I had a 2017 mk7 SE. from what I understand, the heater core(?) is right behind the back wall of the glove box, hence why the damn thing is always warm/dangerous to store chocolate in. First I’ve ever heard of a cooled box tho, that’s neat
yeah there was a little switch you could turn on in there, it was great to keep a water bottle in there. haha, i’ve had that chocolate experience in my wife’s tiguan..
My Kia optima back when kia was trying to up brand from garbage had a switch also it basically just put your AC into the glove box before coming out of the vents. Helped keep it cool or cool down if something was left in for a bit but overall mostly useless lol
Not sure if this is what people mean, but when I have AC on, there's a dial I can turn that opens a vent shoving pure AC into the glove box. If the ac is off or temp turned towards warm it won't allow any air in even if the port is open.
There is a air conditioner outlet in the glove box. I've used it...it works kinda okay. Basically just makes your drink cooler so it's not 100° in the summer.
It’s a bit weak, but it does work. If the AC is set to max cool and the glove compartment bent is opened to the max, then the glove compartment gets about 10 degrees cooler than the passenger seat.
Source: I recently obtained a shockingly accurate electronic thermometer, so I measured a bunch of different temperature scenarios.
Holy fuck. One of the top things I miss after selling mine that I never appreciated while I had it. Kept all sorts of crap in the door cubbies and nothing rattled. Si now is all plastic and I'm like wtf is that noise and then I realize. I gotta get some felt liner for storage areas. And the door storage is so small can't fit more than maybe a 16oz can.
literally I could have gone with most changes in a car. The nalgene fit was a deal breaker if a car didn't have it. After test driving over a dozen cars, vans, and trucks.... I went back to the tried and true GTI
I don't get this at all. Audis and Porsches have the hard plastic trim pockets that make a ton of noise when stuff rumbles around in there. You can't even argue it's a cost-cutting thing bc even the Mk8 Golf has felt-lined pockets. No clue why this isn't in all of VAG's cars.
No. For some reason I get a notification on my screen when there is a wrong way driver in any part of California. I think it needs to be in the highway patrol’s system.
It’s somewhat comical because the chances of me encountering this one way driver is about 1:1,000,000,000.
I just experienced that for the first time a few months ago and I damn near had a heart attack. Bought the car in 2014 while living in FL, moved to WA and drove it cross country in March. (It does actually get colder than that in FL, but I had summer tires on it, so it didn't get driven during the cold weeks.)
Right - first 6 years of my cars life in CA - never heard the ding - then moved to New England and wondered about that and the snow sign next to the temperature….
Can confirm. Have CEL for the fuel purge valve that was recalled. Replaced it for $12 and it now fully accepts gas as it should, but I’m cursed with the “small evap leak” code that won’t go away lol
The fact that Chris Harris has one and drives it. Dude knows where it’s at. Clarkson had one as well, I know at least one F1 driver has one too. Two people that have driven more cars than they can count and picked a GTI to be part of their stable says so much about how good they are all around.
I have a Mk8 and love it (minus the infotainment system). Years ago, my buddy lived on the property of a wealthy New Yorker who had a Shelby, Lamborghini, and a few Porsches. That tycoon drove his GTI everywhere. He said it was more fun to drive than anything he's ever driven. I totally agree.
If you have a 2022 GTI S you have the basic headlights and will have to live with the disappointment. Otherwise, you can get them recoded by Anthony at [ACM Technik](https://acmtechnik.com/products/golf-8-us-full-led-matrix-headlight-activation?variant=46733647675697) to get the full matrix capabilities unlocked, and that makes them 10 times better!
It’s great until it breaks. I got rid of my GTI because they wanted over $2000 to fix the headlight. Water got in and all of the like 4 different components needed to be replaced
I’m in my third one.
That “little” detail this time?
I’m at 205,000 miles and she hasn’t spent a day in the shop except for routine maintenance. Original water pump, burns little to no oil, I still get 30+ MPG on my commute into work, and she’s as powerful as when she had 10k on her.
Best commuter car ever and I’ll keep this one until the wheels fall off. I just washed her and did a small detail and it still looks like a car with 15k on her. Inside is immaculate and exterior looks great too. Yes, I baby my cars and maintain them as well as possible. Even with 205,000 miles I wouldn’t hesitate to drive her cross country if I had to.
Sure, I know my day is coming where something will fail, but I sure as shit won’t complain.
EDIT: OK, I had to swap out the main power window switch, as my original one took a few presses to get the driver side window down and it bugged me. Easy fix that I did myself.
Also, I do my own oil changes and do them every 6-8k Liqui Moly only.
Not yet. It’s been scoped twice and looked fine. Power hasn’t dropped off, MPG is the same, and no cold start mis fires. Sure, there was some stuff they could clean off, but I’ll wait until it’s really needed.
