Coming from someone who had a MK7 and loved it, I would one hundred percent get this car if it simply had buttons for the climate controls..you interact with them every single time you're in the car. I have seen countless reviews for this car, and not one of them has had anything good to say about the lack of buttons. Honda figured it out and hopefully VW will do the same real fast.
@@xnopyt13 for sure..I can't get over how bad they messed up the "less is more" lol. look at 11:00 I couldn't imagine living with that every day its insane
@@chriskonte1909 Agreed the exterior is much easier on the eyes. The thing is people who buy the GTI know exactly what they want and notice these changes, it's not a point A to B car that people buy just because they need a cheap generic car. That's the only reason that has me hoping VW will make changes, but the whole design language of the interior is based on the touch controls so they would have a lot to move around. It's upsetting because it looks like its sick to drive
I want to know what the designers were thinking. Like I want them to explain their decision and watch them use this system on the road. The car is great, the infotainment is a dumpster fire
These touch sensitive controls and going through several menus on many infotainment systems, just to do simple actions are very frustrating. Nothing beats a single press on physical buttons.
@@nairamize4996 touch is not hip and cool, boomers won't know how to do simple tasks that are easy on every other car, and millennials will be frustrated that they cant even turn off dsc with a hard button or have to swipe to adjust volume. this amount of haptic buttons was a shot in foot for an otherwise good hot hatch
@@nairamize4996 cheaper? no they are not. If it was cheaper, then why do cheaper cars have loads of physical buttons, unlike expensive cars? If it was all about money, not a single car would have a single physical button anymore.
@@Astke Yes, a display is lot cheaper nowadays than physical buttons because you don't need the buttons, the wiring and the dashboard that holds the display is a lot easier to manufacture. The reason cheap cars don't have a lot of displays is because you need to engineer and design a UI and control concept and develop the software. Also it's a selling feature for higher priced cars. Once that is done you can equip all cars of your range with the same concept. Economies of scale. Production of the car is also faster because you only need to mount one display instead of several physical buttons.
@@naughtysauce4323 Tesla wants the industry to have no buttons, but if anything goes wrong, it will cost a fortune to fix. Then there’s planned obsolescence.
@@jmcampbell That's true to any product manufactured after the 2000's. Things are just not built as well anymore. But my problem with Tesla is Elon is playing with people's lives. Can I live with a faulty fridge? Yes because it won't kill me, but if you're looking down for every little function in your car, now that can absolutely kill you.
@@naughtysauce4323 I want you to share some links that show how many people have died from the problems that you've stated. Because I haven't heard of that at all. Wtf.
80% of my driving is on the interstate with the cruise set. I appreciate it when you just set the cruise in top gear and talk about the ride and the noise level. It also lets the viewer see what the revs are at highway speed. Thanks for the great channel.
After experiencing the climate control layout in the new Mazda 3, there’s no excuse for any company to not do what they’ve done. Buttons, if intelligently located, don’t reduce minimalism. Period
i personally LOVE the new interior. And honestly the interaction is not that bad. The system is very configurable and you can place the thing you want (like ESC) is short cuts.
@@Astke plus there is a new voice response system... just say hey Volkswagen to change climate to this or that, or change radio, close or open sunroof, etc...
My Mk7 was great to live with partially because the controls were well laid-out. It was fun to drive, too. They could've literally re-skinned the old car and updated the drivetrain without touching the interior and it still would have been a great buy.
The infotainment isn’t as bad as people say, living with it day to day it’s definitely not bad at all just because a lot of stuff changes on it’s own, the car is genuinely so good to drive and comfortable to be in, actually kinda impressive with how vw did with the way it drives for a fwd car
I had a mk7.5 DSG GTI and now own a mk8 MT GTI. Here's my thoughts on the issues with this new car. The ESC is deep in the settings, but can be mapped to the quick settings page and then toggled very easily like you did with the start/stop engine option. The MT does not have a start/stop, obviously...so that's good. I've had lane keep assist off permanently, it's really intrusive but I haven't had it come back on - if you press the driver assist settings in the gauge menus, you can turn it off completely. Ofc, it turns back on when you use ACC but other than then, it's off. I really like ACC on this car, even in manual it allows you to change gears without interrupting cruise control. And it's pretty good at handling speed and turning with other cars on the road. Now the big one, the infotainment and haptic buttons. The only buttons I have an issue with is the temp control. I've only engaged the heated steering wheel twice by accident, and both was when I was reversing into a spot. The temp control touch area is small and split into 2 spots and partially obscured by the steering wheel so I have to look at the slider before pressing or sliding. I'm also the kind of person who trusts the auto climate and rarely change the settings myself, so I've never really had to go into the Clima menu and fiddle with the temp. Volume is easy and you get the muscle memory of how to reach to it and slide. The steering wheel buttons are also very easy to use and hard enough to press that you can't misclick them. In fact, the slider for the volume and song skip/rewind is very good and the haptics in them communicate an accurate level of input. Yeah, so while I miss the physical buttons and the overall interior feel of the mk7.5, I don't think this interior is bad at all. I was like most reviewers who hated this and only test drove it for fun before looking for a mk7.5, but after driving it I found no alarming issues and decided to buy a mk8 instead. If you're going to live with it, you're going to learn all the ways of making it easier to control - just like any other car. And I love the drive feel of this car, so snappy and grounded + louder than the mk7.5. I think my honest next car (way down the line) from this is probably the mk7.5/8 R or FK8/FL5 Type R if manual, or a used RS5/RS7 if automatic. Btw Topher, you're driving an Autobahn spec, or the US equivalent - SE doesn't have smart climate control with 3 zones, different wheels, and no HUD.
Great video Tropher! Love your channel. I think the MK8 perfectly demonstrates how cars are becoming too complex… to the point where it is affecting safety and the overall driving experience (especially for enthusiast cars, as you demonstrated in this video). Thanks and keep up the great work!
100% Agreed. I bought a 2021 GLI and I had a bit of buyers remorse when I heard the MK8 was right around the corner. So glad I bought it. The interior changes on the Golf R and GTI (and probably the rest of the MK8 Jettas) are a complete turn off for me.
