Mk7 Golf GTI Discussion Thread

[Marcotto]

Volkswagen never intended for the (modern) Golf GTI to be bought by purists or those after ultimate driving thrills, as opposed to the philosophy of RenaultSport and the Clio (previous model) & Megane.

From the Mk5 Golf GTI onwards, they were, and still are, a very good all-rounder. It's 90% good at everything it does, which is definitely not an easy feat for any manufacturer to achieve, and is more than what the general public will ever want or need from such a car to keep them satisfied - keeping in mind of course, that it's the general public that generate sales volumes, so you'll want to keep them happy for sure.

Driving purists or enthusiasts, in reality, only represent a tiny portion of the market.

Indeed we only represent tiny portion of the market but we also sell the brand very well. ( club meets, events, cruises, forums and everything else ) Since owning VW my whole family has converted to VW. Mum has MK6 90 Manual and Dad R36 wagon. If conversation comes up anywhere about cars/driving I am the first to sell the VW brand as a great car.

It ****'s me no end that the auto only option is on what I call the purist/enthusiast option of the golf, the PP option. It really doesn't make sense. Porsche have done the same. The new 911 range comes in auto as standard with manual as a no cost option. But the purist 911 the GT3 auto only. It truly should be the other way around.

Audi god bless them got it right. The new A3 range is auto only except the S3 which has a manual as a no cost option.

My point is I find it harder to sell the brand when they can't accommodate the people who sell it so well for them. They say that the DSG has an 80% uptake on the GTI, that's still a considerable market in the manual option, when the % of GTI's sold in the golf range is a quarter of all sales.

I consider myself a enthusiast and I like the manual option. I don't hate DSG i think it's wonderful, but i believe it sells to the wanna be race driver on 0-100 times in the brochure. In other words if you have a argument over the Auto VS Manual option and the auto driver states it's faster to 100, they have a small penis.

Anyways.

No matter how technically advanced the Double clutch gearbox may be, any such gearbox denies the driver one vital ingredient of the driving experience..... skill. Yes, it may be slower on a track as a result, but the pure pleasure you get from a perfectly executed heel-and-toe downchange is worth more to a devoted driver than the clinical execution of the same by a computer.
Don't dumb down these sportscars in the pursuit of a better Nordschleife time. Keep them as the ultimate expression of the interaction between man and machine.


End rant.

Marcotto

[dsuhiti]

Haha, they are dreaming with these prices...FULL STOP! No amount of VW fanboy damage control can change that.

[alebonau]

well was wondering how the gti's would land. and this isnt supposed to be a "I told you so" because I didnt know myself, just hedged my bets on the merc a250. but now am very glad I did.

I would have wanted the PP. its a bit silly you have to wait till next year for one. the "alcantra" sorry is jacky tartan gone to "tacky" ! who's going to get that, like the last tartan it just forces people to pay extra for leather. if they were trying to do a two tone seats like the a250 then vw has missed the mark massively.

and why the 19" wheels ? thats not really going to do much for the ride quality as a daily drive.

dont get the pricing either, theyve had heaps of time to work on that. I know I paid as much for my mk6 gti as I did to change over to my a250, and sure vw would probably say theyre packing more gear in their car for the money. but paying as much for a vw golf as a merc just doesnt seem to make a lot of sense !

I guess with price people could still do what I did with my mk6 where buy when the demand drops off where buying off the floor then grants some decent discounting on other hand there is a good chance now this will all just make the golf R and incredible bargain. but then given what vw have done for the mk7 gti a good chance they'll screw things up on the golf r as well.

but all that aside good to see these new models. the golf gti heritage needs to continue. And though price is screwed and styling whise etc its all a bit same old same old. theyre still good cars and there'll still be a lot of mass appeal for them I reckon

[Difinity]

As a keen manual driver (and one with a little exposure to racing and rally) I am coming to love my DSG.
Yes, in light traffic and on the highway, it drives like a manual, but in heavy traffic or pushing on a bit, I find it drives better in manual mode with the paddles. Every now and then, I'll set it to manual with the lever, and use that, but I simply cannot change up in a low gear quickly enough to match the engine.
The most effective part is the fuel economy - so I guess I've chosen to get used to it.
Do I miss the clutch? Occasionally, when I'd otherwise slip the clutch rather than lift off or brake in traffic. Guess not so much bad habits now though...


