Now I've finally got five minutes I guess it's about time I introduced mine!
Yes, another boring white one!
After the usual months of delays (ordered mid-April) and the tracker not showing build in progress til nearly the end of BW41 it suddenly took on the full potential of the Performance Pack and overtook everyone else's cars waiting at the docks and got to the dealership really really quickly.
Big thanks to Lee (evo1986) and Chris at Cheltenham VW saw it arrive on Friday last week and was quickly turned around and ready by Tuesday morning. A mad scramble by me to get up there as soon as possible and I collected her on Tuesday lunchtime.
I'd hoped to take a load of photos of this car and my old one together as I'd parked it quite close by in a good position but unfortunately I had to get back to Devon quickly and the motorway was shut so the nav had a very quick test straight away!!
I rushed through the paperwork and hit the road ASAP and thanks to the motorway being shut I had a very scenic drive home!!!
So what do I think of it?
The interior I absolutely love. VW did a spot on job.
When you sit and read the forums you see the same old comments from people who never really bother to investigate cars properly. They just sit and look at photos and make a judgement.
Now my reason for buying a mk7 wasn't because I needed a new car and conversely I was set to lose a lot of money on my old car and wasn't really ready to see it go any time soon. But with the announcement of the MQB and the VAQ diff I think myself and many other GTI aficionados knew the mk7 would be a leap forward like the mk5 was over the mk4.
The nay-sayers all said the mk7 looks just like a mk6 (due to the current family nose) and thus it didn't merit any further thought from them.
Well until they get their arses into the driving seat of a mk7 they'll never know what they're missing.
The mk7 interior is definitely an evolution. It's not a Bentley but it's a darned nice place to be.
Ergonomically everything is just so. It all falls to hand.
I can't really fault much about the interior. And as many have said, it all comes to life at night.
Looks? I keep finding things that aren't apparent in 2D photos. Even the rear lights have a nice bit of sculpting unlike the blobby mk5 and mk6 lights.
This is a car that needs viewing in the flesh.
A lot of people have commented on here that the GTI doesn't look much different to lower spec models. When you see them parked side by side they look quite different. Typical German understatement different. Just how we like it!
Colour? It had to be a white 3 door. As soon as the first motorshow pics were up on the internet and VW used the (Oryx) white on their press releases it was obvious their graphic designers and advertising guys knew they were on to something! Ok, mines Washing Machine flat white but it still stands out and that's been proved not just by admiring glances from other Golf owners (the only people so far to take any notice of the car) but my wife, who never ever recognises my new cars for ages after I've owned them, actually drove past me in heavy traffic where I was hard to spot - and she spotted my new car before I spotted her car which we've had five years!!! And boy did she let me know about it later!
Yes a Carbon Grey five door would have suited my uses much better but...
Engine? Well this incarnation of the TSI has as much torque as the outgoing GTD 170. Does it feel as punchy? Not to me. The car picks up speed ok but the throttle pedal really needs a lot of movement so something like a SprintBooster is an urgent requirement for me.
It must be the way the factories have to put cars out into the marketplace as 258 lb ft is quite a lot and to me it feels no more rapid (in fact less so) than a standard mk6. I read a lot of complaints about the M135i not feeling like it was as powerful as it is from the drivers seat.
I've had remapped cars putting out much less power than the 230 bhp standard Golf and feeling much punchier (obviously the stop watch would tell another story). It's just the way VW have had to dumb down the standard mapping.
26 years ago when I had my mk1 I'd have never dreamt that a factory standard GTI could've had more power than an ur-quattro. But unfortunately the ur-quattro feels a lot more lively in the engine department than a mk7 GTI!!
Without wanting to type for hours here I suppose I'd better just sum up a few things that have stood out as particularly noteworthy both good and bad.
The electronic handbrake I'd expected to hate. But I love it!
The radar thingy I've not even noticed but it was pretty cool on the motorway when the little graphic told me the vehicle in front was a bit too close!
The door stays are particularly bad on the 3 door. The salesman warned me about this and he's not wrong!
The folding seat isn't as good as on the mk4 3 door I had years ago for access so it's already becoming a pain in the arse. The price of vanity!
The colour is going to be another pain in the arse! My father in law took one look at the shiny white paintwork and said "you won't keep that car for long!"
The light strips on the interior I just adore! Childish I know but that's me!!!
Aside from that I've not really used the car much since picking it up. I'd originally hoped it would be there July or August and the white would have looked great in the summer sun - but the flip side is that it gets dark half way through the afternoon at this time of year and I can't see the outside of the car anyway, but what I can see is that awesome lighting on the interior.
Current mileage stands at about 160. 130 odd was the trip home.
Current paintwork colour is muddy brown with a hint of whiteness!
Still deciding on when to put my BBSs on or whether to just rock the standard Austins for a while.
First jobs will be LED interior bulbs for the ones that aren't already (will be ordered via eBAY once I find the links here again) and then having a look at what VCDS will allow me to do when it finally stops raining...
Oh, and the tax disc. Must remember to put the tax disc in!! It arrived this morning so that's the first job...