@@RussellKasem He straight up said he had to turn on lane-keep assist just to use the touchscreen. It's downright negligent to use this approach to interior design.
Car enthusiasts are weird. 1 day they tell you that interior is not important, and it is all about the driving. And the next day all they do is complain about the interior, despite the obvious driving upgrades. Car enthusiasts make no sense.
@@Astke Because the interior reduced function and made it visually more ugly. Too much gloss black. This is a circumstance where car enthusiasts are right
i hope vw takes in this criticism and comments to heart and makes changes. its sad; it is a fun car with so much potential to be so much more fun. i love the golf
@@070074810 I hate the way Teslas are designed, having to use the touchscreen for most of the functions. But it had two things that are done way better than VW. First of all it's faster and more responsive because there's actually powerful hardware behind the software. And secondly, it doesn't have haptic controls on the steering wheel.
Just want to add another perspective on the interior and touch screens, I've owned a Golf GTI mk8 for 4 months now, and whilst it is not as easy to use as the last generation, you do start to find ways to handle it, for example, you can set up shortcuts to get to the traction control very easily (so it's just one or two presses to turn it off), and you can use a shortcut to manage all of the climate control settings very easily too, on top of this, the voice recognition system is very good at understanding commands, e.g. "set the temperature to 20c", or "warm up my feet", admittedly it takes time to find these sort of things, but after a while, they're not as much of a problem as it looks in most reviews. I wish I had some physical buttons, but I also love the car, it's brilliant to drive and great fun to throw around, after four months, I wouldn't swap it.
@@jonathant.8952 lol leasing is a waste of money. But maybe it makes sense if you only drive unreliable German cars with their shitty "German Engineering"
@@siddharthsharma8940 They can be, but don't have to be. Hypothetically if you save $200 a month by leasing and put it in the stock market, after 3 years you'll have $7200 plus interest in an asset that continues to appreciate, and a new car on a new lease. With a purchase, you'll have $7200 more equity in a depreciating asset, and more than likely 2 more years of payments. Plus you never pay for maintenence on a lease. The only time you really waste money without exception, is with down payments.
@@immortaldusk Isn't buying a car with a loan the best option? Atleast from where I am, it's best to purchase cars and homes on loans and Invest your money in stocks. The interest earned on the equity is higher than the loan interest. So I still don't get why people lease
@@siddharthsharma8940 A lease isn't much different than a conventional loan, except instead of financing the total purchase price of the vehicle, you're financing the expected depreciation for the term of the lease. Lease payments are often much lower than conventional loans, so if one is saavy, they would invest the difference. There are pros and cons to both, but leasing isn't always a waste of money. If you decide to drive the same car for 20 years, you will save more money than someone who leases, but if you purchase new cars and trade in old ones every 5-10 years, you're not doing much better than someone who leases. If you trade in your car every 3 years, you are worse off doing a conventional loan, and better off leasing.
I’m happy I got a sweet deal on a ‘19 mk7.5 GTI. The interior is not only more functional but looks much higher quality, the styling I think is way better and aggressive, and other than the small power bump they seem to drive about the same. One of the biggest reasons reviewers say that the mk8 gti drives better is because it came on summer tires, where as all the press cars for the mk7 were on crappy pirelli all-seasons. A sticky pair of tires will change any performance oriented car drastically in steering, accelerating, handling, etc. I hope VW fixes their mistakes in the future and we get a mk8.5 with physical controls
I love how GTI’s are Jekyll and Hyde, especially with the DSG. In around town driving they’re quiet, comfortable and economical. But one quick stab of the throttle and they become diabolical. And with a TCU and ECU tune they become even more so.
There's a hell of a lot of wasted room around the shifter that could be used for storage or other functions. You know, the entire marketing gimmick of having a compact shifter, more space
Bro I like the fact that you don’t go around the bushes but just the facts and you deserved more credits for that, you’re different from some car reviewers who make things look good even when they’re not
Probably repeating here what has been written already, I have a Golf MK8 here in Europe (not a GTI though) Shortcuts can be created / configured including that for TC on a pull-down panel at the home screen. The home screen can be reconfigured to show multiple tiles - up to five different panels. There is a volume control and a track / channel control on the steering wheel. All of the ventilation controls can be controlled by voice commands, software detects which side of the car the voice comes from. Base models in Europe and other markets have knobs for volume etc. Almost finally as I have read here and elsewhere, I wish reviewers and those armchair critics who haven't even seen the car would get to know the car controls etc. before criticising. Reviewers often appear (after having the car for a day or maybe a few hours) to just repeat from a script what others have already written / stated. Finally it's not perfect and what I would criticise is the software behind a lot of the radar / sensor controlled features, that includes my own car - really, really bad in some cases. Software updates are promised to fix these but many are still waiting.
Great review! I’ve grown used to the infotainment center and the haptic buttons. Once you get used to it, honestly not bad. They came out with a software update recently and it’s much better. The car is super fun to drive and love driving it. It’s a sleeper
Wow... that goes from *very* simple when it is off ... to OMG BUTTONS! Flashy Boxes! I think I saw Clippy on the dash! Definitely made for a different generation of drivers.
Seems like a great car, but that infotainment system and all those haptic buttons seem like an absolute nightmare. Hopefully VW updates this in the following year. Reminds me of the fiasco Honda had to go through after removing all the knobs and buttons and brining them back eventually. I HOPE they update the manual gearbox, cause it just feels so numb and sloppy.
As an owner of a 2021 MK 7.5, I'm happy I took a sweet Covid deal earlier this year. Still not sold on the exterior design or the shockingly ubiquitous use of haptic buttons on the interior of these new MK 8s. I went with the DSG, and although I get made fun of on GTI forums, it's a treat when my s/o can drive me home after a night out without vaporizing the clutch. Love the new steering wheel though (besides the buttons). Also, fantastic POV review as always Toph.