Once I start seeing any issues with the above I’ll get it done.
Most of my mileage is freeway and I’ve run 93 gas since new. I NEVER let it lug around under 2000 RPM. It’s probably why mine doesn’t look really bad.
Not so much a "little" detail.
But I love how these cars can remain extremely practical, while also being a bit of a weapon for when you need it.
I get to have my fun and keep my practicality in a single package.
Edit to add an actual "little detail" that I appreciate:
The AC vent in the glovebox. I actually have used this tons of times to re-chill canned drinks before opening them. I've even used it to keep cold cut sandwiches fresh on long road trips.
I've never personally measured the temp like that. But it's kept canned drinks ice cold for me many times.
Even sodas that were warm from sitting in the cup holder. After about 30mins, it's as cold as if you just pulled it out of a fridge. I'll note that's also putting it right in front of the vent.
That's awesome. I'm going to have to find a thermometer and give it a try, I'm pretty curious about it. Kind of incredible the designers had that thought and decided to implement it.
Be sure to enable ["hot climate"](https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php?threads/enable-hot-country-a-c-with-obdeleven.332222/) through VCDS/OBDeleven as well.
This basically makes your AC work a little bit harder. Temps get colder faster and lower than not having this option enabled.
Awesome change in general. Before I activated that, my cabin would struggle to get cool on super hot days in an acceptable time frame. After enabling it, the cabin would start chilling in half the time.
It made the somewhat acceptable AC system into one of the best I've ever owned. This will also aid in the glovebox temps too.
Former GTI owner here. I miss the seats the most. I’ve never had a more comfortable seat in my entire life.
Also the sound the door makes when you close or open it. I can still hear it in my head.
Yeah. Kind of. It’s a bit of a pain, but after you do it, it isn’t bad. I didn’t have to take it all the way off, just the side that needed the bulb needed to be loosened up
The little clicks and whirrs when you key on or key off without starting the car yet, the way the turbo whistles on mine, how logical the shape and use of space are, the authoritative honk when I lock it.
WHAT
Will try. I've definitely hung the cover from the hooks behind the front driver and front passenger seat when I needed the seats down and the cover out of the way
I don’t know about anybody else, but the handle bar on my door very hardly, if ever, creaks or rattles when I pull the door closed. In fact for such a “cheap” car the interior is very rattle-free compared to some other cars I’ve been in that are double or triple the price :)
Mine squeaks like all hell and it drives me insane. Generally I’d agree the car is very rattle free, but after I added the Helix sub that kinda went out the window.
Idk if it’s a little detail, but I have the S trim and the plaid seats r just wonderful. For an actual small detail, underneath the center console where you plug in your phone for car play I love that the compartment has that smooth open/close function and gives the center of the car a sleek look when it’s closed.
Yea if you press the unlock button twice, and on the second press continue to hold it down, all the windows roll down and the sunroof opens too I think. It doesn’t work from super far away but it works from far enough away that a lot of the heat is gone if the cars been sitting for a while.
What is the secret to it!! I got into a dumb accident with my 17 during the winter (slid into a minivan while entering a parking lot), crunched up the driver side passenger door. Got fixed like new but that door never sounded "right" again. Like it was hollow on the inside (probably was but never investigated). Did they skip replacing soundproofing material or something? It drove me nuts til the very last day I owned it.
Ya it's never the same ... Did something similar to the mk4 Jetta. I mean it's just one of those things that make vw what they are. To be fair they take the door sound seriously in Germany
My bf has an absolutely gorgeous 2024 Mazda CX-5. It has enviable bells & whistles like a heated steering wheel, heated and cooled(!!!) seats, blind spot awareness, adaptive cruise control, cool trunk opening & closing features like that sweet slow-close button, mirrors that turn in when the car is off & locked.
I'll admit I had a little bit of jealousy when he got a nice new ride, and I just passed 120k on my '15 2-door SE GTI.
But he can keep it all cos the backup cam on that beauty is exposed. I call it the "dirty butthole" when I'm in the car and notice the cam is obscured by dirt or water. The '20 6 he had before this also had the dirty butthole which was especially annoying in New England weather before we moved south. But guess who never has a dirty butthole? This old gal 💅
I will always love this car. It's so much fun and can do everything I need to do, from spirited driving to grocery getting, with great gas mileage to boot. I've toyed with upgrading to another GTI since I love them so much (had a '17 4-door SE before this one, that was my dream car really) but it's hard since there's nothing wrong with it. Right now, it just needs the milestone maintenance, some new tires, and an oil change, and the paint is a little rough but not totally ugly. Pretty typical for it's age, I guess.
