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Model specific boards => Golf mk6 => Topic started by: gtiobsession on 03 October 2009, 19:04
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Im really keen on the MK6 GTI I live in SA and here we are'nt as lucky as you guys when it comes to changing cars every few months :sad:it costs an arm,a leg and a few other organs here so its a major financing decision.So what I want help with is does the MK6 GTI interior feel as luxurios as most reviews say it is compared to say an Audi A4?also want to know about the ride quality?My folks currently have a 2006 320i and the ride in it is amazing you dont feel a thing.Reason im asking is that here dealers only order the GTI when you want one so test drives on cars like the GTI and Scirocco are almost non-existent.
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i think it better than my brothers 2007 A4 Sline. and alot better than my mates mercedes 220cdi.. which is very vectra-ish btw
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I test drove the 2009 audi s3,very nearly bought it if I wasnt convinced to try the Mk6 GTI. In my opion the mk6 is better than the S3 as it looks darker and feels better put together. Flat bottomed steering wheel and black roof lining look great. By far the best interior Ive seen in any car between £20k and £35k. That includes the new BMW 135i.
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The MkVI was designed to be cheaper for VW to build than the MkV, but they have done a very good job of the interior. Quality is high, at least on the bits you can see and touch. It's not quite as good as my 2006 BMW 3 Series, but it's leagues ahead of its competitors. 9/10, I'd say :smiley:
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You should not have a problem test driving one in any of the bigger towns or cities. I walk into the first VW dealer in Cape Town and they did not have a problem with me jumping into one. I was extremely happy with everything and bought one in the UK.
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Customer service by dealers here suck big time,you would think with the current ecomomic downturn they would be much more helpful,theres a guy near by who has a candy white GTI(heart sinks everytime i see it) going to try to pull him over to have a look and maybe squeeze a test drive :wink: you guys in the UK are so lucky thanks for all the responses,Theres just one more thing I want to know,what is everything that the RC510 touchscreen radio displays other than its radio functionalities?
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The MkVI was designed to be cheaper for VW to build than the MkV, but they have done a very good job of the interior. Quality is high, at least on the bits you can see and touch. It's not quite as good as my 2006 BMW 3 Series, but it's leagues ahead of its competitors. 9/10, I'd say :smiley:
And my 1997 BMW has nicer leather and carpets than those two cars put together.
Penny pinching rules these days, shame.
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I have heard about these cost cutting measures, and anyone going from a mk5 to mk6 would be hard pushed to spot them. Personally I think they have reduced costs by making the manufacturing process simpler.. i.e less small options, and a more equiped basic spec whilst increasing the price accordingly. There certainly hasnt been any cheaper bits i have found
except the removal of the auto petrol cap switch... oh and the cargo net, oh yeah and is the glove box still cooled??? :huh:
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There certainly hasnt been any cheaper bits i have found, except the removal of the auto petrol cap switch... oh and the cargo net, oh yeah and is the glove box still cooled??? :huh:
I think the new petrol cap system is better: I had the switch in my Eos and nearly always forgot to pull it before getting out at the pump. They could have gone that extra step, however, and made a fully integrated flap and cap like on our Renault Espace.
As for the cargo net and a/c glove box, they're still there, at least on mine.
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I prefer the new petrol flap too. Maybe not as technically swish as the mk5 flap but more convenient. As R32UK was probably filling up a lot more often than us GTI boys in his mk5 he was probably a lot more familiar with the system! :laugh: I think the 'problem' with the mk5 flap is only noticed if you drive more than one car regularly, the other vehicle having a different arrangement causes one to forget to fiddle with the driver's door before getting out.
Signs of cheapness on the 'new Golf'? The obvious thing I've noticed so far is that the doors have gone back to the traditional welded construction rather than the bolted skin of the mk5. The mk5 skin was much easier to replace or repair if it had a knock (I've already got a slight dink in one door on mine thanks to come **** in a motorway service station), and also much easier to fix any electrical problems as the whole door skin could easily be removed and replaced. On the 'new Golf' any repairs means ripping the interior door trim off (which means many potential rattles).
Other than that I saw somewhere on one of the links regarding fitting a rear view camera that all of the wiring is one colour on the loom of the mk6 which will become a bit of a headache for DIY junkies and some dealer techies.
It's not a new thing either as I remember when getting my shiny new (okay, it was very second hand) big bumper GTI many, many years ago and noting that the carpets and bits of interior trim were cheaper than on the previous version. As for the mk3, that was just a cost cut from start to finish :sick:
Long term I guess us mk6'ers will just have to see how it goes in the reliability stakes to see if there have been many more hidden cost cuts. My mk5 was one of the very early ones and the cost cutting was very evident on the newer ones in comparison, so we can expect more of the same I guess.
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When I was choosing my new car, I test drove a Seat Leon FR, and a Honda Civic Type R as well as the Golf GTI. I was astounded at the quality of the Golf interior compared to the Leon and the Civic. It was one of the deciding factors for me.
