentioned every single gripe i have with this interior that i was about to type. All that emphasis on increased safety this and that yet can't put physical controls for a/c and volume? Criminal... Very good point about muscle memory. In a touch screen interface, the tactile feedback is poor and is the same for everything (flat glass) and it's not the same thing at the same place at all times (icons, menus change depending on where you are in the system). the manufacturers have to understand that we haven't evolved as humans even though the technology has. And the voice based bs is just another trick for data mining so they can already charge you for the car and cash in even more by selling your data to ad companies.
I wonder who is the main manufacturer of this glossy piano black material crap. 🤔 For so many years car companies are putting this sh&t into their products. People HATE THIS and still "piano black lobby" wins...
Great update! Lots of subtle changes but all together a great improvement. Love the physical controls making a return, the large screen but not looking obnoxious, backlit controls, no fake exhaust, and just general styling changes to look more “Golf”. Glad to see VW listening and making changes!
No, it is ugly, over priced and VW have clearly cut corners and cost. And I should know I’ve had every single mark of Golf, until now that is - I won’t be buying an 8. The 7 was fantastic, it had looks and real dials. This piece of crap has cheap sliders.
If they add back the buttons in the center console like the ID2 concept car, this may almost catch up to the 7 Golf. May* because the 7 golf still uses higher quality materials with normal cup holders and a sliding door to hide it.
It's definitely an improvement and kudos for listening to customer feedback but still feels like the mk7.5 was a high water mark. Too much gloss black plastic, stuck on screen, lack of physical buttons for basic controls, no gas struts feels cheap, R line bumper is over done with the lower grille but the hybrid one is quite clean and tasteful, much prefer that. Would also be nice to have more colour and trim options, it's very drab. For me the Golf 4, 5 and 7 are the ones that I prefer.
Perhaps I am not the target generation, but what I do not like in this (and other modern cars): - Glossy plastic on the key fob, centre console, steering wheel and exterior trim. - "Stuck on" infotainment screens. The previous design was beautifully sculptured and integrated, this looks like an afterthought. - Ambient light that is more than just ambient inside (especially in multiple colours) - it could simply have been a warm ambient light. - Overdesigned front and rear lights. I usually find the bottom of the range has the simplest lights. And I do not like the trend of illuminating logos (or multiplying them like Mercedes-Benz). - No gas strut for the bonnet.
Yeah you are definitely not the target. I like almost all the things you mentioned. Just buy an old car. Also, how often do you really open the bonnet? The gas strut doesn't matter at all.
I'm curious, is VW now sticking with the high gloss buttons on the steering wheel for the production model? If I recall correctly, on the preview they were normal matt buttons.
I really like this Golf. They did a great job with this one. Only the screen is still a thing i dislike and ofc the price. The screen still looks like a tablet placed on the cockpit. It should be more integrated, like audi does.
interior screen is too large. instead of nonsense like climate “sliders” and illuminated grille, I prefer physical controls and better build quality from the plant in mexico. I have the last generation of vw golf wagon (estate) sold in Canada. It is a shame the direction the automotive industry is going.
Looks promising! Certainly hasn't lost its DNA as a Golf. Look forward to seeing how it drives, and in due course, hearing about owners' experience of functionality and reliability.
Other than putting all those sensors back in a position where they can break it looks like a really good update. I like it. Although I think people are just getting used to it
Much improved, but still some way to go. Why could they restore the buttons to the steering wheel, but not for the climate control? Too much gloss black. Still looks weird at the front. Pointless technology, like the ambient lighting. Model name on the door looks odd. No news on the GTD. Is it dead? VW still has some way to go to match Skoda, where the interiors for the new Kodiaq and Superb are much better, both visually and from an ergonomic point of view. Skoda has manual dials for climate, but VW still doesn't. Do the two groups of employees not talk to each other?
The price and reliability are be the only things that can revive the golf. That is why it was a big seller in the past, it offered quite a lot for the money, plus it was known for its reliability.