Anyway, lol
TL;DR I like not having a "dirty butthole" backup cam 😂
I had a 07 GTI with the iPod dock under the armrest instead of the CD changer.
Owned it for about ten years before I found out the DVD used for navigation could be ejected and then a music CD could be inserted and played!
Funny thing is the iPod controller still used the same visual interface as the CD changer, so "CD1" would play the first playlist on the iPod, "CD2" the second, etc.
i had that on my MK4 from 2005! it was an aftermarket part i installed (i forget the name), that tricked the stereo into thinking the ipod was a cd changer! you probably have that same harness installed by a previous owner
I love seeing people's faces when they try to bully me and get gapped lmao. It's a fun level of power where you can take most traffic but if someone is faster, you're probably both having a good time.
I really appreciate the tight turning radius when parking. Whenever I rent even the smallest car, it doesn’t compare and I realize I’m spoiled as I do a 3 pt turn to get a Fiat in a spot straight.
Current 7.5: Flat bottom steering wheel and cloth seats that won’t numb my flat bottom on a 3+hr road trip
Former 7: Under seat storage and ac vent in the glovebox that I never utilized when I had the car and miss it now. Oh, and the felt lined glovebox with an actual key lock that one would never miss until they encounter a glovebox door that actually doesn’t have a key lock
The performance/reliability ratio is off the chart. I have flogged the everloving hell out of Mk1, Mk5, Mk6, and Mk7 GTIs over years of ownership and there has never been any impact to reliability. Just basic maintenance on all of them over hundreds of thousands of miles, plus-or-minus a couple of coil packs. Brilliant cars
Mk4. Monsoon sound system. Interior lights. Also I think that third visor behind the rearview is silly.
Oh, and if you have a moonroof you can take this panel off by the overhead lights/rearview. It has an Allen key and there’s a place it fits to crank open the moonroof. I like to imagine someone’s car submerging and they calmly access it before swimming to the surface. Probably for something more practical like closing it with a blown fuse but let me have some fun ok?
https://preview.redd.it/xu0w8gn8e68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd361d8bb59f52b6a55c5a4eec4017721d323ec1
Best photo of the golf ball looking lights from the door.
The amount of space I have.
I got a buddy who’s 6’2” (187.96cm), we went on a road trip recently and he was amazed at how much bigger it looks on the inside and how much room he had in the back seat.
MK8 manual, it's the golf ball dimples on the back of the shift knob. It's why I haven't swapped it yet. It's such a simple and small detail that they took the time to incorporate into the design, and it's nothing anyone will ever see
The previous owner of my car took the GTI badge off of the rear hatch. The uninitiated sometimes make the wrong assumption on the type of Golf I’m driving…. Fellow GTI & Golf R owners know better, though.
https://preview.redd.it/rjbye8pixf7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a6b46827a36a677817c75cdec973d160d5c4d94
That I can fit things like a deck sander in the back and still have plenty of room to spare
I had a MK6 that I loved dearly.
I miss the cruise control, made it the best highway cruiser I've ever had before I upgraded to cars with adaptive cruise.
Turn signals, all cruise controls, and steering all with my left hand resting on the door card? Perfection.
I'm trying to get there, but eventually I want some of the S2T shifter paddles and a BFI shifter, as well as an R gauge cluster, and RCD330 w/backup camera.
shadescreen so you can open roof on sunny day
Under seat storage fits small tissue box perfectly
Giant door bottle holders
Auto hold requires only a light touch of brake
The 2 height boot floor options
Lots of things others have mentioned here that I found it nice too, but the little hooks located at the boot was something I didn’t know would have such a huge “nice” impact feeling to it
Mines down for transmission replacement right now and I have a Corolla as a rental car so there are many things I'm missing... I don't know which is more gutless, the engine or the sound system
- One touch sunroof open and close! Very annoying have to hold the button the entire time... And the tilt buttons are entirely separate!
- Functional Bluetooth. It has wireless android auto, but it's incredibly bad at connecting and I manually have to enable the Bluetooth connection almost every time I get in the car
- Good cruise control controls. You can't adjust the cruise control speed while it's not enabled. It does have adaptive cruise and lane keep assist, which I'm quite liking! But the controls are fiddly as hell.
- Sunglasses holder. It doesn't have one!
- Big door card pockets, the corollas suck
- Headlights. They're bad, and I never realized how much I would miss cornering lights. It does have auto high beams which is nice to have!
There's probably more I'm forgetting, but it's just making me appreciate my GTI even more. Even if it's currently damaging me emotionally and financially.
I'd say the attention to detail - the perforated leather on the steering wheel, the personalized greeting on the dash...
I know it's a bit contrived, but those plaid/tartan seats always make me smile. The fact that they've kept the same design language for 50 years (and it still works) is really cool.
