GTD review after 550 miles

[andyk11]

So, after ordering in April I finally took delivery of my GTD last Friday :-) 

I've just come from a Mondeo Mk4 2.2 remapped to 227BHP and 366lb/ft.  Before that I had an Octavia vRS TDI CR so I had high expectations.

I've already covered 550 miles and my impressions so far?  It's a very well balanced, sorted, refined and competent car.

Good points
Engine - very quiet from inside the cabin.  In theory it's got a similar power to weight ratio to the Mondeo.  However in sport mode the throttle response is so immediate and willing to rev that acceleration through the gears actually feels quicker.  Roll on acceleration in 5th and 6th feels slightly slower at motorway speeds but it's still tight so will see how this goes. 
Power delivery - Most powerful FWD diesels I've driven have been a point and squirt affair.  If you tried to get on the power too early out of a corner you'd get wheel hop and lots of understeer.  Not so here… you can apply the throttle mid corner and it takes it all in its stride.
Seats - very comfortable.  I did a 230 mile trip earlier this week with no issues
Handling - absolutely fantastic, this thing's a bloody limpet!  The progressive steering has taken a little getting used to but now feels very natural and direct.  The vRS was grippy and planted… this is the same but there's a nice sense of balance and poise… even with the diesel lump up front!
Ride - extremely well judged. One of the complaints I had with the vRS was the constant patter and fidgeting over poor road surfaces. In the GTD it's all very well controlled with no nasty thumps or shocks.  As expected it hasn't got the completely limo like ride of the Mondeo but I don't feel noticeably less comfortable.
Headlights - they look fantastic from the outside and provide great visibility.  The fact that they swivel round bends was a nice surprise too.
Bluetooth - audio quality when streaming via BT is very good.  Phone integration works well too.

Bad points
Some road roar on bad surfaces, much better than the vRS but not as good as the Mondeo.
A little bit of wind noise from around the mirrors
Got bit of a rattle / squeak from behind the dash at low speeds - I've jacked it up and confirmed the transport blocks have been removed.  I'll see if it disappears over the next few weeks.

What really strikes me most is what a well thought out and ergonomic car it is… from the little reminder to take your phone with you when you switch off the ignition to how well things like the stop/start and electronic handbrake work.  I'm expecting it to be a very easy car to live with day to day.

Here's a few pics of when I cleaned it last weekend.  For the detailers amongst us it got snowfoamed, Tardis'd and IronX'd.  The wheels and plastic trim were treated with Gtechniq C1 and then everything got treated with 2 coats of C2v3 -

[neilgcal]

Great looking car and nice review! I was so tempted to change my order from white to red after seeing one in the flesh.

Just one question, how's the mpg looking at this early stage?

[Bruce]

Wow! I'm glad I ordered red after seeing yours. Looks awesome.

[Ricepop]

There's been a horrible mistake, you seem to have my car.

If you give me your address I will come and collect it

[mjh_056]

Wow! I'm glad I ordered red after seeing yours. Looks awesome.

Red is definitely a colour to put that extra effort into as looks awful when flat as some seen in flesh were, but when shining bright it is a complete transformation and it does look stunning.

Going to give mine the GTechniq induction was just going to G wash, P1 and C2v3 though is the P1 necessary? was just thinking it would remove any sediments prior to the C2v3 seal? I am not into detailing it will be a working car but do want to give it best chance between washes.

[AMarsh]

Not the correct place, but I didn't think it warranted a new thread.

MY car arrived on Monday.  had so on the forum that if you pressed setting on the air conditioning unit details came up on the infotainment system. When altered the setting you got a nice graphic showing the stream getting hotter or colder.  I done this on the first day and it worked as expected.

I did this last night and I don't seem to get the graphic showing the change in temperature, although the actual air coming from the vents in hotter and colder.  Thoughts on what I have changed?  (I am sure it is me rather than the car1)

[Sootchucker]

The graphic only comes up if you press the "Setup" button (lower portion of the middle dial). When you change the settings normally without first pressing this, it doesn't display anything on screen.

Pity as I thought that was a really cool feature on my previous Scirocco.

[AMarsh]

Sorry, I've just re-read my post and it doesn't make that much sense.  Apologies...

When I first got the car, pressed 'setup', the graphic appeared on the infotainment.  When increasing or decreasing the temperature dials, the graphic showed the streams either hotter and colder.  As expected. Nice little feature I thought.

When I done the very same thing last night, the graphic didn't show the change in conditions and the air turning red or blue. 

Not sure what I have done differently.  Should this just work or have I inadvertently changed a setting that would not show this?

[Sootchucker]

Did the actual temperature reading change when you change the temp dial or is it just that the colour didn't ? I've found that you need to be over about 22.5°C to get the colour to change from Blue to Red

[AMarsh]

Haha.

Will check tonight.  I'm sure I did increase or decrease enough, but I wouldn't be surprised if I hadn't.  The temperature values definitely changed on the screen, just no images to go with it.