My clubsport is finally here, and it’s awesome!

[Jedidrive]

That is super glossy! thanks for the recommendation to.

[The_Doc]

@The_Doc; I’m not normally a fan of black alloys but the combination of Dolphin Grey paintwork and gloss black alloys looks really good . It’s also good that VW offer an alloy wheel option that isn’t diamond cut (I dislike diamond cut alloys with a passion!).

Don’t stay parked on those double yellow lines for too long; you don’t want to get a parking ticket with your new car!

@SRGTD; Don’t worry, I’m safe for around 3 hours thanks to the small bit of plastic sitting on top of the instrument cluster XD. I’m also glad for some non-diamond cut options too, especially with the Dolphin.

Hopefully some nice bronze wheels on the way to replace them though. The gloss black looks a little out of place with the matte decals and window surrounds.

@exonian; agreed. It’s still shiny today after 3 days of rain, which is impressive. Looks much better in the light of day though. I was just too excited to take pics before driving, and then it was dark 

[Exonian]

Bronze wheels will certainly stand out! What make/style have you plumped for?
They’ll make a great contrast with the grey.

Do you have any initial areas where it compares favourably with the A35 and any negatives? Early days yet I know but some things tend to be noticed immediately

[The_Doc]

Revo RF019s all being well. I loved them on my 7.5, can’t wait to get back into them.

I had some pretty bad experiences with Mercedes with my A35 that definitely coloured the experience, but from what I’ve seen so far, the Mercedes had a nicer infotainment screen, and the larger instrument cluster was nice. The one in the GTI seems like they had space for a larger one, and then went smaller to save money. It’s smaller than the one on my old 7.5 I’m sure. The rest of the interior, I prefer the Clubby over the A35. It feels well built in a way the merc didn’t. Nothing creaks or moves when you touch it. The seats are a big step up. Although they’re Microfibre suede not leather, they’re much comfier whilst at the same time being way more supportive. The ride is nicer too. I had DCC on both cars, and even in comfort the a35 was fairly crashy and hard. The Sport and Sport+ settings were too hard for British roads and made the car bounce from bump to bump. The ACC is super nice to have, the a35 had regular cruise control. I do miss the steering wheel of the a35, it was easy to use and felt solid. The one in the clubby is nice, but I have found it a bit clunky to use the controls, but I’m sure that will become second nature with time. The paddles are also a let down from the a35, being small and plastic, and further behind the wheel. The clubby also lacks the drama of the Merc in sport+, at least from what I remember of my test drive. The exhaust is way quieter and it doesn’t have the outrageous body styling of the a35 with all its “aero” but that’s not a bad thing. The Clubby is the perfect blend of understated and sporty. It does sound nicer to me than the Merc did in any other mode though, there’s a nice deep grumble you didn’t get from the AMG. It’s also much easier to cruise down an a or b road in. The A35 was all attack all the time, it didn’t do civilised well.

I had the updated stereo on both the Merc and the clubby, and the Harman Kardan system beats the Burmester system in the Merc. Wireless AA/Carplay is nice to have too.

[jon87]

Congrats Doc! Looks amazing.

IMO Dolphin Grey is the best colour for the MK8 GTI and works so well with the red stripe. Reminds me a bit of my Carbon steel Grey in the MK7.

[Exonian]

Thanks Doc, that was a really good insight into how different two cars from the same sector go about their business

[Exonian]

… oh, and the wheels, I did think if might be REVOs, they’d be near the top of my shopping list too.
Better offset than the standard 19’s too so will pack out the arches well

[The_Doc]

… oh, and the wheels, I did think if might be REVOs, they’d be near the top of my shopping list too.
Better offset than the standard 19’s too so will pack out the arches well

Yeah, the ET42 offset of the Estorils are much better than the rims on the older GTIs, but 45 is still the way to go. Slightly wider as well, so can fit wider 245 or even possibly 255 tyres in future too. Must say I’ve been very impressed with the Hankook Ventus S1s it came on. Not as good as the trusty PS4s but still a good tyre, probably the best I’ve ever had fitted from the factory, especially in the wet weather we’ve had.

[Bluto]

Congratulations The_Doc, glad the long wait is finally over and you've got your Clubsport  .  Looks really nice and super shiny!  The company you've used for the PPF and ceramic coating have done a grand job there.  Stunning.

[The_Doc]

They really have. What’s impressive is how well they’ve hidden the edges of the film. Unless you know where they are and get up very close when looking, they’re invisible. And the match on the gloss between the PPF and the ceramic is perfect too. My first time using them for detailing work, though I’ve been buying products from them for years, and I’m glad I did. Makes the work I had done on my old merc look like amateur hour.