I was driving on the highway in a 2025 Volkswagen Golf R 2.0 T when I saw it for the first time. Like many HUD displays on modern cars, the Golf R does a good job of alerting you to basic info you need while you drive, such as speed and navigation.
However, on the Golf R I noticed something that is more common on a Range Rover than a Golf. As you drive, the car can identify the size of the vehicle in front of you. With cruise control enabled, the HUD will show a small icon to inform you whether you are behind a car or a truck. In a great show of irony, during my test period I pulled behind a large cargo van, and the icon the Golf R showed me was an exact replica of that vehicle.
Turns out, that’s a bit of a coincidence. In reality, the icon is either a car or a large van, but of course the Volkswagen Golf R is made by Germans who are used to seeing cargo vans. It doesn’t matter if the vehicle in front of you is a semi-truck or a bus — you will still see the cargo van indicator. No matter; I found it helpful during a week-long test.
Part of the reason for that is simple — the more we know about driving conditions, the better. It’s a small perk and easy to overlook, but that icon does tell you a few things. If it’s a car icon, you can probably see around the vehicle and know what is ahead of you. When you see the cargo van indicator, it is a clue to look around a little more — to gauge how you will pass and expect a few more surprises given how massive the vehicle is.
On one drive, when the large cargo van matched the HUD icon perfectly, it wasn’t going too fast, so I signaled my turn and passed on the left. Then I realized why the van was going so slow — there was a lot more traffic in that lane. It’s a handy extra perk to have that kind of warning when you are on a highway and can’t see around the vehicle as easily.
I’ve been expecting HUDs to improve even more, and on some vehicles there is more info than what the Golf R shows. That’s the challenge, though: showing too much info can be overwhelming if you are seeing speed, navigation, warnings, lane markings, and maybe a few extra indicators. I like how simple the Golf R is to make sure you have the right level of info.
My only issue is that, for the R, it would be nice if the HUD showed revs at least, although I understand why it doesn’t show which gear you are in — the R now uses an automatic transmission. If it were a manual, seeing the current gear in the HUD would be helpful.
We’re not talking about a Range Rover here that shows everything under the sun, but also has the space on the windshield to accomplish that. The Golf is a compact, fun car to drive, and having a massive HUD with a weather forecast and sports scores (as if those would work on any car) would be overwhelming and wouldn’t fit within the space. (A HUD is not all that high-tech in the first place — it is essentially a reflection in the windshield from a projected image.)
Overall, I liked the simplicity but would have preferred to see a few more indicators, even if there was a way to turn them off during more spirited driving sessions.