GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Laffo on 20 February 2015, 18:45
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Hi,
I've agreed a deal with a VW dealer to buy a 2014 GTI with DSG and Santiago wheels.
Problem is the more I read on forums and reviews I know I should have gone for a car with performance pack, better brakes, safer cornering even suggestions that in the snow it behaves like a four wheel drive!
I've agreed a part exchange price, signed the forms, paid a deposit and should collect in a weeks time.
Can I use the Das Welt " no quibble guarantee " to choose a different car even though I haven't collected it yet?
Thanks.
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You should have 7 days cooling off period in case you change your mind.
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Ye you can mate just tell them you want pp and they will find you one but it will probably be dearer :smiley:
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You can read too much sometimes until you don't know your a**e from your elbow :grin:
Sleep on it and see how you feel tomorrow. I have the performance pack and probably haven't stretched its capability beyond 60% of what it could do You make it sound as though the standard GTI is a death trap. It's not its a great car and will put a big smile on your face every time you drive it !!
Decisions decisions :whistle:
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I've got pp and never pushed it hard enough to feel the benefit. It'll keep its value better though.
I'm sure the dealer would find you one with pp, it's more money for them.
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A GTI with the PP is "better" than an GTI without it, however it's only you that can decide whether it's worth paying the extra for what you get? Plenty of people on here that have non PP cars are more than happy and rightfully so, it is a very capable hot hatch.
I'm not sure about it being like a 4wd in the snow though?? It'll still spin it's front wheels like any other fwd hatch.
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How much better is a PP GTI than a normal GTI?
Aside from the bigger brakes the two cars feel almost identical.
If you're going to modify your car at a later date then the PP would be very handy I guess.
To cut a long story short, my PP GTI is the first mk7 I'd driven. I have a VERY long history with Golf GTI's and their close cousins and just *had* to have a PP GTI, and after I drove it I thought it was by far the best front wheel drive hatch I'd ever driven (I've owned about 25 cars in my time).
Then a friend of mine got a standard white 5 door GTI as a company car and I immediately noticed it handled just the same!
My PP GTI will happily spin the wheels on less than perfect roads through the first three gears if I'm clumsy - not something I practice but found out by accident one day whilst pulling out of a junction in heavy traffic.
Then said friend had the loan of a few GTD's through his work too and so naturally I drove them. Lo and behold they handle exactly like a GTI, PP or no PP.
I'm sure with a better driver than me on less than perfect roads the VAQ diff will come into its own when pushing on, but it was very much a placebo with me until I'd driven a standard GTI then a couple GTDs.
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How much better is a PP GTI than a normal GTI?
Aside from the bigger brakes the two cars feel almost identical.
If you're going to modify your car at a later date then the PP would be very handy I guess.
To cut a long story short, my PP GTI is the first mk7 I'd driven. I have a VERY long history with Golf GTI's and their close cousins and just *had* to have a PP GTI, and after I drove it I thought it was by far the best front wheel drive hatch I'd ever driven (I've owned about 25 cars in my time).
Then a friend of mine got a standard white 5 door GTI as a company car and I immediately noticed it handled just the same!
My PP GTI will happily spin the wheels on less than perfect roads through the first three gears if I'm clumsy - not something I practice but found out by accident one day whilst pulling out of a junction in heavy traffic.
Then said friend had the loan of a few GTD's through his work too and so naturally I drove them. Lo and behold they handle exactly like a GTI, PP or no PP.
I'm sure with a better driver than me on less than perfect roads the VAQ diff will come into its own when pushing on, but it was very much a placebo with me until I'd driven a standard GTI then a couple GTDs.
Exactly!! Hense the quotation marks! :D
In normal everyday driving there is pretty much no difference in the way they feel and if thats all you want it for then you'd probably save your pennies, like you when i ordered mine i HAD to have the PP knowing i would probably never get the most from it, just because it was "better". :smug:
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I dont think I'd want smaller brakes tho, in fact I'm thinking of changing or at least uprating the pads. Could just be me and not being able to change the brake on vcds like I could before but they dont feel as sharp as I'm used, most likely better stopping but still feels less if you know what I mean
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The diff is not going to make the car any better in the snow. In fact it is likely to be more tricky - prone to terminal understeer under power (grip will return if you get off the throttle)...
Whilst the brakes on the PP are bigger, they aren't much of an upgrade and on the road you won't see much benefit...
However, if I were buying and I could get a PP for similar money, that's what I would have...
