Hi Dave,
Fellow Irish man here so I can advise!
When the MK7 GTI was first launched in Ireland in 2013, the standard spec was poor. I bought one of the first Irish MK7 GTI's myself, but in my case, I threw a lot of extra dough at it to spec it up properly (I had more cash than sense).
So, as you've discovered, the standard spec was poor enough. Off the top of my head, none of the following was standard:
- xenons
- 18" wheels (17's were standard)
- climate control
- parking sensors
- adaptive cruise
- no rear tint
In late 2014, VW Ireland made major alterations to both pricing and spec, the pendulum completely swung the other way, so from 142 / 151 onwards, Irish GTI are very well spec'd - better than UK in most cases I think.
So... assuming your budget doesn't stretch to 142/151, then you'll have to try finding the earlier cars and if you're lucky you might come across one like my old one where the original owner spent money on the options list! It sounds like the car you're looking at is bargain basement though.
To answer your question re the wheels - to the best of my knowledge the cars on the 17" wheels have the same suspension setup as the cars on 18's or even 19's. No ride height difference. So you could upgrade the wheels and tyres but it will cost you.
Other stuff - like xenons - could be done too but that's much harder and more costly work.
Personally I'd continue your hunt and find a better spec'd example.
