Thoughts on a daily driver

[Primerdriver]

Hi guys, currently have a 2015 BMW116i and am looking to change it for a hot hatch. It's the only car in the family and will be a daily driver so all the usual round town shopping trips etc plus a bit of fun for me. Seems like there are a few GTI TCR's about now at a decent price. Just wondering what the ride quality with adaptive suspension is like as it would be great to have the best of both worlds and the video reviews seem to suggest it is certainly stiffer than the GTI in all the settings. Plenty of road bumps round our way and the usual pot holes so needs to be pretty compliant. I also realise the later ones come with the Akro exhaust which isn't for me but is the standard exhaust reasonably quiet in comfort mode. Don't think the other half would appreciate loads of pops and bangs or a droney exhaust. Apart from these issues love it in the flat grey and the interior is nice as well. Last question, I enjoy listening to my music, is the Dynaudio worth looking for ? Thanks for any feedback.

As an aside I've been checking out the the BMW and Mercedes Benz forums for the one series and A class and have to say the GTI forum is by far the friendliest without the pretentiousness of the others, learnt some great detailing tips already.

[ChrisTCR]

I have covered around 8K in my TCR now, I have a very mixed set of roads I would be on regularly and I don't find the ride too harsh at all. It definitely is firmer than my S3 saloon was in the comfort setting, but it is still a very compliant daily car.

[Gnasher]

I can only really comment on the Dynaudio part of the question, but it was one of the first things I decided to spec on mine (standard GTI) and whilst I've not listened to a standard setup, the Dynaudio does sound very good.

Another alternative (if you find one with perfect spec apart from Dynaudio) is to have the helix system retrofitted (it's a dealer fit option I think) which I've not listened to, but heard good reports about.

[fredgroves]

If there is one thing more divisive than B**it on this forum its whether DCC is worth 900 quid or not.

Given that you aren't doing a factory order, I'd personally not get hung up on it.

If there is a TCR you can afford within a reachable distance and of course in grey (why would you choose another colour!?!) I'd say have that one - with whatever spec that has.

The only thing to watch out for is the Akra exhaust, whilst lovely, really does knock the price up!

And if its got the sticker pack, they do come off with a hair dryer.... so don't get too picky about those things which really are marmite - only with marmite some people do actually like it ;-)

[Watts]

I find the TCR a great daily driver albeit at the moment I don't get to drive it daily . It's a very comfortable car, I don't find any issues with the ride quality although of course that's very much down to personal preference. DCC is standard with the Reifnitz and Pretoria 19" wheels which also includes an extra 5mm drop in ride height and the speed limiter removed.

Most of the noise is not from the exhaust but the soundaktor at the base of the windscreen. You can turn it down quite low (or off if you have a piece of kit like OBD11) in the settings and in most driving it's very quiet. If you put your foot down a bit there is a nice deep growl, the only time I've had any pops from the exhaust was when I was really giving it a thrash and even then they weren't that loud (at least not from the inside). Mine has the standard exhaust by the way.

If VED bothers you, most cars with the standard exhaust should be in the standard tax bracket but many of those with the Akra will have gone over the £40k threshold, their base price was pretty high so only a few decent options will take it into the luxury bracket.

I find the standard ICE okay but could fully see why someone would want Dynaudio so if you are keen on music in the car (I'm not) then go for it. Dealers are not always reliable with specs in their adverts so look out for shiny trims around the speakers on the windscreen pillars.

[kmpowell]

Welcome!

TCR is harsher than a normal GTI, marginally, so yes as a 'Daily' DCC is essential IMO. DCC on the TCR was specable on 18's, but with 19's it came as part of the pack so all 19" equipped cars have DCC.

The standard stereo is 8x normal paper-cone speakers with a standard 4x20w (80w max power) output driven from the main headunit (both Discover or Discover Pro). Dynaudio is 400w (max power) sent over 9x speakers (8 speakers plus the sub), powered via a separate Dynaudio amp, not the headhunt. The front and rear speakers are 2-way sets (dual soft-dome tweeters and magnesium mid drivers), and the sub in the boot is a coil dual-voice.

The benefits are cumulative and huge. If you just listen to the radio around town and aren't into music, then the standard system prob is ok... but if you enjoy music and/or spend a lot of time in the car listening to music, then the Dynaudio really is a no brainer. Once you have it set-up (through the specific Dynaudio software menus in the headhunit) to your taste and sound type, it really does wipe the floor with the standard system. The front sound staging is epic. The only thing about Dynaudio that can be annoying is how sensitive it can sometimes be to the source (bitrate mainly).

If you go for a non Akra car then you'll prob find one with Dynaudio, but when the Akra cars were introduced the huge price hike meant a few options took it over the £40k barrier, so options on those cars are rarer.

For me I wasn't buying a GTI without DCC or Dynaudio, as I spend lots of time in my car and I didn't want any compromise. Both options are worth every penny IMO, especially the DCC that really turns the car into a Swiss army knife.

[Zan]

I've got DCC and Dynaudio on my GTI and IMO they are worth having, I dropped lucky when I finally bought mine as a 6 month old 2nd hand from the dealer as it had those options that I wanted.

