I bought a new 2018 Volkswagen Golf R Wolfsburg Edition back in February. One of the main things I wanted was a car with a lot of features and this one stood out above the rest.
There are a laundry list of features my Golf R has. Below, I've listed all the ones I'm actively using or think are cool to show off.
Adaptive Cruise Control
Adaptive Cruise Control is like cruise-control but the car can slow down and speed up depending on what's up ahead. It uses the same Radar technology that Telsa uses. I commonly turn this on when on the highway to and from work. I can select whatever speed I like as well as how far I'd like to be from the car in front. When there's a car on the right or left lane of me, it will try to not undertake the car in case I'm in there blind spot. Smart!
Lane Assist
Lane Assist keeps my car within the two white lines on the road, even steering for me when the road curves. When used with Adaptive Cruise Control, the car basically drives itself. It makes me think what can Tesla's do that I can't (besides changing lanes). Doesn't make turns obviously.
Traffic Jam Assist
Using a combination of above two, Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Assist, Traffic Jam Assist is cruise-control but in bumper to bumper traffic. Helpful for when there's an accident or just super slow traffic.
Active Info Display
A complete digital dashboard! This would have to be the feature that won me over. I can change between different information and display what I prefer to see.
Blind Spot Indicators
A very helpful safety feature. Whenever there's a car in my blind spot, the side-mirrors will light up to let me know. If I try to change lanes anyway, the other sensors on the car will also check if there really is a car there and beep at me.
Dynamic Light Assist
Automatic High Beam on really dark roads. Whenever there's oncoming traffic, it will automatically turn off and turn back on once they pass. Really handy when I'm trying late at night on side roads like Wallgrove Road.
Dynamic Corning Lights
Whenever I indicate to turn, the headlights will illuminate the side of the road so I can see the turn the whole way through. Also good for any pedestrians who happen to be crossing or on the road.
Front Assist
For whatever reason I'm driving too fast and would likely hit someone/something in front of me, the car will alert me to this, prepare my brakes and even slow the car down.
Rear Assist
Whenever I'm reversing, if I'm going to hit anything it'll give me a loud beep and stopped me from reversing completely until it's safe. I also get a reversing camera which my past cars never had.
Front and rear sensors
Whenever parking or reversing, the front and rear sensor screen appears to let me know how close I am to anything. This technology is actually outdated and nowadays there are real-time 360 cameras! Maybe next time...
LEDs everywhere
This car is a light show inside. Every button is illuminated at night and there are LED strips running around everywhere. It's great really!
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
One of the must-have features for me was Android Auto. I use it every drive and it's really good. My main uses are Waze/Google Maps and controlling Pocket Casts. Sending text messages using my voice has also been helpful for telling my colleagues to wait for me before doing the morning standup.
Profiles
Different profiles are saved in the car's memory that remember a driver's:
- Seating position
- Radio favourites
- Individual driving modes
This can be selected just before driving but it's also saved in each keyfob!
Automatic headlights
Whenever the car senses its dark, it will automatically turn on the headlights. I never had to even bother with this anymore, one less thing to worry about.
Auto Dimming Rear View Mirror
Dims headlights in the rear view mirror automatically without having to use the flip button. Great for night time driving and not getting blinded. It is always on and no action is required on my part.
Automatic wipers
Similar to above, whenever it rains, the car will automatically turn on the wipers. Another thing to never worry about.
Automatic locking doors
When the car gets up to speed, it will automatically lock all car doors through the central locking system. You can hear an audible locking noise similar to manually pressing it.
Keyless Entry
I only need to have the key about 1 metre away from the car door for it to be able to lock and unlock. I now never have to take the keys out of my pocket or bag. I sometimes carry my bag into the petrol station rather than taking the keys out cause of the hassle haha.
Push to start
A feature non of my past cars have. Combined with the keyless entry, I also never have to insert the key fob for it to start up.
Electric Folding side mirrors
Whenever the car is locked, the side mirrors will automatically close themselves. I can also close them manually with a switch. Good for getting into those tight parking spots.
Heated side mirrors
There's also another button the side-mirrors that will heat them up. This is to defrost any fog, snow or ice buildup. Useful for cold nights when I park on the street.
Heated seats
This is nothing special, but I never had this on my old car and I love it to bits!
Dual climate zones
This is a common feature on most cars nowadays. The climate control system allows two different temperatures to be set, one for the driver and one for the passenger. My partner generally prefers warmer temperatures in Winter and cooler temperatures in Summer than me so it's perfect for us.
Steering wheel controls
Simply a feature my old car was missing. Really handy to go back/forth on my podcasts (to skip advertisements usually) and increase/decrease the volume.
Shutdown engine at lights
Most cars also do this too and it's really instant on the Golf R. The car however will automatically turn back on whenever the car in front begins moving. This detection is using Radar technology. It's help me out a few times when I wasn't paying attention...
Angle side mirrors during reversing
When reversing, I can flick a switch on the side-mirrors to have the left one angle itself downward. This is helpful to see the parking lines if my reversing camera can't pick it up.
Emergency Assist
Emergency Assist is a system to wake up the driver if VW thinks they're not paying attention while driving. This could be if you're not holding steering wheel or fatigued (it senses patterns). It will beep at the driver twice before jolting the brakes then coming to a complete stop on the road while deactivating all the other assistance systems.
Chilled Glove Box
The air-con goes into the glove box where you can store some drinks. They'll be chilled for when you decide to drink them. Never used it personally but a nice feature nevertheless.
Things I wish were better
The car does so many things well but there are some niggling things I wish were better.
- Save last-selected Driving Mode after ignition off. Saves having to reselect it.
- More cup holder spots. Only in the middle of the dash.
- Select more than one type of data on Active Info Display (this is available on newer VWs)
- Turning circle is not big. Some turns I used to do now require a three-point turn.
- No play/pause button the steering wheel or headunit. Would be nice to pause my podcasts whenever I get out to open the gate.
- All the buttons around the transmission are on the passenger side. Why...?