Mk7 Golf Wagon

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[K4neX]

Hello everyone, I am think of getting my wife either the Skoda Octavia Wagon in the Ambition Plus trim with tech pack or the Golf Wagon 90TSI Comfortline with bi-xeon headlights.

These two should be within $1000 of each other and would not want to spend more than that. So I would like to know if anyone has been through or going through the same process of trying to decide between the two?

I have test driven the Octavia in that exact trim and loved the engine and the equipment level, but feel a bit let down by not having reverse camera in today's market. And I think the interior to be very good especially the steering wheel.

I have not test driven the Golf as yet but for those who have driven both, do you think the 90TSI will be a bit behind the 103TSI in terms of going uphill and carrying load?

I know that the Octavia has a torsion beam in the rear and the golf has multi-link, I am currently driving Mazda 3 MPS with 18" wheels and sport suspension and I found that the Octavia was quite comfortable so I am not sure if the multi-link will wow me. But VW is more established in Australia and has a better re-sale value...

Anyway, looking forward to hear your opinion and why you pick one over the other, cheers!

[enzso]

Anyway, looking forward to hear your opinion and why you pick one over the other, cheers!

Hi K4. We recently weighed up both cars and decided on the Golf Comfortline. I liked the Skoda - it had more interior space and the 103 had a bit more poke, and I was also keen to go for the panoramic sunroof option. However there's a long wait for them and the wife much preferred the styling and interior of the Golf, so we went with that. I've found so far that the 90TSI has plenty of power, although I haven't tested it under load on the highway yet. The Comfortline has a couple of extras over the Ambition Plus - reverse camera as you've mentioned, front parking sensors, dual climate control, auto lights and wipers. It misses out on fog lights and has smaller wheels. We've been very happy with it in the two weeks we've had it. The wife loves it so it's all good!

[K4neX]

Hi K4. We recently weighed up both cars and decided on the Golf Comfortline. I liked the Skoda - it had more interior space and the 103 had a bit more poke, and I was also keen to go for the panoramic sunroof option. However there's a long wait for them and the wife much preferred the styling and interior of the Golf, so we went with that. I've found so far that the 90TSI has plenty of power, although I haven't tested it under load on the highway yet. The Comfortline has a couple of extras over the Ambition Plus - reverse camera as you've mentioned, front parking sensors, dual climate control, auto lights and wipers. It misses out on fog lights and has smaller wheels. We've been very happy with it in the two weeks we've had it. The wife loves it so it's all good!

Thanks for your input, I guess I wil have to drive the Golf and see how will it compare to the Octavia. For the Octavia, I am thinking of having the "tech pack" which gives bi-xeon, park assist with front and rear sensors, auto light and wiper, and front assist. This will make it around $900 more expensive than the Golf Comfortline.

About the engine, it's hard for me to test drive, I am driving a car with a 180kw / 380Nm turbo engine so anything else to me is a bit slow, but the 103TSI surprised me and that's why I was in love with the one in the Octavia.

Personally, I don't mind not having a reverse camera but then it'll be my wife driving it and it's up to her lol.

[zardoz]

Heya,

So after doing the math on how much my current ride (118TSI wagon w/leather, park assist, RNS510, bluetooth and MDI) has lost, thanks to the wonderful bad publicity, I'm now considering cancelling the order for my new car which is a 103TSI Highline wagon with leather, DA, roof and xenons.

My current car runs out of warranty in ten days and the new one won't arrive till August. I've done around 40,000kms in the current car - which, according to Redbook and carsales, represents a pretty big hit compared to what the mark 5s took when the mark 6 was available.

After test driving the 7, while it was definately a smoother ride, I've had some growing concerns about whether the 7 is a step backwards. Given how much I'm sinking in to this new purchase, I'm questioning whether I'll even be happy with the new car now! Buyer's remorse before I've even taken delivery? I'm not sure...

• The steering wheel is thinner. I'm not a huge fan. I had thought I could swap it with the GTI/R wheel at some stage but they've got the same sort of design - less of a thick grip. Has anyone else gotten used to this?
• The Highline's leather seats are not as comfortable, at least during my test drive, as the current leather sports style seats offered in the mark 6. I don't have the lower back adjustment, either. Perhaps I'll get used to this but I'm worried that if I'm driving the thing for a week and my back starts playing up, I'm stuck.
• The Discover Nav is a leap backwards from the RNS510. I can't even retrofit as the maps are still not available (and there was no intro with the MY15 or the R like I was hoping). No iPod integration is a pain and requires a retrofit of MDI. Fingers crossed for maps to be available or at least loadable from the Skoda platform in a few months...
• The piano gloss finish on the dash and centre console. Fingerprint magnet and makes it look like a Polo. Not a huge issue.
• Accelerator is now mounted to the wall vs. the floor. This is one thing I could never get used to on the Polo and they've brought it to the Golf. Couldn't get comfortable with it during the test drive or when I had the Comfortline hatch for a day - I keep feeling that the accelerator is further away from me but adjusting my seat forward puts me close to the brake.
• The DSG is not in fact a "completely different design" like I was originally advised by the salesperson. As far as I can tell, it's a DQ200 in different clothes - it drives differently but I'm still wide open to the same potential issues as the car I'm currently in and was the catalyst for my decision to buy the new one. I didn't realise this when I placed my order.
• This is hopefully due to me not reading the manual but the bluetooth on the MFD in the mark 7 didn't allow me to swap between recent calls, missed calls and dialled numbers. Given there's no Siri support, this is a significant drawback in usability. Perhaps there was a way to get to a bluetooth options menu on the MFD that I missed.
• Red interior overhead light has been removed. Interior ambient lighting is now LED and appears to be more directional (does the ambient lighting in the doors flicker to get the brightness down?). I haven't been able to evaluate the interior lighting as I haven't been at a car dealer that's been open after dark to actually check.
• Plastics on the rear doors aren't soft touch. Not a big issue for me but a sign that VW are cost-cutting.