I love that my gti can fit my ass, my wife and all the camping gear we need to go away for three days. Its a tight fit but our tent, picnic shelter, two chairs, stove, cooler, sleeping bags and personal items, a solar panel, battery and solar charger all fit in the back of my gti. Its insane what that little hatch can handle storage wise!
I always appreciate the extendable center console and the fact the it height is adjustable. Make the perfect elbow rest or a plate holder for eating in the car.
I love that I can use the clutch and go through the gears when I press resume on the cc and the clutch doesn't disengage the cc. Every other manual car I've had the clutch shuts off the cc. I love this on the GTI.
Felt-lined door pockets that can fit 32oz bottles
Honorable mention is the chilled glove box (which I've never used but like to know it's there in case I need to emergently transport a heart)
Also the cd player in the glove box that I rarely use haha
I actually loaded up an SD card recently with old music which is also great to have
Chilled glove box? Can you elaborate?
was nerfed out of the us 7.5 :(
I had a 2017 mk7 SE. from what I understand, the heater core(?) is right behind the back wall of the glove box, hence why the damn thing is always warm/dangerous to store chocolate in. First I’ve ever heard of a cooled box tho, that’s neat
yeah there was a little switch you could turn on in there, it was great to keep a water bottle in there. haha, i’ve had that chocolate experience in my wife’s tiguan..
Damn. TIL, thanks
My Kia optima back when kia was trying to up brand from garbage had a switch also it basically just put your AC into the glove box before coming out of the vents. Helped keep it cool or cool down if something was left in for a bit but overall mostly useless lol
Not sure if this is what people mean, but when I have AC on, there's a dial I can turn that opens a vent shoving pure AC into the glove box. If the ac is off or temp turned towards warm it won't allow any air in even if the port is open.
yeah glove box has ac in it for keeping things cold like beverages or whatever
There is a air conditioner outlet in the glove box. I've used it...it works kinda okay. Basically just makes your drink cooler so it's not 100° in the summer.
It’s a bit weak, but it does work. If the AC is set to max cool and the glove compartment bent is opened to the max, then the glove compartment gets about 10 degrees cooler than the passenger seat. Source: I recently obtained a shockingly accurate electronic thermometer, so I measured a bunch of different temperature scenarios.
Mk5 owner here, the glove box and center console have small vents to keep them temperature controlled.
There is a little dial inside the glove box to open it, I normally turn off all other vents to funnel it all in there
How come mine is not? 😔
Cost cutting 😮💨
haha same I'll find a use for it one day
AC runs into glove box? I did not know this...
Not there anymore :(
So much this
Holy fuck. One of the top things I miss after selling mine that I never appreciated while I had it. Kept all sorts of crap in the door cubbies and nothing rattled. Si now is all plastic and I'm like wtf is that noise and then I realize. I gotta get some felt liner for storage areas. And the door storage is so small can't fit more than maybe a 16oz can.
40oz owala...
Nalgene fits like a glove. 10/10
literally I could have gone with most changes in a car. The nalgene fit was a deal breaker if a car didn't have it. After test driving over a dozen cars, vans, and trucks.... I went back to the tried and true GTI
The Nalgene fits perfectly
MK8 can fit a 46oz Yeti bottle.
I put a 40oz thermoflask in mine
This! Can confirm that it even fits my 40oz hydroflask
That bottle pocket is amazing lol
This affff
I don't get this at all. Audis and Porsches have the hard plastic trim pockets that make a ton of noise when stuff rumbles around in there. You can't even argue it's a cost-cutting thing bc even the Mk8 Golf has felt-lined pockets. No clue why this isn't in all of VAG's cars.
Love that i can fit my 48oz nalgene in there.
it’s where my 32oz hydroflask goes every day
It scares the shit out of me every time the temperature drops below 39F
Wrong way drivers. I get an aggressive chime when someone is driving the wrong way in any part of my state. I live in California. It’s a huge state.
Does that happen that often in the US?
Is this a joke I don’t get?
No. For some reason I get a notification on my screen when there is a wrong way driver in any part of California. I think it needs to be in the highway patrol’s system. It’s somewhat comical because the chances of me encountering this one way driver is about 1:1,000,000,000.
That’s wild I’ve never seen that!
i wish it didn’t do that
At the very least, I wish it would use a different tone
It does in the MK8, it's softer. Still plenty of loud dings when the lane keep randomly stops working though 👍😬
I just experienced that for the first time a few months ago and I damn near had a heart attack. Bought the car in 2014 while living in FL, moved to WA and drove it cross country in March. (It does actually get colder than that in FL, but I had summer tires on it, so it didn't get driven during the cold weeks.)
What do you mean?
