Performance Pack or Not? Have you?

[wigit]

no right or wrong answer here really as VW have finally given owners choice, hence why ACC should remain an option (and one of the main reasons I never bought another rocco)
 
i'd take the performance pack over ACC any day as MK5/6 brakes are not the best and XDS can throw a wobbly, for me it would make for a more balanced car

out the box the 7 will be fine, PP just makes it a bit more focused

will be interesting what the second hand market will want, only time will tell

[matchboy]

If it was a choice between the two, then yes the PP is the one to go for.  It should 100% be standard.  This 'two versions' of the GTI is nothing more than marketing bullsh!t and a con job to get people (like me  ) to pay another grand for some bigger brakes.  Either make the car with the PP or leave all that stuff for the R.

I'm sure in the real world it will be difficult to tell the difference, and a non PP car will not miss the add on 99% of the time....I for one drive hard but i don't slide around corners or drive to work on a track, so I'm not sure how it will add to the drive of the car really.  Saying that, I still specced it 

[Bill_the_Bear]

Just placed an order and did not go for the PP.  A lot of people say "no brainer" or "who wouldn't" but I personally didn't see it was something needed for me.  This will be my first time owning a GTI, I'm stepping up from a nifty Fiesta, so I'm confident that without the PP I'm already going to be enjoying this great car.  Asking another £1k for 0.1 sec faster to 62 and improved cornering which, its debatable whether it would be really that noticeable, was too much.  It might be value for money but its not something I actually need.

Now, if I intended to get the car on the track I might have taken a different view.  But then, if I wanted to do that there would I not be considering the Megan Sport or a VXR too?  In other words I wanted the Golf GTI for its all round appeal, not so I could get every last fraction of performance from it.  If you do want the max performance then I guess it is a no brainer though, but I suspect the number of people who do will be significantly less than the number who fork out the extra grand.  But I could be wrong   

PS: First post!

[Gryzor]

Well, neither ACC or PP are standard, so the choice is there.  Relative merits and value will be determined by what people ultimately want out of their car, so I went for ACC.  I completely get why a lot of GTI buyers would immediately tick this box, but I'm sorry, if all it can muster is 8 seconds around the Nurburgring, I'm afraid its real-world performance value is practically non-existent.  Having said that, if it makes it more fun for you to sling it around and out of corners faster than is sensible, go for it!  Personally, I prefer a more sedate ride.  I just choose to own a GTI for the very reason some reviewers dock marks - not very exciting.  That, and the quality interior, understated looks, all-year round usability, effortless drive, and power on tap when you need/want it.

[Ess_Three]

I think the trick VW are playing here is to offer options that people will chose, if they've had them before.

If you've lived with ACC on a GTI...I think most people will chose it again, and pay for it.
Same with an LSD...if you've ever driven a car with one, and one was offered, I suspect 99% of people would pick it and pay for it.
It's not so much how it feels...it's how one feels with out it, compared to the one with it.

Good as XDS is, it's a makey-on half arsed solution to a problem that a limited slip diff solves...better traction, better feel through corners and better braking.
Well worth the £1000 premium alone.
The bigger brakes and additional few ponies are just a bonus, in my mind.

Maybe the fact that it's an option is a good thing.
But the GTI is capable of being the best in class, not just the sensible compromise...and it would appear to cost approx £1500 to put it there.
Both should be standard in my view.

[DubaiGTI]

980 quid for LSD.  Come on, tick that box.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/volkswagen-golf-gti-mk7-video-review

Exactly.

[Gryzor]

I think the trick VW are playing here is to offer options that people will chose, if they've had them before.

If you've lived with ACC on a GTI...I think most people will chose it again, and pay for it.
Same with an LSD...if you've ever driven a car with one, and one was offered, I suspect 99% of people would pick it and pay for it.
It's not so much how it feels...it's how one feels with out it, compared to the one with it.

I'd go along with that.  Like most things in life you just get used to whatever it is you have, be it a smartphone or some technology in a car, and it's natural to not want to compromise.  Lots of psychology goes on with car purchases that's for sure!

[Exonian]

A nice healthy bit of debate going on in here at last! It's been soooo dull and friendly for soooo long!!! 

I'm not sure I agree with your earlier comment about saying you might as well buy a GTD if you don't spec the performance pack Exonian!  What kind of logic is that?!  I don't want a petrol vs diesel debate, but I just prefer the smoothness of petrol engines, and I prefer the looks of the GTI over the GTD in terms of wheels, red accents, and interior.  There is more to a car than just performance, and £1000 extra for just 8 seconds gain around the Nurb simply isn't worth it for every day use in my view.

