Almost said goodbye to VW yesterday.....almost

[kmpowell]

There’s something in the settings of the TCR’s DCC that means I really struggle to drive it now. When the car hits a sudden change of surface there’s a kind of shockwave that hits me right in the lower spine and sends intense pain up my back and down my legs. Comfort, Normal, Sport, it happens in all settings.

Before buying mine I test drove a DCC and non DCC equipped cars, but after 15-20 mins both cars left me with pain my middle/lower back. The latter non DCC car left me REALLY uncomfortable and in quite a bit of pain.

I couldn't work out why, then I played around with the manual ratchet lumbar and it became evident that due to my height/frame it was that which was pushing/digging into my back, and no matter what position I had it in it would hurt over time through the bumps/lump vibrations from the road. I specced the electric seat which gives electric adjustable lumbar support (a totally different system and feeling) and with 13k miles under my belt I've never once felt that pain.

So yes, DCC helps soften the pain, but for me (and this may be the case for you) the manual ratchet lumbar was the issue.

[Sootchucker]

Anyway (he says trying desperately to lighten the mood) the one thing this exercise has shown me is how good the MK 7.5 Golfs still are compared to much more modern competition. Yes the newer cars have more of the latest tech (which I'm sure the MK8 Golf will get too), and maybe better use of space etc., but for looks, ride quality and general smiles per mile, they still take a lot of beating - not bad for a car that has it's roots back in 2012   

[fredgroves]

Oh I agree. The surprise when you look at other newer cars isn't that something newer is better, it's just how little anything improves vs the mk7.

[kmpowell]

Oh I agree. The surprise when you look at other newer cars isn't that something newer is better, it's just how little anything improves vs the mk7.

This for me is key. A while back I questioned what the MK8 actually gives over a 7.5, given it's supposed to be a "Digitally remastered". The bottom line is, it doesn't. Functionally (not aesthetics), it's 99.9% the same as a 7.5 bar a few small things like smart key and wireless CarPlay (something you can do in a 7.5 with an adaptor). the rest is just the removal of physical buttons.

Throw this against the competition, and again, there's very little difference in functions/features, apart from the same package wrapped up in a newer wrapper.

The 7.5 at run-out was so well equipped and ahead of it's game, its the reason why it's such a strong contender now and why 7.5 owners are struggling to see a difference with other vastly newer models.

How many other cars that have underpinnings & functionality from 7 years ago, can sit beside cars that have been out for a handful of months.

[fredgroves]

And then chuck the Mk8 into that mix.... it should have come out punching, it should have had tech that put it 7 years ahead of the new BMW 1 series.... but it didn't.

Its entire push was for a physical buttonless dash. That's it.

I guess we never should have expected anything less, this is the Mk6 to the Mk5, is a half version upgrade - the fugly inbred cousin, not something with its own DNA.

The magic would have been in the Mk9, but that will never come because of EV.

[p3asa]

Great write up as usual Andy.
Not like you wanting to change cars in rhythm with the 4 seasons 

Certainly when I was about to change my car from the Mk 7 GTD nearly 4 years ago, I had a good look around and nothing on the market could come anywhere near to the options as standard on the performance Golf.

I'd not just be moving away from the iconic brand but to something else that didn't give me anywhere  near standard kit. So I stayed with the Golf and bought the R.

I've effectively had 8 years looking at the same dash which in car terms is a long time.

So once again I'm at that crossroads of what do I do. I had hoped the Mk8 R would at least be unveiled but we don't even know what kit the Mk8 GTI will have never mind see the R. There still are a few unregistered Mk7.5 R's in the VW system that I did think about but that would have me in the same Golf more or less for 12 years!! And while I agree with everyone on here that it is a great car but there comes a time to change. Ive also got this sneaky feeling the new MK8 GTI / R won't come with the same level of kit as previously.

[monkeyhanger]

Great write up as usual Andy.
Not like you wanting to change cars in rhythm with the 4 seasons 

Certainly when I was about to change my car from the Mk 7 GTD nearly 4 years ago, I had a good look around and nothing on the market could come anywhere near to the options as standard on the performance Golf.

I'd not just be moving away from the iconic brand but to something else that didn't give me anywhere  near standard kit. So I stayed with the Golf and bought the R.

I've effectively had 8 years looking at the same dash which in car terms is a long time.

So once again I'm at that crossroads of what do I do. I had hoped the Mk8 R would at least be unveiled but we don't even know what kit the Mk8 GTI will have never mind see the R. There still are a few unregistered Mk7.5 R's in the VW system that I did think about but that would have me in the same Golf more or less for 12 years!! And while I agree with everyone on here that it is a great car but there comes a time to change. Ive also got this sneaky feeling the new MK8 GTI / R won't come with the same level of kit as previously.

As long as you can get some discount, add that to the 0% finance (if you PCP anyway) and you're looking at a big discount. That 0% finance alone is worth £4k vs standard PCP terms.

As Fred has said, MK8 seems to have no upsides - ugly, with further cost cutting and seemingly no better technologically.(button losses a total PITA).

[Exonian]

Great write up as usual Andy.
Not like you wanting to change cars in rhythm with the 4 seasons 

Certainly when I was about to change my car from the Mk 7 GTD nearly 4 years ago, I had a good look around and nothing on the market could come anywhere near to the options as standard on the performance Golf.

I'd not just be moving away from the iconic brand but to something else that didn't give me anywhere  near standard kit. So I stayed with the Golf and bought the R.

I've effectively had 8 years looking at the same dash which in car terms is a long time.