Difinity

[Brycem]

well was wondering how the gti's would land. and this isnt supposed to be a "I told you so" because I didnt know myself, just hedged my bets on the merc a250. but now am very glad I did.

I would have wanted the PP. its a bit silly you have to wait till next year for one. the "alcantra" sorry is jacky tartan gone to "tacky" ! who's going to get that, like the last tartan it just forces people to pay extra for leather. if they were trying to do a two tone seats like the a250 then vw has missed the mark massively.

and why the 19" wheels ? thats not really going to do much for the ride quality as a daily drive.

dont get the pricing either, theyve had heaps of time to work on that. I know I paid as much for my mk6 gti as I did to change over to my a250, and sure vw would probably say theyre packing more gear in their car for the money. but paying as much for a vw golf as a merc just doesnt seem to make a lot of sense !

I guess with price people could still do what I did with my mk6 where buy when the demand drops off where buying off the floor then grants some decent discounting on other hand there is a good chance now this will all just make the golf R and incredible bargain. but then given what vw have done for the mk7 gti a good chance they'll screw things up on the golf r as well.

but all that aside good to see these new models. the golf gti heritage needs to continue. And though price is screwed and styling whise etc its all a bit same old same old. theyre still good cars and there'll still be a lot of mass appeal for them I reckon

Bit smug. The A Class might have the interior bling but that's not for everyone and certainly not for the traditional VW buyer. Have a read of some foreign press and you will find that Mercedes have a lot of catching up to do in this segment. Particularly in the areas of ride comfort and gearboxes. Wheels magazine preferred the mk6 Gti in many respects when tested against your car. By all accounts the Mk7 moves the game on again.

In my view Mercedes should stick to the luxo barges and AMGs. The GTI has heritage.

[alebonau]

Bit smug. The A Class might have the interior bling but that's not for everyone and certainly not for the traditional VW buyer. Have a read of some foreign press and you will find that Mercedes have a lot of catching up to do in this segment. Particularly in the areas of ride comfort and gearboxes. Wheels magazine preferred the mk6 Gti in many respects when tested against your car. By all accounts the Mk7 moves the game on again.

In my view Mercedes should stick to the luxo barges and AMGs. The GTI has heritage.

not being smug at all, I have always given credit where credit is due. and exactly why there are all the different cars brands / models out there. but sorry looking back from the a250 the golf gti is looking a tad bland and boring to me. and sure others like that aspect of the wolf with the sheep looks. I read the wheels review of the mk6 gti vs the a250 and they found the ride comfort of the mk6 gti firmer than on the a250 which is what have said from my very first back to back drive comparison. the firm ride reviews of the a250 are the overseas reviews on the run flats(we dont get) with their corresponding hard ride as you get with the bmw 125i. as far as catching up to do, it looks to me its the golf gti thats trying to do that at present. and as far as merc sticking to luxo badges and AMGs well you obviously have that completely ass about as the A class and the a250 has been a sell out success for mercedes and continues to be even a year later with 6 month plus wait for a car if wanted one

the gti has all the heritage to play on, but times have also changed and there are plenty more fish in the sea

[DoggieHowser]

In my view Mercedes should stick to the luxo barges and AMGs. The GTI has heritage.

The A250 has the AMG tuning and it deserves to be in the same category as the GTI. Yes it loses out a bit in practicality but the interior IMHO is a noticeable step up from the Veedub.

And what GTI Heritage? Definitely not Mk3 and Mk4.

[Brycem]

Gearbox?

Sellout success says more about aspirational Australians than Mercedes' merits (biggest iPhone uptake in the world in % terms). Do I need to continue?

[Brycem]

The A250 has the AMG tuning and it deserves to be in the same category as the GTI. Yes it loses out a bit in practicality but the interior IMHO is a noticeable step up from the Veedub.

And what GTI Heritage? Definitely not Mk3 and Mk4.

How would you know when Australia was starved of the best models. The 150 tdi Gti was an amazing beast for the early noughties but this country was still kicking about in falcadores.

A class heritage?!

[Arnold]

They say that the DSG has an 80% uptake on the GTI

The uptake rate is not necessarily indicative of consumer preferences; consider, for instance, that the DSG uptake rate for the Polo GTI is 100%.

The uptake rate of SatNav in the new GTI will be 100% also whereas Driver Assist would have been a much more practical piece of kit to include as standard.