GTI Colour, Wheels, Interior, Options

[DaBaws]

Hi,

In the process of purchasing a GTI Performance DSG 5 Dr, factory made. I am wondering about peoples opinions on colour, wheel, interior and options choices.

My current choices are,

Colour: White Silver Metallic

Wheel: 19" Brescia Alloys (imo these look the best, however what are the implications of having larger alloys? Reduced fuel efficiency? Does it affect the drive of the car?)

Interior: Leather Vienna (don't really like the look of the cloth, I'm guessing the leather will be more comfortable?) Art Velours Upholstery (love the look of this, anyone had it themselves?)
Options:

90% Tints
Panoramic Glass Sunroof
Rear-view Camera
Keyless Entry (Does the car automatically lock when you walk away? my previous car (clio) did this)
Dynamic Chassis Control? (are there real benefits to this and can you tell the difference between the options? what mode does it drive in as standard?)
Climate Windscreen? (Seems like it would be useful for British weather, any experiences?)
Dynudio Excite Sound Pack? (is this any good? are the standard speakers sufficient?)

Any comments appreciated,

Thanks

[davyk31]

Colour as always is personal but I really don't like white silver but love Pure White. Have seen several white silver cars and they can look very dull and flat like a watery light grey. I had Pure White in a GTD and bright and fresh it looked. When we got the GTI I would have got white silver but having seen a few examples it wasn't for me.  Didn't want another pure white as we had the GTD for 4 years so went Indium Grey. Grey would never be my first choice but when it's clean it does look very classy and sparkling.

[davyk31]

Should have added a big yes to the 19" Brescias. They look great and the standard 18s are a terrible looking wheel. The ride will be a bit harder on 19s but still is excellent in my view.

Keyless entry and exit requires you to touch the door handle when walking away to lock the car. When you come back just pull the door handle and it unlocks. Some are concerned about security issues but it's a great luxury feature.

Leather I had in the GTD but went cloth in the GTi and would never order the leather again. It a a very expensive option for very cheap feeling leather. The cloth feels so much nicer to me and looks great but again the tartan isn't to everyone's taste. For me the tartan is a trade mark of the GTi.

[Watts]

Have seen several white silver cars and they can look very dull and flat like a watery light grey.

Agree with this entirely, not a good colour at all.

19" tyres are quite a bit more expensive to replace but the Brescias look great.

The 'leather' interior is quite expensive and a fair bit of it isn't even leather. I love the tartan but if you can't bear that then the Art Velours looks really good.

Standard tints are perfect.

Rear view camera useful but not essential, it has leapt in price (was only £165 when I was first looking) recently and I wouldn't pay that. Never needed one before, don't need it now.

DCC - I can see the advantage of it but I find the standard ride even on 19s excellent most of the time.

[SRGTD]

The GTI has a pretty good standard spec, so I’d personally not be going over the top with the options.

I’m also not a fan of White Silver, but I do like Pure White. White Silver does seem to divide opinion; to me, it looks as if VW stopped after the primer had been applied and forgot to apply the colour coat. As davyk31 has said, colour is a very personal thing and one person’s favourite colour will be another person’s least favourite.

Brescia wheels look good, but I do wish VW would stop forcing diamond cut alloys upon us! If I was speccing a new Golf, I’d go for the 18” Seville Dark Graphite wheels, as I like graphite/anthracite coloured wheels, and being powder coated, they’re more durable than diamond cut alloys - especially for winter use.

I’d definitely go with the traditional Jakara tartan cloth seats, which are part of the GTI’s heritage and IMO makes the interior special.

Sunroof - I personally wouldn’t spec this, although many owners on the forum that have one wouldn’t be without it. Quite a few discussions on golfmk7.com forum of (USA) owners with sunroofs experiencing rattling noises, water leaks, stress fractures on the glass surround above the A pillars and interior sun shade that won’t stay closed. Maybe these issues are specific to Mexican built Golfs for the USA market as I’ve not seen similar issues reported on this forum.

90% tints; they’re a cheap option, but I’d stick with the standard tints.

Rear view camera; I’d spec this, as I suffer from back problems so I find it useful when it’s painful to look over the shoulder when reversing.

Keyless; I wouldn’t spec it, but many owners on the forum have it and wouldn’t be without it.

DCC; I’d choose the 18” Seville alloys so wouldn’t feel the need for DCC, although again, others who comment on your spec may have different views.

Climate screen; useful if you don’t garage your car, but does it really take long to scrape the screen? I have friend who had one on their Ford and it was really effective. I’ve no experience of the VW climate screen though.

Dynaudio; I had it in my mk6 Golf, and I was a little underwhelmed with it. The Dynaudio system in the mk7.5 is no doubt an advancement over the mk6 version. I’d recommend you take a test drive in a Golf with and without Dynaudio so you can judge for yourself.

[DaBaws]

Thanks for the comments, interesting opinions.

