Author Topic: 3 month report  (Read 1073 times)

Offline king monkey

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3 month report
« on: 14 May 2022, 15:14 »
Hi everyone,

After 3 months ish of the 45, I thought I’d post my findings so far.

Interior
Personally I really like it. It’s very much like previous Golfs and I’m not sure there’s a drop in quality as in perceived. The seats are exceptionally comfy and really grip and hold you in when it’s twisty. The lack of buttons hasn’t caused me any problems and once you’ve had it that way, I think it’s be hard to go back to a 7.5. My mate has one and it felt really dated climbing back in, especially the huge DSG shifter which just seems so outdated in comparison. One thing I would say is that if anyones thinking about getting the R paddles, don’t, just get them. They massively improve the feel of the gear changes. Massive thanks to all those who gave me much needed advice to fit them.

Drive
It’s just brilliant. Heads and shoulders above my R imo. It’s just so purposeful and eager. It turns in far sharper than any previous performance Golf I’ve owned by a mile. Throttle response seems far better than the 7.5 with no dead spot that I’ve felt so far.
It seems to have a much broader range of talents than my R. Far more relaxing on a longer journey but more exciting on a twisty road. Some of that is probably linked to the akra exhaust which still makes me laugh every time it pops and bangs.
Mpg is far better but the range seems to be the same as the R which is odd.

Looks
Right from the start I’ll say that I personally prefer the looks of the 7.5 still. From some angles the 45 can look a bit bulbous. But, I can’t believe how many compliments the car’s had or how many thumbs up from other drivers. It’s been amazing. Those who know what it is really really seem to like it. I certainly wouldn’t swap it for anything else out there.

Negatives?
The only thing I’d say is that the decal near my driver side front wheel arch did rip in half after I’d washed the car. It wasn’t a problem as I replaced it myself with a sample of vinyl I’d bought for £3. It’s perfect now too. Really easy repair. I’m just very careful around the decals now.

I’m so pleased I waited those long 8 months for the car. Anyone waiting won’t be disappointed.
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.

Offline Exonian

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Re: 3 month report
« Reply #1 on: 14 May 2022, 21:22 »
Really good to read your running report Michele.
Even better to see you’re enjoying the ownership experience so far.  :smiley:

Nice photos too  :whistle: :laugh:
‘23 8R
Serial white Golf owner


Offline king monkey

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Re: 3 month report
« Reply #2 on: 14 May 2022, 21:37 »
I broke forum rule 1 there Andy. Sorry!
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.

Offline king monkey

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Re: 3 month report
« Reply #3 on: 14 May 2022, 21:41 »





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.

Offline Exonian

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Re: 3 month report
« Reply #4 on: 14 May 2022, 22:18 »
Such a lovely looking car  :cool:
‘23 8R
Serial white Golf owner


Offline king monkey

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Re: 3 month report
« Reply #5 on: 14 May 2022, 22:25 »
Such a lovely looking car  :cool:

Thanks Andy!
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.

Offline Exonian

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Re: 3 month report
« Reply #6 on: 14 May 2022, 23:24 »
Obviously mine’s just the lower calorie Clubsport but much of the basics are the same.

Interior wise, I agree, the lack of buttons are a non issue. The steering wheel haptic pads I’m still not a fan of from a purely tactile viewpoint. A bit like moving to the iPhone 8 after having a proper home button on the previous generation phones, I didn’t ever take to that so continued with older phones until the button was no more.

The gear bean does make levers suddenly feel outmoded. However there’s still something nice about the manual interaction of a gear lever, be it manual or auto ‘box. Aesthetically the bean looks neater and once one is familiar with exactly where it is it does seem significantly quicker to engage drive and reverse when doing a three point turn or recovering from making a hash of reversing into a parking bay. Parking never was my strong point. Or for the purile, you can flick the bean quite rapidly once you no longer need to fish around for it, however there’s no getting away from the satisfaction of a knob in your hand.
Yeah, sorry…

Dash wise, I immediately gelled with the Bauhaus minimalism of the dash but the interior does feel marginally less plush than a mk7. I think the shades of grey might be the reason. It reminds me of moving from mk4 to mk5 Golf. The mk4 definitely felt more plush in its blackness but the greyness of the mk5 gave it a cheaper but more modern look. History repeating.

Externally the mk7 generation cars do still look better from most angles. I totally agree there. The mk8 has some bad angles and bulges. But it also has some sharpness when viewed from its best angles. Front and rear three quarter views of the mk8’s do look rakish.

The steering is definitely super sharp and precise but not overly pointy. One of the car’s best features along with the progressive brakes and almost lag free engine which are all slight steps up from the mk7(.5) and clearly where much of the development money was spent.

Obviously the rest of the unique 45 features I can’t comment on but they are definitely the icing on a damn fine cake.
Maybe a slight shame VW didn’t add glossy side skirts and bumper trim on the 45. The matte plastic standard GTI issue is practical in those road debris high impact areas but glossy would look a bit more special. There’s a brand new Golf eTSI parked not 50 feet away from my own GTI CS which has glossy mouldings and they do add a touch of class without being bulbous like 8R skirts.
‘23 8R
Serial white Golf owner


Offline Splashalot

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Re: 3 month report
« Reply #7 on: 15 May 2022, 04:09 »

Drive
....... It turns in far sharper than any previous performance Golf I’ve owned by a mile. Throttle response seems far better than the 7.5 with no dead spot that I’ve felt so far.

These ^ two points are possibly enough to tempt me back into a GTI in the future.  Addresses my only two gripes with the 7.5.  Maybe at the 8.5(?) update.
1972 Turquoise Superbug S; 1978 Miami Blue Golf GLS; 2007 Mk5 Tornado Red Golf GTI; 2017 Golf 7.5 Trendline Tungsten Silver 1.4ltr 110TSi with DAP; 2018 Tornado Red GTI with DAP.  All MT.  Current: 2021 Mini Cooper SE, British racing green.

Offline fredgroves

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Re: 3 month report
« Reply #8 on: 15 May 2022, 09:54 »
I'd agree with what has been said here with regard to my mere GTI... Bar the software problems and the bloody suspension noise...

Hopefully a dealer visit soon will see the end of both because the rest of the car is really good.

BTW I don't think the 8.5 will see them roll back on the minimalist design at all. In fact, I even doubt if there will be a 8.5.
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