GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Primerdriver on 15 May 2020, 13:41
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Hi guys, currently have a 2015 BMW116i and am looking to change it for a hot hatch. It's the only car in the family and will be a daily driver so all the usual round town shopping trips etc plus a bit of fun for me. Seems like there are a few GTI TCR's about now at a decent price. Just wondering what the ride quality with adaptive suspension is like as it would be great to have the best of both worlds and the video reviews seem to suggest it is certainly stiffer than the GTI in all the settings. Plenty of road bumps round our way and the usual pot holes so needs to be pretty compliant. I also realise the later ones come with the Akro exhaust which isn't for me but is the standard exhaust reasonably quiet in comfort mode. Don't think the other half would appreciate loads of pops and bangs or a droney exhaust. Apart from these issues love it in the flat grey and the interior is nice as well. Last question, I enjoy listening to my music, is the Dynaudio worth looking for ? Thanks for any feedback.
As an aside I've been checking out the the BMW and Mercedes Benz forums for the one series and A class and have to say the GTI forum is by far the friendliest without the pretentiousness of the others, learnt some great detailing tips already.
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I have covered around 8K in my TCR now, I have a very mixed set of roads I would be on regularly and I don't find the ride too harsh at all. It definitely is firmer than my S3 saloon was in the comfort setting, but it is still a very compliant daily car.
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I can only really comment on the Dynaudio part of the question, but it was one of the first things I decided to spec on mine (standard GTI) and whilst I've not listened to a standard setup, the Dynaudio does sound very good.
Another alternative (if you find one with perfect spec apart from Dynaudio) is to have the helix system retrofitted (it's a dealer fit option I think) which I've not listened to, but heard good reports about.
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If there is one thing more divisive than B**it on this forum its whether DCC is worth 900 quid or not.
Given that you aren't doing a factory order, I'd personally not get hung up on it.
If there is a TCR you can afford within a reachable distance and of course in grey (why would you choose another colour!?!) I'd say have that one - with whatever spec that has.
The only thing to watch out for is the Akra exhaust, whilst lovely, really does knock the price up!
And if its got the sticker pack, they do come off with a hair dryer.... so don't get too picky about those things which really are marmite - only with marmite some people do actually like it ;-)
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I find the TCR a great daily driver albeit at the moment I don't get to drive it daily :rolleyes:. It's a very comfortable car, I don't find any issues with the ride quality although of course that's very much down to personal preference. DCC is standard with the Reifnitz and Pretoria 19" wheels which also includes an extra 5mm drop in ride height and the speed limiter removed.
Most of the noise is not from the exhaust but the soundaktor at the base of the windscreen. You can turn it down quite low (or off if you have a piece of kit like OBD11) in the settings and in most driving it's very quiet. If you put your foot down a bit there is a nice deep growl, the only time I've had any pops from the exhaust was when I was really giving it a thrash and even then they weren't that loud (at least not from the inside). Mine has the standard exhaust by the way.
If VED bothers you, most cars with the standard exhaust should be in the standard tax bracket but many of those with the Akra will have gone over the £40k threshold, their base price was pretty high so only a few decent options will take it into the luxury bracket.
I find the standard ICE okay but could fully see why someone would want Dynaudio so if you are keen on music in the car (I'm not) then go for it. Dealers are not always reliable with specs in their adverts so look out for shiny trims around the speakers on the windscreen pillars.
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Welcome! :smiley:
TCR is harsher than a normal GTI, marginally, so yes as a 'Daily' DCC is essential IMO. DCC on the TCR was specable on 18's, but with 19's it came as part of the pack so all 19" equipped cars have DCC.
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. 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. The front sound staging is epic. The only thing about Dynaudio that can be annoying is how sensitive it can sometimes be to the source (bitrate mainly).
If you go for a non Akra car then you'll prob find one with Dynaudio, but when the Akra cars were introduced the huge price hike meant a few options took it over the £40k barrier, so options on those cars are rarer.
For me I wasn't buying a GTI without DCC or Dynaudio, as I spend lots of time in my car and I didn't want any compromise. Both options are worth every penny IMO, especially the DCC that really turns the car into a Swiss army knife.
:)
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I've got DCC and Dynaudio on my GTI and IMO they are worth having, I dropped lucky when I finally bought mine as a 6 month old 2nd hand from the dealer as it had those options that I wanted.
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Oohhhh, I do like it when kmpowell talks dirty about Dynaudio! :drool:
More of that in a bit...
Welcome Primedriver.
I’ve had a tiny bit of experience with mk7 Golfs and currently run a TCR.
