Test drive Volkswagen Golf 8: inside - innovations, under the hood - "aspirated" and automatic transmission (no, not DSG) - part 2

 Calm appearance, bright interior

 I don’t understand how we managed to photograph the novelty (all the more, corporate photos are always good), but the fact is that the Volkswagen Golf 8 looks dull in the pictures: a low nose and swollen headlights. But in reality everything is much better! From almost any angle, the new Golf looks dynamic and fit, and its front end is more remembered by the predatory gaze of a confident newcomer, full of strength, than by the fatigue of a 45-year-old who knows life. A horizontal chrome line ties the two headlights together and even extends to the fenders. It looks like this element was not required from a production point of view, but it will surely be memorable and will allow unmistakable identification of the "eighth" Golf. Together with the radiator grille, all this works to visually expand the car: subconsciously perceive the Volkswagen Golf 8 lower and squat.

 The rear is absolutely gorgeous: the LED lights have clear graphics, where horizontal lines prevail, and the chrome insert molding tries to simulate two spaced exhaust pipes at once. But when I look at the sidewall, I see a Volkswagen Golf 7: all because of a small window at the base of the windshield. Details save the novelty. For example - small "stripes" on the front fenders indicating the name of the complete set: I go to the test car and see the inscription of the complete set "STYLE". But the rims are even more memorable: original and bold.

 I tried to choose different "live" angles that better convey the look of the car: in fact in life it looks dynamic, smart, strict, but not dull. Dolphin Gray is perfect for this character. Although I am sure that at first, many fashion clients will order a rich yellow, especially when paired with luxurious 18-inch 5-spoke wheels. The main design controversy for the new Volkswagen Golf 8 concerns its headlights; although there is no dispute in matters of technology: three types of head optics, always certainly LED low / high beam, in the TOP versions - matrix headlights IQ.LIGHT with 22 segments. The rear lights are also built on LEDs and can be of two types.

 If the appearance is rather evolutionary, but in the cabin a real revolution awaits you. No, the seats and the steering wheel are in place, and the space is just "within the C-class." However, the very concept of arranging the front panel is fundamentally different from what we saw in the "seventh" Volkswagen Golf - rather, the interior design idea is more similar to the Volkswagen Touareg, and is called the same: Innovision Cockpit. Around the driver is one solid black glossy bezel that includes a pair of displays and touch sensitive buttons. Plus, below on the center console there are a couple of physical buttons and a “mechanics” lever or a “machine gun” joystick. Everything, period.

 A couple of days after the test drive, I realize that there has been a radical change in the idea of ​​interior design. Perhaps only Tesla and Peugeot allow themselves to make such bold and informal interiors today. Realize the thought: the interior space is given not for the controls, not for “working with the car” - but for “life inside the car”. The car is turning not just a means of transportation, not just a way of getting pleasure - today the car is turning into a place where you can spend extra time with your family, friends and acquaintances. And if so, then the things that we used to consider as small things turn out to be important: for example, multi-colored interior lighting, lumbar massage, wireless charging - and even a wireless Apple CarPlay connection. The phrase “Life happens with a Golf” ran through the test drive, which turned out to be not just a marketing motto, but a real reflection of the car concept. And there will be more than one confirmation of this.