Mk7 Golf GTI Discussion Thread

[Marcotto]

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.

Well when there isn't a option on the above you just mentioned of course it's 100%.

[Arnold]

Well when there isn't a option on the above you just mentioned of course it's 100%.

Sharp, Marcotto; sharp.

The point being that in many instances consumers take what they can get and uptake rates of 75% or 80% for the GTI may have more to do with availability than consumer preferences.

[tonymy01]

I've got the car until midday tomorrow, if anyone has any questions for me, or if you need me to dissect something, let me know. But these roads are just... STUNNING! I want to live here!

I have been to Tassie twice, both in my WRX on the Spirit (once when it used to leave from Sydney, then next had to get it from Melbourne).
The driving down there thrills me so much, scenery so brilliant. I just love the place too! I love that, despite many/most places having 80km/hr speed limits, that, because of the many many many tight corners, it is a challenge anyway, so 80 is perfect to still have an enjoyable time without boys in blue giving you **** for +4km/hr over some lousy lame limit here in NSW....

Edit: p.s in my MY01 WRX with four spot fronts, two spot rears, got to learn about brake fade on many roads down there...including the first time ever experiencing massive pedal shake from possible disc warp. So yes, if you have never been to a race track, some of the roads down there are the next best thing. Thinking road from Wynyard through Hellyer Gorge to Cradle mountain amongst a dozen or more others down there. Just watch out for black ice in the early hours, had a huge moment in the shadows of some trees where frost hadn't completely melted (wasn't there in winter, but still got chilly overnight!)

P.p.s went through 6 sets of front pads and three sets of rotors in 120,000km on that car, so, depending on your driving style (go to woah for me everywhere) you will chew out pads/discs/tyres quite a bit more than those that complain about having to change tyres at 40K (lol what? no chance) and pads at 60K...

[Diesel_vert]

The GTI has heritage.

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.

I wouldn't have said the Mk4 Golf represented the pinnacle of hot hatch heritage if the Golf GTI was outdone by a Golf 150TDI.

A class heritage?!

Unless one really buys into all that brand image stuff, best to judge current models on their merits rather than what the previous models were like.

The point being that in many instances consumers take what they can get and uptake rates of 75% or 80% for the GTI may have more to do with availability than consumer preferences.

In terms of gearbox preference, the Australian market is more closely aligned with North American market rather than the European market.

To throw in a statistic, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, automatic transmissions accounted for about 70% of sales in the new car market in 2009/2010 - but most of us already knew that anyway, so the claim of an 80% uptake rate of the DSG is entirely consistent with the preferences of the Australian market.

Since it would appear that Volkswagen's aim is to make the GTI appeal to an even broader audience than before, the lack of a manual gearbox probably won't really affect their sales targets, even though I don't necessarily agree with their decision.

[Brycem]

I wouldn't have said the Mk4 Golf represented the pinnacle of hot hatch heritage if the Golf GTI was outdone by a Golf 150TDI.

Badged as a GTI so was a GTI (not a GTD) and nobody mentioned it as the pinnacle. But with your username I would like to make the assumption that you were familiar with all of is attributes. We both know all about the enduring heritage of the mk1, 2, 5 and 6. You can make your own decision on the pinnacle. Plenty of options.



Unless one really buys into all that brand image stuff, best to judge current models on their merits rather than what the previous models were like.

If one buys an A250 which one knows is slower with a clunky gearbox but chintzy and showy one has most certainly bought into brand image.



In terms of gearbox preference, the Australian market is more closely aligned with North American market rather than the European market.

To throw in a statistic, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, automatic transmissions accounted for about 70% of sales in the new car market in 2009/2010 - but most of us already knew that anyway, so the claim of an 80% uptake rate of the DSG is entirely consistent with the preferences of the Australian market.

Since it would appear that Volkswagen's aim is to make the GTI appeal to an even broader audience than before, the lack of a manual gearbox probably won't really affect their sales targets, even though I don't necessarily agree with their decision.

. How very terribly sad those statistics are.

[mickbrown]

I don't think 4 rings mean a lot. When Golf Rs were spec high, they came close to S3 and the Audi still could not sell.... Problem with Audi is that for the money, people prefer BMW or Benz rather than a tarted up VW. On the other hand, GTIs have way more heritage so there is a fan base that Audi can only dream of...

I think the S3 is going to have a better run this generation. The $10k price drop puts it head to head with Golf R and well below "equivalent" M135i and A45. In fact, Golf R and Audi S3 are sitting by themselves in the class that STi and EVO are hungrily trying to win back - at least in terms of price point.

