Author Topic: GTI Clubsport, Season 2, Episode 1  (Read 12602 times)

Offline Jim_mk7.5

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Re: GTI Clubsport, Season 2, Episode 1
« Reply #10 on: 30 December 2020, 13:05 »
my dreadful photography and ageing iPhone would ever allow:

One quick shot of the car from its best angle




What ageing iPhone is this, a 3G?  :grin:
NOW - 330e M Sport
GONE - 2018 Mk7.5 GTI Performance 5dr DSG, Tungsten Silver, 2017 Mk7.5 GTI 5dr DSG, Indium Grey


Offline Exonian

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Re: GTI Clubsport, Season 2, Episode 1
« Reply #11 on: 30 December 2020, 16:30 »
Does the clubby need 98ron? Or will it run on 95?

The clubby prefers 98 vintage but will settle for a 95 to sip just like the mk7 versions.

Going back to your previous post, Munich do some things a fair bit better, especially PCP rates and interiors, unless you’re a Bauhaus devotee.

I wouldn’t say it was a much improved Golf really, just a tweaked one. I’d certainly not recommend anyone drop their 7 and rush to buy an 8 but if your lease, PCP or whatever is up, or you’re just bored having spent several years in a 7 then the 8 certainly isn’t anywhere near as bad as we’d feared. The 8R certainly sounds an interesting proposition if you drive on the sort of roads you could actually tap into its resources on.

Great mini write up Andy as usual.
Had to laugh at your comment of buying a service pack. The new owner will definitely benefit from that  :grin:
Hopefully though you get the benefit from it.

Thanks Stevie, *someone* will get the benefit of my shrewd service pack investment!!  :laugh:

Sounds like you are going to enjoy your new toy! Good to hear that it is improved dynamically.

Thanks Watts  :smiley:
I think the dynamics will be lost on me as I’m generally sat behind a crawling caravan or someone past their use by date in a ratty microcar. My main concern is how good the radio is!


What ageing iPhone is this, a 3G?  :grin:

 :grin:  :grin:

That’s cutting edge HDR there I’ll have you know  :laugh:

That pic is actually a still from a video hosted on low def site that’s been zoomed in on and buggered about with by me.
I think I missed my vocation in life  :whistle:
‘23 8R
Serial white Golf owner


Offline Jim_mk7.5

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Re: GTI Clubsport, Season 2, Episode 1
« Reply #12 on: 30 December 2020, 17:23 »



What ageing iPhone is this, a 3G?  :grin:

 :grin:  :grin:

That’s cutting edge HDR there I’ll have you know  :laugh:

That pic is actually a still from a video hosted on low def site that’s been zoomed in on and buggered about with by me.
I think I missed my vocation in life  :whistle:

 :grin:

Good to see you back in a white GTI  :smiley:

Here you go...

NOW - 330e M Sport
GONE - 2018 Mk7.5 GTI Performance 5dr DSG, Tungsten Silver, 2017 Mk7.5 GTI 5dr DSG, Indium Grey


Offline Exonian

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Re: GTI Clubsport, Season 2, Episode 1
« Reply #13 on: 31 December 2020, 10:14 »
Ahh, the very same car as that YouTube link I put into post #1 by the looks of it.
And thanks, hopefully it’s good to be back!
‘23 8R
Serial white Golf owner


Offline Snoopy

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Re: GTI Clubsport, Season 2, Episode 1
« Reply #14 on: 31 December 2020, 13:31 »
Nice to read your initial  thoughts on the clubsport. Keep the updates coming.
Mk6 GTI  &  Mk1 GTI 
34 years of GTI ownership.

Online fredgroves

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Re: GTI Clubsport, Season 2, Episode 1
« Reply #15 on: 31 December 2020, 13:46 »
I guess the thing i am interested in hearing is what you think about it vs the BMW... Still got a few weeks before I find out myself
Current: Mk8 GTI DSG, Adelaides, DCC, HUD, HK, Winter Pack, Rear Camera.. Aka "HMS Weasel"

Gone: 2017 Mk7.5 GTD,manual, NavPro
Gone: 2014 Mk7 GTD, manual, NavPro, DCC

Offline Exonian

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Re: GTI Clubsport, Season 2, Episode 1
« Reply #16 on: 15 March 2021, 14:06 »
A quick clean of the car on Sunday reminded me it’s possibly time for a brief update now that car has been with me about a week short of three months.

Due to its usage being solely going back and forward to work (rural roads) and even at that it wasn’t in everyday use until a few weeks ago, I’m therefore still running the car in and keeping the revs down until I’m well over 1000 miles.

I haven’t re-read my earlier thoughts on the car so apologies if I’m repeating stuff but I’m sure nobody else can remember either!

