Volkswagen Golf GTI – interior and tech
The Mk8.5 is greatly improved, if not perfected; at least the driving position’s good
Climbing into the Mk8.5 feels familiar. Perhaps too familiar. The layout hasn’t actually changed much – the dash is still dominated by a touchscreen and a bank of haptic controls beneath, only this time everything is bigger (the screen measures 12.9 inches) and the touch sliders for the volume and temperature controls are (finally) illuminated.
The steering wheel now has physical buttons rather than haptics, too, and Volkswagen has made an effort to improve the speed and functionality of the touchscreen with more processing power and a new UI. It’s definitely quicker to react than before, but accessing some functions is still more complicated than it needs to be. The touch-sensitive sliders are now at least backlit to give you a fighting chance of adjusting temperature at night.
The driving position is good though, and the flashes of red graphics, carbon-effect trim and tartan cloth are enough to remind you that you aren’t in a 1.5 TSI. Push the starter button and the EA888 engine fires up with a familiar grumble, but you’ll want to fiddle with the GTI’s drive modes before setting off. Tap the shortcut button on the dash and you’re presented with the rather daunting 15-step scale to adjust the (£720) DCC adaptive dampers, as well as settings for the powertrain, engine noise and steering feel.
With the first Mk8 the Golf went from a model of high-quality, efficient design to one that feels like it’s been thought out by software engineers that don’t actually drive cars. Some effort has gone into returning the Golf to ergonomic sensibility and even if the job's not fully done, that effort deserves commendation. Perceived and actual build quality, while still lower than the heady heights of the Mk7, is improved too. Not enough considering the near-£40k price, mind...
