Morning all and a merry Christmas!
It's been a while since I've been on the forum, and mainly because I've been waiting for the delivery of my GTI..... Well, after just over a 12 month wait (not all VW's fault) I finally took delivery 3 weeks ago, so now I've had a chance to spend a bit of time with it, I thought I'd share my views! I know this is old news a bit as most people already have their standard GTI's
Spec:
Standard GTI (Manual)
19 inch Adelaides
DCC
HK
OK, so let's just swiftly move over what everyone already knows.... The infotainment is appalling! slow, laggy, a different issue every time I turn on the ignition - including:
(Software version 1788)
Climate Control controls disappearing completely (happened a few times)
User Profile not available, won't load (this has been for the last couple of days)
System resetting/switching off while driving - regularly
horrible cut out of stereo and 'white noise'
Safety features 'not available' - front assist (regularly) rear and side also
It's far worse than my 2017 Passat that I've just got rid of which also had virtual cockpit and was so much better (map in VC was standard and you could amend/cancel/choose destination from steering wheel controls) and there was never any lag and issues with it
Steering Wheel controls - I quite like these, I've had no accidental button presses at all and I think reviewers were overly harsh on this - only the volume and track select are soft touch sliders - the rest of the buttons, you actually need to put pressure on so pretty difficult to accidentally press i feel
On to the drive -
Well, it's great fun! Manual Gearbox is smooth and direct, My only slight gripe (and it's probably only personal preference) is I wish there was a shorter travel distance for gear change. I'm happy I made the choice of a manual, I just prefer that extra control, although fuel consumption is taking a battering at 28mpg atm (hoping it will improve once my exuberance dies down a bit!
)
It's quick enough for me, I had considered waiting for the Clubsport, but again, happy I made this choice - I do a lot of miles and think this will suit me more - it's a proper family compromise hot hatch.
DCC is lightening quick to respond to changes, and does make a huge difference to handling, although I tend to keep on Comfort for everyday driving and never choose any settings harder than Sport - I like my spine.....
Harmon Kardon - I had the Dynaudio upgrade in the Passat and thought it would be hard pressed to better and wasn't expecting much (especially having heard some HK upgrades in some other brands like Toyota) but I have been very pleasantly surprised! punchy, controlled and bright - as a rock and metal fan, it can be tricky to get a decent sound sometimes, but this is brilliant!
Overall, I'm happy with the car, but only because it's a GTI - I think if I had a standard Golf with these issues I'd be very hard pressed to find any positives!
I hope anyone looking for more info finds this slightly useful and if you have any questions, please do shout!