@@moza7826 that is what I'm saying that Golf lost the supremacy because of big price and low reliability...to revive it has to bring back the old benefits that vw golf brought to its consumers
One thing I like about VW is they pay attention to constructive criticism of their customers. The reason why they have great cars. The new Golf looks like the small car brother of my 2023 VW Tiguan R.😍
A big Car magazine wrote, that VW has improved the quality of the materials in the interior and put in more soft touch surfaces. Is that true ? Because at least in the video I can't see any new soft surfaces that had been hard pack before. The dashboard and materials of the upper front doors had been soft touch already before. What is the difference now ?
The headlight and rear light indicator is terrible, you can’t hardly see it from t0 let alone 90 degrees , it will easily get washed out and the iq rear is right out of us market look terrible it needs a major change, even thf default Id 3 light isn’t prominent enough when turning
like the improvements overall. But the outlined VW badge and the gloss key FOB are cringy. The infotainment system is great but the implementation is not typical VW
Why, Pavel, is there such fascination with piano black, which gets very dirty looking and scratches so easily as well? Is it used to keep weight down while attempting to look classy, at least in the showroom? What was wrong with what went before, matt rubbery plastics for cubby holes which gripped coins and reduced rattles of whatever was thrown into them. Asking purely to understand why the choice of piano black material was decided upon? Overall nice looking car, buttons welcome back on steering, good to see the variant/estate also being highlighted, with a nice flat loading lip and decent boot. It looked like there was enough space under the boot floor for at least a space saver spare wheel. Is that the case? Will there be any space under the floor in the phev model? Will the electrified models be able to tow? Thanks.
I hate how the r-line still gets the exact same bumper as the gti. Such a dumb cost cutting measure. Back in the mk6 and 7 days you where an idiot for putting a gti bumper on a base model, now you can order one from the factory.
Thanks for prompt video. For me, G8 looks better from outside. But from interior prespective, it still falls behind G7.5. That said, I expect G8 Variant to get higher sales than before, mainly because of overgrown Škoda-Passat.
The digital instruments ! Wack as F to much piano black plastic if u make them in one curved display with slim edges it will be amazing and the big screen has no simmetry with the dashbord . I dont know what the designers at wv are doing or smoking . Its 2024 wake up WV .
Why is the golf not provided for in South Africa????😭😭 We are the One of the biggest consumers of this product, please brimg it back to South Africa, PLEASE.
Some buttons is a great idea, now get back to the mid-80s buttons. Now to get rid of the cheapo trashy shiny black plastic. Wheels are so ugly. Why? Some designers should be fired. They will feel at home at BMW or Kia.
Awesome 😎... I currently have a Golf R-Line in White with Sunroof ( hopefully this option is available still). Loving the changes and hoping for other options on alloys. A great review BTW 👍🏼
Small changes externally but it looks so much better than the original Mk 8 and I love the ice blue colour - similar to Hyundai's N series cars.. Very disappointed with the piano-black centre console - yet another backwards step. Hopefully that's just on the R Line and the other versions retain the matte version.
►Subscribe here: ru-vid.com ►Also subscribe to our RU-vid shorts channel: ru-vid.com/show-UCmKVmuPc9wUlLuuhnIeP7_w ►Follow us on Facebook / Instagram / TikTok @autogefuehl 00:00 2024 Golf Facelift R-Line 01:25 Style trim comparison 01:41 Length hatch, wheels, suspension 02:22 Rear and lights 03:14 Golf Variant / Estate 03:40 Interior: doors and seats 04:34 Cockpit and user interface 06:15 Rear seats hatch 06:48 Trunk / boot hatch 07:12 Rear seats Variant / Estate 07:27 Trunk / boot Variant / Estate 08:13 Engine updates with PHEV 09:07 Does the update boost the Golf? #VW #VWGolf Transparency note: Autogefühl videos are independent and free from editorial influence on opinion and rating. But since manufacturers enable us to do the reviews in the first place, for legal reasons this video is marked as _advertisement_.
