Thoughts on GTI (MK7 & MK8)

[FC]

Our MK7 GTI hit 17k miles this week and was due for its second and last free service. I've done two additional oil services myself - one at ~1.5k, miles and one at ~12k miles, so that car has had oil changes every 5k miles.

While waiting, they had an MK8 on the floor so I checked it out. No, I did not get a chance to drive it.

Much has been said about the new interior. I will say in brief that I would rather have the MK7 interior for sure, but while some things are annoying and bad, others are not so bad and overall I would not be that upset.

First the bad:

-No real e-brake, instead an "eBrake."
-No real buttons anywhere except for the windows and then there are very few of those.
-The interior materials are definitely not as nice. They are not comically bad or a blatant downgrade, but you don't have to look, or rather touch very far to notice. Especially if you drive an MK7 every day like I do.

The good and not-any-worse:

-The NAV screen is in a better position. You do pay for this by having the center vents awkwardly low (below the screen), but it's certainly easier to see and reach. Well, it better be, because there are MINIMAL physical controls outside the touch screen. And yes, everything is HAPTIC.
-The seats are comfortable. Even the SE had a powered multi-position seat, which was nice to find the right position. Then again, I did not check, but I don't believe it had memory, in which case it's stupid when a car is shared like ours is. But I did like the adjustability of the seat, especially the full independence of the lower cushion tilt. The seats did look goofy and bulky though. The shifter knob looks goofy and feels a bit bulky as well but it's ok. The MK7 certainly has a more elegant cabin.
-Overall, the MK8 felt like home. Still felt pretty well built, same good ergonomics.
-Hopefully the digital dash provides value in terms of navigation, etc.
-It looked pretty good in black. I suppose that says something about the car, but at least that color works well.

If my GTI died tomorrow, I would probably still buy an MK8 GTI, but I'd miss the MK7 interior. Allegedly the MK8 drives a bit better and it's a bit faster.

On that note, I cannot endorse the MK7 enough. At 17k miles, it feels as good as and drives better than new. HWY mileage on summer grade fuel is 36+ mpg at 75mph. Blame the very short 6th gear on the 987S but on a door-to-door drive to work, where the GTI gets me 32mpg, the 987S got me 22 with similar driving.

My rants about lag and holding revs still apply, and so it's not a great (just good) car for driving above 7/10ths, but as an all-round car and particularly as a highway commuter, it is just excellent. It's a great place to be inside, very quiet at all speeds. It's the easiest car to shift I've ever driven (if you don't rev too high) and the suspension tuning is a perfect compromise between sporty and comfortable. I am looking forward to getting better/grippier tires, though. These are meh and suck in the cold.

So far quality has been excellent but it's still pretty new. I hope it holds up because I can see this car never leaving the family.