Alternatives to the TCR

[AGB]

As for discussing new cars given the current issues, yes please! So much doom and gloom we need to escape from plus as horrible as things are for some people, life goes on and it's for living and enjoying while you can

Precisely! We need some sort of distraction in our lives from the current situation and family health and finance uncertainties.
On a Golf GTI forum it’s quite likely our cars are our hobbies as well as our basic transport so it’s important to have a positive focus, plus the businesses that rely on us to stay afloat need to still turn over just to exist even in the shorter term, be it new cars, modifications or maintenance and cleaning. Same with any hobby right now and particularly those that have more time on their hands suddenly (I’m having to go to work as normal all the way through but many don’t).

Colour? I guess the draw of a TCR to many is Pure Grey.
It was one of my must haves.
But I ended up with white and think it looks great!

The white does look good, I think a colour which provides sufficient contrast to the black parts works well. I couldn't imagine the CS/CSS in anything other than white for heritage and aesthetic reasons.

The Yaris GR is a great suggestion though. Probably a half decent investment too.
Probably a bit too hardcore for me but something I’ll be keeping a close eye on (along with many other FWD hot hatch aficionados).

I don't think that the GR will be an investment, possibly too niche and the only money to be made is if you have a very early car and flip it to someone who doesn't want to wait but it's not a limited edition or limited production run vehicle. GR is actually AWD with driver modes offering adjustable bias. Deliveries were expected late this year but with corona, who knows.

[AGB]

You'll probably laugh at the suggestion but have you considered a Yaris GR? I know, Yaris but it's that in name alone. I've ordered one with the circuit pack and it promises to be a lot of fun. £33.5k fully spec'd with two LSDs and a homologation special.

Interesting, was hoping to hear somewhere here had ordered. Not sure on the h-word though 

I know, I know. I wondered if I'd be called out on that! The last Gazoo Racing endorsement I encountered was a Toyota Hilux Dakar Edition I had a drive in last year out in South Africa. It was basically a standard Hilux with sticker pack and a couple of cabin options so get the scepticism. The Yaris GR appears to be in line with what I'd expect from GR involvement.

Dealer took my order the day order books opened and said they expected demonstrators in September. That'll have changed now but still looking forward to trying it. So glad it doesn't have an electronic hand brake, I felt sure that manual gearboxes and hand brakes were endangered!

[Jim_mk7.5]

Very Doom and gloom. But here's some positive distraction. A mate has just been out to drive this and considering it.

[Watts]

That's an awful colour, but it looks great!

[Jim_mk7.5]

That's an awful colour, but it looks great!

Yes, not a fan. Looks like it missing some black blobs and then could be suitable for army use... 

[AGB]

Very Doom and gloom. But here's some positive distraction. A mate has just been out to drive this and considering it.

Afraid it does nothing for me and doubly so with that colour.

Two brands of sports car which have never ever and will never appeal to me are Lotus and Ferrari. The only time I have ever been in a Lotus, I bled all over it. Friend's car, brand new and had a screw on the door that had been over torqued and as a result, a piece of swarf was sticking proud. It ripped right through my arm and I still have a scar. I've never seen one that looked much more than a kit car.

I know a few friends who love them. Go figure. But then I like Golfs and fast 'Beetles'.... 

[Exonian]

Dynaudio is fantastic when sat at traffic lights with the engine off!
Ok, it’s better than the standard system all the time but not massively so unless the volume is up a few notches to drown out the TCR exhaust burble and tyre noise.
Half the point of a TCR is its exhaust noise though!
Dynaudio is nice but its biggest benefit on the move is the sub in the boot. A Helix sub can easily be retrofitted to a car without Dynaudio.

I disagree.

The standard stereo is 8x normal paper-cone speakers with a standard 4x20w (80w max power) output driven from the main headunit (both Discover or Discover Pro).

Dynaudio is 400w (max power) sent over 9x speakers (8 speakers plus the sub), powered via a separate Dynaudio amp, not the headhunt. The front and rear speakers are 2-way sets (dual soft-dome tweeters and magnesium mid drivers), and the sub in the boot is a coil dual-voice.

The benefits are cumulative and huge, it's not just the sub. I've rattled on about this many a time, if you just listen to the radio around town and aren't into music, then the standard system prob is ok... but if you enjoy music and/or spend a lot of time in the car listening to music, then the Dynaudio really is a no brainer. Once you have it set-up (through the specific Dynaudio software menus in the headhunit) to your taste and sound type, it really does wipe the floor with the standard system, not to mention IMO easily beats BOSE and HK offerings I've had in other cars. The only system it's not beaten IMO is the 1200w Meridian System I had in my Range Rover Sport, but that was 3x the power (and price!).

The only thing about Dynaudio that can be annoying is how sensitive it can sometimes be to the source (bitrate mainly).