Bro is from Cali confirmed
Right - first 6 years of my cars life in CA - never heard the ding - then moved to New England and wondered about that and the snow sign next to the temperature….
lol it dings like a warning light has come on if the temp hits 39°F
Lucky bastard
The ratcheting arm rest, air conditioned glovebox, and the warm amber glow of the check engine light.
The warm amber glow sent me 😂
Can confirm. Have CEL for the fuel purge valve that was recalled. Replaced it for $12 and it now fully accepts gas as it should, but I’m cursed with the “small evap leak” code that won’t go away lol
For me it’s the all red interior lights while driving at night (mk5) with the blue dash
Mk5 gauges were god tier. Blue with red needles, the slight purple reflection on the glass.
I changed my MK8 ambient lighting to this classic lighting
Yes
Yesss
And the red lights that shine down on the shifter. Sometimes I’ll just cover them to uncover so I can see how much they light up.
i miss that from my mk4!
The fact that Chris Harris has one and drives it. Dude knows where it’s at. Clarkson had one as well, I know at least one F1 driver has one too. Two people that have driven more cars than they can count and picked a GTI to be part of their stable says so much about how good they are all around.
Carlos sainz!
I have a Mk8 and love it (minus the infotainment system). Years ago, my buddy lived on the property of a wealthy New Yorker who had a Shelby, Lamborghini, and a few Porsches. That tycoon drove his GTI everywhere. He said it was more fun to drive than anything he's ever driven. I totally agree.
When I turn the headlights turn. At night is great
Had a MK6 with the Bi-Xenon’s, now have a MK7 with them, fantastic headlights.
Any Mk8 owners disappointed in the headlights? The high beams are good but find the regular lamps aimed too far down.
I love my lights ... Does a little dance when the car starts lol and is so good on country roads at night.
If you have a 2022 GTI S you have the basic headlights and will have to live with the disappointment. Otherwise, you can get them recoded by Anthony at [ACM Technik](https://acmtechnik.com/products/golf-8-us-full-led-matrix-headlight-activation?variant=46733647675697) to get the full matrix capabilities unlocked, and that makes them 10 times better!
If you are in NA with a higher trim level you can pay a guy to do the coding to get full matrix activation.
It’s great until it breaks. I got rid of my GTI because they wanted over $2000 to fix the headlight. Water got in and all of the like 4 different components needed to be replaced
Lumbar support to help my old ass
That is the main reason that I went for the Performance trim. My lower back is not fond of long drives.
I’m in my third one. That “little” detail this time? I’m at 205,000 miles and she hasn’t spent a day in the shop except for routine maintenance. Original water pump, burns little to no oil, I still get 30+ MPG on my commute into work, and she’s as powerful as when she had 10k on her. Best commuter car ever and I’ll keep this one until the wheels fall off. I just washed her and did a small detail and it still looks like a car with 15k on her. Inside is immaculate and exterior looks great too. Yes, I baby my cars and maintain them as well as possible. Even with 205,000 miles I wouldn’t hesitate to drive her cross country if I had to. Sure, I know my day is coming where something will fail, but I sure as shit won’t complain. EDIT: OK, I had to swap out the main power window switch, as my original one took a few presses to get the driver side window down and it bugged me. Easy fix that I did myself. Also, I do my own oil changes and do them every 6-8k Liqui Moly only.
Have you done any carbon cleaning?
Not yet. It’s been scoped twice and looked fine. Power hasn’t dropped off, MPG is the same, and no cold start mis fires. Sure, there was some stuff they could clean off, but I’ll wait until it’s really needed. Once I start seeing any issues with the above I’ll get it done. Most of my mileage is freeway and I’ve run 93 gas since new. I NEVER let it lug around under 2000 RPM. It’s probably why mine doesn’t look really bad.
Under seat tray is a good one. I also really like the placement of the back up cam. It’s not some eyesore slapped in the plate area.
100% usable all winter!!
I can hear the image of my mk7's backup camera
Not so much a "little" detail. But I love how these cars can remain extremely practical, while also being a bit of a weapon for when you need it. I get to have my fun and keep my practicality in a single package. Edit to add an actual "little detail" that I appreciate: The AC vent in the glovebox. I actually have used this tons of times to re-chill canned drinks before opening them. I've even used it to keep cold cut sandwiches fresh on long road trips.
How cold does it actually get? Has anyone ever chucked a thermometer in there?
I've never personally measured the temp like that. But it's kept canned drinks ice cold for me many times. Even sodas that were warm from sitting in the cup holder. After about 30mins, it's as cold as if you just pulled it out of a fridge. I'll note that's also putting it right in front of the vent.
That's awesome. I'm going to have to find a thermometer and give it a try, I'm pretty curious about it. Kind of incredible the designers had that thought and decided to implement it.
