Just got one step closer to my next car decision.....

[DanoGTI]

Some of you may know, I'm toying with moving on from my Audi S4. Great car in every way, but I've had it for 3 yrs and I *think* I'm getting itchy feet.

Sooooo.... I've been looking around, whilst the RS4 is another option, their prices seem to be in freefall at the moment and the same goes for some other similar marques.

I've found myself looking very seriously at the Golf GTi - hence registering on here!!
 I've driven a manual back to back with the new S3, (Nice interior, well put together, and *slightly* (despite having an extra 65bhp) quicker in the real world) - not enough of a difference to command the extra premium (IMHO) - and that's coming from an Audi owner

So, the manual GTi - loved it. But after hearing such a lot about the DSG, I thought I'd better try it, even just for elimination purposes.

Called my local dealership (South Hereford Volkswagen) - no Golf GTis in. However, I could try a Scirocco DSG..... "Kill 2 birds with 1 stone" I thought, as I'd been waiting to try one.

Firstly, dealership were FANTASTIC. It takes ALOT for me to say that, as I tend to treat all dealers with contempt

The car was the 2L FSI. Silver.
First impression - from the outside, a very pretty front end, with a FAT bum!
Inside, OMG. Claustrophobic!! You could argue that it is "secure".....

Major blind spots - rear visibility is poor, as is the boot space. Stereo was poor, albeit touch-screen. It had Winter-pack (heated seats) and armrest Ipod connection. What was REALLY gash was the Aux input - a Maplin-special 3.5mm socket above the handbrake. Bl00dy awful.

The drive - once I'd set the handling to sport, it was quite nice However, it got to good speed with no real sense of occasion. Bit of a let-down tbh.

The biggest surprise was that of the DSG. Flappy paddle that doesn't select reverse. Still have a kick down (a la Automatic) and it revs to the limit!!

Hand of heart, I drove it for about 40 miles (with the Wife joining in too) and we couldn't see the point. A fantastic bit of kit for quick gear changes, but too "auto" - the flappy paddle is a bit gimmicky.

I prefer the manual option I think.


The kids didn't like the rear of the Scirocco either, complaining of little visibility.

So, I'm definitely going for a manual with my GTi though

And no, I wouldn't buy the Scirocco - all the time, we both felt that we were extras to the occasion that was the car. It was not an extension to us. IMHO, definitely a case of form over function.

Dan

[sharpie]

good write up

Hand of heart, I drove it for about 40 miles (with the Wife joining in too) and we couldn't see the point. A fantastic bit of kit for quick gear changes, but too "auto" - the flappy paddle is a bit gimmicky.

couldn't agree more about the dsg comment after driving an eos with dsg and 'sport' pack about here for a bit. it's neither here nor there.

[celica]

nice write up

[sharman]

I've emailed you details of my GTI for sale if you're interested. Cheers.

[dustybones]

Stop messin around and bite the bullet, there is a shed load of good gti's around at the mo, go for it and have fun....

cheers   

[Exonian]

The 2.0 TFSI (or TSI or whatever VW are calling it this week) does feel a little flat and the throttle response is a bit dull as standard. But this engine was just born to be re-mapped. Makes a good car a great car.

[AlanD]

Not really driven a car long enough (Audi TT with DSG for a bit, thats all) to have much of an opnion. Mine is a manual (due to budget reasons) and remapped and its really is the sh!t, you wont be disappointed.

[Exonian]

I reckon if it was my only car and I was buying it new or new-ish then I'd go for the DSG. However mine was nearly 3 years old when I bought it and I have 3 cars at my disposal so manual was fine for me as my driving is bad enough as it is without wanting to worry about whether or not I had a clutch pedal near my left foot!!! 

I think a re-mapped DSG car would be such fun on roads with heaps of sweeping bends and trucks to overtake or on NSL dual carriageways with lots of traffic lights. 

[Hurdy]

Hi Dan,

Good call on the GTI

The DSG doesn't suit everyone, that I've found out for sure. It is a Marmite thing - you either love or loathe it. I personally love it and although you say the flappy paddles are gimmicky, I use them most of the time outside the city and it is much easier to access the power when remapped (I live 1 minute from glorious Yorkshire/Derbyshire countryside) and when in town simply drop back to D when I need to.

Any Ideas on colour, specification yet?

[DanoGTI]

Yes bud

I'm going to go for  -

Any colour except silver - already got a silver S4 (and my 1st Scooby was silver too!)
18" Monza II
3 or 5 door - not overly bothered. Saw Red Robin's post about his door choice being decided by his daughter. My 2 kids wont be at the "taxi" stage for another 4-5 years yet, so I'm tempted with a 3 door
Manual
SatNav - if available. Going to replace it with a Pioneer AVIC-F700 or 900BT and some decent speakers
Leather interior  - as stated, got kids easy to clean up.
Winter pack would be good too. Maybe some luxury packs!

Got VW looking for a car too - I'm toying with a PCP with them. They've said that it's roughly £100 per month PER £5000 of car....
Sounds pretty good tbh.

As long as I can either sell the Audi or P/ex it.

DaN