Reflections

[P6GTD]

I’ve been a forum member for about 10 years and I feel the whole vibe is, understandably after this long, getting a wee bit tired. And, not intending to buy a Mk 8 at any time, the buzz of anticipating a brand new car has gone for us Mk7 addicts.

So here’s a wee “pub” conversation from me.

Changing cars : I have changed my Golfs every 18 m to 24 months until now. I am well past third anniversary of getting this one (new) and just can’t see anything I want more than what I have. So first question ……… will ownership of 7s and 7.5s soon set some kind of record for keeping? Certainly the relative dearth of 7.5 GTIs within 200 miles of me would suggest so.

Wheels : I loved Austins and if I could have had them instead of Parkers I would have. But…… the Parkers steadily grew on me and now I wouldn’t change them. Now the controversial bit…. I almost ordered Brescias but you know what? I think the GTI looks better on 18s than 19s. It’s a proportion thing.
Does anyone else agree or indeed want to let down my tyres?

OK, now …..

If you could start again what would you spec and what would you not?

Apart from Indium Grey (which I would go for again -gorgeous) the only thing I specced was DCC. If I was to start again I would delete DCC and spend my money instead on Art Velour. Apart from that, nothing. (I was tempted by pano roof but heard so many complaints that decided not).

OK. I’ve finished my pint…….it’s your round!

[Watts]

Cheers P6

Right, now I've downed my pint, here goes...

I agree about the forum, it is a bit repetitive but that's inevitable when you've been anywhere for a long time. I still enjoy visiting and finding out about new things/getting encouraged to spend my hard earned on meaningless stuff

18" wheel preference is heresy, burn the blasphemer

Actually 18 or 19 doesn't bother me, as long as I like the wheel for whatever reason, that's all that matters.

As for what I have and what hindsight has brought, I'd have a red TCR with Belvederes as I'm not sure the DCC is worth it and Tornado Red is just so gorgeous, I do miss it. Oryx is good but not great. Otherwise, all good. And definitely stick with the sunroof, it may have been a pain but I love it!

[symonh2000]

I bought mine used wiith 19" Santiago's on it.

I prefer the look of the Austins personally as they have a more classic look.

And tyres are cheaper, and the car would probably handle and accelerate slightly better due to the lower mass away from the wheel centre and lower unsprung weight.

I would avoid a pan roof personally, it doesn't do anything for me, plus it adds weight and is more to go wrong.

My car also have adaptive cruise which I never use.

I do like the Dynaudio though.

[Markee]

My journey to where i am now is vastly different. Until i bought my TCR in April i hadn't owned a Golf since 2014 (a mk4 1.8t GTi). I absolutely loved it but we didn't need 3 cars in the household and as the tax was costing more than the insurance it reluctantly, i also had a knackered knee which made getting in and out of low(ish) cars a little awkward. I spent the next 8 years in SUV territory. In 2018 i had said knackered knee replaced but remained in SUV territory with a 67 plate Tiguan R-Line, on the face of it it was the perfect car for me but i always felt like something was missing, the fun side to driver. So in April i went to test drive a GTI PP, but to also see what my new knee would be like. The test drive went very well and i left with a TCR lol.

As for the vibe, the TCR has given me a new lease of life (some may say mid-life crisis lol), i've thrown myself fully into it attending car shows and events. I'm on the hunt for a VW/Golf club to attend with but it seems slim pickings around Oxfordshire, the scene is very heavy with Bugs and Campers.

What would i change? I've been back and forth about whether i like the Belvedere's i have, i prefer a slightly thicker spoke so have been contemplating changing them to either Pretoria's or Reifnitz (staying at 18" though). My TCR is 2 years old so was specc'd by the previous owner (pano roof, Akra exhaust) but in all honesty, wheels aside, i wouldn't change a thing. I was after a TCR in grey but went for Tornado Red and i have no regrets in that choice. I've never had DCC on any vehicle before so not having it now i won't miss it lol.

I'm a miserable, grumpy old man (other peoples words!) but my TCR puts a smile on my face every day and i honestly can't see me ever wanting to part with   

On a side note, the most common Golf around my way by a country mile is the R.

[Exonian]

Mine’s a Guinness please landlord.

I think there are various reasons the forum has been feeling a bit tired.
I deliberately avoid posting up the same old bilge as it does get very repetitive and so I sit back and hope some new blood will bring some fresh life into the forums as I’m pretty darned sure people get tired of reading the same old pap from the same old people.
Ok, I’m not a current mk7 owner so probably irrelevant to the thread but I owned five examples of that generation so I have plenty of thoughts on the subject.

Hot hatches are still quite popular but not super trendy it seems, so there aren’t loads of people doing projects, discussing the latest mods, etc etc.
New mk8 Golfs are (for many people) too expensive/ugly/suffering eternal waiting times so there’s not a huge amount of excitement from that quarter, and quite possibly that underlying feeling of “it’s all coming to an end” as we slide rapidly into very changed times. The end of an era plugging away subconsciously?
There’s still plenty of underlying enthusiasm for the model here but maybe everything that can be discussed has been discussed and as they’re reliable cars there’s not loads of people moaning about them either (thankfully). Maybe other forums offer a different experience? I only visit this one so genuinely don’t know.

Wheels? 18” are fine so long as they’re either 8” wide in a decent offset or OEM running spacers. The car looks plain wrong with ET49 7.5J
My preference is 19” as they balance the styling out best.
My favourite 18” wheels on a mk7 are Borbet FF1 by a mile. MAK Wolf also suit the car really well, as do 18” Reifnitz replicas.

