In light of the recent post by Streety82, I was wondering whether we should have a Sticky with some sort of poll or something to give those looking at Mk6 Golf's some insight into the cars without the need to constantly post a new topic.Here goes:
Bought September 2009.Tornado Red 3 door GTI with DSG, cruise control and 17 inch Monza alloy wheels.
Did you do any checks at the dealer?: Nope, just grabbed the keys and legged it out the door.
Having been a part of this forum I've become more aware of dealer checks now (Asker and his flipping panel alignment and bumpers
It's all your fault!) but at the time of getting my car I was young and innocent. It was shiny and clean and mine. That's all that mattered.
Mileage at time of posting: Currently just over 45k
Average consumption (mpg): 36.1
Did you look at anything else before buying?: I looked at a whole host of different cars including the Audi TT (Gen2) 2.0T, Mitsubishi Evo X SST, Subaru Impreza WRX, Volkswagen Scirocco 2.0TSI, Honda Civic Type R Championship White (FN2), MINI Cooper S R56, and the BMW 125d.
My then current car was a Mini Cooper R56 which combined a sporty image and drive, compact dimensions, cheap running costs and a relatively high quality, comfortable and refined interior.
The Evo, Subaru and BMW were ticked off quite quickly. The first two were undeniably fast but the delivery wasn't my cup of tea. Neither were the interiors. The latter fared better in terms of quality but couldn't get round the RWD (a liability in winter) and the smaller back seats. Similarly the Rocco and TT's coupe shapes made them just too impractical (I couldn't sit up fully in the rear of the 'Rocco).
This left just 3 cars: the Cooper S, the Type R and the GTI.
The Type R was the least impressive car in terms of performance of all the cars I looked at. It needed the gearbox worked hard to get up to speed on the motorway. Cabin wise the Type R has always been good with a driver focused dash, purposeful seats and an overall racy feel but after a good 40 minutes the noise and frenetic nature of the car had left me feeling weary. So it was a goodbye to Honda.
The battle between the Cooper S and the GTI was very close. Yes, I'll admit, after having dismissed the BMW, TT and Scirocco on account of practicality, the MINI shouldn't be here, but I loved the styling, the drive and the overall package. The GTI however impressed me greatly during test drives with a good driving feel, great practicality and the (new to me) DSG. Truth be told, if the GTI was manual then it perhaps wouldn't have bought but I was keen to try the DSG and see what all the fuss was about.
Perhaps worth a note here is that my GTI happened to be sitting in the showroom. Aside from making the GTI's appeal even more physical (the Tornado Red paint looked fantastic with the matching calipers and the red stitching inside), it also meant that there were no waiting times. A good few of the members on here have faced (or are facing) incredibly long waiting times and this may have diminished the GTI's appeal. I guess I was lucky.
Issues to date: I've had a number of issues with my car, most of which I would class as minor.
- A small area of stitching came undone on the rear seat bench. I suspect that it was more my fault than the Golf's but it was replaced under warranty nonetheless.
- The first mechanical issue was the mechatronics of the DSG. The car was very jerky pulling away and especially in reverse. This was diagnosed quite quickly as the mechatronics and replaced without question. Since then there has been no further issue.
- The fog light covers (in the front wheel arches) like to fall out I had them both replaced under warranty
- My driver seat developed some squeaks which was at first addressed by a seat lubrication (unsuccessful) followed by a seat back replacement (unsuccessful) and finally a seat base replacement (successful). All the work and parts were covered by warranty.
- This was shortly followed by a squeaky passenger door which just needed some tightening and some grease.
Over time I've also had few intermittent problems which have never really been brought to the garages attention.
- Around 20k a rattle developed behind the dash which only occurred at 2100rpm (annoyingly 60mph in 6th) Somewhere since 40k miles the rattle has stopped.
