I'd be interested in someone who isn't a car reviewer, but an actual Mk7.5 GTI owner to drive it and tell you the answer.
In fact, I think our friend Exonian has that knowledge... I'm sure he'll be along soon.
I’ve been following the thread with interest but trying not to bore everyone even further with my own experiences and opinions too often.
Obviously I can’t give financial advice on whether the TCR would make a sound purchase if someone already has a perfectly good mk7 or 7.5 because everyone is different and has different circumstances. Generally I’d advise against but that removes the emotion which is what these cars are about.
Just like some people like to try different cleaning products or tuning options I have ended up putting my money where my mouth is and tried out different versions of mk7 because that’s my one little long standing indulgence in life, and I find it easier to do a few small jumps than an occasional leap financially speaking.
However needs, uses and finances can vary massively over a period of time.
My experience of a mk7 GTI PP ended around May 2015 and my R parted company with me in December 2016 after I’d barely used it for four months. So any opinions of ride quality to compare directly are watered down by the mists of time, but I’m quite good at remembering specifics of cars unlike trying to remember relatives birthdays and such like which I can never manage.
I don’t know specific part numbers but I’d imagine the non DCC shares very very similar suspension components and settings to a non DCC Clubsport Ed40.
Therefore the same ride height as a regular GTI but slightly more performance tuned springs that are slightly knobblier in ride quality but give a real light footed athletic feel to handling.
To my uneducated eye I’d say the Reifnitz (and therefore likely the Pretoria) Pack TCR’s have some trick little bits up their sleeve akin to the Cupras that had the sports package or maybe even a few bits learned from the CSS development. On my car it definitely looks to be running a bit of negative camber that the Ed40 lacked, it definitely sits lower and in ‘Normal’ DCC mode it rides a fraction better over the worst irregularities, but being “dynamic” it tends to feel slightly inert and mushy at times in regular slowish driving yet transforms if you load it up a bit, and can be truly impressive if you take it by the scruff whilst not requiring illegal speeds to offer a very rewarding experience on the sort of roads GTI’s come into their own.