Five mk7’s under my belt, my first I specced lightly with an eye on value for money. Three more in standard spec, followed by an ex-showroom TCR that had a big ol’ spread of options.
On reflection if I were to spec a mk7 or 7.5 again I’d keep it light on optional extras. Dynaudio made the biggest positive impression out of everything. And CarPlay. Everything else I could take it or leave it, they’re all pretty well specced as standard and I’d be perfectly happy buzzing about in a car that had no options.

[symonh2000]

On a side note, the most common Golf around my way by a country mile is the R.

Where in Oxfordshire are you?

I am in Witney.

Totally agree about the R, I bet the PCP had a lot to do with regard to how common they are. I haven't seen anything with regard to meets either in the area.

[Sootchucker]

I agree with the topic in the threads being a bit repetitive and not that fresh anymore, but i guess that what happens when a forum serves a model that has been discontinued for 2-3 years or so, and therefore has cars that are between 2 and 9 years old. I'm like you , I usually changed my cars between the 2-3 year mark, but my current GTI will be 5 years old next May !

I also usually change a car when I feel it's become so mature that teenagers can afford to run an early one and mod the hell out of it (spoilers, slammed, huge drainpipe exhausts etc), that's usually when I want to get out of a particular model as I somehow always feel that dilutes a models heritage (maybe it's just the snob in me  )

Whilst I can honestly say though is that the GTI it's one of the best (if not the best) car I've ever owned, I think a good part of why I've kept it so long is 3 reasons

1. Like a lot on here, there's not that much (certainly within the same segment) that appeals to me more than the GTI

2. The price on newer replacement cars has gone though the roof and with dealers now offering little to no discounts or incentives anymore, the price to change to very high.

3. The delivery time on a new replacement is going to be 12-18 months.

I also think part of the reason I've kept it so long is the spec (see my sig for more information), as it has pretty much all of what a modern VW has. Is it the perfect spec...no. If I'd have had the money at time of order, I'd have definitely added the Performance pack and ultimately the pano sunroof as well (that would have been my perfect spec). As it is, I've never really pushed my GTI to the point where i guess the benefits of the Performance pack would have helped and with so many stories of failed Pano sunroof surrounds, maybe I dodged a bullet on that one.

It just goes to show that 9 years from launch the MK7(7.5) performance models (GTI, GTD & R), really were very well sorted cars with great standard equipment, great looks, decent build quality and pretty much spot on driver characteristics. VW really did hit the nail on the head with this generation (in my humble opinion).

[dubber36]

I've been here since January 2009 soon after I bought my Mk2. All sections were alive then. I had a Mk6 GT TDI for a good few years and although it wasn't a GTI/D, joined in with very busy Mk6 section. I still pop in from time to time despite the Mk2 being wrapped up in the garage and often forgotten about and the other cars in the household being something completely different. I guess it's probably just to see what the old faces are up to.

Forums seem to be an older persons thing these days. Many of the old faces from here have drifted away. Probably having moved on, or not having the same enthusiasm for cars anymore. I do go on one other forum which is really busy. The T6 Forum. Transporters are thriving, but the forum is mainly full of older people. Once you get through the repetitive threads about wheels, suspension and headlight upgrades, the rest is topics about what awning to buy and pictures of retired folk parked in a field with the cup of tea.

[Yusee]

Some interesting thoughts.

It’s quite interesting to reflect on your ownership of any car, both while you own it and some time after you sell.

Around a year after I bought my golf, I bought a 205 gti, around 20 years after I sold my last one. It’s the one car I’ve owned in the past and regretted selling, so when opportunity arose, and perhaps inspired by my return to hot hatch ownership, I took it.

I very much get the feeling that, should I sell my golf at some point, I will be trawling through the online classified Ads in 20 years time looking for a standard unmodified mk7 gti. It is, by general consensus, an outstandingly good motor car.

I only added Dynaudio to mine (other than Isaac blue colour). I would order exactly the same if I was to order again.
The car cost £28k. What a great buy that was, looking back.

I’m very pleased i went for standard wheels. I like the look and why ruin the fantastic ride?

It seems most discussions I’ve read on this forum on the subject of DCC go along the lines of “ I like big wheels, but that messes up the ride. Oh, why don’t you add DCC to sort that out.”
I don’t think that’s the intended function of DCC. Surely it is intended to allow use of the car for different purposes, rather than to correct poor ride caused by big wheels.

Pan roof is another one to avoid, imo- particularly as these cars get older. Bound to cause problems at some point, if they haven’t already. Anyway why do you need all that light in the cabin anyway? What are you planning to do in there, photosynthesise? 😉 ( any fans of 80s British comedy on the forum)

[Nuggsy71]

Great line from the Young Ones there by the late, great Rik Mayall ! thanks Yusee.

I've loved my 7.5, but if I was to order again, I'd still opt for the Dynaudio, plus the climate windscreen, for all it's probably only been used about 20 times in 3 years, and I could have bought a lot of de-icer - it makes me really smug to get in the car when iced up, switch that on, and drive away after a minute or so, all the while the Mrs is scraping away and stincking the inside of her car with the smell of de-icer!
Also, the DCC if only to keep her who must be obeyed quiet, I had it on the MK7 GTD, but not on the MK7 GTi, and she says it's a must have option.
Oh and the leather, although not the best quality, when you have a muddy dog - it pays for itself ! 
Just a real shame I've no intention of parting with my money for the MK8, it just doesn't do it for me at all.