I can spot ways they could have integrated a volume knob, a ESC button and at least toggle switches for climate temp… looks like we are stuck with this for 6 years
A few things. 1: The camera viewing angle can be changed in the bottom right corner of the camera menu for a wide view. 2: The infotainment system has a drop down menu with short cuts that you can configure. You can put ESC and multiple other shortcuts in there. Not as easy as a button but still way faster than through that other menu. In fact, you can literally configure and personalize the entire system layout. So when you own the car you can put stuff where you want. 3: Electronic parking brake has been there for ages now in several hot hatches. Don't see how that is a problem 4: The Infotainment has Over The Air Updates. So it does improve. 5: The Android Auto/CarPlay can be put in a home screen widget so the swapping is not that terrible.
Wondering this too. Bought the 6 speed manual Mk7 because it was a lot smoother to row my own and it's a ton of fun, but interested in the 7 speed DSG if it's possibly better.
some of the best and most useful car reviews/drives I've seen. It's things like that infotainment system that make a difference (at least for me), and I'm glad to know, as I'm searching for my perfect first sports car purchase. As a sidenote: You've gotten me hooked on the LC 500 and the new 3.0 GR Supra, I'm really starting to like Toyota and Lexus these days.
you're damning this with faint praise.... I have been on the fence about upgrading my 7R to the new one. The performance improvements are great, much appreciated. And the heated steering wheel, cooled seats, HUD are great additions. The value proposition is great for the price as well. But the looks I'm not loving... front end looks too much like a corolla. And the haptics are just awful. Cadillac tried this for years, and just about every reviewer and owner hated them. Why you would mimic that is completely beyond me. Hard to believe that may be the deal breaker, but the more I see, the less I think I want to live with them. I'll never track the car, and get the chance to blast a back road at most once a week. My 7R does that pretty damn well, though by all accounts the 8 will do it quite a bit better. But the controls I have to use every. single. time. I start the car.
Don't buy this crap. Vote with your wallet, so that VW will see noone wants this techno touch screen crap in their cars. So the mk9 will go back to the traditional interior style
that startup chime gives me nightmares...i had a Jetta as a rental for 3 months while my Si was getting fixed in the shop. I hated that annoying VW chime and hated everything about that Jetta....I was so happy to have my Si back...the civic is such a better car.
Honestly, I'd go ahead and buy a MK7, no point messing around with this one. The entire car shouldn't get bricked when the screen breaks. And for the first time, I disagree with TheTopher, this interior is an absolute deal breaker. Driving impressions are great as usual though.
I don’t know if you have said it, I might have missed it, but it looks like a euro spec car (It does have a German plate as well). In that case it has a slightly different engine and an OPF (I believe it’s called a PPF (Petrol Particulate Filter) in the UK) which takes away some of the noise and helps with emissions (might be why the exhaust tips are clean too). It’s also pretty loaded with options from what I can see, so you’re looking at probably €45-50k.
Lack of physical buttons is an absolute deal breaker! I really wish my 2019 GTI wasn't a lemon and I didn't have to sell it back to VW. The mk 7.5 GTI was the perfect balance of everything (except mine couldn't seem to stay running without stalling).
For the price point this car is amazing one of the best bang for your buck all around vehicles. And the inside materials can all be easily replaced to give a more luxurious feel.
Had the MK8 for 2 months as much as I don't like the climate control. I don't care about the rest not having buttons. After setting climate control to auto it's not too bad. Some reviewers have gone a little too crazy and say it's not useable it just takes time to get used to.
The thing is VW is a more conservative company, more budget friendly. More buttons = more parts that cost money to be made (plastic presses, materials and so on). They also can break, a lot of buttons = a lot of things that could go wrong, hardware is harder to fix than software. having a single system managing everything is much easier and cost friendly. I understand that having climate controls not physically accessible sucks, but there's some small touch buttons in front of the screen that help
It's not just VW though, but far more expensive cars in the vw group, like the porsche Taycan have predominantly touch based interiors, I guess from a manufacturer perspective, it's more convenient (again to the manufacturer) to build them this way...
As a recently former 7.5 owner & now new 8 owner, the ride is pretty markedly different. I live on a dirt lane, in my 7 I had to go VERY slow, in the 8 it’s way smoother. Also, the stop/start system is better than in my husband’s Mercedes SUV.
Nice👍 I love my sons mk6. We just fitted up a set of relatively sticky tires to it and it really is a surprisingly capable car; surprisingly fast on a back road, in the real world.
No manual handbrake isn't a surprise. I hate to break it to GTi aficionados but the GTi has been moving away from a "pull the handbrake" type car for several generations now. It's a grunty and surprisingly fast moderately luxurious hatch. Hopefully they make a proper drivers car version somewhere along the line by making such changes as replacing the ludicrously soft engine and gearbox mounts with something that allows hard driving and road texture to reach the driver.
Great review Topher! Love the new look of the GTI - wish those tires were standard haha! Also I noticed that the headlights look like BMW's! I will say that the interior definitely looks sleaker, but I understand people's frustration with the practicality - hard buttons are still definitely more easy to use.
you do know you can set a shortcut in the notification area for turning the esc off right? i mean, it becomes just one, 1 click away... i agree that touch controls are not the best, but i would like if reviewers and testers would stop bashing things without knowing them.. besides, if tesla does it it's ok, but vw? nono... bad, bad vw..
The exhaust tips being clean are likely a result of the DPF style particulate filter (similar to a diesel) after the catalytic converter. Some 2021 MK7.5 models also had this.
If they removed a majority of the touch controls, made the infotainment system more snappy and intuitive to use and improved some of the interior trim; this car would be a 100% buy from me.
I think I may go Hyundai... Veloster N or that Elantra N coming out soon. I know the Elantra is not a hatch, but the interior is modern without looking hard to use. More HP and more TRQ... Volkswagen has real competition in this segment in the US market now.
Unpopular opinion: I'm happy there are fewer buttons. Buttons mean cheap-ass vinyl labels rubbing off after a couple years. Buttons mean gunk getting caught inside and failing to even work. Just use the goddamn voice controls.
@George Costanza What are you talking about? Capacitive buttons typically outlast mechanical by decades. And even so, they'll probably get less use as most drivers will use voice control.
I worked at a VW dealership a couple of years ago. And I took literally any opportunity to drive our GTI’s. One of if not the most fun car I’ve ever driven. Point the steering wheel where ya want it to go and bang the nose just sticks.
