GTI Review and links.

[Exonian]

I am driving a Golf GTI TCR now because I successfully rejected an AMG A35, build quality was awful. In fact it was the most poorly built car I have driven in 20 years.

*Hopefully* aside from build quality issues how do you find the TCR compares to the A35?
Obviously the interior is the A35’s tour de force subject to how heavily optioned it is, but how does a 7 plus year old Golf design feel after ultra modern AMG?
How do the two compare in driving dynamics and performance (seat of pants)?

Chance to do your own mini review here Chris!

Reason I ask is a colleague of mine is very interested in leasing or PCPing an A35.

[ChrisTCR]

I am driving a Golf GTI TCR now because I successfully rejected an AMG A35, build quality was awful. In fact it was the most poorly built car I have driven in 20 years.

*Hopefully* aside from build quality issues how do you find the TCR compares to the A35?
Obviously the interior is the A35’s tour de force subject to how heavily optioned it is, but how does a 7 plus year old Golf design feel after ultra modern AMG?
How do the two compare in driving dynamics and performance (seat of pants)?

Chance to do your own mini review here Chris!

Reason I ask is a colleague of mine is very interested in leasing or PCPing an A35.

The A35 was (in my chosen spec Sun Yellow/Full Aero Pack) a fantastic looking, attention grabbing car. I loved driving it and the tech (when it worked) was outstanding.

The diff in the TCR is great, however it doesn't give you the levels of grip and confidence that the A35 did, in fact the A35 felt like it was stuck to the road, mine only had the passive dampers/suspension and TBH it was crying out of the active setup (the ride was very hard). If I were to buy another one the active dampers would be the first option I would select.

The interior in the A35 was fantastic, however the quality of some of the materials were very questionable. Also I wasn't happy that it had the same seats as normal A class's. I know the Golf in real terms has an "old" interior but I think it still looks good, and its certainly put together better than the A35's was.

Overall I would still get another A35, however I think I would wait until they are about a year old (or mid life cycle) when hopefully Mercedes will have fixed all the issues with them.

If there is anything specific you would like to know, let me know.

[Exonian]

Thanks for your thoughts Chris.
It’s good to hear you’d get another A35 after all your issues. Early models in a production run with lots of tech can indeed suffer gremlins!

After a yellow A35 Aero I guess the only Golf with enough visual impact is indeed the TCR!
The diff takes a bit of getting used to, traction is amazingly good with it once steering lock is applied. It takes a bit of getting used to as natural tendency on a FWD hot hatch is to lift off before oversteer kicks in, where as the VAQ diff likes you to feed in more power and takes on a very neutral cornering style almost like a mid engined car.
Interesting thoughts about interior build quality too, a friend of mine in the trade said he thought the Golf was better quality inside than the A Class. Not bad for a 7 year old nearing replacement.

One thing my colleague wasn’t sure on was the ambient lighting in the Merc, the top spec cars coming with lots of disco lights but do the lower spec cars have any ambient lighting?

Apologies all for thread hijack!
At least there aren’t many new review links around and this is sort of a mini review!

[ChrisTCR]

Thanks for your thoughts Chris.
It’s good to hear you’d get another A35 after all your issues. Early models in a production run with lots of tech can indeed suffer gremlins!

After a yellow A35 Aero I guess the only Golf with enough visual impact is indeed the TCR!
The diff takes a bit of getting used to, traction is amazingly good with it once steering lock is applied. It takes a bit of getting used to as natural tendency on a FWD hot hatch is to lift off before oversteer kicks in, where as the VAQ diff likes you to feed in more power and takes on a very neutral cornering style almost like a mid engined car.
Interesting thoughts about interior build quality too, a friend of mine in the trade said he thought the Golf was better quality inside than the A Class. Not bad for a 7 year old nearing replacement.

One thing my colleague wasn’t sure on was the ambient lighting in the Merc, the top spec cars coming with lots of disco lights but do the lower spec cars have any ambient lighting?

Apologies all for thread hijack!
At least there aren’t many new review links around and this is sort of a mini review!

No worries, I believe the A class comes with quite a lot of the tech from the base models up. I think it is how Mercedes are pushing them vs other brands in the same car class.

The ambient lighting in them does seem to be love or hate, I loved it and to be fair you can have much or as little of it turned on as you want.

Coming from Audi's and BMW's I was surprised at the poor quality of the interiors in the Mercedes, considering they are in the same premium class and price bracket. If you are (as I was) coming from an Audi they build and overall quality of the materials will be a big hurdle to overcome.

[Exonian]

Thanks for that 

My colleague is looking to lease so wants to keep spec as low as possible.

A friend of mine in the trade once said that when Mercedes stopped concentrating on luxury cars and chased the volume fleet market it appeared like they’d hired Renault to do the interiors! Maybe he had a point!

[ChrisTCR]

Thanks for that 

My colleague is looking to lease so wants to keep spec as low as possible.

A friend of mine in the trade once said that when Mercedes stopped concentrating on luxury cars and chased the volume fleet market it appeared like they’d hired Renault to do the interiors! Maybe he had a point!

If Renault are doing their interiors that would explain a lot.

[Exonian]

Thanks for that 

My colleague is looking to lease so wants to keep spec as low as possible.

A friend of mine in the trade once said that when Mercedes stopped concentrating on luxury cars and chased the volume fleet market it appeared like they’d hired Renault to do the interiors! Maybe he had a point!

If Renault are doing their interiors that would explain a lot.

I think he was just mockingly comparing the quality.
Then again maybe Merc headhunted in people to see where costs could be saved, lots of car makers have some strange tie ins with each other that seem mismatches.

[ChrisTCR]

Thanks for that 

My colleague is looking to lease so wants to keep spec as low as possible.

A friend of mine in the trade once said that when Mercedes stopped concentrating on luxury cars and chased the volume fleet market it appeared like they’d hired Renault to do the interiors! Maybe he had a point!

If Renault are doing their interiors that would explain a lot.

I think he was just mockingly comparing the quality.
Then again maybe Merc headhunted in people to see where costs could be saved, lots of car makers have some strange tie ins with each other that seem mismatches.

I understand the W177 which is the engine which comes in the A class was developed by Renault, so its not a stretch to believe they also had something to do with the interiors.

[DanDuda48]

Another GTI Mk7 review:
https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/volkswagen/golf-gti-mk7

[ar899]

Having driven Renaults, I wouldn't have any qualms with their engines and I believe Mercedes use at least one in the C class line up. Interiors though, is a different issue......