This is the video we wanted Deutsche Auto Parts to make ever since they bought a brand new 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI. So is the steering wheel from the older Mk7 hot hatch going to work in this new Mk8 mode? The short answer is “yes… but.“
The brand new 2022 Golf GTI is fully-optioned and has cost DAP some $41,000. Yeah, the market is crazy. Meanwhile, the old model is a 2015 Golf GTI with only three doors (they don’t offer that any longer) and has done 139,000 miles. So why would you want to swap parts from one car to the other?
Well, first of all, that’s something VW guys like to do. It happened a lot with Mk5 owners wanting newer steering wheel designs and infotainment systems, which could be borrowed from the Mk6 models that rode on the same platform.
Second, the new steering wheel for 2022 doesn’t have any physical buttons, and some people don’t like that. And in short, the swap works in both directions: old wheel in 2022 model and new wheel in 2015 model.
However, DAP points out two major drawbacks. The older steering wheel doesn’t have heating wires, and the latest cruise control won’t work. And yes, even the basic GTI S trim currently offers adaptive cruise control.
Golf GTI, to mix and match
Don’t like the seats in your GTI? Well, you can use ones from the other generation. Unfortunately, DAP has one car with manual seats that collapse (3-door) and the other with electric adjustment and ventilation. If you want Mk8 ventilated seats to work in a Mk7, you’re probably going to have to run wires from the fuse box.
When it comes to other components, you apparently can fit brakes or rear suspension from one GTI to the other, but under some conditions. The exhaust won’t work, but an Mk7 subwoofer is apparently going to make the Mk8 sound system sound way better, even though it’s a newer, more expensive car.
The interior was perhaps the best part of the Mk7 Volkswagen Golf GTI. It was timeless, and all the components were really well built. Of course, some people complained The Mk7 was boring, and they literally changed everything as a result: no physical buttons on the steering wheel, no volume control knob, and some questionable materials elsewhere.
Maybe I’m just being salty. Volkswagen fans have a habit of thinking older cars were better. But I’m not alone on this one. Jason Cammisa, who’s a hardcore GTI fan, said Mercedes had to delay the launch of the W205 C-Class because the Golf’s cabin was so good. I don’t know if that’s true, but it sounds like a cool story.