So, the problem with the ESC is not 100% true. You can link your ESC controls up to a shortcut in the Menu, so you just have to swipe down and the ESC shortcut will be right there. Though even I would still prefer a button.
Is D mode on the DSG basically worthless like the MK7 GLI? (I'm assuming the GTI as well as they're the same powertrain.) I almost always use S or M modes on mine because D is basically "how can we keep the engine at 1500rpm or less in all situations even when accelerating?" unless you give it enough gas, and then it panic-downshifts 2 gears and snaps your head back.
When are car companies going to realize that these are vehicles, not TVS, computers or phones. Infotainment screens are great for certain things but getting rid of buttons and switches to hide them behind screen menus is beyond aggravating. You can’t be fiddling with screens and menus while driving.
Something critical worth mentioning that seems to be omitted by very reviewer except for Volkswizard: you can easily set functions like ESC OFF and Auto Stop/Start to one of four shortcuts. It’s accessible by swiping down from the top of the screen like you’d do on any mobile touch device. So ESC OFF can be done with a swipe and two taps. Negligibly longer than holding down a button for 5-7 seconds.
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Coming from someone who had a MK7 and loved it, I would one hundred percent get this car if it simply had buttons for the climate controls..you interact with them every single time you're in the car. I have seen countless reviews for this car, and not one of them has had anything good to say about the lack of buttons. Honda figured it out and hopefully VW will do the same real fast.
I hate the new VW design language and choices. They went from the understated and elegant look to this cheap looking “futuristic” crap.
@@xnopyt13 for sure..I can't get over how bad they messed up the "less is more" lol. look at 11:00 I couldn't imagine living with that every day its insane
@@chriskonte1909 same, the exterior is fine, not the interior.
@@chriskonte1909 Agreed the exterior is much easier on the eyes. The thing is people who buy the GTI know exactly what they want and notice these changes, it's not a point A to B car that people buy just because they need a cheap generic car. That's the only reason that has me hoping VW will make changes, but the whole design language of the interior is based on the touch controls so they would have a lot to move around. It's upsetting because it looks like its sick to drive
I want to know what the designers were thinking. Like I want them to explain their decision and watch them use this system on the road. The car is great, the infotainment is a dumpster fire
The Mk9 GTI will be swipe left and right to steer and swipe up and down to shift.
Yep either that or just a PS5 controller lol
In Tesla you alredy have to swipe for select gear. Darker time are coming.
@@nightdrive_doomer you are right. The new Model S
Welp in the Plaid you press the accelerator to go forward and press the brake to reverse. That's about as close to videogames as we can get now.
It’ll just “predict” what gear you’re supposed to be in and drive for you
These touch sensitive controls and going through several menus on many infotainment systems, just to do simple actions are very frustrating. Nothing beats a single press on physical buttons.
True. But touch is hip and cool. And a lot cheaper.
@@nairamize4996 touch is not hip and cool, boomers won't know how to do simple tasks that are easy on every other car, and millennials will be frustrated that they cant even turn off dsc with a hard button or have to swipe to adjust volume. this amount of haptic buttons was a shot in foot for an otherwise good hot hatch
@@nairamize4996 cheaper? no they are not. If it was cheaper, then why do cheaper cars have loads of physical buttons, unlike expensive cars? If it was all about money, not a single car would have a single physical button anymore.
@@jgt8684 The hip and cool was meant to be sarcastic.
@@Astke Yes, a display is lot cheaper nowadays than physical buttons because you don't need the buttons, the wiring and the dashboard that holds the display is a lot easier to manufacture. The reason cheap cars don't have a lot of displays is because you need to engineer and design a UI and control concept and develop the software. Also it's a selling feature for higher priced cars. Once that is done you can equip all cars of your range with the same concept. Economies of scale. Production of the car is also faster because you only need to mount one display instead of several physical buttons.
"we have button for windows," Shhhhhh don't give them new ideas man!
Don't worry, Tesla will be "pioneering" the auto industry by removing as many physical buttons as possible.
@@naughtysauce4323 Tesla wants the industry to have no buttons, but if anything goes wrong, it will cost a fortune to fix. Then there’s planned obsolescence.
@@jmcampbell That's true to any product manufactured after the 2000's. Things are just not built as well anymore. But my problem with Tesla is Elon is playing with people's lives. Can I live with a faulty fridge? Yes because it won't kill me, but if you're looking down for every little function in your car, now that can absolutely kill you.
@@naughtysauce4323 I want you to share some links that show how many people have died from the problems that you've stated. Because I haven't heard of that at all. Wtf.
@@TheScrubmuffin69 It's common sense. Not everything will be written out in a link for you
80% of my driving is on the interstate with the cruise set. I appreciate it when you just set the cruise in top gear and talk about the ride and the noise level. It also lets the viewer see what the revs are at highway speed. Thanks for the great channel.
That’s something that reviews never talk about. It’s so hard to find info on what it’s like to drive at high cruising speed
agreed
After experiencing the climate control layout in the new Mazda 3, there’s no excuse for any company to not do what they’ve done. Buttons, if intelligently located, don’t reduce minimalism. Period
Id love a Mazda interior here, its perfect.
@@alexcoyg3281 ikr
@@alexcoyg3281 nah it's not it's old and boring
Mazda is the only company that manages to incorporate these crappy infotainment systems well.
@@ao8319 Hyundai do it brilliantly
I cant get over the interior...I'd rather take the old interior.
Looks like bmw without the material quality
i personally LOVE the new interior. And honestly the interaction is not that bad. The system is very configurable and you can place the thing you want (like ESC) is short cuts.
SAME! I want the previous generation interior, thank god they made it for 2021 in the NA markets !
Yep. the interior might be deal breaker for me. Same with new BRZ. Previous gen had great interior and 6th gen had the best interior.
@@Astke plus there is a new voice response system... just say hey Volkswagen to change climate to this or that, or change radio, close or open sunroof, etc...
My Mk7 was great to live with partially because the controls were well laid-out. It was fun to drive, too. They could've literally re-skinned the old car and updated the drivetrain without touching the interior and it still would have been a great buy.
Yeah volkswagen wants to suck more money from consumers by making everything based on software. Typical though
what's it like reliability wise ?
