Volkswagen has already confirmed some rectifications in its cars that, for the bulk of its users, were not a dish of good taste. The first of these has been the return to the physical buttons for the multifunction steering wheel, and the second the renewal of the Volkswagen ID.3 to improve, among other things, its finishes. Now, those of Wolfsburg continue to have a problem at home and, in turn, the solution: the physical controls for the air conditioning and for the infotainment system, and the way to solve it exists in the United States.
Or at least to solve the problems caused by the absence of physical controls for the infotainment, since the air conditioning system integrated into the screen seems to be of little concern not only to Volkswagen, but also to many other manufacturers. Be that as it may, the eighth-generation Golf GTI account, in the American market, with a screen with physical controls.
The solution to one of Volkswagen’s biggest problems is the American Golf GTI
It is, specifically, the screen that the sports compact -the Golf is not marketed there in its standard versions- is equipped as standard in the S finish. We are talking about the basic variant of the GTI, being surpassed by the SE and Autobahn, and these in turn for the Golf R. But the high point of this resides, mainly, on the 8.25-inch screen that equips.
We are talking about an infotainment system that does not lose too many features compared to the 10-inch screen, with a connection to Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and even a reversing camera, in addition to not being too out of place in the passenger compartment with the digital dashboard. But the most important thing is that it dispenses with the touch bar to increase the volume in favor of two physical buttons.
These are located on the sides of the screen itself, one being designed to increase and decrease the volume and another to select the radio dial. It may seem like a simple or insignificant gesture, but when the alternative -or the only option, as is the case in Europe- to this ancient but useful system It’s a touch bar that doesn’t even light up at nightwe find that taking a step back is often taking the right step, as Wolfsburg have already shown on two occasions.
And while the battle with the controls for the integrated climate control seems lost, Why don’t you bring these two physical controllers for the screen to Europe? And it is that it is surely due to the type of market that exists in the old continent, and most likely it is that Volkswagen’s estimates were that nobody was going to opt for an 8.25-inch screen with two rotary controls in a GTI, nor They were not going to be willing to accept it either, taking into account that, at least in Spain, the sports compact has a starting price of 47,560 euros, while in the United States it starts at a more reasonable 30,530 dollars before taxes.
And then why not include it in the standard Golf? The truth is that in certain European markets, such as Germany, The Volkswagen Golf Life brings this screen as standard. A movement that we understand as logical given that in his native country there are different market trends and that does not require, as can be the case in Spain, a very complete basic equipment or with the latest technology.
Be that as it may, we are dealing with a system that, in practical and real use, does not do without too many of the functions offered by the larger screen. Even in this apparently simpler option we find not only a faster and more direct way of operating with it, but also involves far fewer distractions. But she looks less, she’s not as showy and those two buttons make her ugly.
