GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: GTI2016 on 07 January 2019, 20:50
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Hi All,
No idea if anyone is interested but I thought I'd share some thoughts after hitting 50,000 miles
Car
I bought a '14 PP GTi demonstrator in late 2014; it came with 19inch Santiago alloys, Reversing Camera, High Beam Assist (Hasn't worked for ages), Discover Nav big screen, DCC, VW Used Car Service Plan.
VW Service Plan
Whilst this was undoubtedly good money at £450 for 4 years of servicing, the interactions I've had dealing with main VW dealers, including the flagship store, have been so bad. Its first service started with the dealer leaving the window open in a storm overnight and soaking the inside of the car and losing the service book to add insult to injury...(Which took me over a year to replace, and get the original stamps) I'm now happy that it's coming to an end and I won't use them again.
Tyres
I started out with the Bridgestones, which I think are the OEM tyre, not sure. On this tyre the car would jump under heavy acceleration in 1st and sometimes 2nd gear and didn't feel very supple.
I changed the two front tyres to Michelin Pilot Supersports after two years which stopped the jumping around. I subsequently took out a mortgage and fitted Michelin Pilot Sport 4Ss all round; it's not an understatement to say that the feeling and handling of the car substantially improved. 100% grip at warm temperatures @ max acceleration and the feel of the steering and apparent connection of the front end to the road, at turn in, is transformed.
After some near death experiences driving in the Alps (mentioned last year), courtesy of the PSSs summer tyres and snow chains, I bought a set of Goodyear Ultragrip-Gen1 winter tyres. To go with these I got a set of 18 inch Milton Keynes alloys so I can swap them easily with the 19s/PS4S. I didn't like the MK alloys, to look at, to begin with but they are growing on me.
On these winter tyres grip from a standstill is probably 85% of the PS4S. Comfort is improved and road noise is reduced. Economy is unaffected, which surprised me. I now get an 'ESC intervention' under acceleration sometimes which has never happened before. Pushing it, the front end understeers more (despite e-diff) than the PS4S which rail around corners. But at normal speeds and driving they perform well and at 3-4 degrees C and below they're another world from the PS4S. No real testing in snow conditions yet.
18inch vs 19inch comfort
Not a perfect test as its summer tyres on the 19s and winter on the 18s but noticeably softer ride and less harshness over bumps and pot holes with the 18inch alloys. But the DCC does a great job with the 19s and in normal driving conditions not a lot in it. I've not felt the need to change from the 19s for NVH reasons.
Alloys
The 19inch Alloys have had that white worm thing almost from new on two of four wheels. VW not interested in sorting it out.
Economy
When I first bought the car at 8000 miles I was getting 28-29 mpg until around 17500 miles this then improved to about 32 mpg up to 35000 and the car now gets 36 - 39 on long journeys. Best mpg was 60 mpg over 10 miles. One trip to the Alps with 3 pairs of skis on the roof and only the driver, the car averaged 21 mpg. Terrible. Over a trip of the same distance with 3 in people in the car, it average 36 mpg....Skis were basically a drag chute out the back. On a round trip of 1500miles non-stop recently it did 36 mpg on the way out with half 95 Ron/half 98. On return with 98/102 Ron it also did 36 mpg.
Driving at speeds > 100 mph
Taking the car up to 120mph on the autobahn recently, and cruising at 110 mph for 100 ish miles on and off, was very stable and confidence inspiring. My ability was the limiting factor.
Driving modes
I spend pretty much all my time in Individual, which is setup to be exactly the same as Comfort, but I think with Sport Diff and ACC settings. Never use Eco or Normal, and very occasionally use Sport. Use Auto S all the time in Individual setting.
DSG box.
Farts have got louder with age. Disappointing that it sounds like they've removed them form the MK7.5.
Headlights
Very poor low beam distance (anyone else notice this?); great at high beam. Would be better if HBA worked. Bend lighting and cornering thing is useful.
Problems
USB input in front cubby hole broken, HBA broken, Coolant level suddenly dropping, one cornering bulb blown, ACC realignment needed.
Conclusion
All in all I can't think of a better all round car. (Including the Golf R :laugh:)
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Very good write up, pretty much agree with all of it. Mines at 49,400.
Glad I'm not the only one who gets ESC intervention with winter tyres. PS4 are excellent. VW customer service not so. Average MPG 38ish although that has dropped ~4-5 mpg in the colder weather. I've also had a fair few problems,; coolant leak, creaking suspension, front shocker died on me, sun visor rattle. The best thing I've done to the car are the lightweight Clubsport alloys, transformed it totally, I've now got my Austins back on for winter and the car feels heavy and dull in comparison.
