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In case you've been living under a rock, the upcoming Volkswagen Golf 8 GTi has been unveiled, and we know it's not a hybrid or fully-electric hot hatch.
Powering the latest model is the tried and tested EA888 engine albeit tweaked to push out 180kW, 11kw more than the seventh-generation model has.
For now, we're interested in the current generation Golf GTi, the so-called '7.5' which it was dubbed after the 2016 facelift. It's been part of our long-term fleet for the past 12 months, and we have enjoyed every minute of it.
There's nothing to fault about this car. There are things I've gotten to know about it, and that has made it easy to live with from simple pleasures like the movable armrest to a nifty storage binnacle below the light switch.What's your most favourite feature of the VW Golf GTi? Email us.
Here's the list:
Automatic hill-hold assist - The Golf is fitted with a hill-hold function that stops the car from rolling back if you're on an incline.
So I don't have to keep my foot on the brake manually.
At traffic lights it works well, all that's required to get moving again is a prod of the throttle, and the braking pressure is re-released. Nifty.
Automatic high-beam assist and cornering headlights -
The GTi is fitted LED headlights that provide excellent illumination both wide and far, and it will automatically turn on the high beams when the sensors think there needs to be more illumination.
It dips the beam when it detects the headlights of an oncoming car or when more light is detected by street lights, for example.
Storage binnacle for keys -
There's a lot of UX (user experience) that goes into placing storage binnacles in vehicles; the Golf has a place to store keys, coins or parking tags in the spot below the headlight switch on the right-hand side of the driver.
What do I like about it? It's completely hidden, and out of sight of prying eyes, in fact, my colleague wasn't aware of it when I mentioned it to him.
Armrest -
Aaaah, one item that makes driving the Golf very comfortable is the armrest that cleverly doubles as the lid of the centre console. It's infinitely adjustable and offers a place to rest my arm (duh) during long journeys.
An armrest is underrated and I miss it when testing cars sans this feature.
Boot handle (inside) - Located on the inside of the Golf's boot lid is a spot to grab and assist when closing the boot. It might seem futile, but it keeps my hands from getting dirty if the car hasn't been washed, and if it's been raining it eradicates the chance of your hand slipping.
That's a list of items I've managed to think of that make the Golf easy to live with, I'm keen to hear what underrated feature you enjoy about your car. Email me here.