- Also I've had an issue with the wheel nuts of the car. Sometimes they can really get stuck and at worst the independent efforts of 3 Kwik fit garages were unable to budge them. Ended up having to jack the wrench against the house and hit it with a sledgehammer. I don't know why the wheel bolts do this, it's the first car I've experienced it on.
- And the third intermittent issue has been the bonnet release which to be honest I find a bit flimsy compared to the rest of the Golf's components. At worst the catch has failed to open the bonnet unless weight is applied to the bonnet (don't know how one person can lean on the bonnet and pull the catch at the same time )
So that's it so far for issues. At first this might seem like quite a big list but I use my car everyday and have enjoyed more than the average number of miles.
What do I like and not like:On a whole I love the car. Whether it is taking the bikes up to Glen Coe, touring around Europe, taking child seats or even lapping the Ring, the GTI excels in every situation. This versatility is one of the biggest - if not
the biggest - appeals for me.
The car strikes a balance between performance and refinement with a bias towards the former. Sitting in the car for the first time there was a definite feel of quality. And it is with genuine pleasure that I add that, after 45k+ miles, the interior still feels as solid as it did when new. The tartan clad seats do a great job of holding you in place yet are the most comfortable seats of any car I have sat in. If you're not in the mood for driving like a hooligan then the GTI does relaxing very well.
I also love the performance of the car. Although the GTI is essentially a hot hatch, it doesn't shout about it's performance. The car combines excellent motorway manners and breathtaking ability whatever the road. Although some of the cars I tested were substantially more powerful none (bar the TT which has the same engine
) could match the all round smoothness of the GTI. Throw into the mix the optional DSG transmission and the GTI becomes deceptively fast across country without needing too much effort. It's a car that works with the driver and perhaps the greatest compliment I can give the car is that never once have I left the car feeling tired or weary after a drive. And, to add icing to the cake, the car is very economical, regularly getting over 40 mpg (and even nudging 50 once or twice
)
It's not all good news however I'm afraid. With versatility inherently comes a degree of compromise. This is most apparent in the suspension Standard, the ride is very fluid when pressing on but can be a bit stiff for certain passengers. The Adaptive Chassis Control VW offers would definitely be on my list if I was ordering again.
The second area of weakness is the brakes. 90% of the time the brakes offer good stopping power but they can get quite hot quite easily. This is definitely of note if you're going to track your GTI but even a technical country road can get the brakes a bit worked up (all at the speed limit officer
). Which makes my next complaint all the more unusual. During normal driving I find the brakes a bit snappy. I'm not sure if it's peculiar to DSG equipped models but I find that in the first 5-10% of brake pedal travel the brakes are either on or off. It's more of a niggle than a fault to be honest but I'd be interested if anyone else has noticed it. (By way of comparison the Brembo's on my Works MINI are much smoother throughout the entire pedal travel. Anyway, I'm off topic on my own post
)
The only other aspect which is perhaps worth mentioning is the relative lack of grunt of the GTI. As a hot hatch it is inevitable that the GTI will come into discussion with some much more powerful machinery. If you are thinking about a GTI but are put off by the meagre sounding 210hp then there are two important aspects to remember:
1) The power in the GTI is deceptive. The engine is so flexible and smooth that the car is often covering ground much quicker than you would believe. In it's standard form the Mk6 GTI is so well balanced and fun that more power isn't actually needed.
2) If you're still not convinced, there's always a remap
Well, that's all I can think of just now for the thread. If anyone has got any ideas about the formatting then share them. I hope for this thread to become as informative as possible for potential Mk6 owners. Ideally try to keep reviews as to the point as possible, but depth is also good if it illuminates your point of view. I don't think it would be helpful for example if we start our usual discussions (wheels, petrol/diesel or most romantic colour) on this thread. Also, these reviews are to be the individual owner's own personal experience. Therefore let's try not to change each other's minds. If you love your car, let it show. If you're not enjoying your ownership. Let us know why, but don't bash the car needlessly. Be constructive!