Thoughts on the car so far:

Well, initially I didn’t quite know what to make of it, had no idea how any of the new tech worked and thought the car looked very plasticky both inside and out.
Like just about everyone else I hated the look of the mk8 going from its initial photos, hated the idea of the buttonless interior and had little faith in the model being an improvement in any significant area over the preceding model with which it shares its underpinnings.
The first time I stood next to a mk8 GTI I was pleasantly surprised with how it actually looked in the flesh, which considering how awful I thought it looked in photos maybe the only way it could go was upward in my opinions anyway.
The first time I clapped eyes on a mk8 Clubsport was when I picked mine up. It actually genuinely impressed me with its presence, even on the standard wheels.
I drove it home, parked it up and barely looked at it again for a few weeks.
Christmas and New Year came and went, I ordered a set of 19” wheels and tyres, but was still seldom using the GTI CS.

Soon after New Year I went to get the wheels and tyres fitted, driving very gingerly on grim winter roads. The main thing I was tuned into was if there was much difference in ride quality as that was a big talking point on here at the time. I say tuned in, well the media unit threw a fit that day so that was the only thing I had to entertain me.

Fast forward. The car is now my daily driver, 26 - 45 mile commute depending on which roads the highways agency decide to close on any given week.

The Tech. I don’t use that much of it and the car can happily be driven ignoring most of it. I’ve not even attempted the Nav yet, that’ll have to wait until later in the year when I can do a longer journey.
The We Connect thing is just crap. Those that have read my posts on here will know that I’m anything but an intellectual, I’m just a fairly average guy. I’m interested in tech, particularly automotive tech, I’ve spent my entire adult life either modifying cars or reading up on modified cars, I do have a bit of a background in electronics (although I have no interest in computers or gaming) and I seem to be the go to guy with tech problems at work (transport related job). I’m usually up for a bit of a challenge with tech but I am of the opinion that technology is there to assist us otherwise it would be pointless. To assist us it should be either user friendly or at least work in a manner that makes sense when operating it.
In that respect the best I can say of the VW Golf 8 system is it’s in a transient stage of development.
I haven’t quite had the issues some on here have had but I do have recurring gremlins.
The We Connect I have conceded defeat from a “life is too short” point of view. Seriously VW?
Other than that I have the hazard detection temporarily impaired notification come up at roughly the same time in every journey, so much so I barely even notice it doing it now. “Bong!”  :rolleyes:
I get one or two sporadic other error messages and sometimes accompanying warning lights too. I ignore them and they go away. After reading posts on here I can’t even be bothered to ring VW and moan, it’ll keep.
I’ve not used ACC. I don’t drive roads where it would be necessary which to me is a good thing as it would mean using those godawful steering wheel pads more. No thanks.

The interior. Plastic, lots of plastic.
The interior door handles look like they belong in a Fabia. The interior door panels are cheap looking and the door doesn’t shut with the same thunk as Golfs of yore. The main gripe is the cloth on the door panel not even slightly matching the other interior fabrics which is poor in a £37k car.

I like the AID, so much so that I don’t remotely miss not having the HUD. One less thing to go wrong too  :grin:
The one gripe with the dash display is with my choice of virtual dials there is no current gear selected indicator in Comfort (the BMW was the same).
The steering wheel rim is still lovely to hold but as Thomas bluntly said, the haptics are “b0ll0cks” even with familiarity.
I’ve grown used to the dash architecture. I’m ok with the minimalism but the lack of illumination under the central screen is still a nuisance.
Turning off lane assist is still a faff three months on.

The exterior. It’s grown on me a lot. Still some awkward angles but so did the much admired mk7. Where the 7 had a lower but dumpy bum the 8 has hips and looks high at the back despite having the same roofline.
I can actually get my whole girly fist into each exhaust pipe opening complete with a mitt to clean them! They are bigger than they look. The exhaust trims that is, not my hands.
The honeycomb front end looks plasticky (and is!) but again I can get a wash mitt in each hole to clean it properly which was impossible on a mk5/6/7 GTI. The downside is big lumps of debris will be able to collide with the cooling system quite easily unlike the earlier GTI’s. That’s a worry.

I changed the wheels early on as mentioned before. I wanted 19’s for my vanity but didn’t want to wreck expensive wheels on my awful local roads so went with replicas.
I made a very deliberate choice of fitting Reifnitz style wheels. Pretorias look great but have been done to death. My Matt Black TCR Reifnitz could be a bugger to clean due to the non shiny finish gripping brake dust particles and road filth. So glossy it had to be. Gloss black scratches up badly very quickly (another reason the matt lower grills and side sills are a good idea unlike the R’s mass of piano black) so I had no hesitation picking glossy grey which might not be pretty but is a fairly practical colour. Also, as Golf TCR’s are so rare it won’t be immediately obvious to a casual onlooker that my mk8 is wearing wheels from a previous generation car...







Same(ish) angle, nearly two years apart!

Next up, driving dynamics thoughts. But I need some lunch first...
‘23 8R
Serial white Golf owner


Offline Exonian

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Re: GTI Clubsport, Season 2, Episode 1
« Reply #17 on: 15 March 2021, 15:48 »
... and continuing the ‘almost three months’ saga, how the mk8 CS compares to a mk7 CS, a TCR or an M135i X-Drive.

I’m definitely lacking in Benny Leuchter’s driving skills, I’m just as lacking in my access to the grüne hölle, and I’m still running in, so this’ll be fairly brief.