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I had a look at the TYPE R and I love the digital gauges they look briliant,aswell as the racing seats and I guess overall the interior is not too bad but the ride for me was a bit too harsh I guess on the track it would be ok but here in SA we dont do much or even any track racing so I cant live with a car with a ride like that plus the engine was too bland for my liking.Ive only ever seen pics of the MK6 GTI interior and to me it looks really well put together and in my opinion it looks better than an Audi A3's.
My concern is that although the materials look good in the pics I havnt had a chance to feel and look at the plastics,in my moms 2006 3 series stuff is begininning to peel away and those materials used are supposedly "high quality".I cant stand when there are scratches or discolouring on the door pads.Do you guys think that those materials used in the MK6 GTI will hold up and not peel?
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The soft touch can suffer this pealing in some makes. We will have to see in the mk6.
The marking of plastic is a problem all car makes suffer. Its due to the great Europeen union and how they have to use so much recycled plastics in cars noways.
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Both my MK4 and my Dad's Bora suffered horrendous peeling of soft touch stuff despite them both living pretty pampered lives. My two mk5s were a lot better (so much for mk4 owners gloating about the crap interiors of mk5s!). Fingers crossed for my mk6.
I've got a mate with a good spec Audi A3 and I have to say the mk6 Golf looks as good inside as the Audi. Obviously there's a new A3 waiting in the wings which will be even better than the Golf, but it's going to be even more £££££ or RRRRR depending on where you are in the world!
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So what I want help with is does the MK6 GTI interior feel as luxurios as most reviews say it is compared to say an Audi A4?also want to know about the ride quality?
we have a mk 6 gti and a (nearly) new a4. i would say the interior on the golf is as good as, if not better than the a4. and its a lot better than the mk 5 interior. as for ride quality between the two there isn't much in it, i would say the a4 is slightly better given its a bigger and heavier car. comparing the mk 5 and mk 6 gti's (with 18's), the mk6 is far superior in terms of quality of ride. get one!! :laugh:
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The lowest plastics on the dash, centre console, arm rest and doors are still of the Mk5 'hard and shiney' league, but the upper centre console, dash and doors are all nicer. They actually had to put relatively little into the interior to noticably lift the sensation of luxury.
Subjectively and on the surface close to, but not as good as, an Audi. IMO.
On the subject of interiors am I the only one to be massively disappointed by the interiors on BMW's? I was in a new 5 series and even that felt harsh and toy-like. Although the leather was streets ahead of the crap found in VW's.
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The only recent BMW I have any experience of was a friends temporary company car 3 series Diesel. It did have quite harsh plastics inside just like I remember from 1980s BMW but they didn't feel cheap harsh if that makes sense. Sort of Germanic and solid. The only other thing I remember about the interior of this car was that it had bloody awful visibility! Maybe I should have eaten my greens when I was younger and thus be tall enough to see out of BMWs? :smiley:
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I have a 2009 BMW 5 series as well... interior looks nice and luxurious... The MK6 GTI is also nice but its in a different class... so hard to compare...
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hey bud, another sa boytjie here :wink: i was in your shoes about 2 weeks ago and yes car prices are scary. So I can relate to your decision making process and man it's not easy...you want to make sure you tick all the right boxes for your 320k plus cabbie... :undecided: I can assure you that if you're looking at a Gti you cannot really go wrong :grin: imo the new 6 sets the benchmark for quality in the hatch segment. I was lucky enough to test drive a candy white dsg on a couple of occasions as family of ours bought one and i was blown away by the entire package... :cool: So that's the it.... In my case I decided to go for the Audi because I've owned a golf 5 gti before and thought that well the Audi would be a new experience. :smiley: Go for it! :cool:
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Nastiest piece of trim so far is the fuel cap. I almost recoiled on touch, it was that bad!
Second disappointing area is the driver's side coin bin. I can just about live with shiny hard plastic but this bin really should be lined so that the coins don't rattle.
That's all nit-picking though. Generally the quality is at least as good as the bmw, honda and mini I had in the past.
Ps I can't believe someone said the type r engine was bland!!
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Im really keen on the MK6 GTI I live in SA and here we are'nt as lucky as you guys when it comes to changing cars every few months :sad:it costs an arm,a leg and a few other organs here so its a major financing decision.So what I want help with is does the MK6 GTI interior feel as luxurios as most reviews say it is compared to say an Audi A4?also want to know about the ride quality?My folks currently have a 2006 320i and the ride in it is amazing you dont feel a thing.Reason im asking is that here dealers only order the GTI when you want one so test drives on cars like the GTI and Scirocco are almost non-existent.
Where exactly do you live?
Ive test driven 2 at different dealers - Im not sure why you are having such a problem.
Have you tried asking your local dealer to arrange one for test driviing ?
