Hi All,
No idea if anyone is interested but I thought I'd share some thoughts after hitting 50,000 miles
CarI 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.
ProblemsUSB input in front cubby hole broken, HBA broken, Coolant level suddenly dropping, one cornering bulb blown, ACC realignment needed.
ConclusionAll in all I can't think of a better all round car. (Including the Golf R
)