Sorry, landed face down in my pasta halfway through that! Zzzzz   
Only joking 

Unfortunately my ears, memory and brain processing are far inferior to yours, it’s one of the things I love about forums in that there’s always someone with an intricate knowledge and appreciation of finite details on any given area. That combined knowledge base is invaluable.
I guess there’s a massive variation of compromise versus finickiness in all areas of cars and their owners. (I won’t get started on throttle pedal response  )

I’m no audiophile I’m afraid.
Kind of reminds me of an old colleague of mine from 20 odd years ago.
A bachelor who lived in a one bedroom flat and spent around £10k on Naim Audio hi-fi only to play nothing but thrash metal on it! His poor neighbours!!
I’m not quite that bad either. A TCR isn’t an ideal place for audio appreciation though. The exhaust sounds quite nice though...

... unless you’re an exhaustphile 


Oh, and I still say DCC isn’t anywhere near essential in a Golf either 

[Jim_mk7.5]

That's an awful colour, but it looks great!

Yes, not a fan. Looks like it missing some black blobs and then could be suitable for army use... 

Very Doom and gloom. But here's some positive distraction. A mate has just been out to drive this and considering it.

Afraid it does nothing for me and doubly so with that colour.

Two brands of sports car which have never ever and will never appeal to me are Lotus and Ferrari. The only time I have ever been in a Lotus, I bled all over it. Friend's car, brand new and had a screw on the door that had been over torqued and as a result, a piece of swarf was sticking proud. It ripped right through my arm and I still have a scar. I've never seen one that looked much more than a kit car.

I know a few friends who love them. Go figure. But then I like Golfs and fast 'Beetles'.... 

It's not my cup of tea either to be honest but that's what makes all different!

[Watts]

Dynaudio is fantastic when sat at traffic lights with the engine off!
Ok, it’s better than the standard system all the time but not massively so unless the volume is up a few notches to drown out the TCR exhaust burble and tyre noise.
Half the point of a TCR is its exhaust noise though!
Dynaudio is nice but its biggest benefit on the move is the sub in the boot. A Helix sub can easily be retrofitted to a car without Dynaudio.

I disagree.

The standard stereo is 8x normal paper-cone speakers with a standard 4x20w (80w max power) output driven from the main headunit (both Discover or Discover Pro).

Dynaudio is 400w (max power) sent over 9x speakers (8 speakers plus the sub), powered via a separate Dynaudio amp, not the headhunt. The front and rear speakers are 2-way sets (dual soft-dome tweeters and magnesium mid drivers), and the sub in the boot is a coil dual-voice.

The benefits are cumulative and huge, it's not just the sub. I've rattled on about this many a time, if you just listen to the radio around town and aren't into music, then the standard system prob is ok... but if you enjoy music and/or spend a lot of time in the car listening to music, then the Dynaudio really is a no brainer. Once you have it set-up (through the specific Dynaudio software menus in the headhunit) to your taste and sound type, it really does wipe the floor with the standard system, not to mention IMO easily beats BOSE and HK offerings I've had in other cars. The only system it's not beaten IMO is the 1200w Meridian System I had in my Range Rover Sport, but that was 3x the power (and price!).

The only thing about Dynaudio that can be annoying is how sensitive it can sometimes be to the source (bitrate mainly).

Sorry, landed face down in my pasta halfway through that! Zzzzz   
Only joking 

Unfortunately my ears, memory and brain processing are far inferior to yours, it’s one of the things I love about forums in that there’s always someone with an intricate knowledge and appreciation of finite details on any given area. That combined knowledge base is invaluable.
I guess there’s a massive variation of compromise versus finickiness in all areas of cars and their owners. (I won’t get started on throttle pedal response  )

I’m no audiophile I’m afraid.
Kind of reminds me of an old colleague of mine from 20 odd years ago.
A bachelor who lived in a one bedroom flat and spent around £10k on Naim Audio hi-fi only to play nothing but thrash metal on it! His poor neighbours!!
I’m not quite that bad either. A TCR isn’t an ideal place for audio appreciation though. The exhaust sounds quite nice though...

... unless you’re an exhaustphile 


Oh, and I still say DCC isn’t anywhere near essential in a Golf either 

I can't argue with km's (apologies for the abbreviation!) arguement in favour of Dynaudio but it is an extra of subjective benefit. I love quality audio, in the house I have an (admittedly ageing) Linn active (or Aktiv as Linn like to call it) seperates system which although not state of the art, is still pretty good but in the car I'm just not interested, as long as it's reasonable.

Exonian - I'm also not bothered by DCC, DSG is okay but not essential and yes, a pedalbox is a must! But only in my opinion of course, etto

[monkeyhanger]

Exonian:

You have Pasta?  Can't find any myself.