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Im really keen on the MK6 GTI I live in SA and here we are'nt as lucky as you guys when it comes to changing cars every few months :sad:it costs an arm,a leg and a few other organs here so its a major financing decision.So what I want help with is does the MK6 GTI interior feel as luxurios as most reviews say it is compared to say an Audi A4?also want to know about the ride quality?My folks currently have a 2006 320i and the ride in it is amazing you dont feel a thing.Reason im asking is that here dealers only order the GTI when you want one so test drives on cars like the GTI and Scirocco are almost non-existent.
vw are well built. but if you're comparing it to an audi. an audi is way ahead. the reply of a4 being not so good- thats an old model, new model out already. i have an audi tt, new shape. the interior is even better than cars costing 60 grand + ie porsches, merc, bmw. just look at the bad quality plastic on the golf- namely lower in the interior it is it gets worse- cheap and tacky. for me interior is nothing special, bit dull really for a gti- except for some flash of chrome and gti gloss. another example- the climate control buttons look very cheap. even the fake aluminium rear view mirror adjusters look cheap. there are nice touches- dont get me wrong- the steering wheel, v nice. if you have seen the interiors of audi, bmw , merc you'd know that golf isn't anywhere near it. though it is better thana porsches interior. porschhe interiors are terrible, but u dont buy one because of the interior. the reason why audi interiors are so good is take ie the a4, the 60 grand plus (yet to be released) rs4 is just the same interior as the 20 grand a4, just with some better materials. also audi's are a top end brand. i have audi tt new shape. the interior is awesome. how cans omeone compare a old shpae a4 with a mark6 golf???? the new shape a4 looks great- interior wise, sharing the design of the r8, a6 etc........ all i need to do is take a pic of some buttons to compare. its like chalk and cheese.
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The lowest plastics on the dash, centre console, arm rest and doors are still of the Mk5 'hard and shiney' league, but the upper centre console, dash and doors are all nicer. They actually had to put relatively little into the interior to noticably lift the sensation of luxury.
Subjectively and on the surface close to, but not as good as, an Audi. IMO.
On the subject of interiors am I the only one to be massively disappointed by the interiors on BMW's? I was in a new 5 series and even that felt harsh and toy-like. Although the leather was streets ahead of the crap found in VW's.
i sat in my dads x5.. the leather is so soft and luxurious.. the interior is amazing, how things close, the noise that it makes. ppl with golfs odviously aernt aware. i have to say bmw is justa s good as audi though it id rive is a bloody urine take. very space age tech but a nightmare to work. just comparing and bmw's door to agolf- no comparison. you have to ask why one costs 23 grand, the other costs 50 grand. there is a very big reason why!!!.
golf compared to brands in its class is top dog. i wouldn't compare it to a a3 as the a3 will be changing model soon. the current a3 has the interior of the replaced a4 so that should be compared to a mark 5. not a mark 6.
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No one should worry about VW making the Mk VI Golf cheaper to build; this has no impact on quality of materials used. The issue was labour costs not raw material costs. The mk VI has been extensively re-engineered so that it takes less time to put together.
The fuel cap is a good example. The outer flap is locked when the car itself is locked. But to open it you just push it in and it pops out. By eliminating the interior electrical switch, they've eliminated the extra wiring that was needed. This is very clever in my opinion.
The plastic mouldings use one-piece construction wherever possible, but a higher grade of plastic. The simplified wiring loom combines all electrical systems in a single network; again this makes the car easier to produce, but also improves electrical reliability.
All in all, a step forward.
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The fuel cap is a good example. The outer flap is locked when the car itself is locked. But to open it you just push it in and it pops out. By eliminating the interior electrical switch, they've eliminated the extra wiring that was needed. This is very clever in my opinion.
This is the same set up as on my old e60 5 series... so not too shabby at all.
The internal fuel cap release was very common on Japanese cars. Even my grandad's 20 yr old toyota carina had it!!
The fuel cap itself on the Golf is really nasty tho!! :sick:
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The plastic mouldings use one-piece construction wherever possible, but a higher grade of plastic.
I wish that was the case with the plastic surrounding the fog lights. I tried to remove it as per the manual to have a look at the bulbs and 2 of the plastic clips snapped!!!
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For a car thats £23k without extra's, the mk6 interior is a bloody bargain. Its amazing quality.
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For a car thats £23k without extra's, the mk6 interior is a bloody bargain. Its amazing quality.
Golfs start at around 15k. So even more of a bargain :tongue:
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The interior should be good bearing in mind the cost of the car. However, don't think interior quality is the be all and end all and representative of overall quality and reliability cos it isn't. My 2 Mk 4s were generally great quality inside with enormous showroom appeal but they were the most unreliable cars I've ever owned.
Compare a Honda interior to a VW interior and the former will feel very cheap in comparison (well, it does in my opinion) but I know which one is more likely to be more reliable in the long term. The quality is in the engineering underneath and that's where the Japs seem to have the Germans licked.
I'm really hopeful my Mk 6 is better than the Mk4s (it can't be worse to be fair) but I won't be surprised if it does conk out.