What have you done to your MK 7 today ?

[JoeGTI]

Gave the inside a bit of a clean.  That gloss piano trim sure likes dust!

Nice! Very classy and understated.

Yeah, I like it.  First thoughts were it looked a bit 'cheap quality' compared to the Mk6 leather - there's definitely cost savings evident in the interior of the Mk7.  But now I've had it a couple of days, it's grown on me and I like it.  I do think this leather is going to sag and age more than the old Mk6 leather though.

The indicator and wiper stalks seem a bit flimsy but it's a minor point, and in no way detracts from the 'awesomeness' of the car.  What a drive it is!

I'd have thought the opposite Rebecca. I've had MK5 and 6 too and the MK7's interior is generally far higher quality imo. I don't think the leather quality is inferior (but it's probably not "better" either!). I like it too, it really lifts the cabin - it feels much more premium than my cloth-interior'd GTI before it.

I dabbed some Glipitone leather conditioner on my driver's seat last week and it came up nicely. I was surprised how much blue dye came off it onto the cloth - obviously from jeans, etc. If the seats were cream coloured they'd be a nightmare...

[Booth11]

Yeah, I like it.  First thoughts were it looked a bit 'cheap quality' compared to the Mk6 leather - there's definitely cost savings evident in the interior of the Mk7.  But now I've had it a couple of days, it's grown on me and I like it.  I do think this leather is going to sag and age more than the old Mk6 leather though.

The indicator and wiper stalks seem a bit flimsy but it's a minor point, and in no way detracts from the 'awesomeness' of the car.  What a drive it is!

I'd have thought the opposite Rebecca. I've had MK5 and 6 too and the MK7's interior is generally far higher quality imo. I don't think the leather quality is inferior (but it's probably not "better" either!). I like it too, it really lifts the cabin - it feels much more premium than my cloth-interior'd GTI before it.

I dabbed some Glipitone leather conditioner on my driver's seat last week and it came up nicely. I was surprised how much blue dye came off it onto the cloth - obviously from jeans, etc. If the seats were cream coloured they'd be a nightmare...

Hmm, I don't know really. There are some things that are clearly superior, but other things that seem lesser. On the whole though I do like the interior a lot.  I love the steering wheel, especially the gloss black spokes and the centre, despite it being thinner than the previous one.  The leather on it feels much harder but that's because it's new and will soften over time.  And I prefer the carbon effect trim to the Mk6 pinstripe which was always a bit incongruous.  And I love the white stitching on the seats, and the fact the leather is actually proper black, and not grey.  I even like the headrests a lot, and I was a big fan of the old style, but these ones are lovely and suit the car.  All in all, it's a very nice cabin.

As for other things,  dare I say it, I really like the e-brake, words I thought I would never utter, lol.  And, even more surprising than that, I don't mind the Start/Stop!  Though I've already perfected the way of just lightly brushing the brake pedal to stop it kicking in.  The biggest thing to get used to is the massive turning circle.  Having to make adjustments to accommodate that.  I used to be able to drive up my driveway and swing round into 'my spot' in one action, but now I have to do it in 3 manoeuvres.  No big deal, just a change of habit.

Gliptone is fantastic stuff!  Yeah it's great for dye removal - cream leather would very quickly be blue leather!  I switched to using it a few months ago and wish I'd tried it sooner.  Smells divine and really easy to use.  Didn't use it today as just gave it a quick dust off and wipe down with some Auto Finesse Total Interior Cleaner as a shortcut, but have my Gliptone twins at the ready for when I give the R a proper going over.

[Exonian]

Interesting to read your initial thoughts Ms. B, and yes, those stalks are a bit cheapo! Having now lived with a mk7 for a few weeks under two years I've become so familiar with some bits that it's good to be reminded by a pair of fresh eyes some of the details.
I'm a bit split on whether the R interior is just a bit too black or not and on balance I prefer the GTI interior with the red accents.
Maybe a bit more blue trim would have been nice in the R? Maybe VW tried that and it didn't work? We will probably never know.
I was never a big fan of the mk6 steering wheel but the mk5 GTI 'wheel is head and shoulders above all the other steering wheels in any Golf I've owned IMO. I even prefer it to some of the nice MOMO items I had in pre-airbag days. The mk7 steering wheel is 'OK' but the buttons are a bit fiddly.

