Finally collected my new MY19 GTI this morning. Predictably, glorious sunshine all of last week... but wind, rain, a broken down bus causing tailbacks and tractors putting mud on the roads took the gloss (quite literally) off the occasion today! I've only done about 12 miles in it so far as I had to get back to work but my thoughts so far:
The wheels - I spec'd 19" Brescias without DCC. Then reading lots of different views on here, it's been gnawing away at me for weeks. Turns out my fears were unfounded. I know this is very much subjective but to me, the ride was absolutely fine. In fact I'd say it was comparable, if not ever so slightly smoother than my 65 plate Audi A3 running 18s on S-Line suspension. So no worries there.
Another thing which was nagging me, was owning two Audi's in a row and now making the jump to VW. Although I've wanted a GTI for as long as I can remember, for some reason whenever it came to changing my car I always opted for something else right at the last minute so I had to finally scratch my GTI itch this time. However, I was worried I'd notice a drop in cabin quality and materials. Other than a few minor points, I'm more than happy with the GTI interior. The plastics on the dash and doors are soft touch, the door bins are lined in felt, the glove box is dampened etc. If I were being ultra critical, the only things I could criticise in comparison to the Audi would be the heater controls which feel rather plasticky (rather than the nice clunky chrome-plated ones in the A3) and the fabric material on the door arm rests feels a bit thin. Otherwise, it's all good.
I personally find the GTI seats and seating position more comfortable than the A3 too. Although the Audi seats were more adjustable, with extending cushion and seat tilt adjustment, the GTI is better bolstered and for my body shape at least, feels more comfortable on my semi dodgy back.
Dynaudio - first time I switched it on I admit I felt a bit disappointed and underwhelmed. But once I tweaked the equaliser and changed it from Authentic to Dynamic, I find it much better now. Not quite comparable to Bose which I had on the Audi, but not far off and decent for the money. I'm not an audiophile by any means but I appreciate a bit of clarity and bass without the distortion when you crank it up a notch.
Other observations - no lag on the throttle, which the A3 had. Understandable really as that was a 1.4 150ps geared up for economy/comfort. The first 1/4 of the throttle was a bit dead and it didn't respond for a couple of seconds or so (this was S-Tronic by the way). It was a bit of a nightmare trying to quickly join a roundabout. I used to drop it into Sport mode to eliminate the lag, but it hung on to the gears for too long so wasn't ideal to leave it that way. The GTI is responsive in all modes, with no lag at all (to be expected from a sportier model) so that's one annoyance gone. The other was the slightly wooly steering on the A3. The GTI is much sharper and more precise, feeling nice and grippy on the bends.
I haven't yet tried out ACC or the matrix LED headlights (that's for tomorrow) but looking forward to discovering new toys as I'm a total gadget freak. Loving the Car Play too - makes a huge difference and so easy to use. All in all, really pleased and no regrets so far. A slight tinge of sadness saying good bye to the A3 as it's the first car I've owned, which after 3 years I would have been happy to have kept for another three. I'm normally fed up after 2/3 years and looking for something different. I also feel like I've lost a little kudos by losing the four rings... but gained a different kind of kudos with the GTI badge so that's also been offset too.
Happy to answer any questions if anyone wants to check standard kit or has any queries on the 2019 model.
Cheers.
