Features we tend to take for granted

[static1800]

Agree 100%

Thought you would be used to that by now? i've had to put up with that for years, it's called lowered mk1 or mk2 ownership

yea, motor at it's simplest. and sometimes I reckon it's best.

on the headlight issue. I wish VW had made auto dimming rearview mirrors back in the 70's. it's seems every car's headlights are shining right through the back window directly onto my rear vision mirror - probably cause they are, but regardless.

[greasykitchen]

Agree 100%

Thought you would be used to that by now? i've had to put up with that for years, it's called lowered mk1 or mk2 ownership

It doesn't even have to be lowered, it's just that a MK1 is small, esp compared to 4WDs whose lights tend to want to shine in all three mirrors at once...

[jettatfsi]

George!

Long time no hear!
The Jetta's written off?? serious..
i have to say i feel that same about the jetta. after selling it off im considering buying another, i just miss the practicality of the jetta and all the great features and drivability.

ha maybe we can both buy one together to try to negotiate a better deal.

Driving a Corolla as I am at the moment due to the demise of the Jetta has made me aware of the things we tend to take for granted in our VWs, for example:-

Automatic rear mirror dimming when a car behind has poorly adjusted lights. I’ve never really noticed this in operation but now I don’t have it, I realise how well it works. Driving the Corolla I’ve noticed many cars with badly adjusted headlights following me in the last few days.

The smooth and continuous power delivery of the 2.0 TFSI engine. The Corolla really is lacking in this department, I find I have to pedal much harder and even then it is pretty slow. The car has an additional brake facility too, it is called the air con switch, turn it on whilst moving and you almost go through the windscreen, it sucks out an enormous amount of power.

The fantastic performance of the DSG transmission, it really is different to a conventional automatic. Seamless virtually instantaneous changes Vs slow and jerky changes.

The incredible combination of the engine and gearbox, the VW just surges away, the Toyota accelerates off the line OK but just dies when it hits second gear as if you’ve fallen into a big hole. Increasing pressure on the throttle does nothing, it just drones away, increasing pressure some more, same result, eventually with enough throttle pressure it will throw itself back to first at redline revs!

Fuel consumption, I topped the Corolla up yesterday, it is using about 10 litres/100 KM which in similar usage conditions is about the same as the Jetta. Admittedly it is running on 91 octane so fuel costs are lower but I really would have anticipated better fuel consumption from a small car such as this with limited performance. It's the old story, you have to push it hard to get it going whereas with the Jetta light throttle achieves the same or better results.

Rattles and squeaks, I’ve seen plenty of posts about these in MK Vs but mine just didn’t have any. Let me assure you, this Toyota (with 16,000 KM on the clock) has rattles galore, it drives me nuts.

Climate control air con, I’ve become used to setting and forgetting, having to manually adjust temperature and fan speeds is something I never do any more.

I could probably write a book on this subject and before you all point out to me that I’m comparing against a car that is a fraction of the price, the point I’m making is not that the VW is better than the Toyota (even though it obviously is) rather that we become so used to the features that we tend to forget that they are there. When we get into a lesser car the benefits of those features just become so obvious.


Cheers

George

[VW Convert]

George!

Long time no hear!
The Jetta's written off?? serious..
i have to say i feel that same about the jetta. after selling it off im considering buying another, i just miss the practicality of the jetta and all the great features and drivability.

ha maybe we can both buy one together to try to negotiate a better deal.

Hi Tim,

Nice to hear from you, thought you were a happy BMW driver these days!

Yes, the Jetta is a write off, hit from the rear by a Lexus after I braked extremely hard to avoid a halfwit in a BMW doing an illegal u turn. Wasn't you by any chance was it? LOL Second major smash I had in six months at the same intersection!

If you are thinking about a new VW perhaps we could team up although TBH the thought of late model second hand instead of new has crossed my mind although I haven't really looked closely yet. Seems there are some cheap cars around at the moment.

I'm off overseas for 4 1/2 weeks on Tuesday so no time to go car hunting, if you want to team up to shop for a deal and can wait that long, PM me and we can have a chat when I get back.

Cheers

George

[maca]

I find the coming home light feature really handy compared to other cars I drive without it.

My favourite feature when I got the car was the rear wiper coming on when the auto sensing wipers were activated and I selected reverse. Since then sometimes it activates when there is no water on the rear screen that then leads to the ugly scrape sound.

I agree.. But I'm so sick of people telling me I've left my lights on I sometime deactivate that feature..

[pixl]

Some say that is because Polo's are that fast headlights are mere specs in the distance..... Some say that it wouldn't worry polo drivers because they don't have eyes, rely purely on echo location. All we know is they don't come with those cool mirrors lol.

Be that as it may; the coming home feature would be nice.

Polo drivers are bats ... or dolphins

[Ben_GTI]

Polo drivers are bats ... or dolphins

Well Dolphins are commonly noted as the only other creatures that have sex for pleasure, so I know which kind of Polo driver I am hahaha.

I'm sure all these features would be easy to fit into a GTI from the factory, particularly when overseas models come with them. If I had to pay an extra $600 for auto-dim mirrors I would. I guess whoever makes these decisions isn't the brightest minded person.

[HOLEIN1]

what about that little mini sun visor that sits between the main two visors, sort of on the overhead centre console...???

came in handy the other day, and was an absolute godsend! the afternoon sun was at just the right angle to poke me in the eye... a quick flip and she was apples!

[blutopless2]

i mostly drive a jetta on a daily basis, and sometimes drive a polo gti.
certainly notice the slight differences between the two cars. used to think steering wheel controls were a bit of a wank..... that was before i got my jetta, now its annoying when i step in the polo and go to adjust the stereo volume on the steering wheel...
but i have to say... god i love the manual gbox in the gti!