It's especially frustrating with all these small quality-of-life updates. Now, if you want a manual you have to settle for the older model years with the capacitive-touch wheel, no illumination on the touch bar, etc.
It’s great that they listen and bring back buttons, backlight sliders… but in general the update is quite lame… very cosmetics. I’m missing the multifunction rotation button from Tiguan, middle part between seats no changes:( having 6, or 7 as a reference the savings done on 8 are still there… + the inductive pad for just one phone, the logos on the doors are barely visible - likely cheaper to produce than before. Pitty to not to have automatic opening for the front engine cover. From quality - savings perspective seems to be same 8:( I can bet that the gloves locker is still bare plastic - on previous it was covered by soft material. Changing lamps and tablet inside is not enough to call it “new”. 😢 I wonder why they showed great prototypes recently.. maybe we have to wait for 9….
Hope they bring back the e-Golf as well. I'm not a big fan of the ID3 and upcoming ID2. If they could fit 40kWh+ it would be great. And some kind of temperature management. Fast charging my e-Golf in sub zero temps has not been fun with 20-30kW.
My main complaints with the Golf 8: Needs more legroom for the rear. No, I am not buying the wagon version, because it looks ugly and disproportional compared to the hatchback. It also needs a nicer interior. Nicer materials, nicer ambient lighting, screens with smaller bezels, less black plastic and more cloth or vegan leather. Also, sound insulation needs to get better. I want to be able to hold a conversation with the rear seat passengers even at motorway speeds. Otherwise the car is great. And side windows need some form of protection against UV-A. Don't want more wrinkles or skin cancer...
The MK7 and 7.5 generations still had nicer interiors. I really don’t like the big slapped on screen (looks like a cheap current-gen Toyota). Drive-mode buttons instead of a shifter/lever is a downgrade as well. Overall the cabin feels cheaper. Also, wheres the plaid seat option?
Looks much nicer than the standard 8. The 7.5 looks better still and I wish they had put in the dial to control volume like in the Tiguan. Hopefully it's also quieter/smoother than the 8.
I’m sure I’m in the minority, but this made me buy a 2024. Can’t stand the huge tv looking screen and the buttons on the steering wheel look very outdated. I think the MK8 looks much more modern and sleek from an interior perspective. The MK8.5 exterior updates look fine (subtle and not much difference really). Love the haptic controls and so do most people that actually live with the car for more than a 2 hour review.
Thomas, greetings from Pilsen. I played your nice video as a duty of a sort, owning 180 preferred VAG stocks now. It is nice that from 107 euros two days ago we are at 117 euros. Some worries about the future of the company are still justified but I am bullish relatively to the overhyped EV-only makers and even the generic Chinese ones. This Golf looks better than almost all VW on the street. Still, there is something boring about all the design. The bodywork is sort of too smooth and simple, like some polished German hospital from an uninspiring well-paid architect, the touchscreen is like a tablet for kids. There are signs of inspiration from Škodas, like the "crystal" called things and physical buttons but it is too little and lacking the truly original and useful things, like Smart Dials. I think that the VW brand should decide how to focus in the future. The leading recommendation would still be to try to become the cheap champion of the group, below Cupra-Seat and Škoda, because the simple design makes it almost unavoidable. There is a worry that the Chinese will always beat by the price but the reliability might be higher, like it was with the Beetle and the New Beetle. VW was named as the simple people's company and it's natural to try to make it, to fine-tune the production of very cheap yet reliable cars. Alternatively, VW should regain their better status, relatively to Škoda and Seat-Cupra, but it would need some aggressive stealing of the design and know-how from these other brands. Instead of the Škoda Simply Clever concept, there could be Volkswagen Doubly Clever and Audi Triply Clever things everywhere. Like putting all the umbrellas as the standard ones but also inventing twice as many tiny things like that. I saw a sign in this direction on VW, like the shades in 2 direction above the driver. So there should simply be smart dials, umbrellas, and similar things in basically all cars of the group, but there should be some more details that the competitors will be unable to quickly match. But with the vision of VW regaining a higher class than the other brands, the design simply has to be made more refined and more sporty.
