MK7 GTI

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After months and months of deliberations, test drives, rides in friends cars, hanging out at auto shows, and generally being a pest to my wife mentioning every new car that was on the market, I finally made a decision and bought something.

MK7 GTI w/ DSG.

The competition was as fierce as it was diverse, some of the other cars I considered.
2013 BMW 535i Msport CPO
2013 or 14 MB E350 Sport CPO
2016 Dodge Charger R/T or Scat Pack
2013 BMW 328i Msport (or sportline) CPO
2013 BMW 335i Msport (or sportline) CPO
2016 Ford Mustang GT
2016 BMW 228i

Notice anything about those cars? They are all RWD. I thought that was a big requirement...it wasn't.

3 of them are pretty big cars. While they all soaked up the miles well I didn't get the "connectedness" that I was looking for. I also started to worry about when fuel prices are going to go back and and didn't want to deal with 15k miles a year in driving a Scat Pack charger...

The coupes ended up out VERY quickly due to load/unload of 2 small children. Those that do that on a regular basis my hat is off to you, but that wasn't for me.

That left the 3-series on my list, but to get them the way I wanted required a LOT of options and they ended up being hard to find, also the F30 never quite did it for me, and the nail in the coffin was that in 2013 (where most of the off lease vehicles are aged right now) the oil change time/miles from BMW was set at 24 months/24k miles. So most of these CPO turbo vehicles that were off lease had only had ONE oil change in 3 years. It met the manufactures specs, but that struck me as being pretty risky.

So I checked out the MK7 GTI. It had every option I wanted, handled great, enough power to get in trouble, and I really like the DSG, feels much more like a manual transmission than I thought it would, the rev matching is great on the downshifts, and it is very quick/crisp. Interior is fantastic. The hatch is just highly versatile, and I am not a hatch guy at all. Mine has the VAQ LSD and it you really need to look for it to feel like a FWD, torque steer is non-existent.

Next up is stocking up on some filters/drain plugs, and VW 502 00 oil.
 
Alot of people bash FWD, but for a mostly street driven car, even with some trips to the track, there is nothing wrong with it. I've had a couple rear, and a couple front, both work just fine.

Those new GTI's are really growing on me. I looked at the first gen golf R recently, its still on my short list. That DSG trans is amazing too. A friend had an R32 with one, best of both worlds really. I'm sure the tech has come a long way and that yours is even better.
 
Sounds like fun!
Surprised to see No Subaru Impreza WRX or lexus IS250 on list?
Lexus-IS-F-at-Dubai-Autodrome.jpg
 
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I owned a Subaru (2005 Legacy GT) and it was literally the worst car I've ever owned. The interior on even the more modern Subarus were pretty unimpressive when I was at the autoshow, so Subaru was off the list pretty quickly.

Lexus was on the radar very briefly but all of the IS that I have been in just didn't do it for me.
 
I've owned some turbo FWD cars and the torque steer was just terrible. Combined with some massively bad turbo lag and the car just wasn't fun to drive.

The only thing that would have killed the GTI for me, and had me continuing my quest would have been torque steer.
 
The MK7 GTI w/DSG is an absolute MONSTER. I took one to BFI's Oktoberfest when they were first released at it got a heck of a lot of attention.

I drove a Unitronic tuned one last year and it was burning the tires off from a roll in second gear. BEAST.
 
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I drove the Golf R spec and the Beetle R, both are amazing, the Golf is really quick, almost 300 HP in a shoe box puts it in a different class.
 
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Also: where are the pictures?!?!


I know I'll try and get some. I don't even have tint on it so it's pretty plane jane right now. Carbon Steel Metallic.
 
Congrats OP!
The GTI is still one of the best cars in the segment. I'm sure you'll be happy with it for several years.

I would have suggested the Focus ST, but I'm pretty sure they only come in manual transmission
smirk.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy
Congrats OP!
The GTI is still one of the best cars in the segment. I'm sure you'll be happy with it for several years.

I would have suggested the Focus ST, but I'm pretty sure they only come in manual transmission
smirk.gif



Yeah, auto was a heavy requirement for me, I sold my last manual 5 years ago for any sort of DD use. The VW DSG and the ZF8 speed are both solid replacements. I still like driving a manual, but with my commute...no thanks.

As for the GTI it had the level of refinement that I wanted without needing to pay a fortune.

Edit to add: It's nice that now you can choose an auto and not feel like you took a big performance hit in doing so. Even a base Fiesta offers a dual clutch option!
 
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Originally Posted By: thr_wedge
Yeah, auto was a heavy requirement for me, I sold my last manual 5 years ago for any sort of DD use. The VW DSG and the ZF8 speed are both solid replacements. I still like driving a manual, but with my commute...no thanks.

If I were to get a GTI, it would be a DSG as well. It is good at masking turbo lag. I test drove a manual GTI and jut did not enjoy it. Maybe it takes some time to adjust your driving technique to overcome turbo lag, but it just felt like PITA.
 
I liked the GTI a lot but I was coming out of a Mazdaspeed 3 and wanted something a bit different. I found the F10 and F30 Bimmers to be far too soft and insulated. The Golf R was very tempting but the VW dealers in my neck of the woods refuse to hire techs with opposable thumbs...
 
My biggest complaint with GTI was that (I personally) found them to be a bit expensive for the total package. However, right now some VW dealerships are really hurting and I am all for taking advantage of it. They are taking an axe to the asking price. So some great deals. I like the gearbox and it is easy for the most part.

I was let down by the ride... it is decent for the wheelbase but you do notice that it is shorter thus a bit off-putting on some roads (also known as concrete highways).
 
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Originally Posted By: FutureDoc
My biggest complaint with GTI was that (I personally) found them to be a bit expensive for the total package. However, right now some VW dealerships are really hurting and I am all for taking advantage of it. They are taking an axe to the asking price. So some great deals. I like the gearbox and it is easy for the most part.

I was let down by the ride... it is decent for the wheelbase but you do notice that it is shorter thus a bit off-putting on some roads (also known as concrete highways).


Make sure you're buying the car and the not discount. If you dislike it at $X, you may think you like it at $X-y, but really you'll start looking for something else sooner as all the other little things you didn't like will start to creep up.

Now for me, the GTI had the total package I was looking for and I felt it was a good value. But that's a pretty personal decision, especially for car guys. When the car calls to you, then you'll know.

As for the ride, I got the DCC which is amazing and well worth the $800...and probably $2000 repair bill 70k miles from now :p
 
Originally Posted By: thr_wedge
Originally Posted By: FutureDoc
My biggest complaint with GTI was that (I personally) found them to be a bit expensive for the total package. However, right now some VW dealerships are really hurting and I am all for taking advantage of it. They are taking an axe to the asking price. So some great deals. I like the gearbox and it is easy for the most part.

I was let down by the ride... it is decent for the wheelbase but you do notice that it is shorter thus a bit off-putting on some roads (also known as concrete highways).


Make sure you're buying the car and the not discount. If you dislike it at $X, you may think you like it at $X-y, but really you'll start looking for something else sooner as all the other little things you didn't like will start to creep up.

Now for me, the GTI had the total package I was looking for and I felt it was a good value. But that's a pretty personal decision, especially for car guys. When the car calls to you, then you'll know.

As for the ride, I got the DCC which is amazing and well worth the $800...and probably $2000 repair bill 70k miles from now :p


Oh, I agree. If you like the GTI, now is the time to buy. I have always had a soft-spot for the GTI but also thought that they should start at the 20K point... at least for the 2 door. Then again, I think a few other options could be there as well.. cough FRS/BRZ
 
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