The infotainment isn’t as bad as people say, living with it day to day it’s definitely not bad at all just because a lot of stuff changes on it’s own, the car is genuinely so good to drive and comfortable to be in, actually kinda impressive with how vw did with the way it drives for a fwd car
The good news is that having owned this car for a week, I can say they have fixed the lag in the infotainment, it’s pretty fast/smooth
I had a mk7.5 DSG GTI and now own a mk8 MT GTI. Here's my thoughts on the issues with this new car. The ESC is deep in the settings, but can be mapped to the quick settings page and then toggled very easily like you did with the start/stop engine option. The MT does not have a start/stop, obviously...so that's good. I've had lane keep assist off permanently, it's really intrusive but I haven't had it come back on - if you press the driver assist settings in the gauge menus, you can turn it off completely. Ofc, it turns back on when you use ACC but other than then, it's off. I really like ACC on this car, even in manual it allows you to change gears without interrupting cruise control. And it's pretty good at handling speed and turning with other cars on the road. Now the big one, the infotainment and haptic buttons. The only buttons I have an issue with is the temp control. I've only engaged the heated steering wheel twice by accident, and both was when I was reversing into a spot. The temp control touch area is small and split into 2 spots and partially obscured by the steering wheel so I have to look at the slider before pressing or sliding. I'm also the kind of person who trusts the auto climate and rarely change the settings myself, so I've never really had to go into the Clima menu and fiddle with the temp. Volume is easy and you get the muscle memory of how to reach to it and slide. The steering wheel buttons are also very easy to use and hard enough to press that you can't misclick them. In fact, the slider for the volume and song skip/rewind is very good and the haptics in them communicate an accurate level of input. Yeah, so while I miss the physical buttons and the overall interior feel of the mk7.5, I don't think this interior is bad at all. I was like most reviewers who hated this and only test drove it for fun before looking for a mk7.5, but after driving it I found no alarming issues and decided to buy a mk8 instead. If you're going to live with it, you're going to learn all the ways of making it easier to control - just like any other car. And I love the drive feel of this car, so snappy and grounded + louder than the mk7.5. I think my honest next car (way down the line) from this is probably the mk7.5/8 R or FK8/FL5 Type R if manual, or a used RS5/RS7 if automatic. Btw Topher, you're driving an Autobahn spec, or the US equivalent - SE doesn't have smart climate control with 3 zones, different wheels, and no HUD.
Thank you for all these details...
@@t.k.morris Just traded my 7.5 in for the 8. The interface is super easy. The reviewers are just being absolutely silly. Really.
Great video Tropher! Love your channel. I think the MK8 perfectly demonstrates how cars are becoming too complex… to the point where it is affecting safety and the overall driving experience (especially for enthusiast cars, as you demonstrated in this video). Thanks and keep up the great work!
"It's fine."
It's not fine. That interior is a total deal-breaker. I'm hanging on to my MK7.
100% Agreed. I bought a 2021 GLI and I had a bit of buyers remorse when I heard the MK8 was right around the corner. So glad I bought it. The interior changes on the Golf R and GTI (and probably the rest of the MK8 Jettas) are a complete turn off for me.
@@RussellKasem The current GLI is in a nice sweet-spot where it has updated design on the inside but plenty of physical controls. I enjoyed mine.
@@RussellKasem
He straight up said he had to turn on lane-keep assist just to use the touchscreen. It's downright negligent to use this approach to interior design.
@@ARentz07 Very true, I recently got a 2020 GTI and sometimes wish I would of went the GLI route because of the interior.
Lol "muh interior" the mk8 is leagues above the mk7.5 in driving feels, thanks to Hyundai btfoing VAG in Europe to orbit.
I switched from 7.5 to 8 GTI the 8 is better in every way: design, technology, power never been happier
VW really was doing great improving the gti over the last 4 generations (mk5, mk6, mk7, mk7.5) but this car just seems like a giant sidestep.
Imo the 7/7.5 is peak gti
@@HughRussell06 for me mk6 and mk7 are the best. I hate the MK7.5 front end
Car enthusiasts are weird. 1 day they tell you that interior is not important, and it is all about the driving. And the next day all they do is complain about the interior, despite the obvious driving upgrades. Car enthusiasts make no sense.
@@Astke Because the interior reduced function and made it visually more ugly. Too much gloss black. This is a circumstance where car enthusiasts are right
7.5 is a refresh, not a new "generation". i like the mk7 styling more, but the drls and taillights in the 7.5 are sweet tho
i've really started liking the exterior of the mk8. the interior is still controversial.
would the Tesla interior also be controversial you think?
@@070074810 tesla doesn't have all the lag and tiny screen with one thing at a time as this. Tesla is eons ahead of the VW turd infotainment
@@070074810 The Tesla isn’t a drivers car, pretty big difference
Tesla’s screens are just as annoying I have no clue what this guy is talking about ^^
i hope vw takes in this criticism and comments to heart and makes changes. its sad; it is a fun car with so much potential to be so much more fun. i love the golf
That interior is a deal breaker for me.
would you say the same thing to the new Tesla model S interior?
@@070074810 I don’t love Tesla interiors but I think they are further ahead in tech for all touch
@@070074810 Tesla's are known to have minimalistic interior not like the Volkswagen
@@070074810 I hate the way Teslas are designed, having to use the touchscreen for most of the functions.
But it had two things that are done way better than VW. First of all it's faster and more responsive because there's actually powerful hardware behind the software. And secondly, it doesn't have haptic controls on the steering wheel.
🤢
Just want to add another perspective on the interior and touch screens, I've owned a Golf GTI mk8 for 4 months now, and whilst it is not as easy to use as the last generation, you do start to find ways to handle it, for example, you can set up shortcuts to get to the traction control very easily (so it's just one or two presses to turn it off), and you can use a shortcut to manage all of the climate control settings very easily too, on top of this, the voice recognition system is very good at understanding commands, e.g. "set the temperature to 20c", or "warm up my feet", admittedly it takes time to find these sort of things, but after a while, they're not as much of a problem as it looks in most reviews. I wish I had some physical buttons, but I also love the car, it's brilliant to drive and great fun to throw around, after four months, I wouldn't swap it.