I found the steering a bit twitchy in Sport setting or Race or whatever it is in the R after a while so just have everything in Normal now and to be honest I find the settings a gimmick. One shared by almost all marques though. But it's interesting that you're another that has commented on the turning circle.
Wigit mentioned this a few times amongst others but I hadn't really noticed it until I tried a tight turn one day in the R.
When I first got my GTI I swung into a tight layby that I use to turn around on a coast road route (beautiful estuary views) I occasionally use and noted that it turned into it sharper than my mk6 did. It's a really bad angle to drive into too requiring a sharp 180 degree turn.
So I can't quite fathom whether the mk7 has a worse turning circle or not but your driveway suggests it's not good!

Good to see you're bonding with the car well anyway!

And to those suffering enjoying Legoland this weekend - you have my sympathies!
You must be a soft touch though Ms. B as there's no way my worse half would have let me skive off on a jolly if she was taking the snot nosed ones away for the weekend. I'd have been press ganged into driving them.
Mind you mine are a bit old for all that now. As I type this at 5am my eldest is still not home after going out with his mates for the night! Oh to be young again! The only reason I see 5 am is because I've got to work stupid hours....

[MXResonance]

Checking the car over again to make sure I hadn't missed anything from the handover and noticed some stickers which were peeling off under the intercooler, just behind the ACC/City braking radar unit.

Has anyone else got these stickers on their car? I will be trying to remove later as I don't want them to come off completely and get somewhere they shouldn't.

[Booth11]

Interesting to read your initial thoughts Ms. B, and yes, those stalks are a bit cheapo! Having now lived with a mk7 for a few weeks under two years I've become so familiar with some bits that it's good to be reminded by a pair of fresh eyes some of the details.
I'm a bit split on whether the R interior is just a bit too black or not and on balance I prefer the GTI interior with the red accents.
Maybe a bit more blue trim would have been nice in the R? Maybe VW tried that and it didn't work? We will probably never know.
I was never a big fan of the mk6 steering wheel but the mk5 GTI 'wheel is head and shoulders above all the other steering wheels in any Golf I've owned IMO. I even prefer it to some of the nice MOMO items I had in pre-airbag days. The mk7 steering wheel is 'OK' but the buttons are a bit fiddly.

I found the steering a bit twitchy in Sport setting or Race or whatever it is in the R after a while so just have everything in Normal now and to be honest I find the settings a gimmick. One shared by almost all marques though. But it's interesting that you're another that has commented on the turning circle.
Wigit mentioned this a few times amongst others but I hadn't really noticed it until I tried a tight turn one day in the R.
When I first got my GTI I swung into a tight layby that I use to turn around on a coast road route (beautiful estuary views) I occasionally use and noted that it turned into it sharper than my mk6 did. It's a really bad angle to drive into too requiring a sharp 180 degree turn.
So I can't quite fathom whether the mk7 has a worse turning circle or not but your driveway suggests it's not good!

Good to see you're bonding with the car well anyway!

And to those suffering enjoying Legoland this weekend - you have my sympathies!
You must be a soft touch though Ms. B as there's no way my worse half would have let me skive off on a jolly if she was taking the snot nosed ones away for the weekend. I'd have been press ganged into driving them.
Mind you mine are a bit old for all that now. As I type this at 5am my eldest is still not home after going out with his mates for the night! Oh to be young again! The only reason I see 5 am is because I've got to work stupid hours....

5am?  The night is still young, for the young! 

I don't mind the blackness of the R interior, but agree, it is lacking something and maybe you put your finger on it with the suggestion of a bit more blue.  Although, if overdone, could be very tacky.  As you say, perhaps they tried it and thought better of it.  Maybe some blue footwell LEDs might be enough to lift the interior.  They have been added to the 'future buys' list.

Yes, the Mk5 GTI steering wheel was a classic, a hard act to follow.  But I do like the Mk7 version, although the button placements are not as intuitive or ergonomically positioned as they were on the Mk6 steering wheel. And I'm really missing having a mute button which I used countless times a day, when having to listen to my child's constant chatter from the back seat, interrupting my enjoyment of my music.

Without a doubt, the turning circle is bigger.  Even getting into certain parking spaces requires an additional manoeuvre, either that or my driving has deteriorated rapidly overnight, lol.

As for Legoland?  Well day 1 of 2 complete and I have survived, though I feel like I've been financially mugged, again and again.  Braced for more fun and extortion tommorow, then the drive home. Drive to Windsor in the R was a total breeze, quiet, refined, and at times, very rapid. 

PS, You're the same age as me iirc, so not 'a bit too old' at all. 

[Exonian]

MXRes, I don't think the stickers are anything to worry about, you'll get plenty worse things come through the holes in the grille and around the radar during the winter months. The worse that will likely happen is they'll get gradually washed off and might stick to the radiator for a few mins before dropping away in the void.

