Real World Ownership Review - Is the PP worth the extra - GTI 7.5
Seeing as I ran a 7.5 GTI with no PP for 6 months, and have now run a 7.5 GTI with PP for 1 month, I thought I would do a quick write up to help anyone in the future who can't decide and would like to read a real world review from someone who has daily driven both. Both cars had the DSG, not manual. Both cars run in according to the VW manual. New PP has gone past break in period and been used to its fullest for a few hundred miles now.
Non PP was run from August 17 to end of Feb 18, so the end of the warm dry roads in summer through to the worst winter I've seen in years with snow etc recently.
The new PP collected 1st March and only been used on the damp, wet and snow covered roads.
Both cars left standard, didn't change anything from factory.
I covered almost 5,000 miles in the non PP GTI. Loved the car, it was a massive step up in build quality, refinement, technology and general driving please from my previous car - MK7 Fiesta ST. I can't think of a time when I thought it didn't have enough power. The perfect sweet spot so you can use the whole rev range and change up just before you get into license loosing territory. The DSG6 overall was great. Had a few moments when it got confused in auto mode but these were rare. Smooth gear changes and as quick as I could have expected when going for a blast in sport using the paddles. Exhaust sounded good for a stock car when someone else drove the car past me (I wanted to see what it sounded like from outside). DSG farts were great, especially when going through a tunnel. Towards the end of ownership, it would even DSG fart in eco lol Great car for commuting, just stick it in normal mode, DSG in D and off you go. Need to overtake, pull the DSG down to S and more than enough power and torque from the 230ps. Only slight negative I will say - I didn't like the brakes. They stopped the car perfectly in normal daily driving, but always felt a little under powered when pushing on, not to the point of any issues, but I felt they could have been better. Not a major negative, but worth mentioning. Traction - Now this very relevant. I ran the stock Bridgestones throughout whole ownership. Anything other than completely dry roads I experienced wheel hop and spin. In a straight line, pulling out of junctions etc. Just had to adjust driving style a bit. Even had spin in daily commuting if the roads were damp and applied just a little bit too much throttle leaving a roundabout or lights.
Overall, happy and pleased with the non PP - very good car. Liked the platform a lot so I jumped back into another 7.5 Golf straight away.
Time came to change the car. Didn't go for a 7.5 R for many reasons, some listed - cost, almost double insurance premium, little extra fuel usage, prefer the GTI looks and heritage, love the lightness of the GTI and it feels a lot more nimble throwing round corners compared to the R I test drove. Plus the R to me was just boring! Yes its quick as you like off a set of traffic lights, but you just plant your foot and it goes. I want to drive the car and have to think about it not just rely on 4wd. Just personal opinion.
Picked up the 7.5 PP 1st March. Covered 1200 miles now so run in period over and have stretched its legs. Using to do the same commute, and going for a blast on the same roads as the non PP in same conditions towards end of previous ownership.
Firstly, to save any reading any further, the PP is 100% worth the extra. No doubt in my mind what so ever.
The extra power - 245ps. The extra power IS noticeable. You can feel a little more torque mid range. Not a huge amount, but it is there. Easiest way to explain - if anyone ran a MK7 Fiesta ST standard, then had the Mountune MP215 installed, its like that minus the recirc hiss.
DSG7 - Fantastic, absolutely awesome. Smooth as silk in D on the commute and a LOT faster when using the paddles in S. The downshifts are out of this world. With the box in S and on the paddles, in 4th get to 2.5 - 3k on the revs, down shift and you get a wonderful rev match pop from the exhaust. The change is instant, blink and you'll miss it. Upshifts as good if not faster than DSG6. The extra gear is great when on the motorway, around 2,100K at 80 mph.
Golf R brakes - I am so so happy with the brakes. Massive difference, felt it immediately on collection when driving home. This is how the non PP should have felt from factory. Stops perfectly when pushing on and not grabby at all in the daily commute. Plus they look great aswell, especially if you stick with the 18" alloys, really beefy.
The diff - I have tried to read up on this, how it works etc but I will admit I'm not mechanically minded so wont go into any detail. I will say this - my god what a difference. When going for a blast its awesome. The non PP turned in well, but the PP just feels like its on rails. Its progressive, it doesn't feel jerky, it feels natural but just grips for days. From a completely non technical point of view - its amazing to drive with. Confidence inspiring. I can't say I notice any extra weight when throwing the car into a corner, it just feels planted.
Leading to my next point. Traction. I imagine this is to do with the diff. I gave my non PP back with a lot of tread left on the tyres. I didn't measure the depth with a gauge, but just using the raised markers on the tyres, there was a lot of meat there. I will say this with my hand on my heart. I have not broken traction once with the PP. Straight line, corners, leaving a roundabout etc. For the last 270 miles or so I have been using all the PP's power and rev range. Same roads, same tyres (yes they are brand new, but the old ones were not worn that much at all). The non PP was breaking traction once it hit similar mileage, after run in period. I'm not making any claims or trying to prove something, just stating my real world experience.
Noise - lovely cracks and pops on startup which weren't present on the non PP. When pushing on its sounds the same as the non PP. Only negative is it refuses to DSG fart on the 7.5 PP. See another thread about this - multiple owners experience the same.
The red GTI badges - well they look great and are the icing on the cake 😉
Everything else is standard GTI trim so no point commenting.
In my opinion, the PP is worth the extra money 100%. If you daily the car and like to go for blast a few times a week and/ or on the weekend, you will appreciate the extra the PP gives you and feel like you get your moneys worth. If your buying the GTI as a motorway tool or town run around and will stretch its legs rarely like once a month on some A roads, maybe its not worth the extra for you. Easiest way I can put it.
Both PP and non PP are very very good cars and I would recomend this platform time and time again. The manual vs DSG, 3 vs 5 door, optional extras blah blah whatever, that debate will go on till the end of time. All subjective to owners taste.
But to sum up, a 7.5 GTI PP with DSG is a serious bit of kit.