It's a decent all-rounder, far from perfect though. I kept my MK1 Fabia vRS 8 years and tbh I'd have that over the Golf. I'm looking at going stage 1 to help me fall in love but I'm struggling if I'm honest. Have you thought about remapping?
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I have to agree with the headlight range on low beam. Scary sometimes. My car is due service next month and will be mentioning it to the service department.
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I think they're alright tbh but then again if anyone's driven either a Renault Premium or T Series as I do for a living will know it's like driving with two candles for headlights.
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I have to agree with the headlight range on low beam. Scary sometimes. My car is due service next month and will be mentioning it to the service department.
Did you know that you can manually adjust up and down, left and right by turning the knobs on the headlight itself :smiley:
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Great review and interesting observations re. fuel consumption with and without skis on top. Also interesting that fuel efficiency is getting better with age, which is a bit confounding and counter-intuitive. Took mine for a run yesterday on some hilly terrain - returned 44mpg, which is astoundingly good considering the performance. I remember getting 32mpg consistently on country driving from my '78 1.6 Mk1 Golf. Cars have come a long way.
Overall I concur with all your comments. These GTIs are astoundingly good all-rounders.
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The car obviously didn't like me writing a review about it and has this morning rewarded me with a flat battery and every warning light available.
Interestingly also unable to unlock the car with the buttons on the key but got in the manual way. But now having done this unable to lock any of the door other than the drivers ...
Re: Fabia vrs: my previous car was a polo gt (tdi) basically the same as the vrs. Great car.
Stage 1: don't really feel the need to go any faster to be honest.
Re: headlights. That is interesting. Definitely going to raise them.
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Excellent review GTI2016 :cool: thanks for taking the time to post that up.
A really good read and useful reference too.
How nice of the car to repay the compliments by shutting completely down! D’oh!
I had a little bit of warning when my 2013 GTI (god, 2013 seems an age ago now, I can’t believe the time has gone so fast and yet the mk7 Golf has aged so well) as the stop start ceased to kick in prior to the battery flatlining.
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I have to agree with the headlight range on low beam. Scary sometimes. My car is due service next month and will be mentioning it to the service department.
Did you know that you can manually adjust up and down, left and right by turning the knobs on the headlight itself :smiley:
Yea I remember reading about that somewhere on here and believe it is a common problem. I will see what the dealers say when it goes in for a service. If I’m not happy with what they say I’ll have to have a go at it myself. :smiley:
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Good review enjoyed reading that.
On the headlight point , I’ve just come from a 2014 Ford Kuga and the lights on the Golf are a massive improvement over those - would’ve been more effective having a couple of candles up front .
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So, I'm going to have to replace the battery. Jump started it, drove for half an hour and it failed to start again.
Does anyone have any battery recommendations? I'm getting prices online from £125 - 299!
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Probably the OEM one is a Bosch. VW like Bosch.
Remember that you need to code it to the car...
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Try Euro Car Parts, they usually have discount off batteries. They do the Bosch ones and were half price before Christmas. As Fred has said any new battery will need coding due to the stop/start function our cars have.
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Ok cool thank you.
What's the worst that can happen if it's not coded?
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Just replaced my battery with an AGM one from Halfords with 4year guarantee £125 with the Trade Card. You will need it coding though as the original is Enhanced Lead Acid.
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What's the worst that can happen if it's not coded?
Start stop won't work if it can't detect the charge levels, might also not charge properly either.
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On a 14 reg I’m assuming you have Xenon main beam and halogen dip? The MY19s come with LED headlights 😬. I had bi-xenon on an Seat Cupra (main and dip) a few years back, then changed for an Audi TT with halogens, it was literally like going back to the dark ages.
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Pretty sure all UK Mk7 GTi's / GTD's / R's came with full bi-xenon headlights with DRL' as standard.
If you find one that hasn't got them, then it's almost certainly an import.
My Octy vRS had standard bi-xenon's, and I never found the low beam lacking in any way. In fact, literally night and day better than the halogens I had on all previous cars. Can't understand why the Mk7 bi-xenon's wouldn't be at least as good.
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I have to agree with the headlight range on low beam. Scary sometimes. My car is due service next month and will be mentioning it to the service department.
Did you know that you can manually adjust up and down, left and right by turning the knobs on the headlight itself :smiley:
Yes, after I bought mine my biggest gripe was exactly this. I could hardly see where I was going. It's so easy to adjust, all you need is an allan key.