The official I have ordered/received my new MKVI thread

[SilvrFoxX]

Sir you are a gentleman and a scholar...

An excellent review and has me assured that the wait is worth it and these 2nd thoughts should be put aside.. please let us know the spec

[REXman]

Thanks buddy, I'm sure you'll have your's very soon too!

Collected mine today and I just can't get enough, may have to sleep with her in the garage tonight

Thing is, I'll probably make my whole family sleep in it the first night.

Damn it looks stunning. I love this car. Looks fantastic mate, congrats!

[weewilly]

bighdad, great review very reassuring after 5 month wait that my gut tells me is coming to a close early next week. As family is Maroochy based, I might see on the Mapleton Rd sometime, great for breaking in 'R's

[shakespeare]

Damn you make my decision to go with Rising Blue a good one...

I love the colour too, and the silver 19's look awesome, the dealer had 2 RB's with black 19's and they didn't look as good on the RB IMO!

Thing is, I'll probably make my whole family sleep in it the first night.

Damn it looks stunning. I love this car. Looks fantastic mate, congrats!

LOL, I didn't quite sleep in the garage last night, too hot here at the moment but was a while before I could get to bed

Thanks for the congrats and kind words everyone! More pics here...

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/f112...-25620-76.html

[SilvrFoxX]

I love the colour too, and the silver 19's look awesome, the dealer had 2 RB's with black 19's and they didn't look as good on the RB IMO!

No surprises there.. bet you wished you had the silver surrounds in the lights too :p

[RichoR2]

I am lucky enough to have my R in the garage having picked it up on Friday. I have been away all weekend and without the camera so no photos for you yet. Anyway, thought I'd share my thoughts on it and give those waiting some more info and experiences.

Firstly, I have come from a MkV GTI. I have never driven the MkVI GTI or an R32 though I did own a VR6 a few years ago. My R is a pretty standard spec, a sunroof and MDI the only additions to a manual 5 door in RB. Since picking it up Friday I done about 250 kms including 2 hours in peak hour traffic, driving country roads in the rain and driving on freeways.

In real life the 18s don't look that small and on the RB look good. Don't get me wrong, the 19s clearly fill out the guards nicely and aesthetically are the better choice, but I am more than happy with the look of the 18s. The car as a package looks better in the flesh and it's really when you get it out in car parks or by itself, other than next to a car yard full of VWs that it all comes together. My weekend was with 20 or so people and they comments on the car were all very complimentary and it certainly attracts 2nd and third looks from passers by. The doors feel so much heavier and solid than the GTI too, and the interior as everyone knows is fantastic. The quality is a real step up from the MkV in my opinion and the standard cloth seats are much more comfortable and certainly firmer than in the GTI. So, again no regrets that I haven't upgraded the seats. The MDI works really well and the standard audio system is great and seems improved over the GTI. I hope that the interior quality will also mean that the doors wont end up rattling as they did in the GTI courtesy of the front door speakers. My personal philosophy is that a car is one of the least friendly environments in which to listen to music and I have never bothered with upgraded sound. I am a musician and have a home studio so can appreciate good audio. For me, the standard sound system is great and I am pleasantly surprised at the quality of the MP3 playback from my ipod (this is the first car in which I have had ipod connectivity).

So, driving wise my first 2 hours were interesting! My GTI was DSG and so I haven't had a manual for over 3 years. I have chosen to go back to the manual because I had problems with my DSG and have always driven manuals previously. The whole transmission was replaced after 3k on the clock and the new transmission never thrilled me. I had it reflashed several times but it persisted in dropping power off the line between first and second. When trying to make it through a break in heavy traffic it was always pretty unnerving to have the car lurch and lose power for a split second. It would literally throw you forward in the seat and VW could never solve the problem. So again, a personal decision and even though I am assured the new DSG is well improved, it was always going to be a manual for me. I see every reason why more people choose the DSG though because when working well it's a fantastic piece of kit and I just had a less than ideal experience.

I did however, have an angry wife! My gear changes were not great and she was complaining of whiplash! Which brings me to power delivery. Oh, and how sweet it is when you hit that 2500rpm mark. People more car literate than me describe it as linear but for my simple mind, I will just describe it as when it comes on, wow! I also don't think the turbo lag is hugely noticeable but a Stage 1 is still firmly on my mind to improve around town driving but this car, and probably especially with DSG, is to me more than fine around town in stock form. My poor wife was being thrown around because the car was rushing up through the revs quicker than my out of form motor skills could cope!

The transmission itself is great and so once I get used to it and it loosens up a bit I am sure it will really grow on me as when you nail it, for mine you can't beat the experience of driving a car like this in manual form. Peak hour changes don't worry me so on that front no issues for me. Again, fully aware I'm in the minority on this!

Back to the 18s, and road noise wise I am glad I stuck with them as it is certainly more noticeable than the GTI (and yes, I know that was riding on 17s and I should expect more noise). I am not sure what the 19s are like but I do a lot of country driving and for my passengers, I think the 18s will offer a more pleasant cabin experience. Those with 19s can prove me wrong and this is not a justification at all, just what I notice already. My biggest regret is not going and testing ACC. When I ordered I was thinking of ACC as necessary for 19s only and decided not to option it having never had it or experienced it. The ride is great but it certainly is firm. I think for $1500 ACC has to be a great option to consider from what others are saying, especially for passengers who aren't laughing along with the driver whose having a ball! The engine note itself is great. It's no r32 but it's unique and again, attracted a lot of comments. It doesn't intrude too much into the cabin at freeway speeds but it's there when you want it and you know you're driving something special.