Anyone who has the slightest interest in the mk8 Clubsport will have already read the road tests and watched the YouTube vids. You’ll probably be more familiar with the chassis tweaks than I am too!

From the moment the start button is pressed the car has its own character. They all do for that matter.
The Ed40 had a fairly distinctive note, the TCR had a “burrrrr”, the 135 started with a crescendo of pops and burbles...
The Mk8 CS is quite vocal on start up, I’m sure it’ll occasionally do some pops on a hot start, I can’t be certain though, the radio drowns it out a bit.

The ride reminds me of both my Ed40 and M135i. It’s lively in that you can feel what’s going on down below but not harsh or crashy (so far) and indeed quite compliant considering the lack of DCC, being well damped and controlled at most road speeds.

The suspension feels a little inert in the bends unless you load it up a bit. Similar to the TCR DCC in Normal. Where the 135i shows off its Mini chassis in super sharp steering and fairly roll free entrance into bends, the Clubsport feels more relaxed and vague unless you load up the outside wheel and push the car into the corner. You’d need to drive the Clubby on the paddles to get the most from the chassis. But in general cruising about its really quite supple, if a little busy.
I took it on the worst surfaced urban road I know last week and it actually felt ok. It’s a dreadfully surfaced road next to a new build estate that can literally be unbearable in some vehicles.

I’m really not getting on with DSG. I so wanted to like it after being brainwashed by GTI and R owners over the last 15 years into it being the best thing ever. It isn’t.
Yeah it’s fast if you want to drag race and yeah it’s relaxing if you want to pootle. But most of my driving is neither of those things. Even using the paddles it feels disconnected.
I’m not a die hard manual advocate either and my hand-eye coordination is poor at times to boot.
It’s just the change points in Comfort are often just wrong, then in Sport they’re too aggressive and there is much need for a middle setting. The M135i slush-box gets it more right more of the time.

Engine wise it feels much like the TCR unsurprisingly. There’s power and torque on tap no matter what speed you’re doing (gearbox ratio choices permitting) and it’s just as eager to rev and rev as the previous cars with the R turbo set up (although I’m not sure what turbo this one now runs as I understand they’re different to the mk7/7.5). The M135i engine is a torque heavy lugger which I really like, but the Clubsport engine is quite engaging in different ways without resorting to blasting into the rev limiter all the time.
The M135i was surprisingly good on fuel for a 306PS 4WD car at times, but the TCR and CS seem to have similar economy too. The (manual) Ed40 used to be fractionally better.

The new front brakes are good! Very good. They look superb too.

I’ve always liked the mk7 Golf steering. It’s not too sharp and it’s not too slow witted either. The best compliment I can pay it is it feels like it’s working with me. The mk8 is more of the same but I can’t make my mind up whether Sport or Comfort is best. Neither are as sharp as the M135i steering but the downside of the latter is when you forget to switch off lane assist and the steering wheel wants to wrestle you all the time. Some days I really appreciated the 135i steering, other days it fidgeted too much depending on the road surface etc. where the Golf steering just seems to be unobtrusively doing what it needs to do.

I’d planned on keeping the M135i for 18 months to 2 years before going for something completely different.
There are so many areas where it surpasses the Golf and it was a joy to own.
Events meant it stayed for even less than six months and I was pushed into my first ever PCP (having always owned previous cars as I like the flexibility that brings, not to mention lack of paying extortionate interest payments).
I was a bit unsure of the Clubsport at first. It felt familiar (homely) but different (stark and plasticky).
Three months in and I’ve very much warmed to it.
Twelve months ago I was wondering what the hell VW were thinking, right now I reckon they still know a thing or two.



‘23 8R
Serial white Golf owner


Offline SRGTD

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Re: GTI Clubsport, Season 2, Episode 1
« Reply #18 on: 15 March 2021, 16:24 »
@Exonian; Good follow-up write up.

Your new wheels really suit the mk8 Clubsport. I thought Moonstone was my favourite colour followed by Pure White, but seeing your picture I’m not sure now. The looks have grown on me, but some of that is probably down to familiarity and seeing more mk8’s on the road, although I’ve yet to see a performance mk8 in the metal.

Seems that the driving experience doesn’t disappoint. It’s just a shame that, based on other forum members’ experiences with software issues, VW didn’t do a better job sorting out these issues before launching the mk8.
2020 Polo GTI Plus; Pure White, DSG (because they all are)
Gone but not forgotten;
2016 Polo GTI; Blue Silk
2011 mk6 Golf GTD; Carbon Grey
2007 mk5 Golf GT (2.0 170bhp TDI version); Deep Black Pearl
2002  mk4 Golf GTI (the 150 bhp diesel version); Deep Black Pearl

Offline king monkey

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Re: GTI Clubsport, Season 2, Episode 1
« Reply #19 on: 15 March 2021, 17:50 »
Great write up as always Andy. You always provide a good excuse to sit down with a biscuit and brew.
Current: Clubsport45, white, DCC.

Past: Mk5 gti blue graphite, mk6 gti carbon grey, mk6 gti edition 35 candy white, Mk7 pp gti tornado red, 2016 Audi S3 sportback, 2019 7.5 Golf R.