The only improvements I can think of is to ban anything glossy black and fake carbon fiber in interiors. A faux brushed aluminum or a semigloss black would be better. I will never buy a car with fake carbon fiber.
That's it, I usually tend to fluctuate between what car I want after I finish school. But I've made up my mind now. This is the car I'm gonna get once I graduate from college, this car was designed specifically for me, I think I'm in love. Thanks again for a great video, Autogefühl!
This was much needed upgrade. Almost every MK8 flaw adressed. Capacitive BS? Gone. Slow infotainment? Gone. Non-backlit climate sliders? Blacklit now. 1.5 TSI/eTSI as standard is welcome change too, much more suitable engine for the Golf than 1.0 litre. What thing is disappointing is a speed limit assist, which is mandatory by EU-law nowdays, introduced with a Touareg facelift, it is now on with every engine start-up, always ringing when I speed over a bit (because of the tyre difference to a real GPS 50km/h for example) and what is even worse - IT IS ON DEFAULTLY WITH TRAVEL ASSIST - so when you turn on "autopilot" and the speed limit assist reads the traffic sign bad or the data in the navi are bad, the car would accelerate or deaccelerate automatically causing dangerous situations on road. SUCH A STUPID feature on new VWs. The next thing I'm interested about is the Qi charger for phones, every VW group wireless charger was completely useless due to overheating my phone. Otherwise such a nice little hatchback, I like it more than BMW F40 1er and Audi A3/Mercedes A-klasse.
The light features are too gimmicky, the R Line front seats are too cumbersome and the larger screen is very off putting. The lack of physical buttons is also disappointing. It does look a bit better though. At the end of the day the Mk 7 I’m driving still seems a better car. It’s more elegant, more practical and so on.
Great video as usual well explained I never miss one from you. I liked when you said "leave your comment manufacturers will read it". I only have one concern being a group VW customer. Please do not cancel the rocker switch for the dsg on the central console. No "sports" car must have a lever on the seering wheel column like the new Superb. Golfs are known for being all well rounders i.e. they combine looks , sportiness whilst being family cars which are nice to drive as a daily even the GTIs. I know some would dissagree with me saying AMG has the automatic gearbox lever on the steering column for years but hey! This is the only reason I am not a Merc customer! The feel is old school in my opinion. Thx for reading my post keep on making wonderful looking cars 😊.
I bought the mark 6 and mark 7 GT from new. I'm not buying this 8.5. Front still looks terrible. Interior is driver hostile, full of stupid touch controls and bolt-on infotainment monitor. Golf sales have utterly collapsed since the mark 7. I wonder why. Only VW still blame "supply chain issues" in 2024 rather than their terrible design decisions.
The car looks good from the outside but that´s is all. Let´s see Infotainment: Will it have games and entertainment other then car play? Driving: it´s 40k+ euro with 1.5tsi that drives like an potato compared to EVs. I don´t see the hybrids making any sense when it´s already 40k with base 1.5tsi. Cost: Very expensive + it´s getting banned in many city centers next year (that will help with the running cost :) Self driving: Do I want to know? I´m afraid to ask. The GUI for VW is not cutting it, a good skin would have helped a lot.
Watched this as far as the description of the heating controls on the touchpad. That was enough to tell me that I'll never never buy another new Golf. I currently have a '17 Mk7.5 GTI, this being my eighth GTI since 1980. No more. The Mk 7.5 is excellent. The Mk 8 is rubbish: no rotary controls and no buttons. VW have goner down a rabbit hole from which it will never escape. Too much emphasis of EV, which people simply don't want to buy. Nobody want an iPad on wheels either. It was great while it lasted, but I'm out . . .
I will buy this face-lifted Golf 8., and go for the R-Line Trim. I will ask them to remove the word "Golf" and the silly "eTSI" designation. I dislike such "badges" and will ask for them to be removed. Also, I cannot stand these "clown" wheels. I prefer an alloy coloured, (Silver) five-spoke wheel. I like the larger info' screen because it will be less distracting from driving, so that you do not have to search for things, they will be larger and in eye-line.
