Mark 7 Boot Less Depth

[Arnold]

Have taken your advice.
Apparently VW should bring Arnold in as a design consultant and build the car to meet his explicit design specifications and price point.

If you say so, team_v, however I understood that role had already been filled by Golf7. Speaking of whom, where is Golf7? I really miss his amusing snippets of misinformation.

Seriously, why would someone, like me, who is lamenting the first reduction in practical boot size in a new Golf be appointed design consultant to VW?

team_v, you have demonstrated far greater insights into design issues such as differentiation (by reducing usable boot size) and targeting of buyers who plan to carry passengers in the rear seat and not completely fill their boot. Better not let BMW or Audi develop a passenger-carrying car before VW can address that niche in the, er, passenger car market.

[The Bone Ranger]

A hatchback the size of the golf is trying to be all things to all men, and ultimately, some buyers will fall through the cracks if they have specific needs.

Whilst we may not see 4 adults in a Golf here in Australia, it's worth remembering that single car families in Europe will use a golf for everything, whereas a traditional Aussie family would step up to a larger vehicle eg Commodore or Falcon. Yes, the European family would need to pack light, and the teens in the back may be a little cramped, but when you have one car and one car only, it will get the job done for the once a year it is required.

As was noted, most cars in Australia carry a single person the majority of the time. I've driven a hatch smaller than the Golf for many years, and the times I've filled the small hatch are few and far between. And I'm usually the only person in the car.

Again, the Golf aims to be all things to all men. There will be small compromises.

And ultimately, if you need more space, $1500 will get you a wagon with a boatload more storage, and if the reviews are to believed, very little change in performance, economy or driving dynamics.

Andrew (awaiting delivery of a Golf Wagon)

[VW Convert]

Every new car I've ever purchased has involved some sort of compromise. Simple answer is if the boot dimensions are a deal breaker, buy something else.

Cheers

George

[Arnold]

My Mark V GTI (manual, of course) is so little of a compromise that, with a Thule roof box at hand when needed, it can meet all of the needs of my family of four for which it is the only car. It is a:

- Near-perfect city car;

- Excellent touring car;

- Great holiday car;

- Great snow car;

- Perfect car in all respects;

- Accommodates two adults and two teenagers and their luggage perfectly and has done so on at least two holidays per annum including one to the snow; and

- it goes like a sports car.

In summary, it is the perfect family car.

In fact, it succeeds admirably at being all of the things I could want in a relatively inexpensive, mass-produced car.

Bone Ranger's generalisations about how Europeans and Aussies use cars would not bear much analysis.

VW Convert states that if the boot dimensions are a deal breaker buy something else. Well, of course, if any aspect of a car is a "deal breaker" you're not going to buy it, are you?

But thanks for contributing.

No, this thread was started to raise awareness about a reduction in boot length which has not been reported in the media (standby on that one) and seems hitherto to have been unknown to most owners and virtually no prospective owners. I only discovered the issue when I took one of my two large suitcases to the dealership yesterday to ensure the two level floor would accommodate them.

Suggestions about what I should buy because the boot is smaller when the car is perfect in all other respects are not really required, thanks all the same.

Amazement that VW would do this, for the first time to this longer, new release of their top seller was more expected, but there you go. Instead I just got a lot of statements of the blindingly obvious and claims I was "delusional" from team_v, a moderator no less.

I think this is big news and valuable information for anyone upgrading from a Mark IV or Mark Fix Golf: Your luggage/golf buggy/wheelchair etc may not fit so easily, if at all.

PS - the main reason I dismissed the 120d back in 2008 was because the boot was considerably smaller than the Golf's. I am not yet prepared to give up on the Golf Mark 7 because of this issue however VWs have always been renowned for having terrific load carrying capacity, especially for sedans in cars like Jetta's and so on and so it is that much more galling that VW has seemingly turned its back on that tradition of having above-average storage despite putting out a longer car.

This will probably be my last petrol car so I probably cannot easily wait for a Mark 8 as I believe within 5 years at least 30% of small cars, if not all cars, sold to inner-city dwellers like me will be electric, and I think I will be driving one them. Eine kleine VW perhaps.

[AdamD]

No, this thread was started to raise awareness about a reduction in boot length which has not been reported in the media (standby on that one) and seems hitherto to have been unknown to most owners and virtually no prospective owners. I only discovered the issue when I took one of my two large suitcases to the dealership yesterday to ensure the two level floor would accommodate them.

Suggestions about what I should buy because the boot is smaller when the car is perfect in all other respects are not really required, thanks all the same.

That point you wished to raise has been made. And given you're not looking for any constructive suggestion I am closing this thread.

Edit: I'm reopening this thread now for those who wish to continue the discussion constructively.

[lambertia]

I think the dimensions are perfect in all the right prices

[Arnold]

The false floor is the main cause of the reduced boot capacity in the Golf 7/8 over the Mark VI. But is it really worth it?