That's very good to hear!
I really want the MK8. My lease is up for my MK7.5 in May 2022.
@@jonathant.8952 lol leasing is a waste of money. But maybe it makes sense if you only drive unreliable German cars with their shitty "German Engineering"
@@siddharthsharma8940 They can be, but don't have to be. Hypothetically if you save $200 a month by leasing and put it in the stock market, after 3 years you'll have $7200 plus interest in an asset that continues to appreciate, and a new car on a new lease. With a purchase, you'll have $7200 more equity in a depreciating asset, and more than likely 2 more years of payments. Plus you never pay for maintenence on a lease. The only time you really waste money without exception, is with down payments.
@@immortaldusk Isn't buying a car with a loan the best option? Atleast from where I am, it's best to purchase cars and homes on loans and Invest your money in stocks. The interest earned on the equity is higher than the loan interest.
So I still don't get why people lease
@@siddharthsharma8940 A lease isn't much different than a conventional loan, except instead of financing the total purchase price of the vehicle, you're financing the expected depreciation for the term of the lease. Lease payments are often much lower than conventional loans, so if one is saavy, they would invest the difference. There are pros and cons to both, but leasing isn't always a waste of money. If you decide to drive the same car for 20 years, you will save more money than someone who leases, but if you purchase new cars and trade in old ones every 5-10 years, you're not doing much better than someone who leases. If you trade in your car every 3 years, you are worse off doing a conventional loan, and better off leasing.
I’m happy I got a sweet deal on a ‘19 mk7.5 GTI. The interior is not only more functional but looks much higher quality, the styling I think is way better and aggressive, and other than the small power bump they seem to drive about the same. One of the biggest reasons reviewers say that the mk8 gti drives better is because it came on summer tires, where as all the press cars for the mk7 were on crappy pirelli all-seasons. A sticky pair of tires will change any performance oriented car drastically in steering, accelerating, handling, etc. I hope VW fixes their mistakes in the future and we get a mk8.5 with physical controls
I had a MK7 with summer tires and now have a MK8 with summer tires and the MK8 has much better driving dynamics. It's also much stiffer.
I love how GTI’s are Jekyll and Hyde, especially with the DSG. In around town driving they’re quiet, comfortable and economical. But one quick stab of the throttle and they become diabolical. And with a TCU and ECU tune they become even more so.
There's a hell of a lot of wasted room around the shifter that could be used for storage or other functions. You know, the entire marketing gimmick of having a compact shifter, more space
Acura does that too. Tons of empty space around the fancy "high-tech" shifter buttons
Not even storage. That little slot for a pen or something could’ve been used to add the volume control from Audi’s. That would’ve been perfect
Watching you rush to turn traction control off was terrible🤣
It's a thing a lot of people overlook for sure, but it's a very important button on a snowy day when the roads are bad and the tires can't keep up
@@minivanmaster Never had to turn off TC/ESP, maybe you should consider to buy proper winter tires.
And to think that in the previous generation, you simply push a button and it's off. What was wrong with that?
@@rileynaka8323 They wantore crashes to occur.
More crashes=More revenue in terms of repairs and new cars bought
Bro I like the fact that you don’t go around the bushes but just the facts and you deserved more credits for that, you’re different from some car reviewers who make things look good even when they’re not
11:10 is the best review of touch screens in cars. Needing to hit unnecessarily small buttons while reaching and going over bumps.
Probably repeating here what has been written already, I have a Golf MK8 here in Europe (not a GTI though)
Shortcuts can be created / configured including that for TC on a pull-down panel at the home screen.
The home screen can be reconfigured to show multiple tiles - up to five different panels.
There is a volume control and a track / channel control on the steering wheel.
All of the ventilation controls can be controlled by voice commands, software detects which side of the car the voice comes from.
Base models in Europe and other markets have knobs for volume etc.
Almost finally as I have read here and elsewhere, I wish reviewers and those armchair critics who haven't even seen the car would get to know the car controls etc. before criticising. Reviewers often appear (after having the car for a day or maybe a few hours) to just repeat from a script what others have already written / stated.
Finally it's not perfect and what I would criticise is the software behind a lot of the radar / sensor controlled features, that includes my own car - really, really bad in some cases.
Software updates are promised to fix these but many are still waiting.
You can add a shortcut to turn on/off ESC by swiping down from the top of the screen. Reduces it to at least 3 taps :)
Great review! I’ve grown used to the infotainment center and the haptic buttons. Once you get used to it, honestly not bad. They came out with a software update recently and it’s much better. The car is super fun to drive and love driving it. It’s a sleeper
Wow... that goes from *very* simple when it is off ... to OMG BUTTONS! Flashy Boxes! I think I saw Clippy on the dash!
Definitely made for a different generation of drivers.
The interior is a dealbreaker. As much as I’d like a GTI, I will begrudgingly not buy a new one.
Good man. Don’t buy it and they’ll learn and realize no one likes it.
For only 240 hp that seems faster. This is my dream car cause you don't really need to do much, and if has all the power you "need" not want
Dreamcar? Lol
Great video. I love that you’re not afraid to dissect the cars negative aspects as well as cover the positive side.
Mr Topher brings car reviews to a whole new level ! ❤️
Seems like a great car, but that infotainment system and all those haptic buttons seem like an absolute nightmare. Hopefully VW updates this in the following year. Reminds me of the fiasco Honda had to go through after removing all the knobs and buttons and brining them back eventually. I HOPE they update the manual gearbox, cause it just feels so numb and sloppy.
Their manual sucks. SO MUCH REV HANG!
As an owner of a 2021 MK 7.5, I'm happy I took a sweet Covid deal earlier this year. Still not sold on the exterior design or the shockingly ubiquitous use of haptic buttons on the interior of these new MK 8s. I went with the DSG, and although I get made fun of on GTI forums, it's a treat when my s/o can drive me home after a night out without vaporizing the clutch. Love the new steering wheel though (besides the buttons). Also, fantastic POV review as always Toph.
LEARN TO DRIVE A MANUAL.,,OTHERWISE JUST GET A COROLLA.
Topher! You are the best car reviewer ever!