Yep, it's an expensive option on an already reasonably expensive car.  Most people in the market for a GTI are not after a car that that they want to drive like they are on a track.  Of those who do go for the performance pack, I suspect very few will actually be able to truly appreciate the difference, but just go for it for pub talk.  Personally, I've never had an issue with the brakes on my MkV GTI, even fully-loaded, but then again, in such a state I wouldn't drive it like I'm around Brands Hatch!

You'll get used to me Graham but most of my posts are a bit tongue in cheek as I've been doing internet forums for many many years and just see time and again people taking the words they read very literally and you will get a bit of misunderstanding that leads to a massive online row. All good fun!! I do try and inject a bit of humour in and don't take much seriously.
I have a mate who sort of dates a lady via text messages and email and all they ever do is fall out as words get misinterpreted and misunderstandings turn into fall outs. Stick 'em in the room together and they get on just fine. It's a bit like that with forums. I used to do a lot of VW shows back in the 80s and 90s and met loads of great people. I'd fall out and argue to toss with them online I reckon but once you speak to them face to face you find that the differing opinions are not actually as marked as they look in print.

BUT I will say this, never underestimate the flexibility and performance of the modern Diesels. I drive them a lot and I'll side with the Diesel boys 75% of the time.
Back in 2008 I won a set of Koni FSD shocks for my mk5 GTI in VW Driver mag. I met Neil Birkett in rural Somerset for some action shots on country roads. I was driving a 240bhp modified mk5 GTI with Koni shocks and he had a standard 105 bhp Golf Plus TDI he had on road test. Now he's a much much better driver than me and I had another 135 bhp. Could I keep up with him? Nope! The TDI is made for give and take driving and a very fast cross country car. Just see what a lot of motoring journos will tell you off the record what cars they would personally buy - not the ones that you think would spring to mind!! The photo shoot is in the October or Nov 2008 VW Driver mag is anyone is in the slightest bit interested.

All I can say it that the mk7 GTI is the first one I've been willing to buy new as it's the first one that I'd be happy to own as a bog standard car since the mk2 GTI 8V. VW have got the spec vs cost about right I think. The Leon Cupra will prove me wrong on that score.
Just look at the Golf R cabrio, you get a peasant spec radio on a £40K car!! Just so wrong!!!

I aim to keep the mk7 for a lot longer than I normally keep my GTIs for and thus the massive depreciation will have to be swallowed and the PP will be beneficial to me as once the car is a few years old I will remap it and thus the diff and brakes will be very useful.
And don't assume because I've just said that I'm a boy racer as I'm not, I was 45 yesterday. I bought my first GTI in 1987 and have had many since. The reason GTIs have a cult following is that they are very balanced as standard but can be improved upon a little without upsetting that balance too much (ignoring the mk3 and 4 which were rubbish as standard and the reason SEAT became such a threat to VW for years). The PP has been put there by VW because they are very aware of the massive aftermarket industry and cult following of lightly modified GTIs, their chance at last to cash in on it and very beneficial to owners to have factory approved and properly engineered and tested modifications.

If I was going to buy the (quite well specced) standard car I do honestly think I'd plump for a GTD and just add a tuning box at a later date.

[Exonian]

Can't believe the 19" wheels are the same money though. I can understand the 17" - 19" upgrade being that price on the mk6 as the tyres on the 19" rims are expensive but from 18" - 19" a grand (almost) is a big jump. £600 would be fairer maybe?

A mate works in R+D for Honda. He tells me that the production line pay around £35 each for an 18 or 19" wheel and the same sort of price for a tyre, so I'd say £600 for an upgrade was still a bit steep.

I can well imagine what they pay on those massive scales!
I was going by normal retail price differences from respectable companies using decent branded stuff.

I'll keep my BBSs I think!!

[Exonian]

no right or wrong answer here really as VW have finally given owners choice, hence why ACC should remain an option (and one of the main reasons I never bought another rocco)
 
i'd take the performance pack over ACC any day as MK5/6 brakes are not the best and XDS can throw a wobbly, for me it would make for a more balanced car

out the box the 7 will be fine, PP just makes it a bit more focused

will be interesting what the second hand market will want, only time will tell

My thoughts more or less exactly.