Some thoughts/observations on the A7 Golf:
In some respects, the cheapening of cars has finally hit the ubiquitous Golf on the seventh generation. Not as obvious as what happened with the NCS Jetta in 2011 (and to some extent the NMS Passat), but still there. I'd say it went a step back towards the A4 Golf. Which, really, is not necessarily a bad thing, since I personally feel that generation out of all of them seemed to have hit the sweet spot for longevity, serviceability, and mostly excellent engines. The A7 went back to the conventional style compliance bushings pressed into stamped steel control arms, attached to a stamped steel subframe, and with the diesels, also went back to a twist beam type rear axle (although they no longer employ the offset track correcting rear axle bushings that the A2, A3, and A5 cars used... but more the straight on type the A1 and all the FWD B cars used through the B5).
The A7 also got all new HVAC, this time courtesy of Denso instead of long-time supplier Valeo. Is this good or bad? Can't say. Foam doors disintegrating may no longer be a thing, but evaporator core failure might (our shop has replaced more Toyota (Denso) evap cores this year alone than I have ever seen on any VAG product ever combined). Cabin filters are a little easier, though.
The 2015-only (for us, due to VAG's butthurtedness over Dieselgate and withdrawing any diesels from our showrooms despite selling them still in Europe and elsewhere) means we got the first, and last, of that new engine. So any improvements that are bound to happen after that first year, we'll never see. So, we are stuck with 1999.5 stuff all over again in a sense. However, I've not seen the warranty-gulping issues with the CVCA and CRUA engines (the 2015s) that we've seen, and continue to see, with the previous 4 cyl CR TDIs. But they are a frightfully complicated engine. The cooling system has got to have more hoses and clamps than any engine in any car that I've ever worked on... and I've worked on some doozies... like twin turbo Audi V6s and V8s and stuff. Saving grace here is, the transverse layout makes the whole powertrain relatively easy to remove for anything major, and of course the front of all modern VAG cars comes completely off with relative ease. So while the engine itself is absurdly complicated, at least getting to most things isn't so bad.
The EA888 engines, the 2.0L and later 1.8L variants of the direct injected turbo gas engines are not something I would recommend. They have a lot of fragile short lived things on them, and nothing is especially inexpensive or quick to do. The stupid plastic water pumps alone, which rarely last as long as a TDI's t-belt interval, cost more than a TDI t-belt to repair, and it isn't like there is some schedule to them. They just FAIL, and coolant is gushing out from under the car.
The 1.4L turbo gas engine is great so far. Peppy, frugal, happy to run on regular gas.... but these are rare in the Golf, and I've never seen one bolted to a manual in one, only the NCS Jetta and now the newer fugly Jetta. But that engine is a good match to the 8sp Aisin alushbox they use with it, and they'll tap into TDI territory for fuel economy (45+) under the right conditions. Not sure if the A7 Golf variant ever got the 1.4L. Never seen one, anyway.
The A7 TDI uses SCR, so you'll have that whole extra system to deal with. If it remains just filling the DEF tank every service or so, that is no big deal. And they wisely placed the DEF fill next to the fuel fill. But it is a system with lots of parts, and any part of that system that fails can mean anything from reduced power to a no-restart due to shut down. I don't like that, to be honest. I don't want to not be able to drive the car just because some $300 gizmo that may or may not be on some indefinite global backorder has failed.
