Volkswagen news: more GTIs and the return of physical buttons

Volkswagen recently said its new city car is due out in 2027 while a hot GTI version may follow. That’s because the modular MEB Entry platform allows for the fitting of more powerful motors. 

And owners loved the previous GTI iterations of Up and Lupo. However, VW has already said it will be producing a GTI version of the ID.2 that is due out next year (the base car, not the hottie). And that is why the firm has not yet committed to a smaller GTI model.

Asked directly by Autocar UK whether it would happe, Volkswagen replied “It could [happen] because we’re using modules from the MEB platform. So it could. But it depends on various factors, including the reaction of customers to this car.

And essentially a tiny GTI was likely ruled out by this statement: “Having everything in the ID 1 would mean it’s not necessary to have everything in the ID 2.” Besides, the brand is focusing on launching nine new models between now and 2027. It has said it would concentrate on core models during its electrification phase.

In somewhat related news, the German is committing to reintroducing physical controls for vital functions.

Volkswagen’s design chief, Andreas Mindt, said the company will never repeat the ‘mistake’ of relegating essential controls to touchscreens.

All future Volkswagen models will feature physical controls for the most important functions, he stressed.

VW removed most physical buttons, relegating them to touchscreen control, in Golf, for example. And customers weren’t happy. Then it introduced haptic ‘sliders’ below the touchscreen for heating and volume, along with haptic panels on the steering wheel. And they still received complaints.

However, in newer models the firm is using physical steering wheel buttons. Mindt said Volkswagen is committed to reintroducing physical buttons, starting with the production version of the ID 2all concept.

“From the ID 2all onwards, we will have physical buttons for …volume, the heating, the fans and the hazard light – below the screen” said Mindt. “They will be in every car that we make from now on. 

“On the steering wheel, we will have physical buttons. No guessing any more. There’s feedback, it’s real, and people love this. Honestly, it’s a car. It’s not a phone: it’s a car.”

Mindt said VW will continue to offer cars with touchscreens, in part due to new legal requirements –  in the US all cars must have a reversing camera. 

“There are a lot of functions you have to deliver in certain areas, so the screen will be big…” but physical buttons for primary controls will return for good.