No volume or A/C knobs is a deal breaker for me.
I can spot ways they could have integrated a volume knob, a ESC button and at least toggle switches for climate temp… looks like we are stuck with this for 6 years
Deal breaker for me as well. I had the civic with the touch volume and it was horrible, one of the reasons I got rid of it.
This is why I prefer the 2022 Corolla SE sedan over the 2022 Golf GTI. Corolla has volume and ac knobs.
@@braetonwilson4296 you could always get a mk7 2021
@@collinhayle they got rid of that when they faceifted the 10th gen civic, and the 11th gen interior is much nicer
Volkswagen really went on an all-out assault against buttons with this one.
Buttons are Poland, take'em out :)
Watching now, this will be fun! Can't wait for your full drive & review of the MK8 R, too!
A few things.
1: The camera viewing angle can be changed in the bottom right corner of the camera menu for a wide view.
2: The infotainment system has a drop down menu with short cuts that you can configure. You can put ESC and multiple other shortcuts in there. Not as easy as a button but still way faster than through that other menu. In fact, you can literally configure and personalize the entire system layout. So when you own the car you can put stuff where you want.
3: Electronic parking brake has been there for ages now in several hot hatches. Don't see how that is a problem
4: The Infotainment has Over The Air Updates. So it does improve.
5: The Android Auto/CarPlay can be put in a home screen widget so the swapping is not that terrible.
Question: How smooth is the DSG when coming to a stop in normal driving? Mk7 was kinda jerky
Yeah I haven’t driven in a DSG car that didn’t thump and clunk every once in a while. Not exactly butter smooth
Wondering this too. Bought the 6 speed manual Mk7 because it was a lot smoother to row my own and it's a ton of fun, but interested in the 7 speed DSG if it's possibly better.
I think thats the nature of a DSG. I only feel that jerkyness between R and 1st or 1st and 2nd. Other than that, it feels like a regular auto.
@@colelockridge5816 I really don’t notice it in Hyundai 8 dct
@@devn3813 its definitely jerky on my VN at low speeds 2nd gear
You can add ESC off to where you turn the start stop off on the pull down. It’s entirely configurable.
That's good to know!
Man thanks for that comment. That's honestly a huge one to know when purchasing the vehicle.
Every time a new car is released, people hate on it. Golf, Wrx, Civic etc.. Then they end up buying it. LOL
some of the best and most useful car reviews/drives I've seen. It's things like that infotainment system that make a difference (at least for me), and I'm glad to know, as I'm searching for my perfect first sports car purchase. As a sidenote: You've gotten me hooked on the LC 500 and the new 3.0 GR Supra, I'm really starting to like Toyota and Lexus these days.
I really like the exterior and the way it drives. The interior on the other hand, that could be a deal breaker with the infotainment system
you're damning this with faint praise....
I have been on the fence about upgrading my 7R to the new one. The performance improvements are great, much appreciated. And the heated steering wheel, cooled seats, HUD are great additions. The value proposition is great for the price as well.
But the looks I'm not loving... front end looks too much like a corolla. And the haptics are just awful. Cadillac tried this for years, and just about every reviewer and owner hated them. Why you would mimic that is completely beyond me. Hard to believe that may be the deal breaker, but the more I see, the less I think I want to live with them. I'll never track the car, and get the chance to blast a back road at most once a week. My 7R does that pretty damn well, though by all accounts the 8 will do it quite a bit better. But the controls I have to use every. single. time. I start the car.
Don't buy this crap.
Vote with your wallet, so that VW will see noone wants this techno touch screen crap in their cars.
So the mk9 will go back to the traditional interior style
that startup chime gives me nightmares...i had a Jetta as a rental for 3 months while my Si was getting fixed in the shop. I hated that annoying VW chime and hated everything about that Jetta....I was so happy to have my Si back...the civic is such a better car.
Reviewing the new versions of two cars you've owned this week. Love it!
Honestly, I'd go ahead and buy a MK7, no point messing around with this one. The entire car shouldn't get bricked when the screen breaks. And for the first time, I disagree with TheTopher, this interior is an absolute deal breaker. Driving impressions are great as usual though.
I also agree with you on the topic of interior. It is, in one word, an abomination compared to the MK7s and MK7.5s.
The Tesla model 3 really runs on just one screen. How about that?
I got an mk7 and it broke down like 2 months after I got it lol. Valve spring. Hopefully it was bad luck cause I love it too much to get rid of it.
The frustrations you mention are a deal breaker for me. We will be keeping our MK7.5.
I don’t know if you have said it, I might have missed it, but it looks like a euro spec car (It does have a German plate as well). In that case it has a slightly different engine and an OPF (I believe it’s called a PPF (Petrol Particulate Filter) in the UK) which takes away some of the noise and helps with emissions (might be why the exhaust tips are clean too). It’s also pretty loaded with options from what I can see, so you’re looking at probably €45-50k.
What an incredible car with an infotainment deal-breaker.
Y’all complaining about the lack of buttons, but how things are going right now im just happy it’s not a hybrid.
Truth
Lack of physical buttons is an absolute deal breaker! I really wish my 2019 GTI wasn't a lemon and I didn't have to sell it back to VW. The mk 7.5 GTI was the perfect balance of everything (except mine couldn't seem to stay running without stalling).
Gosh, Mazda 3 is actually really killing it.
Driver experience, quality of materials, etc.
It's not a mazda
@@mharro88 that was my point. Comparatively to this car, Mazda 3 is killing it. It was unheard before.
@@AbsoluteADCC the Mazda 3 is slow compared to this and doesn't handle anywhere near as well? In terms of interior it wins but that's probably it
The car looks absolutely incredible in this red. Reminds me of the read that you can get on the Giulia Quadrifoglio.
For the price point this car is amazing one of the best bang for your buck all around vehicles. And the inside materials can all be easily replaced to give a more luxurious feel.
I kinda like the simplistic interiors of the older Golfs.
Had the MK8 for 2 months as much as I don't like the climate control. I don't care about the rest not having buttons. After setting climate control to auto it's not too bad. Some reviewers have gone a little too crazy and say it's not useable it just takes time to get used to.