So once again I'm at that crossroads of what do I do. I had hoped the Mk8 R would at least be unveiled but we don't even know what kit the Mk8 GTI will have never mind see the R. There still are a few unregistered Mk7.5 R's in the VW system that I did think about but that would have me in the same Golf more or less for 12 years!! And while I agree with everyone on here that it is a great car but there comes a time to change. Ive also got this sneaky feeling the new MK8 GTI / R won't come with the same level of kit as previously.

The four seasons Stevie? You know me, I’d swap cars after breakfast, elevenses, Lunch, afternoon tea, evening meal and supper every day!! Variety is the spice of life 

Seriously though, I’d hoped to get 18 months or so out of the TCR before getting something to replace both my existing cars and just running one.

The M135i strikes me as the best option as it’s the most Golf like car that actually feels better than a Golf I’ve ever experienced.
The engine has R power but GTI style torque delivery (read incredibly flexible), the car has loads of neat details which you can only appreciate up close making the Golf seem a bit utilitarian.
The seats are fab, I love the blue detailing on them, I love the seatbelt M Sport trim (which UK buyers actually get unlike the red seatbelt trims specced on overseas Ed40’s and TCR’s), the damped Pedalbox cubby by the drivers knee (completely missing on the mk8), the fact it has trims to hide the paintwork on the door window frames in the front (missing from even the new A3 I saw and the A Class), the frameless quarter window at the back, the subs under the front seats...

 Oh, and the 135i is cheaper to insure than a TCR or R too!

So the 135i is quite a future proof purchase in some ways and it doesn’t hurt my back!


Resale values are phenomenal on A35’s right now though so as an investment I’d say they were the best place to put money for that class of car in the shorter term, as an incidental aside.



***********

Thanks for the comments about my decrepit back everyone!
It’s not so bad that I need some ham fisted physio making my eyes water.
It’s the spring rates on the TCR that seem to upset it most. Comfy as hell for ages and then a ridge, an expansion joint or worst of all a rubber speed hump and bang! Agony.



Michele, maybe we should swap cars for a while 

[king monkey]

Swap cars? What a super idea. I’ll drop the R off in the morning. 

I’d still love a TCR. One day...

[Sootchucker]

Old thread but I thought I'd just tie it off. Having PM'd Stevie (p3asa) a few times, I knew he was looking at an M135i as well, and am more than a little jealous that he's ordered his.

As you all know, (rightly or wrongly), I'm a sucker for options, so had specc'd the M135i almost identically to Stevie's (co-incidence I assure you), but with the additional £1000 driver assistance package (so ACC, Side assist, Lane assist etc. - basically what I have on the GTI). The list price came out just short of £44k (I always new even with a minimal spec I'd be well into the £40k luxury car tax bracket so thought what the hell).

Negotiated a price with a dealer including a Part-Ex on the GTI which gave me £2.5k collateral in the car and a 14% discount on the new BMW which i thought was OK. Then after chatting it over with the wife (a real life bank manager) she had very reluctantly left it up to me if I wanted to go ahead. When (about a week or so later) I recontacted the dealer, he reduced his part-exchange down by £500. long and short of it is that pi55ed me right off. When I told him to forget it, he countered with an extra £250 discount, but it was the principle of the thing.

When I sat down again with the wife (who is my sounding board), we tried to work out why I was so wanting to get the car. Afterall, it's a £44k car, with £465 per year road tax, higher insurance and much worse fuel economy. I think in an hour's conversation with her, we discovered a couple of things. Firstly, I wasn't actually unhappy with the GTI (far from it in fact), and it's certainly quick enough, can easily return 45+mpg in the right conditions and is cheap as chips to insure. We think it was because I've had nothing but VW's since 2004 (16 years) and 3 MK7 Golf's in a row, and I was getting "bored".

She (probably quite rightly) said that it was most likely the tech and additional toys (HUD, Electric seats, electric tailgate) that was pulling me towards the car and not that it had 300bhp and was 4wd (as to be honest I don't often even use the power the GTI has in my commute to and from work), and certainly not because I thought the Golf was a piece of crap in comparison. She also (again probably quite rightly) said that after 6 months of playing with the new "toys", the novelty would wear off but I'd still be left with paying for a £40k+ car after already forking out a whopping £10k cash deposit on the M135i to keep the monthlies where I wanted them over 3 years. Then I re-read the quote fully and discovered that despite a 14% discount, £10k down and £350 pm, the GMFV in 3 years time wasn't far off £20k !

She still said it was my call, but when I re-looked at the numbers and then looked out of the window at my GTI at 2¾ years old with only 14,500 miles on it, and already very highly specc'ed, it quickly became clear that the numbers just didn't add up. I'm sure I would have absolutely loved the M135i, and in a lot of areas it is much better than the MK7 Golf (then it should be as a brand new platform), but it isn't cheap and is it worth over double that of the GTI ? The settlement figure on the GTI is currently only just over £14k (so only £4k more than the deposit on the M135i), so we have just decided to pay off the GTI and stop looking over our shoulder at what else is out there (famous last words).

The day will come when the GTI needs to be replaced maybe in 2 or 3 years, but until then, I'll continue to enjoy relatively cheap motoring in arguably the prettiness incarnation of the Golf - the MK7.5 and save the rest of the money for other things that are more important. Don't get me wrong, that green beast called jealously hasn't left me, and I'm sure when for instance Stevie get's his car and posts the pictures of it, it will rear it's head again, but I think I'm learning to control it.

Sorry for such a rambling post, but I thought it was good (at least for me), to put this to bed once and for all. Maybe weirdly the dealer pi55ing me around, actually did me a favour ?