Just as well then that the car is wirelessly connected to its environment so it can predictively warn of hazards – such as road works, accidents or tailbacks – on the road ahead. “Car2X” means your Golf will communicate with infrastructure and other cars about hazards within a radius of half a mile.
We have heard of these things before but not in this class of car, even if they will cost extra. Incidentally Car2X is standard on all Golf 8s. As are new LED lights, an all-digital dashboard called Innovision, keyless start, infotainment and services that are permanently online, and assorted safety assists for lane-keeping and pedestrian-spotting.
There is masses more available across what is, inevitably, a huge range, and that’s only the models we know about so far. GTI, GTD and Golf R models, among others, are yet to have their covers taken off. VW claims in fact that Golf 8 comes with the widest range of options available in the hatchback class.
If you want it – head-up display to mood lighting, Cyclist Monitoring to smartphone key – VW has got it (or in the case of smartphone-as-car-key, will have it a bit later). And if you didn’t tick the box when ordering don’t despair: for the first time features like adaptive cruise control, main-beam assist, WiFi hotspots and voice control can be enabled retrospectively.