Huge agree on the no hand-brake, that sucks!
Best mk8 gti review right here.
The thing is VW is a more conservative company, more budget friendly. More buttons = more parts that cost money to be made (plastic presses, materials and so on). They also can break, a lot of buttons = a lot of things that could go wrong, hardware is harder to fix than software.
having a single system managing everything is much easier and cost friendly. I understand that having climate controls not physically accessible sucks, but there's some small touch buttons in front of the screen that help
It's not just VW though, but far more expensive cars in the vw group, like the porsche Taycan have predominantly touch based interiors, I guess from a manufacturer perspective, it's more convenient (again to the manufacturer) to build them this way...
if i knew someone test drove like this, man i wouldnt want it.
The Mark 7 may be my favorite GTI generation. I'm not that fond of this new gen.
Mk2, Mk5, and Mk7 are legendary. RIP VR6 sound though.
Wow, you take criticism and grievances to a new level. Last time I tune into your channel.
Noooooooo dont go
I love my mark 5 GTI One of the things I love about it, Is that it is a driver's car the cardash is very simplistic I love dials not screens
its very interesting watching your videos and knowing exactly where you are on the highway. cheers from a fellow michigander
As a recently former 7.5 owner & now new 8 owner, the ride is pretty markedly different. I live on a dirt lane, in my 7 I had to go VERY slow, in the 8 it’s way smoother. Also, the stop/start system is better than in my husband’s Mercedes SUV.
Man I can’t wait until I can get a mk 7.5!!!
This interior is a disaster. Honda removed just the volume nob and we revolted. Who on earth thought this was a good idea?
All these years and they still come with plaid seats. I love it
This "Golf" thing will be amazing once Volkswagen discovers buttons.
I had a 2013 GTI, but this "infotainment" system alone is a deal breaker for me. Moving on.
Nice👍 I love my sons mk6. We just fitted up a set of relatively sticky tires to it and it really is a surprisingly capable car; surprisingly fast on a back road, in the real world.
The swipe down you did - you can add shortcuts there like the ESC defeat. Not as fast as a button but a lot better clicks then 7.
had a GTI back in the day. always love these cars. only got rid of mine because got tired of the FWD and needed a bigger car
Yup, im keeping my Mk5. thanks for the video and breaking the news of no hand break.
sounds like some of these quote-unquote improvements have actually set us back
No manual handbrake isn't a surprise. I hate to break it to GTi aficionados but the GTi has been moving away from a "pull the handbrake" type car for several generations now. It's a grunty and surprisingly fast moderately luxurious hatch. Hopefully they make a proper drivers car version somewhere along the line by making such changes as replacing the ludicrously soft engine and gearbox mounts with something that allows hard driving and road texture to reach the driver.
Can't wait for the MKNEIN!
Great review Topher! Love the new look of the GTI - wish those tires were standard haha! Also I noticed that the headlights look like BMW's! I will say that the interior definitely looks sleaker, but I understand people's frustration with the practicality - hard buttons are still definitely more easy to use.
you do know you can set a shortcut in the notification area for turning the esc off right? i mean, it becomes just one, 1 click away... i agree that touch controls are not the best, but i would like if reviewers and testers would stop bashing things without knowing them.. besides, if tesla does it it's ok, but vw? nono... bad, bad vw..
The exhaust tips being clean are likely a result of the DPF style particulate filter (similar to a diesel) after the catalytic converter. Some 2021 MK7.5 models also had this.
If they removed a majority of the touch controls, made the infotainment system more snappy and intuitive to use and improved some of the interior trim; this car would be a 100% buy from me.
Watching this while sitting inside my mk7.5
I love me a good video with complaints! appreciate it
I think I may go Hyundai... Veloster N or that Elantra N coming out soon. I know the Elantra is not a hatch, but the interior is modern without looking hard to use. More HP and more TRQ... Volkswagen has real competition in this segment in the US market now.
footballcoreano The Veloster N is the better car...
Unpopular opinion: I'm happy there are fewer buttons. Buttons mean cheap-ass vinyl labels rubbing off after a couple years. Buttons mean gunk getting caught inside and failing to even work. Just use the goddamn voice controls.
@George Costanza What are you talking about? Capacitive buttons typically outlast mechanical by decades. And even so, they'll probably get less use as most drivers will use voice control.
This made me glad that I just picked up a used 2021 autobahn 7.5 over a mk8.
Would consider one, if not for the haptic buttons. I’m out. Might look at the new GT86, or the Yaris GR.
I worked at a VW dealership a couple of years ago. And I took literally any opportunity to drive our GTI’s. One of if not the most fun car I’ve ever driven. Point the steering wheel where ya want it to go and bang the nose just sticks.
and I thought pressing and holding the traction button for ~5 seconds in my mk7 was a pain in the ass
So, the problem with the ESC is not 100% true. You can link your ESC controls up to a shortcut in the Menu, so you just have to swipe down and the ESC shortcut will be right there. Though even I would still prefer a button.
I will just wait for VW to add the buttons back on the MK8.5
Do these new type of 'touch sensitive' buttons on the steering wheel work with gloves on?
Really good video, especially you're well put advice to VW regarding the tech issues with relating to safety.
Is D mode on the DSG basically worthless like the MK7 GLI? (I'm assuming the GTI as well as they're the same powertrain.) I almost always use S or M modes on mine because D is basically "how can we keep the engine at 1500rpm or less in all situations even when accelerating?" unless you give it enough gas, and then it panic-downshifts 2 gears and snaps your head back.
always hated haptic buttons. physical will always be the best. it gives you "that" driving experience
When are car companies going to realize that these are vehicles, not TVS, computers or phones. Infotainment screens are great for certain things but getting rid of buttons and switches to hide them behind screen menus is beyond aggravating. You can’t be fiddling with screens and menus while driving.
Something critical worth mentioning that seems to be omitted by very reviewer except for Volkswizard: you can easily set functions like ESC OFF and Auto Stop/Start to one of four shortcuts.
It’s accessible by swiping down from the top of the screen like you’d do on any mobile touch device. So ESC OFF can be done with a swipe and two taps. Negligibly longer than holding down a button for 5-7 seconds.