Mk7 Golf GTI Discussion Thread

[Lima]

Here's my review of the GTI:

AUSmotive.com » Drive Thru: Volkswagen Mk7 Golf GTI

There’s a liveliness to the chassis that is down to more than the car shedding a few kilos. The car moves around under heavy braking and the rear end is light and frisky at times. Normally you might consider these traits to be unfavourable but not once did I feel uncomfortable. In fact, it just urged me to push more. It’s a great experience when there’s a real willingness from both car and driver to hunt the next apex. And while enjoying this new flirty handling behaviour I was eager to nail it through corner after corner.

[Bigboboz]

AWD may be safer, but it is better to prevent an accident in the first place by slowing down.

This is true but it's still not an argument against AWD, d-heads can still do stupid things in the dry and will likely be going even faster when things go wrong.

[Tobes_WIR35]

This is true but it's still not an argument against AWD, d-heads can still do stupid things in the dry and will likely be going even faster when things go wrong.

Yep, but in one way this makes AWD less-safe for those people. Those amateurs get lulled into a false sense of security because they buy a WRX or whatever and get used to the grip it has. Problem is, they push it too far and when they come unstuck, they come unstuck very badly indeed.

[Paul_R]

Jesus did I open a can of worms!
Just to be clear, I was referring to the ability to pull out of junctions into traffic when the road is wet without spinning the front wheels because the car has too much torque. I wasn't talking about speeding in the wet, merely getting up to speed.
I remember a very hairy episode trying to get a Falcon XT hire car onto the Hume (110 kph zone) up one of those ridiculously short slip roads when it was wet. In the R it would have been drama free and much safer!
I'm fully aware that AWD is of no advantage over 2WD if you are trying to stop in the wet or corner off throttle hence speed needs to be adjusted to the conditions accordingly.

[WhiteJames]

Nice write Liam re: ausmotive.com GTI review. Similar views to mine after my short 20 min test drive. How does the new Golf 7 GTI compare to your Audi S3 on those same Canberra roadways?

One thing often not talked about re: AWD of the Golf R and lesser Golf's such as GTI, GTD and 103TDI is that the lesser Golf's run softer suspension tune, that seem to articulate better in wet conditions around bends ... the lesser Golf's roll and pitch more, at times providing added grip in wet conditions and also being more forgivable from grip to slip. Stiffer suspension tune of the Golf R and extra weight can cause the Golf R to start sliding earlier in wet conditions. Something to think about as it's not all about fast acceleration in wet conditions.

WJ

[Mi16 Man]

Here's my review of the GTI:

AUSmotive.com » Drive Thru: Volkswagen Mk7 Golf GTI

Great read.......should've let me know if you wanted a Mk6 for a comparison......

[b c]

While I've already made my decision (bought a Mk7 Highline), I'd be interested to read a comparison between the Mk7 Golf variants and GTI. A lot of the improvements I read about in the GTI also apply to many of the other variants. How much difference does the suspension tune, etc of the GTI make over the other Golfs?

[Lima]

Nice write Liam re: ausmotive.com GTI review. Similar views to mine after my short 20 min test drive. How does the new Golf 7 GTI compare to your Audi S3 on those same Canberra roadways?

One thing often not talked about re: AWD of the Golf R and lesser Golf's such as GTI, GTD and 103TDI is that the lesser Golf's run softer suspension tune, that seem to articulate better in wet conditions around bends ... the lesser Golf's roll and pitch more, at times providing added grip in wet conditions and also being more forgivable from grip to slip. Stiffer suspension tune of the Golf R and extra weight can cause the Golf R to start sliding earlier in wet conditions. Something to think about as it's not all about fast acceleration in wet conditions.

WJ

I've modded my S3 a bit in the last few months (including PSS10s), but the biggest difference compared to stock would be the suspension. My S3 was a better all-round ride and handler (strictly referring to suspension) compared to a Mk5 GTI, but I'd say the Mk7 GTI would be better straight out of the box. It's certainly more compliant and able to cope with bumps etc.

And as you noted the rebound on the Mk7 is very good. On my S3 (with OEM suspension) there was way too much rebound through larger bumps/compressions. The PSS10s have fixed that nicely while still keeping a pretty good ride. But, again, the Mk7 GTI is impressive and doesn't rebound badly at all through larger bumps etc.

One thing I forgot to put in my review was that when the Mk7 GTI does exhibit understeer the feeling is very progressive, it doesn't just stop gripping, you have the time and ability to control things with your right foot. Can't say I noticed the ESP forcefully interrupting my enjoyment at all either.

[spikeyboy22]

A great price for a new gti, or close to it in Wa

2013 Volkswagen Golf 7 GTI MY14 Direct-Shift Gearbox

Maybe these are not selling as well as they thought....

[pologti18t]

A great price for a new gti, or close to it in Wa

2013 Volkswagen Golf 7 GTI MY14 Direct-Shift Gearbox

Maybe these are not selling as well as they thought....

Basically they are waiving the on road costs on what is a demo.