Funnily enough all I've heard from people is praise for the White Silver Metallic colour. I have seen pictures of the colour on GTI's on auto trader and really like it. I guess its different seeing it in person when you can see it from different angles.

I've decided to avoid the leather after seeing GTI's on autotrader with 3000 miles and the leather is already sagging!

I've never had a sunroof myself but would like to try one. I feel if I'm buying a golf anyway i might as well put one on.

With the tints I'm guessing theres not much different between 60% and 90% then? I could always get it done myself if i want them darker i guess.

I've never had a camera and I'm used to not having one. Ive also noticed people who do have cameras don't use them much, they stick to wing mirrors and the proximity warning sounds.

If anyone has had DCC, their opinion would be useful. I don't want get it then never use it.

The climate screen would be useful as our winters are getting more harsh especially when its snowing in Feb/March time. Also it apparently reflects sunlight so prevents the car getting so hot in the summer.

Still need to go for a test drive in the GTI so i will ask when i go, hopefully they will have Golfs with and without the sound pack.

[Jim_mk7.5]

The GTI has a pretty good standard spec, so I’d personally not be going over the top with the options.

Brescia wheels look good, but I do wish VW would stop forcing diamond cut alloys upon us! If I was speccing a new Golf, I’d go for the 18” Seville Dark Graphite wheels, as I like graphite/anthracite coloured wheels, and being powder coated, they’re

DCC; I’d choose the 18” Seville alloys so wouldn’t feel the need for DCC, although again, others who comment on your spec may have different views.

The 18" Sevilles look horrendous on the GTI with the chavy red rims IMO, possible the worst wheel to be added to a GTI. Ever. I'd go Brescia's all day long if you want to pay for upgraded wheels. Think DCC is a sensible option if you do depending on the situation of the roads you drive on regularly.

[SRGTD]

The GTI has a pretty good standard spec, so I’d personally not be going over the top with the options.

Brescia wheels look good, but I do wish VW would stop forcing diamond cut alloys upon us! If I was speccing a new Golf, I’d go for the 18” Seville Dark Graphite wheels, as I like graphite/anthracite coloured wheels, and being powder coated, they’re

DCC; I’d choose the 18” Seville alloys so wouldn’t feel the need for DCC, although again, others who comment on your spec may have different views.

The 18" Sevilles look horrendous on the GTI with the chavy red rims IMO, possible the worst wheel to be added to a GTI. Ever. I'd go Brescia's all day long if you want to pay for upgraded wheels. Think DCC is a sensible option if you do depending on the situation of the roads you drive on regularly.

It’s good we don’t all like the same things, otherwise life would be boring.

[Jim_mk7.5]

The GTI has a pretty good standard spec, so I’d personally not be going over the top with the options.

Brescia wheels look good, but I do wish VW would stop forcing diamond cut alloys upon us! If I was speccing a new Golf, I’d go for the 18” Seville Dark Graphite wheels, as I like graphite/anthracite coloured wheels, and being powder coated, they’re

DCC; I’d choose the 18” Seville alloys so wouldn’t feel the need for DCC, although again, others who comment on your spec may have different views.

The 18" Sevilles look horrendous on the GTI with the chavy red rims IMO, possible the worst wheel to be added to a GTI. Ever. I'd go Brescia's all day long if you want to pay for upgraded wheels. Think DCC is a sensible option if you do depending on the situation of the roads you drive on regularly.

It’s good we don’t all like the same things, otherwise life would be boring.

Exactly. Not sure why people ask for advice really - I mean, pick the car, colour and options you want not someone you've never met before. Although I wouldn't pick White Silver 

[Guzzle]

What you're asking is very subjective. There are no right or wrong answers, all you're going to get is a load of opinions. Here's mine;-

White Silver - ok but wouldn't be my first choice... or second choice.... or third choice

Brescia wheels - the standard wheels look fine to my eyes. You'll also get a harder ride, more expensive tyres, and more chance of kerbing them. Waste of money.

Art Velours - looks nice, better value than the overpriced leather, but still expensive for what it is. The Jacara cloth has heritage.

90% tints - ok, but not with dark colours. At least they're cheap.

Sunroof - ok if you like leaks and rattles, otherwise waste of money.

Rear view camera - brilliant, love mine. Shame they've made it more expensive recently.

Keyless entry - never seen the point. Eats batteries, you have to keep your keys in a crisp packet to make it harder for scum to nick your vehicle. Some love it, but to me it's a waste of money.

Dynamic Chassis Control - nice idea if you live on Coronation Street, but the stock suspension is fine for most other roads if you avoid the larger alloys. Waste of money (although I might change my mind if they made it less expensive).

Climate screen - excellent, use mine a lot over winter. However not quite as quick at thawing thick ice as the conventional heated screens with wires in the glass. Would order again though.

Dynaudio - nice to have, but not essential. The standard stereo is fine to my ears.