After market Santiago's €2,469

[matchboy]

The Santiago's look great but I bet they will take an age to clean

Exactly why I'll pay my car man to do it 

[Running Man]

To be fair I like the 19'' alloys but we can't spec them with sunroof and I would rather have the sunroof and the standard (gorgeous) 18''

You are talking about the GTD wheels? 

I honestly prefer them to the Austins, but not by much, i'd have been happy with either set. The black accents looked great against my dad's black car.

  no I'm talking about the GTI  Santiago's (this thread) 

[AAddict]

You can get some seriously better wheels than the Santiago's for that kind of money. I really can't see anyone buying these wheels aftermarket, apart from broken wheels from potholes.

[dubber36]

Yeah, but that's £965 instead of the 18" wheels, not as well as.

True, true but I'm just pointing out how expensive it will be for people to upgrade post delivery. Eye watering

A lad I know works in R+D for Honda. He tells me that they pay somewhere in the region of £50 for a 18/19" wheel and tyre combo for the production line. It's the aftermarket where the wheel and tyre manufactures make their money. So at nearly ££1000 to upgrade, I'd say vw are rubbing their hands.

[iainmac]

I've ordered Santiagos for my GTD.......do you think the ride will be horrendous?  I just have the standard suspension set up.  I am actually not keen on the standard alloys - IMO the spokes look too skinny for the car.  Hope I haven't put form over function though!

[monkeyhanger]

I've ordered Santiagos for my GTD.......do you think the ride will be horrendous?  I just have the standard suspension set up.  I am actually not keen on the standard alloys - IMO the spokes look too skinny for the car.  Hope I haven't put form over function though!

I think the black highlights on the Nogaros make the spokes look skinnier than they actually are. Definitely harsher ride on the 19" on standard suspension with poorer road surfaces - there's a lot less air in a 19" tyre than an 18" tyre.

[matchboy]

The 19s will provide a harder ride, there is no doubt about this. It's whether or not this bothers you, that's the issue. Some it will, so they stick with 18s. Others still want the bigger wheels but still want some level of comfort so spec the ACC (or whatever it's called these days  ) - then there's me who's just specced the 19s as a firm ride doesn't bother me as anything will be better than my current ride (which is very hard but again doesn't bother me). 

[iainmac]

Do you think we are talking a bone rattling ride?!

[Gryzor]

Do you think we are talking a bone rattling ride?!

It's not a fair comparison I know, but a couple of years ago a mate of mine put 19" wheels on his Ford Focus, and it turned into something where "bone rattling" was definitely words I used to describe it!  Clearly the whole car setup wasn't made for them, but still...not something I'd ever spec on an everyday runner.

[iainmac]

Ok, so now I'm worried!  Too late to change as my car is in transit.  I wonder if anyone has driven a golf with the Santiagos and can give me an honest opinion? I hope I won't feel  !!!!