Some interiors have gloss black, others have matte black?

[mrmatto]

I've been looking at some MK8 GTI's and I noticed some have matte black around the center console and others have gloss black. Why is that? Is it certain years and/or trims? And can they be swapped? I like the matte black soooooo much more.

 

[SRGTD]

I think the change from matte grey / black to gloss piano black was part of 2023 model year changes. I’m with you on preferring the matte grey / black trim; IMHO piano black is a magnet for scratches, swirls, dust and fingerprints, but were all individuals with different likes and dislikes and some people will prefer gloss to matte.

As for whether the centre console trim pieces can be changed; I remember reading on one forum that someone has changed the trim (from memory, it may have been @Massimo 2323 on this forum). I think they did the opposite of gloss black to matte and went from matte to gloss black.

 

[PanEuropean]

IMHO piano black is a magnet for scratches, swirls, dust and fingerprints...

I do agree with you that the gloss black is a magnet for fingerprints & dust. I keep a microfibre cloth in my glove compartment to clean fingerprints off the display screen and it does a fine job cleaning all the gloss black surfaces as well.

I'm not too concerned about scratches & swirls. I had a 2015 MK 7 Golf that had gloss black plastic everywhere on the instrument panel - kept it for 9 years and never had a single scratch or swirl, it still looked brand new the day I traded in the car for my 2024 GTI (also gloss black).

Michael

 

[Jmitchell4873]

Yet one more reason why I'm happy I chose my 2022 S model. I would have definitely preferred to have the proximity entry, but I didn't want leather or a moonroof. No manuals available with my preferred options for less than a 2.5k adjustment last summer.

 

[mrmatto]

FYI I found this if anyone wants to do the gloss --> matte swap

https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/sw...3-golf-r.9541366/?nested_view=1&sortby=oldest