Ms B, without boring myself to sleep by rereading my post, I think I was referring to my snot nosed kids being a bit old for Legoland now, one being nearly 20 and one 17. Mind you along with wifey they're Disneyland (WDW) addicts, but that's more restaurant related than anything else - if there's food involved and they're not paying they're there in a shot!
I did take them to Legoland once, along with my mum and sister. I think we were all traumatised by the trip so never returned! Mostly due to the fact my sister's MX5 decided to part with its exhaust en route in the middle of somewhere rural on the A303. That caused a bit of a delay to the trip as not many rural garages or exhaust centres carried MX5 exhausts in stock (funnily enough). I still don't think my sister's car maintenance schedules are any better to this day.

Anyway, well done for surviving day 1 and try to focus on the fact you don't have Bridgestones that would cause you too much anguish and end up on eBay within a week. The money you've saved by not immediately upgrading tyres has been invested into the Windsor economy!!!

I actually quite like my Bridgestones. I was encouraged by my R32 owning work mate to put the R through its paces the other evening on a bit of private road. All I can say is I survived, Bridgestones and all. Well done the the engineers and electronics boffins at VW for the engine, gearbox and chassis. Impressive stuff.
The car smelled a bit warm after all that...

[Booth11]

Checking the car over again to make sure I hadn't missed anything from the handover and noticed some stickers which were peeling off under the intercooler, just behind the ACC/City braking radar unit.

Has anyone else got these stickers on their car? I will be trying to remove later as I don't want them to come off completely and get somewhere they shouldn't.

No stickers on mine.  Must have been a lot dotted around the car originally though along with transport wraps, as there's a lot of glue residue.  Removed a bit of it with Tardis last week, but needs a full going over.

Just peel them off and a decent solvent will bring off the sticker residue.

[Booth11]

MXRes, I don't think the stickers are anything to worry about, you'll get plenty worse things come through the holes in the grille and around the radar during the winter months. The worse that will likely happen is they'll get gradually washed off and might stick to the radiator for a few mins before dropping away in the void.

Ms B, without boring myself to sleep by rereading my post, I think I was referring to my snot nosed kids being a bit old for Legoland now, one being nearly 20 and one 17. Mind you along with wifey they're Disneyland (WDW) addicts, but that's more restaurant related than anything else - if there's food involved and they're not paying they're there in a shot!
I did take them to Legoland once, along with my mum and sister. I think we were all traumatised by the trip so never returned! Mostly due to the fact my sister's MX5 decided to part with its exhaust en route in the middle of somewhere rural on the A303. That caused a bit of a delay to the trip as not many rural garages or exhaust centres carried MX5 exhausts in stock (funnily enough). I still don't think my sister's car maintenance schedules are any better to this day.

Anyway, well done for surviving day 1 and try to focus on the fact you don't have Bridgestones that would cause you too much anguish and end up on eBay within a week. The money you've saved by not immediately upgrading tyres has been invested into the Windsor economy!!!

I actually quite like my Bridgestones. I was encouraged by my R32 owning work mate to put the R through its paces the other evening on a bit of private road. All I can say is I survived, Bridgestones and all. Well done the the engineers and electronics boffins at VW for the engine, gearbox and chassis. Impressive stuff.
The car smelled a bit warm after all that...

Maybe your kids are not too old.  Seen plenty of adults seemingly without kids at Legoland yesterday.  Slightly worrying.   Maybe they are Lego fanatics, or stag/hen weekenders??

The man's rugby beano ended on a sour note with England crashing out. 

I'm sure you didn't need much encouragement to stretch your R's legs (wheels/tyres).   Glad the Bodgestones survived, as did you.  But the Contis would run (drive) circles round them, and you know it. 

Ah well, time to steel myself for more Lego fun (pain)!

[Exonian]

Yeah, the rugby score must've meant he ended up having almost as good a time as you did yesterday!
Still, if you're going to lose its just as well to lose properly rather than "we almost..."

My lads are definitely too old Ms B, I insist they are, unless they drive themselves there!

As for the tyres, you're getting to sound more like you know who by the day!
The chassis has far more talent and nerve than I do whatever rubber is on there.
I have a set of 19" Contis stacked up in the garage with my old wheels attached. But I'm quite happy running the standard set up. For a while at least...

Endure Enjoy your last day amongst the plastic bricks and rest assured you'll enjoy the journey home far more!! The Tarmac can take the brunt of your weekend's value for money anguish! 

[MXResonance]

Managed to find the largest parking bay in the whole of Kent!