Things I liked about the new car:

• New speaker system is leaps and bounds above the mark 6 and ahead of the mark 5.
• Much smoother ride.
• Should be slightly cheaper to run
• Looks far better!
• Reduced road noise (the mark 6 wagon was a mark 5 body design and is far noisier than the mark 6 hatch)
• Discover Pro system is amazing (a moot point. sigh)
• New cruise control system usability enhancements
• Marginally (perhaps insignificant) cheaper to insure
• More space!
• Rear seats are more comfortable than the mark 5/6 design. I don't drive in the rear seat so this doesn't affect me whatsoever.
• New cup holder design is more practical with the centre armrest.
• Rear tailgate on the wagon now has the same door leaver as the hatch using the VW logo. About time!

Has anyone compared the bluetooth call quality on the 7 vs. the 6? The bluetooth I have (9W3) for phone calls is absolutely brilliant. People can't even tell I'm in a car. When I've had someone else call me from the car, I haven't been able to tell, either. I will be sorely disappointed if the mark 7 is a step backwards in this regard.

Am I insane? Are my observations way off? Is my 118TSI going to burst into a ball of flame a day out of warranty? Have I missed something?

[Lemonskin]

Hey mate, it's all personal opinion I guess but IMO the mk7 wagon looks miles better than the mk6. If it were me I might have gone for the 110TDI model instead to get the 6 speed DSG and better fuel consumption. Agree with your point re Discover Nav system, it's pretty crap compared to the systems Benz and most other euro manufacturers are coming out with.

A plus regarding Piano Black inserts - it's the same as the Golf R so you might feel like you're driving the top spec car! (until you put your foot down that is)...

[Dutch77]

Zardoz, to answer your question - yes.

You've rightly picked out all the issues or dislikes about the Mk7, but in reality how critical are they all to your overall driving and ownership experience?

The Mk7 is a big step up in other aspects and most importantly you'll be getting away from the 118TSI engine.

Of course you'll need to weigh up just how much you've lost on the Mk6 and whether the risk of ongoing issues is worth the change-over price.

Re: Bluetooth, I've only made one call on my Mk7 and it didn't seem quite as good, albeit still acceptable. I must admit the Mk6 9W3 system was pretty amazing and better than any other I've witnessed.

[Lemonskin]

Zardoz, to answer your question - yes.

You've rightly picked out all the issues or dislikes about the Mk7, but in reality how critical are they all to your overall driving and ownership experience?

The Mk7 is a big step up in other aspects and most importantly you'll be getting away from the 118TSI engine.

Of course you'll need to weigh up just how much you've lost on the Mk6 and whether the risk of ongoing issues is worth the change-over price.

Re: Bluetooth, I've only made one call on my Mk7 and it didn't seem quite as good, albeit still acceptable. I must admit the Mk6 9W3 system was pretty amazing and better than any other I've witnessed.

I make phone calls often from my car, I notice no issues with sound quality, and the people on the other end of the line say it sounds like I have the phone up to my ear, not tinny like a speakerphone, so no complaints on that front.

I do find it bizarre however that my 2007 Commodore Omega ($38k) had voice controlled bluetooth as standard yet my 2014 Golf GTI ($46k) does not have voice control even as an option??

[Dutch77]

I do find it bizarre however that my 2007 Commodore Omega ($38k) had voice controlled bluetooth as standard yet my 2014 Golf GTI ($46k) does not have voice control even as an option??

They've only upped the ante on the latest VF, a lot of that tech is pretty good value. I guess the main difference is you'll be able to upgrade to a Mk8 down the track whereas the Commodore buyer..

[Lemonskin]

They've only upped the ante on the latest VF, a lot of that tech is pretty good value. I guess the main difference is you'll be able to upgrade to a Mk8 down the track whereas the Commodore buyer..

Hah! I did consider the SV6 Sportwagon when car shopping, nice bit of kit, but dat fuel consumption O_o plus it's gonna be obsolete soon. Also, it is the size of a small country. I think I'll be holding on to the Golf for at least 5 years. Well, that's what I say now anyway...