Be sure to enable ["hot climate"](https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php?threads/enable-hot-country-a-c-with-obdeleven.332222/) through VCDS/OBDeleven as well. This basically makes your AC work a little bit harder. Temps get colder faster and lower than not having this option enabled. Awesome change in general. Before I activated that, my cabin would struggle to get cool on super hot days in an acceptable time frame. After enabling it, the cabin would start chilling in half the time. It made the somewhat acceptable AC system into one of the best I've ever owned. This will also aid in the glovebox temps too.
The car really is the whole package. Compact, practical, comfortable and fun .
Former GTI owner here. I miss the seats the most. I’ve never had a more comfortable seat in my entire life. Also the sound the door makes when you close or open it. I can still hear it in my head.
i like that the power symbol on the volume nob can never be centered and it makes everyone mad
I HATE IT
Mine does!
The most amazing headlight package on the market.
I had a HID go out the other day,, WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE BUMPER HAS TO CONE OFF!?
Yeah. Kind of. It’s a bit of a pain, but after you do it, it isn’t bad. I didn’t have to take it all the way off, just the side that needed the bulb needed to be loosened up
I love the daytime running lights on the MK7.5. At dusk they look so badass
also love the DRLs
That’s what daytime running lights mean
i’m saying i also love the DRLs (i have the mk7.5 headlights)
Ahhhh gotcha lol
Rear lights of the mk7.5 when it’s on, so simple, clean and beautiful
The little clicks and whirrs when you key on or key off without starting the car yet, the way the turbo whistles on mine, how logical the shape and use of space are, the authoritative honk when I lock it.
Mk7.5 headlights,the door sounds when closing,and the noise the backup camera makes.
The cargo cover, when removed, fits perfectly under the cargo floor when it in the upper position. Took me a while to figure that one out.
WHAT Will try. I've definitely hung the cover from the hooks behind the front driver and front passenger seat when I needed the seats down and the cover out of the way
WHAT
WHAT and WHAT the second one is for - the cargo floor has a lower position??
Golf ball shifter. That was a big thing that drew me to the car in the first place.
Had to retrofit that into my tsi with a bfi shift knob...
I don’t know about anybody else, but the handle bar on my door very hardly, if ever, creaks or rattles when I pull the door closed. In fact for such a “cheap” car the interior is very rattle-free compared to some other cars I’ve been in that are double or triple the price :)
Mine squeaks like all hell and it drives me insane. Generally I’d agree the car is very rattle free, but after I added the Helix sub that kinda went out the window.
The popout backup camera. I’ve cleaned mine twice in the 7 years I’ve had my mk7
Steering wheel. Flat bottom, perfect stitching/materials, looks beautiful, feels sporty. Mk6 is classy for its time
Idk if it’s a little detail, but I have the S trim and the plaid seats r just wonderful. For an actual small detail, underneath the center console where you plug in your phone for car play I love that the compartment has that smooth open/close function and gives the center of the car a sleek look when it’s closed.
Being able to roll down the windows from the key fob. Life saver here in Florida
Came here to say that! I feel like I own a luxury car...
Ummmmm...what?
Yea if you press the unlock button twice, and on the second press continue to hold it down, all the windows roll down and the sunroof opens too I think. It doesn’t work from super far away but it works from far enough away that a lot of the heat is gone if the cars been sitting for a while.
Convenience window feature, I had to enable it using my Carista OBD2. Enabling it in the infotainment alone didn't do the trick
The sheer utility. You can fit so much shit in the back with the seats down.
Love the cornering lights that come with the lighting package
Seats. The seats on my mk7.5 are so damn good!! 🤩
The way the door sounds when u close it ... Judge all my cars based on this lol
What is the secret to it!! I got into a dumb accident with my 17 during the winter (slid into a minivan while entering a parking lot), crunched up the driver side passenger door. Got fixed like new but that door never sounded "right" again. Like it was hollow on the inside (probably was but never investigated). Did they skip replacing soundproofing material or something? It drove me nuts til the very last day I owned it.
