VW has made some quite big changes going from the Golf Mk7 to Mk8, particularly on the interior, but the transition didn’t sit well with at least some of the owners of the previous model.
We already know that the German carmaker has trouble with squashing the software bugs of the new Golf and upcoming ID.3 EV, but it appears that they performed a number of cost-cutting measures on their compact hatchback that doesn’t sit well with existing owners.
Read More: Volkswagen Fixes Golf Mk8 Software Glitch, Resumes Deliveries
VW Group specialist Mtl Car Garage from Slovenia got their hands on the new Golf Mk8, giving us a side-by-side comparison with a Mk7 Golf R. In their video, they list a number of cost-cutting measures they found on the new car and air their criticism on the model’s ergonomics.
Sure, some of them are small things like replacing the Mk7’s hood strut for a traditional holder, but others are more irritating, like removing the small storage area on the driver’s side and the felt lining from the glove compartment, causing all your stuff to rattle on bumps and corners, as well as the absence of nearly every physical button from the interior.
The VW Golf was known as having one of the most familiar and ergonomically perfect interiors in its class, at least until the Mk8 model arrived. Sit inside a Golf Mk7 and everything is right where you’d expect to find it. The new Golf, however, offers a very different experience.
Functions that you would normally operate at the touch of a button are now buried inside the new infotainment system, including turning off the start-stop system, while the touch-sensitive control panel of the A/C system requires more familiarization with its uncommon slide controls.
In addition, the digital instrument cluster is surrounded by acres of shiny piano black trim that extends to the new, also touch-operated light switch panel, and is a dust and fingerprint magnet.