After its unveiling at the end of last month, the all-new 2020 VW Golf Mk8 has finally arriving in the hands of reviewers, beginning across the pond in Germany, though, you’ll be happy to know that this first drive is in English.
Here, we have a full 50-minute in-depth review of the new Golf by Autogefühl. It includes first hands-on impressions on the exterior, interior and handling dynamics, an overview of the assistance and convenience on-board tech, and plenty more.
Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, we’re going to let you decide whether Volkswagen did a good job on the styling department. Meanwhile, we’ll start off with a couple of things this reviewer did not like about the new Golf. These include a flimsy manual hood strut instead of a hydraulic one, which in his opinion is a bit of a letdown, considering the price point.
Also read: 2020 VW Golf vs. 2019 Ford Focus – These Bitter Compact Rivals Couldn’t Be More Different
Next, he touched upon interior quality, which is strong overall, but parts of the cabin proved disappointing – such as the upper door panels which were made out of hard plastics instead of a soft-touch material.
Otherwise, VW seems to have done a solid job building upon the 7th-gen model’s characteristics, making the Mk8 comfortable, safe, smart and reasonably eco-friendly.
This particular model was equipped with the 1.5-liter TSI four-cylinder gasoline engine producing 150 PS (148 HP) and paired to a 7-speed DSG automatic gearbox. On the road, it proved to be refined and economical, and buyers will be able to choose between multiple versions of this engine, including 110 and 130 PS variants, plus eTSI models with mild hybrid 48-volt technology.