Either way, I bought an S3 and I'm pretty happy about it.

Glad I didn't wait for the GTi. It's average and by this time next year they'll make up every 5th car on the road. All the same wheels, all the same spec. One of three colours.

[Marcotto]

Sharp, Marcotto; sharp.

The point being that in many instances consumers take what they can get and uptake rates of 75% or 80% for the GTI may have more to do with availability than consumer preferences.

Well since you're being so rude. Your point with uptake was invalid.

Work for VW by any chance?

[Arnold]

In terms of gearbox preference, the Australian market is more closely aligned with North American market rather than the European market.

To throw in a statistic, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, automatic transmissions accounted for about 70% of sales in the new car market in 2009/2010 - but most of us already knew that anyway, so the claim of an 80% uptake rate of the DSG is entirely consistent with the preferences of the Australian market.

Since it would appear that Volkswagen's aim is to make the GTI appeal to an even broader audience than before, the lack of a manual gearbox probably won't really affect their sales targets, even though I don't necessarily agree with their decision.

I understand Aussies are (much) more inclined towards autos than European drivers - even taxis are invariably manual in Europe, although that market segment is shifting, I mean changing, err, moving towards autos now, too. So I am with you on that dichotomy. As for the US, have you seen what people over there actually eat? With drive-thru banking the US is most definitely geared, err, oriented, towards auto everything. You've seen Wall-e? You get the idea.

While the Aussie market might have been 70% auto in 2010, that includes models with auto-only options and in segments, such as family cars and SUVs where the preponderance of drivers would not even contemplate a manual for the time it takes a DSG to change gears.

Which brings me to Golfs, and GTIs in particular. One would expect the interest of Golf and, more particularly, GTI drivers in manuals to be greater than the national average. Countering that, however, is the availability of "the perfect compromise" between an auto and manual in the DSG.

What this means, I think, is that when the VW salesman looks at inventory and tells the manual-oriented customer that their preferred coloured and optioned GTI is only available in DSG (because dealers specified 75% DSGs for floor stock) in many cases the customer relents.

It is any easy change, I mean shift, err, adjustment for the customer to make as they tell themselves they're still getting a manual of sorts and there are other benefits they can probably think of to get themselves across the line.

So again, my point is that DSG uptake = DSG imports and uptake is not necessarily an indicator of the first preferences of consumers.

Furthermore, better data on GTI transmission preferences might be gained from looking at customer factory orders, rather than what VWA imports for dealer stock, although I suspect that pre-ordering customers order cars fairly well loaded with options and so might conclude a $50k+ GTI should have DSG for resale and so there may well be a preponderance of DSGs among such factory-ordered GTIs.

Whatever the case, the manual option is a lot harder to defend in the face of what the DSG does, on paper at least.

In the meantime, vive le manuel!

[Arnold]

Well since you're being so rude.

I apologise if that was rude; no offence intended.

I thought the fact that there is no manual option for the Polo GTI perfectly illustrated the point that DSG uptake equals DSGs imported, but not necessarily the preference of owners. While I have considered a Polo GTI and would have settled for a DSG, my preference would be a manual.

Ergo, your comment about uptake "of course being 100%" seemed to miss that point, ergo my mild put down.

Your point with uptake was invalid.

How so? My point was that DSG uptake = DSGs imported, for the reasons posited in my post above.

Work for VW by any chance?

Very sharp, Marcotto.

Then again, why would someone who worked for VW argue that customer choices are being dictated by what VWA imports rather than what consumers really want? Mmmmm.

[Golf7]

Just a quick update from the drive today, had a quick go in the DSG just now. It's even more clinical in its precision... Can't fault it nonetheless, but I got back into my manual GTI, which I'll have to give back all too soon. What really saddens me is the disjoint logic of Volkswagen AG who designed, engineered and built the car and Head Office back here. The Mk.7 GTI was meant to be a more focussed GTI, whilst retaining all of the badge's key values. They project was indeed led by very person that worked on special editions of the 911. The PP was born and to be honest it should be standard on ALL GTIs... What angers me even more is the fact that the manual in the Mk7 GTI is an amazing unit, one of the best that I've ever used in my life, every facet of its operation is lovely. But the fact that its mated to a lesser power-train, does leave a slightly bitter taste... I can't stress how amazing Tasmania is, especially when you consider its roads. Leaving Zeehan soon. Oh and one more thing I just noticed on the gravel roads is that the dash on my car rattles like crazy! The rear tailgate also has an annoying creaking noise... I sort of miss that solid feeling of the Mk.6 a bit.