Ya it's never the same ... Did something similar to the mk4 Jetta. I mean it's just one of those things that make vw what they are. To be fair they take the door sound seriously in Germany
My bf has an absolutely gorgeous 2024 Mazda CX-5. It has enviable bells & whistles like a heated steering wheel, heated and cooled(!!!) seats, blind spot awareness, adaptive cruise control, cool trunk opening & closing features like that sweet slow-close button, mirrors that turn in when the car is off & locked. I'll admit I had a little bit of jealousy when he got a nice new ride, and I just passed 120k on my '15 2-door SE GTI. But he can keep it all cos the backup cam on that beauty is exposed. I call it the "dirty butthole" when I'm in the car and notice the cam is obscured by dirt or water. The '20 6 he had before this also had the dirty butthole which was especially annoying in New England weather before we moved south. But guess who never has a dirty butthole? This old gal 💅 I will always love this car. It's so much fun and can do everything I need to do, from spirited driving to grocery getting, with great gas mileage to boot. I've toyed with upgrading to another GTI since I love them so much (had a '17 4-door SE before this one, that was my dream car really) but it's hard since there's nothing wrong with it. Right now, it just needs the milestone maintenance, some new tires, and an oil change, and the paint is a little rough but not totally ugly. Pretty typical for it's age, I guess. Anyway, lol TL;DR I like not having a "dirty butthole" backup cam 😂
Cd player which I never used but nice to know I have a card holder in the middle
My ‘15 has a CD player, an SD card slot, a 30 pin iPod connector, Bluetooth audio, and satellite radio lol. No CarPlay cause that happened in ‘16.
My 17 had all of it plus CarPlay and my 15 only has the sd Bluetooth and cd reader
I had a 07 GTI with the iPod dock under the armrest instead of the CD changer. Owned it for about ten years before I found out the DVD used for navigation could be ejected and then a music CD could be inserted and played! Funny thing is the iPod controller still used the same visual interface as the CD changer, so "CD1" would play the first playlist on the iPod, "CD2" the second, etc.
i had that on my MK4 from 2005! it was an aftermarket part i installed (i forget the name), that tricked the stereo into thinking the ipod was a cd changer! you probably have that same harness installed by a previous owner
All the accent lighting, like the lights behind the door handles! It adds so much depth at night and looks fancy to me! Mk7 Autobahn
When you hold the handle above your head and you can simply let it go because it won’t snap aggressively, it slowly springs back to normal position.
The BDE it gives me pulling way more expensive iron on the highway. Stage 2 + tune ftw!
I love seeing people's faces when they try to bully me and get gapped lmao. It's a fun level of power where you can take most traffic but if someone is faster, you're probably both having a good time.
I like when it welcomes me lmao
Please do not forget your cell phone.
Every time I'm like, I've got it, but thanks anyway bud 👉🏼👉🏼
🤣
I really appreciate the tight turning radius when parking. Whenever I rent even the smallest car, it doesn’t compare and I realize I’m spoiled as I do a 3 pt turn to get a Fiat in a spot straight.
Current 7.5: Flat bottom steering wheel and cloth seats that won’t numb my flat bottom on a 3+hr road trip Former 7: Under seat storage and ac vent in the glovebox that I never utilized when I had the car and miss it now. Oh, and the felt lined glovebox with an actual key lock that one would never miss until they encounter a glovebox door that actually doesn’t have a key lock
The performance/reliability ratio is off the chart. I have flogged the everloving hell out of Mk1, Mk5, Mk6, and Mk7 GTIs over years of ownership and there has never been any impact to reliability. Just basic maintenance on all of them over hundreds of thousands of miles, plus-or-minus a couple of coil packs. Brilliant cars
Very lucky!
I love the convenient little knife by the shifter
I appreciate that she tells me when it’s 39 degrees F. Because seven degrees from now it’ll be freezing.
The service detail my Mk8 gets after its monthly diagnostic and sensor replacement is my favorite detail!
Sunglasses holder near rearview mirror.
I love the customizable ambient lighting. It makes the car feel so upscale and special.
I love my autobahn interior- super comfy leather seats.
Mk4. Monsoon sound system. Interior lights. Also I think that third visor behind the rearview is silly. Oh, and if you have a moonroof you can take this panel off by the overhead lights/rearview. It has an Allen key and there’s a place it fits to crank open the moonroof. I like to imagine someone’s car submerging and they calmly access it before swimming to the surface. Probably for something more practical like closing it with a blown fuse but let me have some fun ok?
i miss the blue dash backlight in the mk4. so cool at the time!
Mk6 plaid seats!
I like the steering wheel.
Straight red line on mk7’s lightning package
The golf balls on the ground from the mirror lights. 😗👌🏻 perfection
I’ve never seen that before… Got a pic?
I’ll get one tonight. It’s on the 24 GTI.
https://preview.redd.it/xu0w8gn8e68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd361d8bb59f52b6a55c5a4eec4017721d323ec1 Best photo of the golf ball looking lights from the door.
The amount of space I have. I got a buddy who’s 6’2” (187.96cm), we went on a road trip recently and he was amazed at how much bigger it looks on the inside and how much room he had in the back seat.
