AHG Posted July 27 Report Share Posted July 27 I did the same, got PPF exactly 4 years ago, and it still holds very nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtrooper Posted July 28 Report Share Posted July 28 Placed my order today, despite being 110% convinced this time last week that I was going for a White BE (hence the username), I went a saw a DG one at my local dealership last weekend as I didn't want to write it off without seeing one in the flesh. Well, I was blown away by the colour, car was in full sun and close up the paint had pink, blue and green metalic flecks, changed my mind right there on the spot. Not one YouTube video does this colour justice. Went home and ordered a Dolphin Grey BE with the following opted... Area View DCC Pan Roof HK Sound System Delivery estimated 9 months by the broker who said they won't start the build until January 2027, hopefully this is worse case scenario! First thing I always buy with my cars is front seat covers and rock/splash guards so I'll be on the lookout for these over the coming months. Zico and Scudgie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zico Posted July 29 Report Share Posted July 29 Good choice @Stormtrooper. I've had my DG BE since March and it's currently not looking great (dust/sand from the dry weather and we've had a hose pipe ban for quite a while in the South East). If you're after seat covers, I picked up front seat covers here for £62 - https://rhinoukbootlinersltd.co.uk/ Stormtrooper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtrooper Posted July 30 Report Share Posted July 30 Thanks @Zico There's quite a few colour choices on on those covers, which ones did you go for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zico Posted August 1 Report Share Posted August 1 On 30/07/2026 at 06:33, Stormtrooper said: Thanks @Zico There's quite a few colour choices on on those covers, which ones did you go for? I ordered the black covers. I got the map pocket on the driver's side as an optional extra. Stormtrooper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHG Posted August 9 Report Share Posted August 9 Map pocket … not used to store actual maps since 2003 🙂 Zico 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FA357 Posted September 15 Report Share Posted September 15 Hi everyone, I’m new to the forum, so thought I’d introduce myself and add my order to the thread. This will be my first Golf R and I’m really looking forward to it! Spec: Golf R 8.5 Black Edition – Dolphin Grey Metallic – Akrapovič exhaust Order date: 2nd September 2026 Estimated delivery: January 2027 Country: UK 🇬🇧 No confirmed build week yet. It would be great to hear from anyone who has ordered a 2026/8.5 Black Edition recently, particularly anyone with the Akrapovič exhaust, and what sort of timescales you're seeing from order → build week → production → delivery. I’ll update the thread when I get a build week or any further information. Hopefully it’ll also be useful for others waiting for their cars. Cheers! Stormtrooper, Booth11, jonfigo and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booth11 Posted September 16 Author Report Share Posted September 16 On 15/09/2026 at 04:58, FA357 said: Hi everyone, I’m new to the forum, so thought I’d introduce myself and add my order to the thread. This will be my first Golf R and I’m really looking forward to it! Spec: Golf R 8.5 Black Edition – Dolphin Grey Metallic – Akrapovič exhaust Order date: 2nd September 2026 Estimated delivery: January 2027 Country: UK 🇬🇧 No confirmed build week yet. It would be great to hear from anyone who has ordered a 2026/8.5 Black Edition recently, particularly anyone with the Akrapovič exhaust, and what sort of timescales you're seeing from order → build week → production → delivery. I’ll update the thread when I get a build week or any further information. Hopefully it’ll also be useful for others waiting for their cars. Cheers! Welcome along! Congratulations on your order, it sounds a nice spec - the Akra will finish it off very nicely. Hope the wait isn’t too long for you. FA357 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtrooper Posted September 17 Report Share Posted September 17 On 15/09/2026 at 04:58, FA357 said: Hi everyone, I’m new to the forum, so thought I’d introduce myself and add my order to the thread. This will be my first Golf R and I’m really looking forward to it! Spec: Golf R 8.5 Black Edition – Dolphin Grey Metallic – Akrapovič exhaust Order date: 2nd September 2026 Estimated delivery: January 2027 Country: UK 🇬🇧 No confirmed build week yet. It would be great to hear from anyone who has ordered a 2026/8.5 Black Edition recently, particularly anyone with the Akrapovič exhaust, and what sort of timescales you're seeing from order → build week → production → delivery. I’ll update the thread when I get a build week or any further information. Hopefully it’ll also be useful for others waiting for their cars. Cheers! Good choice! FA357 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaz130 Posted October 12 Report Share Posted October 12 Hello people, I see many seem to option Area View & I wondered how critical & useful this actually is? Coming from a much older car that doesn’t even have sensors 😭 I wondered if it is genuinely beneficial. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underscore_1 Posted October 12 Report Share Posted October 12 1 hour ago, Shaz130 said: Hello people, I see many seem to option Area View & I wondered how critical & useful this actually is? Coming from a much older car that doesn’t even have sensors 😭 I wondered if it is genuinely beneficial. Cheers None of the options are essential, it is up to you to determine if they are worth paying for, you will have sensors and a rear view camera anyway arial view is just another option to mull over, worth it? Only you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booth11 Posted October 12 Author Report Share Posted October 12 1 hour ago, Shaz130 said: Hello people, I see many seem to option Area View & I wondered how critical & useful this actually is? Coming from a much older car that doesn’t even have sensors 😭 I wondered if it is genuinely beneficial. Cheers I think it’s a combination of a relatively low cost option and the desire to have an aid that offers better awareness. I first experienced Area View on my partners Amarok (at that time had a mk8R without it) found it offered a better all round experience for manoeuvring and parking, so when I was speccing up my current mk8.5R and saw it was a reasonably priced option, I ticked it. No regrets at all. Anything that better protects the R is good! Shaz130 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHG Posted October 12 Report Share Posted October 12 I have recent experience with all three, driving a sensor less S3 until 2022, then on a 360-sensor camera-less 8R, and my spouse having an early generation 360-camera laden Tiguan (what is now called Area view). I will so far as to say that I think reverse camera was only a step towards the 360-camera. I wouldn’t add a reverse camera to my car, but I wouldn’t add Area View, as it is far superior and give you a Birds Eye view of your car and its surrounding, vs a reverse camera that shows you only a section and from a very unnatural point of view. When parking in parallel, for example, the area view is terrific. Nothing like it. I had the choice of speccing my 8R with a reverse camera, but I didn’t, and am happy for it. It causes you to focus on the screen showing you a small piece of your surrounding (I know some people who dinged a door backing into a spot looking at the camera and forgetting sides exist as well). I use the 360 sensors (and auto parking) and am loving it, since it gives you a full picture of your surroundings (with directional audio as well) with quantitative measure to how far things are and how fast they are nearing (or you are nearing them). But if Area View was an option back in 2021 when I ordered, then I definitely would have spec’d it, even for many hundreds of pounds, since it does indeed “solve” the problem of parking entirely, and not just serve as a crutch like the reversing camera. That’s my tuppence 🙂 Shaz130 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaz130 Posted Thursday at 10:15 Report Share Posted Thursday at 10:15 On 12/10/2026 at 21:16, AHG said: I have recent experience with all three, driving a sensor less S3 until 2022, then on a 360-sensor camera-less 8R, and my spouse having an early generation 360-camera laden Tiguan (what is now called Area view). I will so far as to say that I think reverse camera was only a step towards the 360-camera. I wouldn’t add a reverse camera to my car, but I wouldn’t add Area View, as it is far superior and give you a Birds Eye view of your car and its surrounding, vs a reverse camera that shows you only a section and from a very unnatural point of view. When parking in parallel, for example, the area view is terrific. Nothing like it. I had the choice of speccing my 8R with a reverse camera, but I didn’t, and am happy for it. It causes you to focus on the screen showing you a small piece of your surrounding (I know some people who dinged a door backing into a spot looking at the camera and forgetting sides exist as well). I use the 360 sensors (and auto parking) and am loving it, since it gives you a full picture of your surroundings (with directional audio as well) with quantitative measure to how far things are and how fast they are nearing (or you are nearing them). But if Area View was an option back in 2021 when I ordered, then I definitely would have spec’d it, even for many hundreds of pounds, since it does indeed “solve” the problem of parking entirely, and not just serve as a crutch like the reversing camera. That’s my tuppence 🙂 Ah those OG S3’s were lovely cars! It’s nice to know you adjusted well to the tech, going from my 05 130 & an R will be like moving into a Spaceship 🤣 My only worry is if the tech can be more of a hinderance opposed to an aid, like on our family van a CRV I try not to look in the reverse camera as whenever I try to use any kind of tech end up driving poorly lmao And where I am in the city they all drive like dogs and tailgate you when you’re trying to parallel park etc I just wonder how much time one actually needs to spend faffing around with the tablet? Like generally when you park and get the birds eye 360 view, is that good enough in combination with the reverse camera to aid you or make a noise if you’re near a kerb? Or do you spend time zooming into the various camera angles? That seems overwhelming and only truly possible when you have time etc But with dogs behind you and space reducing as well, is that 360 top down view good enough / useful without zooming in etc AHG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaz130 Posted Thursday at 10:20 Report Share Posted Thursday at 10:20 Also guys, I saw a Lapiz Blue Black Ed in a unit recently, and I feel like the black trim is more suited to a Black or DG car. If going Lapiz Blue I feel like you need to have it with the warmenau dark graphite wheels; can you still spec a standard car to have all the performance/dynamic nannies that the BE has? I think it might just be the performance pack that separates them? Not including the black trim or aesthetic pieces. Do you good fellas think the warmenau dark graphite wheels might be a bit much for a daily driver? And is this winter the final window to get a R built in Germany? There have been rumours of production shifting to Mexico but I am not too close to the VW news as much. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.