Facelift MK8.5 GTI Spotted

The MK 8.5 VW GTI Facelift has been spotted. The people have spoken and it appears Volkswagen has heard you. The exterior seems to have changed only a little bit but the tech inside appears to be the main focus. This isn’t anything new as we have seen the GTI and Golf R get midlife facelifts in the past, its pretty expected at this point. Let’s take a closer look at what we could see so far.

Based on what we could tell, it looks like aesthetically the MK 8.5 isn’t changing too much, which is good for those who have become fans of the MK8's polarizing aesthetics. The new GTI seems to have also received the smaller more streamlined headlights we’ve previously seen on the Golf. The usual red accent remains bridging the gap between the 2 front headlights.

One thing you will notice is the GTI badge location. For the past several iterations it has sat pretty solidly in the grille area. This time around it appears it now sits partly on the grille and partly on the actual bumper. 

The lower grille has been revamped a little bit and gives more of an angry look. Based on the images, the fog lights are MIA but that could simply be due to it being a preproduction model. The rear doesn’t seem to have much change but this could also definitely change when the full reveal happens. 

If the previous spy shots of the Golf has told us, we can also expect to see a much larger infotainment system. The previous shots looked like the new screen was about 15 inches, and hopefully it also means a better, less buggy user experience.