Plenty of good points already raised here so no need for me to rattle on too much.
The TCR can be a little bumpy on certain surfaces but it won’t be any worse than its immediate competition.
I’m a little sceptical about DCC but if you opt for a car with 19” wheels it’s standard anyway. I’ve had five mk7’s and four didn’t have DCC including my lovely Clubsport which has more or less identical suspension to the TCR which rode fine on ‘normal’ suspension with 19” wheels.
I find the DCC tends to need to be loaded up when fast cornering (in ‘Normal’ mode) or the front outer corner tends to initially wallow for a second or so until the damper firms up on flowing bends. But that’s a minor gripe.
Also the GTI models including the TCR tend to be upset by very sharp sudden irregularities that make me wince. The R I had didn’t suffer this.
I ran my TCR almost every day, seven days a week for nearly four months then had a six week break from it using a different car for commuting and have just returned to using it every day so it’s all fresh again.
Just like when I first owned it I found I needed a few days adjustment to get to grips with DSG and its other driving nuances again and now after four days I’m totally immersed in what a fantastic daily driver and fun car all rolled into one it is.
I really couldn’t recommend one enough and they look fantastic from most angles too.
No doubt about it, the R is a superior machine but the TCR just oozes character and is much more fun than the crop of 4wd 300bhp hatches it shares a price tag with.
As for the competition you mention, I tried out an M135i X-Drive and really liked it. A bit like the Golf R, it lacks a certain something but the engine is a peach and the styling is great from some angles. It’s very very solid feeling and a really nice place to spend time when sat inside it. BMW clearly uses a Golf as the benchmark then added some BMWness to the design.
There are some great deals on pre-registered ones but, just like the TCR, some of the add on’s take the price into the luxury tax bracket as I’m sure you’re aware.
I’ve not got up close and personal with an AMG A35 as yet.
Depending on which side of bed I get out of, some days I think it looks really pretty and other days it looks like a pregnant woodlouse.
Hertsman on here had a really close look at the A35 before plumping for a TCR and I’m sure he will be along with his thoughts. He influenced me greatly when I came to buy my own TCR.
None of these cars are a bad choice, you just have to decide which one is “you”.
Going back to Dynaudio, well....
I was always a DCC sceptic, I still am.
I was always a DSG sceptic, I still am.
After having it in a mk6 GTI I’d become a Dynaudio sceptic.
Now having had it in a mk7 I’m converted, it’s brilliant at higher volumes in this model.
I’m no audiophile so would probably recommend just adding a VW Helix subwoofer to a car that had no Dynaudio to stop it becoming a deal breaker, bearing in mind the cabin of a car isn’t the most perfect of listening environments and the standard audio is actually perfectly acceptable. But as per kmpowell’s descriptions of the system here and elsewhere on the forum (along with a few other Dynaudio die-hards) it’s well worth the extra money over the standard audio if you get the choice.
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Thanks to one and all for the excellent feedback and comments. Seems to me that DCC and Dynaudio are must have's for me from what you've said. I use various USB sticks with my music on at the moment and the car although not a perfect place for listening is certainly a place where I catch up with a lot of stuff I've got.
Had a look at the A35 and initially the interior had the wow factor but found that wore of pretty quick and actually prefer to have a few more buttons. Exterior wise quite difficult to tell the difference from the previous model and wouldn't want the in your face styling pack either.
The new S3 is some months away and knowing Audi the options won't come cheap so expect the total price to be too high for me. Have to draw the line somewhere !!
Golf R is great but think the GTI/TCR offer better value. Also had a quick look at the TROC R but not sure I really want an SUV and the interior was nothing to write home about either. Not overly impressed with the new Golf 8 GTI design interior or exterior and again don't like the more away from any physical buttons or switches and some of the reviews have doubts about the interior quality as well.
I've had a test drive in the M135i and was pretty impressed. It drove really well and would make a great daily driver. Interior quality I thought was better than the A35 and more driver orientated and I'm use to the BMW operating system, albeit an older version but I do like the GUI and think it's very user friendly. Plenty of bells and whistles and the Heads up display was sweet.
Tend to keep my cars for a long time so have kind of accepted that the list price may go over 40k as I might as well bite the bullet and get the options I want but there are some pretty good deals around for the M135i.
But having said all that keep coming back to the TCR, as in grey it still looks stunning and would certainly be more unique. There is a good one in Volkswagen Gatwick that fits the bill. Anybody had dealings with them ?
Biggest problem is getting any sort of test drive or deal sorted in these times but at least I've got plenty to think about and appreciate it's a first world problem.
Cheers.