I'm sure if VW really wanted to, and really cared about all their customers, they could still give us the manual box option for Gti customers like me who held off buying a Mk8 due to the software/steering wheel buttons but now don't have a choice - wouldn't really affect fleet average C02 as most people choose the DSG box and they already have the box from the Mk8 ready to fit ! - if enough people complained you never know !
Gorgeous color. Super rational german car. Not a fan of the thinner tires. Here in SF Bay Area we have some serious potholes ,and those thin tires will cause a cracked rim very quickly, a very expensive proposition. Sadly we don't get the regular Golf or Golf estate here in the USA; we only have the Golf GTI and the Golf R. And no hybrid or diesel options. The USA is always getting screwed over by VW; they hate us, and we don't get the good stuff, just the expensive stuff. Another example: we only get the long wheelbase ID.Buzz, not the shorter fun one. I would buy the short one instantly. So cute.
Patyk pod maską zamiast teleskopów! 😔 VAG = sknera. 24 lata temu mój golf 4 był lepiej wykonany. A za tablet zamiast mechanicznych przycisków do klimy i podgrzewanych siedzeń nie powinien dostać homologacji w UE! Niestety moja Cupra też to ma😡
Start by putting decent alloy wheels on them... standard one's look dog 💩.. if my mk8 golf gtd had the factory fitted Bakersfield alloy's I would not have brought the car...I have 19" Adelaide...alloys define the car and make it what it is...👍
This is truly a beautiful car! At the moment, this is about the only Volkswagen I'd consider buying. Currently, all other models seem soulless and designed as if by a household appliance designer. Why does VW make their electric cars so unattractive? But this one, yes, this is a winner! Thank you, Volkswagen, well done!
*VW need to get back to their roots as a "People's Car". The last good Golf model was MK III, the best were MK II and MK I. The quality, reliability, and durability kept going down after that !*
First they got rid of 2 doors, now no more manual. Next gen, no more engine.....They're killing us softly boys😢 2030 gti gonna sound like George Jetsons car. Whoop whoop whoop whoop😅
so much technology and fancy design, a front end collision would cost you thousands in whatever your currency is (minimum 6,000EUR for example for a minor knock)
So they (apparently) fix the horrendous infotainment software, but keep the horrendous slider controls and make the screen ridiculously massive? Good lord what a disaster. At least they got rid of the awful haptic steering wheel controls.
Anyone else bored with led strips? At girst I really enjoyed the led strip connecting the front lights but now... Well... It's kind of boring and uninteresting. I think I would pay extra not to have it.
The stuck on screen is awful in my view. Looks even worse on the new tiguan since it's even bigger on there. Omitting the gas struts shows VW is a car to avoid these days. If they cut that to save money where else have they compromised. It's a cheap car now and I've only been driving Golfs since 2006...
golf her zaman üst noktayı belirleyen bir otomobil ...harika bir otomobil...ön logo ışıklandırması pek hoşuma gitmedi kalite algısını bir tık düşürüyor..
Lets put the sensor back where it will get damaged by stones. No manual boxes? No doubt a price hike to £30,000 for the entry model. What happened to "the peoples car"?
3:31 I thought both cars were Golf, not PAssat the other one. But they look the same....cheaping out like the Mercedes. What a joke the car industry has become. I guess the EVs coming made all manufacturers frantic to leverage their costs.
Forget the gimmicks,,Give us back an integrated dashboard,Every VW out their looks like the dash is an afterthought replaced with a cheap looking screen that gives the impression that it’s been stuck on.
The front looks better with this facelift, but the rear is still ugly - it doesn't look like a Golf. If I were VW I would go back to the original Golf 1 design and try to bring back that original look in the modern era. Sort of retro. The last good-looking Golf was the Golf 3.
The Germans did me wrong The illuminated emblem is an idea I have submitted several years to BMW, they told me the technicians will look into it and they will get back to me ,now here it appears with Volkswagen 😢