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"on the road you won't see much benefit..."
That's correct as tyre grip is the limiting factor in braking distance in the vast majority of on road situations, hence why ABS activates. A professional driver might achieve a shorter stopping distance in dry conditions with the PP brakes but I doubt it makes any difference for us mere mortals. Would help on a track day though as would delay onset of brake fade.
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I still have my MK2 GTI , which is more fun to drive, I love it. Although a lot lighter it really makes you realise how far brakes have come. I love the reaasure of braking on my PP . Very true tyres make a difference although not personally had any problems with the Bridgstones but then again that I am getting old :smiley:
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In normal everyday driving there is pretty much no difference in the way they feel and if thats all you want it for then you'd probably save your pennies, like you when i ordered mine i HAD to have the PP knowing i would probably never get the most from it, just because it was "better". :smug:
Truth be told, if I was ordering new again now I'd spec PP still otherwise I'd get a GTD (or R?)
I still have my MK2 GTI , which is more fun to drive, I love it. Although a lot lighter it really makes you realise how far brakes have come. I love the reaasure of braking on my PP . Very true tyres make a difference although not personally had any problems with the Bridgstones but then again that I am getting old :smiley:
My daily driver is still an elderly GTI that I've owned for years and years which rattles and shakes and has half the power of my mk7 and no ABS brakes (280mm discs though) and I'd agree - it's nowhere near as good a car as the mk7 but is far more fun to drive.
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In normal everyday driving there is pretty much no difference in the way they feel and if thats all you want it for then you'd probably save your pennies, like you when i ordered mine i HAD to have the PP knowing i would probably never get the most from it, just because it was "better". :smug:
Truth be told, if I was ordering new again now I'd spec PP still otherwise I'd get a GTD (or R?)
I still have my MK2 GTI , which is more fun to drive, I love it. Although a lot lighter it really makes you realise how far brakes have come. I love the reaasure of braking on my PP . Very true tyres make a difference although not personally had any problems with the Bridgstones but then again that I am getting old :smiley:
My daily driver is still an elderly GTI that I've owned for years and years which rattles and shakes and has half the power of my mk7 and no ABS brakes (280mm discs though) and I'd agree - it's nowhere near as good a car as the mk7 but is far more fun to drive.
My Mk2 is a bit of a museum piece as only 30k miles from new so dont drive it much. When I do it all comes back of how much fun they are to drive. Get back in the MK7 touch the brakes and your would be through the windscreen of you did not have a seatbelt on. That is the same for most cars. Get in a MK1 than that is scary :smiley:
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The diff is not going to make the car any better in the snow. In fact it is likely to be more tricky - prone to terminal understeer under power (grip will return if you get off the throttle)...
Whilst the brakes on the PP are bigger, they aren't much of an upgrade and on the road you won't see much benefit...
However, if I were buying and I could get a PP for similar money, that's what I would have...
The PP will make no difference in the snow whatsoever, and indeed may make it worse - agreed.
I disagree with the difference in the brakes however; when I had my GTI PP I tested it on the same braking points on the same roads with a GTD (driving one after the other), and there was a massive difference in the brakes, the GTI PP brakes were far more responsive and better.
I'm assuming the brakes on a GTD are the same as with a normal GTI - if they're not, then I'm talking mince :grin:
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I have to agree about the brakes, having the PP was mainly about the brakes for me and the diff is a bonus. I had a ED30 and ED35 and i found the brakes were poor at high speed etc and i'm sure they are the same as the 220 ps GTI where as the PP brakes are the same as the R brakes i think.
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I have to agree about the brakes, having the PP was mainly about the brakes for me and the diff is a bonus. I had a ED30 and ED35 and i found the brakes were poor at high speed etc and i'm sure they are the same as the 220 ps GTI where as the PP brakes are the same as the R brakes i think.
Never knew that! So the ED35 didn't have S3 brakes, but the cheaper Cupra did??
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No the Ed35 never had S3 brakes just standard Gti, I'm 99% sure on that.
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No the Ed35 never had S3 brakes just standard Gti, I'm 99% sure on that.
After a bit of googling I think youre right, what tight vw so and so's!
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Yes, the ED30 & 35's had normal 312mm brakes as per the standard GTI.
I guess the accountants and product planners didn't factor in people remapping them straight to nigh on 300bhp when they were at the design stage.
SEAT were obviously a lot more dialled in when they released the mk2 Leon Cupra. Either that or they knew their customers were generally hooligans!