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Have a gti performance 7.5 cann honestly say you wouldn’t regret buying one of these either Even my wife enjoys it and rates it more than the bm330 we had previous
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Quality replies remind me of the point to car forums :afro:
I’ve had a tiny bit of experience with mk7 Golfs and currently run a TCR.
Here's a pic of the only mk7 Exon hasn't owned:
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Had a look at the Gatwick TCR the OP refers to online, looks pretty good with an excellent spec. OP - just be aware that the sunroof surround can crack and VW will go to the ends of the earth to avoid responsibility. It would appear to be an error of installation however convincing them it is a warranty issue will be tricky. Mine has a sunroof and the surround has cracked, my dealer has said they will sort it for me but the part is on backorder, then the lockdown.... I would add though that bugger it, it's great and no regrets!
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Biggest problem is getting any sort of test drive or deal sorted in these times but at least I've got plenty to think about and appreciate it's a first world problem.
That may work in your favour - social distancing might mean taking it out on your own without a salesman sitting in the passenger seat... 😉
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Had a look at the Gatwick TCR the OP refers to online, looks pretty good with an excellent spec. OP - just be aware that the sunroof surround can crack and VW will go to the ends of the earth to avoid responsibility. It would appear to be an error of installation however convincing them it is a warranty issue will be tricky. Mine has a sunroof and the surround has cracked, my dealer has said they will sort it for me but the part is on backorder, then the lockdown.... I would add though that bugger it, it's great and no regrets!
Cheers for that, is the crack clearly visible and something I can check for. Assume it doesn't leak.
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Had a look at the Gatwick TCR the OP refers to online, looks pretty good with an excellent spec. OP - just be aware that the sunroof surround can crack and VW will go to the ends of the earth to avoid responsibility. It would appear to be an error of installation however convincing them it is a warranty issue will be tricky. Mine has a sunroof and the surround has cracked, my dealer has said they will sort it for me but the part is on backorder, then the lockdown.... I would add though that bugger it, it's great and no regrets!
Cheers for that, is the crack clearly visible and something I can check for. Assume it doesn't leak.
Yes, clearly visible. They crack where the slimmer sides meet the thicker section in front of the opening part of the sunroof. There's been a few threads about it, here's mine which has a couple of images - http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=286255.0
I've not seen any sign of water ingress and I'm confident the area below will be part of the channels that have a drain pipe so it should be fine. It's a pretty big job to replace and probably quite expensive to have to pay for yourself should it happen but it's not like they are all breaking. I'm really pleased with mine, especially with all the great weather we've been having :smiley:
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Quality replies remind me of the point to car forums :afro:
I’ve had a tiny bit of experience with mk7 Golfs and currently run a TCR.
Here's a pic of the only mk7 Exon hasn't owned:
I'm fairly sure he hasn't had a GTE or an e-Golf...?!! :grin:
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There is a good one in Volkswagen Gatwick that fits the bill. Anybody had dealings with them ?
My only advice, check it's actually for sale!
There's a long story behind me getting my car (ordered before WLTP shutdown in the summer of 2018, delayed, cancelled, finally arrived out of the blue Christmas 2018), but in the time I had cancelled my order I was looking for used examples that had DCC/Dynaudio/19's and leather). My GF lives a few miles from Gatwick VW and they had a car for sale (on the VW website with a screen price etc) which had a similar spec to the car I'd ordered, albeit it was white. So I popped down to see it, rang ahead to let them know I was coming yet when I turned up I couldn't see it anywhere, so I assumed it was a demo probably parked out back or with a salesperson. I walked into the showroom and sat around waiting for about an hour as the various salesman tried to track down the car on various systems yet to no avail, it was like the car didn't exist. The third salesman then came over and said he'd found it parked out the back. We went out the back and it was filthy (inside and out) and clearly in use, and here's the clincher for me.... as the salesman was inside trying to find the key for me to look over it a guy came out of the workshop and tried to get into it to drive off. I said that I was about to test drive it, to which he replied "no you're not mate it's my car!". The salesman came back out and he was ushered away by this mysterious man. The salesman then came back with the key and let me look over it.
I said I was interested, but wanted to drive it, to which he said I could but the car was being used by the Work shop Director and I could drive it when he came back from lunch. All this seemed very weird, so when we were inside I asked the salesman to show me the car on their system as available to purchase immediately. He brought up a scree on a business fleet system (not retail!) and it said the car couldn't be sold for another 6 months! As you can imagine I flew off the handle and asked why they were advertising a car they couldn't actually sell. The salesman was hugely apologetic, but he said his hands were tied due to them not being able to sell demo cars for a fixed amount of time.