[Exonian]

Oohhhh, I do like it when kmpowell talks dirty about Dynaudio! 
More of that in a bit...


Welcome Primedriver.

I’ve had a tiny bit of experience with mk7 Golfs and currently run a TCR.

Plenty of good points already raised here so no need for me to rattle on too much.

The TCR can be a little bumpy on certain surfaces but it won’t be any worse than its immediate competition.

I’m a little sceptical about DCC but if you opt for a car with 19” wheels it’s standard anyway. I’ve had five mk7’s and four didn’t have DCC including my lovely Clubsport which has more or less identical suspension to the TCR which rode fine on ‘normal’ suspension with 19” wheels.
I find the DCC tends to need to be loaded up when fast cornering (in ‘Normal’ mode) or the front outer corner tends to initially wallow for a second or so until the damper firms up on flowing bends. But that’s a minor gripe.
Also the GTI models including the TCR tend to be upset by very sharp sudden irregularities that make me wince. The R I had didn’t suffer this.

I ran my TCR almost every day, seven days a week for nearly four months then had a six week break from it using a different car for commuting and have just returned to using it every day so it’s all fresh again.
Just like when I first owned it I found I needed a few days adjustment to get to grips with DSG and its other driving nuances again and now after four days I’m totally immersed in what a fantastic daily driver and fun car all rolled into one it is.
I really couldn’t recommend one enough and they look fantastic from most angles too.
No doubt about it, the R is a superior machine but the TCR just oozes character and is much more fun than the crop of 4wd 300bhp hatches it shares a price tag with.

As for the competition you mention, I tried out an M135i X-Drive and really liked it. A bit like the Golf R, it lacks a certain something but the engine is a peach and the styling is great from some angles. It’s very very solid feeling and a really nice place to spend time when sat inside it. BMW clearly uses a Golf as the benchmark then added some BMWness to the design.
There are some great deals on pre-registered ones but, just like the TCR, some of the add on’s take the price into the luxury tax bracket as I’m sure you’re aware.

I’ve not got up close and personal with an AMG A35 as yet.
Depending on which side of bed I get out of, some days I think it looks really pretty and other days it looks like a pregnant woodlouse.
Hertsman on here had a really close look at the A35 before plumping for a TCR and I’m sure he will be along with his thoughts. He influenced me greatly when I came to buy my own TCR.


None of these cars are a bad choice, you just have to decide which one is “you”.


Going back to Dynaudio, well....

I was always a DCC sceptic, I still am.

I was always a DSG sceptic, I still am.

After having it in a mk6 GTI I’d become a Dynaudio sceptic.
Now having had it in a mk7 I’m converted, it’s brilliant at higher volumes in this model.
I’m no audiophile so would probably recommend just adding a VW Helix subwoofer to a car that had no Dynaudio to stop it becoming a deal breaker, bearing in mind the cabin of a car isn’t the most perfect of listening environments and the standard audio is actually perfectly acceptable. But as per kmpowell’s descriptions of the system here and elsewhere on the forum (along with a few other Dynaudio die-hards) it’s well worth the extra money over the standard audio if you get the choice. 

[Primerdriver]

Thanks to one and all for the excellent feedback and comments. Seems to me that DCC and Dynaudio are must have's for me from what you've said. I use various USB sticks with my music on at the moment and the car although not a perfect place for listening is certainly a place where I catch up with a lot of stuff I've got.

Had a look at the A35 and initially the interior had the wow factor but found that wore of pretty quick and actually prefer to have a few more buttons. Exterior wise quite difficult to tell the difference from the previous model and wouldn't want the in your face styling pack either.

The new S3 is some months away and knowing Audi the options won't come cheap so expect the total price to be too high for me. Have to draw the line somewhere !!

Golf R is great but think the GTI/TCR offer better value. Also had a quick look at the TROC R but not sure I really want an SUV and the interior was nothing to write home about either.  Not overly impressed with the new Golf 8 GTI design interior or exterior and again don't like the more away from any physical buttons or switches and some of the reviews have doubts about the interior quality as well.

I've had a test drive in the M135i and was pretty impressed. It drove really well and would make a great daily driver. Interior quality I thought was better than the A35 and more driver orientated and I'm use to the BMW operating system, albeit an older version but I do like the GUI and think it's very user friendly. Plenty of bells and whistles and the Heads up display was sweet.

Tend to keep my cars for a long time so have kind of accepted that the list price may go over 40k as I might as well bite the bullet and get the options I want but there are some pretty good deals around for the M135i. 

But having said all that keep coming back to the TCR, as in grey it still looks stunning and would certainly be more unique. There is a good one in Volkswagen Gatwick that fits the bill. Anybody had dealings with them ?

Biggest problem is getting any sort of test drive or deal sorted in these times but at least I've got plenty to think about and appreciate it's a first world problem.

Cheers.

[Toeman]

Have a gti performance 7.5 cann honestly say you wouldn’t regret buying one of these either   Even my wife enjoys it and rates it more than the bm330 we had previous