Test drove a mk7 gti - thoughts and questions

[Ej1749]

Hi everyone. I had a go in a manual mk7 gti yesterday and in all honesty felt a bit underwhelmed. Hardly felt any quicker than my mk6 gti even though it has 70Nm more torque. Also felt more artificial, hard to explain exactly how. I did like the gearshift though and the more modern interior. Build quality all good maybe slightly less solid than mk6 but not much in it.

Few questions I have:-

There was a faint rattle during cold start, are timing chains an issue on the Mk7 platform?

The test drive was for 10 mins or so and dual carriageways, I noticed the oil went up to 100C really quickly not sure if that's something or nothing?

There was a very faint whirring noise with the clutch up that went away with clutch down. The owner said it may be the release bearing but the clutch feel bite and shift was fine. However I'm not sure if the clutch would need replacing soon? Mileage was 83,000.

There was no record of water pump replacement or heater matrix. Were these an issue on every mk7 gti and something I should keep money aside for?

Thanks in advance.

I was about to trade in my GTD for a GTI (Thank god I didn't as it was just before the fuel price increase). It had about 65k miles and when we got back from the test drive the car was smoking like crazy from the exhaust. The power is very underwhelming, but a stage 1 map is almost a necessity and transforms the car. You won't be underwhelmed with a good stage 1 map... oh and a stronger rear engine mount insert to stop the tyres from hopping and banging all over the place in 1st and 2nd. An insert is the best and cheapest mod to a car in my opinion.

[Adam T7]

Each to their own

[madstaff]

Underwelming?? I'm pretty sure 245ps is more than enough for the majority of people on here for 99% of the time.

The rest is just pub talk.

I have 290 odd and probably use 20% of that on a daily basis.

[symonh2000]

The only times that I can sometimes find my 230bhp PP lacking is when overtaking the many slow arses around this area.

Where as my 330d would just rocket past without a sweat the GTI takes a bit more planning and more careful selection of gears.

[Adam T7]

The benefit of c.480 ft/lbs torque on tap

[willni]

The benefit of 6 cylinders versus 4.

[symonh2000]

The benefit of about 330bhp (was remapped) vs 230bhp and RWD to get the power down...

The Golf is much better in other areas though. It is lighter and better suited to the country roads here in Oxfordshire, and is a better family car due to having more space and more doors.

Fuel economy was about the same, obviously the petrol engine sounds better and is smoother.

[ub7rm]

Its an interesting observation with the oil temperature.  I have a GTD and a b9 S4 (ignore the signature - brief flirtation with the dark side).  And even in the GTD the oil temp shoots up to around 100 quite quickly and stays up at that level.

The S4 on the other hand takes a good bit longer to get up to temp and then only goes up to 100 when caning it, even then it drops back down very quickly.  Of course it has a much bigger volume of oil in the engine and I suspect a more industrial cooling system - but shows that the oil is worked very hard in modern 4 pots and changing the oil regularly is critical. 

[symonh2000]

Too long oil change intervals are the cause of many problems on modern cars. Usually the timing chain and tensioners are amongst the first things to suffer. Dirty oil doesn't lubricate as well, and contaminants in it can attack plastics making them brittle. Hence why some marques have had issues with plastic timing chain tensioners breaking up.

They do serve the purpose of making a car look cheap to run and service for the first few years of it's life however which makes lease/hire companies happy. Just pity the owners who buy the car later in it's life.

[Yusee]

I don’t think you can really appreciate a mk7 gti on a test drive,
It’s not that sort of car.
It’s a car to be appreciated over time, perfectly suited for daily duties and very enjoyable to drive.

I’ve thought about stage 1 map now and again, but have not done it yet for the reason that madstaff gives- I would very rarely use more than 245ps in a c1300kg car

I’d agree with OP’s comments on gear shift- very slick and satisfying- and on build quality-
It’s really not far off mk5/6 quality in my experience- mine is 3.5 years old and no rattles/squeaks at all from the cabin.