I walked away and lost the best part of a day there for nothing. Granted, an isolated incident, but it put me off going back there, so tread with caution as it appears they advertise cars well in advance of actually being able to sell them!
:)
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Usually, if a car is being advertised for sale in the used cars section on VW’s website, it’ll have an availability date (you need to click the ‘View details’ button of cars you’re interested in to see the availability date).
Cars that are on the dealer’s demonstrator fleet and / or are being used by dealership staff will show an availability date that’s often 3-4 months into the future for a recently registered car; I think dealerships have to run their fleet vehicles for a minimum period of months / miles before they can actually sell them on. Cars that are part of the dealer’s existing used car stock will show ‘Availability date; Now’.
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Usually, if a car is being advertised for sale in the used cars section on VW’s website, it’ll have an availability date (you need to click the ‘View details’ button of cars you’re interested in to see the availability date).
Cars that are on the dealer’s demonstrator fleet and / or are being used by dealership staff will show an availability date that’s often 3-4 months into the future for a recently registered car; I think dealerships have to run their fleet vehicles for a minimum period of months / miles before they can actually sell them on. Cars that are part of the dealer’s existing used car stock will show ‘Availability date; Now’.
This particular car had no availability date, so I assumed it was available immediately (I knew demos had to be run for a period of time hence why my suspicions were aroused when I arrived at the dealer). What became apparent is it had clearly been manually loaded to the UCL system, because it wasn't on any of the retail systems at the dealer, only a business fleet system.
Piss poor IMO, the salesman was very very apologetic and said he'd take it up with the manager, but the car stayed on sale (on auto trader and the UCL) for several months after my complaint.
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Quality replies remind me of the point to car forums :afro:
I’ve had a tiny bit of experience with mk7 Golfs and currently run a TCR.
Here's a pic of the only mk7 Exon hasn't owned:
I'm fairly sure he hasn't had a GTE or an e-Golf...?!! :grin:
I do have my limits! :grin:
Mind you, a 245bhp GTE does have a certain appeal...
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My previous car was a 116d, and I haven't looked back since. It sounds like we are in similar situation to yourself, small family with one car so it needs to cover all bases.
The Golf is a much better package & very comfortable. We got luckly and found a DCC GTI, in comfort it is much more compliant compared to the old 1 series in Msport trim(along with the msport suspension), in sport its as you would expect "sporty" bumpy ride. However it sounds like non DCC is also great, I suspect it would still be better than a 1 series with run-flats and (if you have it) the harsh msport suspension.
While we are talking about tyres, going non runflat is sooo much cheaper. I would usually spend £600+ for all four corners on the bmw with 18 inch tyres. Recently put Michellin PS4's in the same 18 inch size on all four corners for £380 - bargain in comparison.
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You didn't need runflats on the BMW though did you? I know they used to come with them, but you didn't need to put them back on when they wore out...
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You didn't need runflats on the BMW though did you? I know they used to come with them, but you didn't need to put them back on when they wore out...
Was just about to write the same :grin:
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You didn't need runflats on the BMW though did you? I know they used to come with them, but you didn't need to put them back on when they wore out...
Very true - but the 1 series didn't have a spare tyre or a space for a spare tyre. So I opted to stick with run flats for practicality.
Other option would of been to buy a spare but that would of taken up boot space. When you carry a push chair around and need to fully load the car up for regular weekend trips to visit my parents, an additional wheel taking up boot space isn't an option.
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You didn't need runflats on the BMW though did you? I know they used to come with them, but you didn't need to put them back on when they wore out...
Very true - but the 1 series didn't have a spare tyre or a space for a spare tyre. So I opted to stick with run flats for practicality.
Other option would of been to buy a spare but that would of taken up boot space. When you carry a push chair around and need to fully load the car up for regular weekend trips to visit my parents, an additional wheel taking up boot space isn't an option.
A previous car I owned didn’t have a spare. In 28 years of driving I’ve never once had to change a wheel due to puncture (touch wood). Not having a spare has never bothered me. I’d just call the AA anyway, particularly if I was on a work trip and wearing a suit.
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A previous car I owned didn’t have a spare. In 28 years of driving I’ve never once had to change a wheel due to puncture (touch wood). Not having a spare has never bothered me. I’d just call the AA anyway, particularly if I was on a work trip and wearing a suit.
Agreed. My 3er doesn't have a spare and I run PS4S's and same with my X5. Never really worried about it.
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The TCR at Gatwick has been reserved so will carry on looking. Thanks again for the feedback.