Looking to get a MK7 GTI

[baz92]

Evening ladies and gentlemen, I'm here seeking advice.

I currently own a very tired A3 2.0T which has served me well for the past several years. I am now looking for a replacement, and all it seems like the MK7 GTI may very well be the answer.

I have a budget of 15-20k so looking for 63-64 plate GTI's.

I have an idea of the options I want:
- DSG
- Performance Pack
- Panoramic Sunroof
- dynaudio audio
- Park Pilot
- Adaptive Cruise Control
-bixenons (are they standard on the GTI?)

Any other options worth considering?


Possibly looking for a 3dr over a 5dr. Is the 3dr better for a taller driver (6ft4) or does it offer the same room as a 5dr?

Whats the tuning potential like? Ideally would be looking at a remap and exhaust at some point too.


Fuel economy I estimate is 30-35mpg, I do mainly motorway mileage. Am I far off?

What are the common mods? Cosmetic or otherwise?


Any advice/tips most welcome.

thx,

Baz

[Guzzle]

If you can stretch to a 15 plate car, this is when sat nav and winter pack became standard (bw22 onwards).

Adaptive xenon's have always been standard on Mk7 GTi's, however the facelift cars now have led headlamps instead. Adaptive cruise control was standard on all but a handful of the earliest cars, look for the rectangular cutout in the grille below the front number plate.

3 door and 5 door cars are identical for interior space, however the 3 doors have longer door. So they may be slightly better for taller drivers getting on and out, however they may be a chore in narrow parking spaces. I am a mere 6ft 1 and have no issues with the  5 door.

Fuel economy should be at least no worse than your A3, if you use the search function you should be able to find some in depth threads on the subject.

As for tuning, yes there is potential. But as this ain't really my domain i'm sure some more knowledgeable members will be along shortly to advise.

Mods? Depends how deep your pockets are. But if spending lots you'll end up not far away from R money.

[Duke Dickson]

If you can wait for one of the occasional offers, you can do better than a 63-64 plate at the top end of your budget, before options. After deducting what came with offer at the time, I effectively paid a bit under 20 for a 2016 PP. Admittedly not with what you want, but there's only two of those I'd be remotely interested in.

DSG - Not for me, even if the manual is bang ordinary. I hope it is a lot better than cooking equivalents. However, it would seem to work better with ACC.
PP - Got that, though not entirely convinced yet.
Sunroof - There for free ok, otherwise not remotely fussed.
Dynaudio - Would like to have had that, as someone who doesn't really go down the aftermarket route.

PP/ACC/Xenons all std if you buy the right car by the sounds of it.


Fuel consumption is as always a mix of the car, the circumstances and the driving style. I do something around 50% motorway, 25% normal roads and 25% 5mph crawl and am getting near to 36mpg. However, that is driving with a bit of realism & some advanced knowledge - I managed a fair bit more than the supposed norm in my last car as well, even if not in mid to high 30's territory.

Mods/tuning - Not my thing as I'm from the want a faster car, buy one from the off school. Unless expensively done for the sleeper POV.

[clubsport]

With quite specific requirements on spec, you don't mention colour.....

It may be hard to find exactly what you want at the right price, in the right condition, when you want it.
I speak from my own specific search.

Although the interior space is the same, the 3 door does feel more spacious from the drivers seat, due to the B pillar being further back.
I was ok with either , but preferred the 3 door when I started driving a few cars.
Good luck in your search!

[Gnasher]

Agree with all the above.

One thing... If you find one with your perfect spec apart from Dynaudio, consider getting the Helix system retrofitted. It's £500 (same price roughly as the Dynaudio) and is allegedly as good sounding as the Dynaudio.

That said, I got the Dynaudio and have never listened to either a Standard setup or a Helix one lol.

[faisal_uk]

I was also looking for a used model with a similar spec and there are not that many about!
Just keep looking and obviously widen your search to a larger area.

Also I would rank the options in order of desirability so you can compromise where needed.
You will struggle to find one with Sunroof - so I would put that to the bottom of the list.

Just concentrate on the basics - PP, DSG and colour and then take it from there.
Also audio can be upgraded at a later date.

[Watts]

I was also looking for a used model with a similar spec and there are not that many about!
Just keep looking and obviously widen your search to a larger area.

Also I would rank the options in order of desirability so you can compromise where needed.
You will struggle to find one with Sunroof - so I would put that to the bottom of the list.

Just concentrate on the basics - PP, DSG and colour and then take it from there.
Also audio can be upgraded at a later date.

Excellent advice that. Or, do what I did and decide exactly what you want, go and test drive something completely different and buy that instead!

[fredgroves]

I'd sit down and rank the things you want. If I was buying a secondhand car I'd choose mileage and condition over any extras personally.

Of the things you mentioned:

- DSG - should be easy, I'd say its about 50/50 on manual vs DSG
- Performance Pack - PP's are probably about 50% of the GTI's too I'd say
- Panoramic Sunroof - not too common because if you have 19's you can't spec a sunroof. GTI people like 19's
- dynaudio audio - not too common, unless it was from the MY2017 (so a 16 plate onwards) when they bundled navpro with dynaudio for a super cheap price.
- Park Pilot - quite common. It was cheap to add, together with the reversing camera as a pack. Bit of a gimmick unless you are totally useless at parking a car thats easy to park
- Adaptive Cruise Control - standard
-bixenons (are they standard on the GTI?) - standard.

So I'd say a DSG GTI PP would be easy to find, the rest not quite so if you stick to wanting a car at the right price with the right mileage near you.