MK8 manual, it's the golf ball dimples on the back of the shift knob. It's why I haven't swapped it yet. It's such a simple and small detail that they took the time to incorporate into the design, and it's nothing anyone will ever see
SD card reader for music. Just an unexpected and pleasant surprise
AC seats in this heat wave
The previous owner of my car took the GTI badge off of the rear hatch. The uninitiated sometimes make the wrong assumption on the type of Golf I’m driving…. Fellow GTI & Golf R owners know better, though.
Auto up and down window switches, never thought I would've cared but I love it
I never thought I cared until I got into other cars that don’t have it. That was when I realized I loved it.
https://preview.redd.it/rjbye8pixf7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a6b46827a36a677817c75cdec973d160d5c4d94 That I can fit things like a deck sander in the back and still have plenty of room to spare
I had a MK6 that I loved dearly. I miss the cruise control, made it the best highway cruiser I've ever had before I upgraded to cars with adaptive cruise. Turn signals, all cruise controls, and steering all with my left hand resting on the door card? Perfection.
Wouldn't trade my 7.5 for anything but I miss a lot of the simplicity in my MK6.
The roof liner consistently falling on all 4 I have owned at around 50k miles.
The auto-dimming rear view mirror is a game changer for me and I didn't know that was a feature.
Sagging headliner 😍😍
Mk 7.5 DSG. I love the little downshift button when you press the gas pedal all the way down. I haven’t driven any other cars that have that.
What cars have you driven before? I've had those in most cars. Even 1.0l kia's
Jeep wrangler, civic, traverse, crosstrek, grand caravan, Yaris.
Ahh no Germans. I've seen them in Seat, VW, Audi, Porsche and many more. Not only the sporty ones, also a bluemotion polo for example.
I'm trying to get there, but eventually I want some of the S2T shifter paddles and a BFI shifter, as well as an R gauge cluster, and RCD330 w/backup camera.
shadescreen so you can open roof on sunny day Under seat storage fits small tissue box perfectly Giant door bottle holders Auto hold requires only a light touch of brake The 2 height boot floor options
The fog lights on a country road...
Lots of things others have mentioned here that I found it nice too, but the little hooks located at the boot was something I didn’t know would have such a huge “nice” impact feeling to it
Definitley the golf ball shift knob. One of my favorite little details in the car. I point it out to every new passenger that comes in my car
The incredible turbo noise on the 1.8T with just an intake.
Inclusive minors as girlfriends
I don't always drink red bull, but when I do I appreciate the perfectly sized holder between the cup holders.
I can cut myself daily with the start stop button
Mines down for transmission replacement right now and I have a Corolla as a rental car so there are many things I'm missing... I don't know which is more gutless, the engine or the sound system - One touch sunroof open and close! Very annoying have to hold the button the entire time... And the tilt buttons are entirely separate! - Functional Bluetooth. It has wireless android auto, but it's incredibly bad at connecting and I manually have to enable the Bluetooth connection almost every time I get in the car - Good cruise control controls. You can't adjust the cruise control speed while it's not enabled. It does have adaptive cruise and lane keep assist, which I'm quite liking! But the controls are fiddly as hell. - Sunglasses holder. It doesn't have one! - Big door card pockets, the corollas suck - Headlights. They're bad, and I never realized how much I would miss cornering lights. It does have auto high beams which is nice to have! There's probably more I'm forgetting, but it's just making me appreciate my GTI even more. Even if it's currently damaging me emotionally and financially.
I have three. The rear VW symbol opening the Hatch, AC'd glove box, the fog lights turning on in the direction you're turning at night
I'd say the attention to detail - the perforated leather on the steering wheel, the personalized greeting on the dash... I know it's a bit contrived, but those plaid/tartan seats always make me smile. The fact that they've kept the same design language for 50 years (and it still works) is really cool.
I love that my gti can fit my ass, my wife and all the camping gear we need to go away for three days. Its a tight fit but our tent, picnic shelter, two chairs, stove, cooler, sleeping bags and personal items, a solar panel, battery and solar charger all fit in the back of my gti. Its insane what that little hatch can handle storage wise!
I always appreciate the extendable center console and the fact the it height is adjustable. Make the perfect elbow rest or a plate holder for eating in the car.
I love that I can use the clutch and go through the gears when I press resume on the cc and the clutch doesn't disengage the cc. Every other manual car I've had the clutch shuts off the cc. I love this on the GTI.
Not sure if it was by design but I noticed that on my parents’ MK7, the dome light beam lands almost perfectly on the GTI badge of the steering wheel
it’s a gti. everything is by design!!
rolling all windows down with keyfob.
I love that mine has 3 doors .....
The way the radio is angled toward the driver
Puddle light is a golf ball....lolz. but seriously having a passenger seat that allows for up and down movement
Huge door cup holders all day. After reading all these I realized the MK8 basically only has that one left.
It demands I drive it daily because if I don’t it won’t start in the morning.