Handling wise, I am not one who drives at the limits but I threw mine into a right hand freeway on ramp just to see what all the fuss was really about, and it was an astonishing experience for me, as has been every roundabout I have been through, most of which have been greasy this weekend. The R just grips beautifully and feels so assured that this 'upgrade' alone is worth it if you are searching for that defining difference I think.

So, overall I am really happy with the car and hopefully my changes improve and the wife stops complaining of whiplash! I'm off for a drive now sans wife...

[Corey_R]

Back to the 18s, and road noise wise I am glad I stuck with them as it is certainly more noticeable than the GTI (and yes, I know that was riding on 17s and I should expect more noise). I am not sure what the 19s are like but I do a lot of country driving and for my passengers, I think the 18s will offer a more pleasant cabin experience. Those with 19s can prove me wrong and this is not a justification at all, just what I notice already.

Nice write up and congrats on your new car.
I just thought I'd highlight this and point out that Rim diametre has nothing to do with road noise. So 17, 18 or 19 should not change that.... as long as the width of the tyre doesn't change! Now, between your R (225/40R1 and the GTI (225/45R17) the width is the same. So the only reason there would be more road noise is 1) the car isn't as well insulated or 2) the tyre is a "noisier model" with a noisier tread pattern. If you went with 19's and the width was the same, there'd still be no change in road noise. However, the R's 19's are 235/35R19. So in that case you do have an extra 1cm per corner to increase the road noise.

[bighdad]

G'day again. Don't think I'm jealous of the RichoR2 manual purchase .... yet. Mundane drive to work today was just peachy. I'm sure the body is stiffer than my old 325i, and although I feel the bumps more on the Riverside Expressway, 70 kph on Comfort setting (ACC), they are better damped, I think is the word.

Anyhow, in Sport I could have sworn the steering got a little heavier ... anyone confirm this?

Might have to flick between the modes to notice the difference, but its not absolutely huge so far - maybe at the limit it would be?

The optional Bluetooth (not standard as previously thought - RCD610 or something) is pretty trick. Reminds me of the A6 we hired a few months ago. If you don't plug in the cable, can still use iPhone audio via Bluetooth, so might be able to voicedial.

The reverse camera on the big screen is a crowd pleaser - big compared to others like the new Kluger (wife wants a new car).

Unlocking at night is pretty spectacular - apoplectic lights, with full xenons, and a nice touch is that when firing up, the lights don't dim, they drop and swing side to side to calibrate. I'll need someone else to start it to fully appreciate.

I prefer the normal fabric seats to the old BMW sports leather, despite losing electric memory adjustment, especially these last two muggy days.

Can anyone tell me if doing !20 kph up a steep hill at 100 km on the odometer is bad for it? Just couldn't help it really ....

For those interested in specs:
'R' built Sep 10, Candy White, DSG, ACC, reverse camera, MDI cable, 18" silver wheels, usual fabric seats


Cheers


Andrew

[SilvrFoxX]

A few questions.. how is it you have bluetooth without ordering it as an option.. I was a bit confused with regard to the ACC .. are you saying it is a more comfortable ride..? oh and yes the reading says that if you put the ACC into sport mode and the DSG into sport the steering gets heavier for the more involved driving experience..

[Big_Dave]

G'day again. Don't think I'm jealous of the RichoR2 manual purchase .... yet. Mundane drive to work today was just peachy. I'm sure the body is stiffer than my old 325i, and although I feel the bumps more on the Riverside Expressway, 70 kph on Comfort setting (ACC), they are better damped, I think is the word.

Anyhow, in Sport I could have sworn the steering got a little heavier ... anyone confirm this?

Might have to flick between the modes to notice the difference, but its not absolutely huge so far - maybe at the limit it would be?

The MY11 Bluetooth (all the latest delivered Rs have it as standard - RCD610 or something) is pretty trick. Reminds me of the A6 we hired a few months ago. If you don't plug in the cable, can still use iPhone audio via Bluetooth, so might be able to voicedial.

The reverse camera on the big screen is a crowd pleaser - big compared to others like the new Kluger (wife wants a new car).

Unlocking at night is pretty spectacular - apoplectic lights, with full xenons, and a nice touch is that when firing up, the lights don't dim, they drop and swing side to side to calibrate. I'll need someone else to start it to fully appreciate.

I prefer the normal fabric seats to the old BMW sports leather, despite losing electric memory adjustment, especially these last two muggy days.

Can anyone tell me if doing !20 kph up a steep hill at 100 km on the odometer is bad for it? Just couldn't help it really ....

For those interested in specs:
'R' built Sep 10, Candy White, DSG, ACC, reverse camera, MDI cable, 18" silver wheels, usual fabric seats


Cheers


Andrew

Yes, am also intrigued by the "standard bluetooth" as all ive read to date says it is a option one has to pay for?