AutoCar Mk7 GTI with P Pack review places it No3.

[Jimble]

The fact that the reviewers say 'its not exciting' enough blah blah blah means nothing to me because when I had my test drive I couldn't wipe the smile from my face.  And given the cars I've driven previously commented upon in another thread, that's the biggest compliment I can give to the car.

It has more than enough excitement for me!

(I am an accountant though so read into that what you will!  )

Matchboy I am totally with you.  The gti was one of the most fun cars I have driven since 1998 when I first drove a fiat coupe 20v turbo ( find me a 220 bhp front drive car today that does 0-100 in 14.5 secs ? ) and I had a huge grin on my face with the golf.  Couple that with the need to have day to day usability and good residuals and I can't think of another car like it.

Exactly!  Ticks all the boxes!

Is am1w still droning on about his 330d?  Clearly not getting any love on the BMW forums. I wouldn't mind but its not even the best 3 series you can buy, it's mid range at best. 

Yup, unfortunately nobody wants his opinion anymore! The only reason he comes on here these days is to ruffle feathers which is strange considering he had the best GTI in the country!   Nobody wants to hear how fantastic his BMW saloon is and how poor he thinks the mk7 GTI is.


Yawn........

[Kingsley]

Hi Guys, First post here so go easy. I read the Autocar review over a bit of toast on Wednesday morning and had e-mailed them by 9 o'clock! Let's see if it gets published.
 
p.s. take the other car selections mentioned with a pitch of salt, I just wanted to demonstrate how one dimensional most car mags are in their comparison tests.

p.p.s. actually ordered a GTD this week (20K plus miles a year, I just couldn't do the GTI )

Dear Autocar,
 
I've just rolled my eyes and let a out a little sigh after reading your disappointingly predictable road test of the Golf GTI. As someone who has a GTI high on their next purchase list, I can promise you that the Focus ST and the Megane 265 are not on there, mostly because I don't want to be mistaken for a 19-year-old. Other considerations for me are the new A3 Saloon, or maybe a low-level Evoque. To put the GTI in the horsepower and cocked-wheel bracket is missing the point of it's appeal. 2-hours wanging round a track, I would probably pick the Ford too, but living with it for 3 years? You're off your rocker. And didn't the GTI comprehensively beat the Focus ST a few issues back anyway? So I can also add fickleness to the reasons not to believe.

[matchboy]

Dear Autocar,
 
I've just rolled my eyes and let a out a little sigh after reading your disappointingly predictable road test of the Golf GTI. As someone who has a GTI high on their next purchase list, I can promise you that the Focus ST and the Megane 265 are not on there, mostly because I don't want to be mistaken for a 19-year-old. Other considerations for me are the new A3 Saloon, or maybe a low-level Evoque. To put the GTI in the horsepower and cocked-wheel bracket is missing the point of it's appeal. 2-hours wanging round a track, I would probably pick the Ford too, but living with it for 3 years? You're off your rocker. And didn't the GTI comprehensively beat the Focus ST a few issues back anyway? So I can also add fickleness to the reasons not to believe.

Couldn't of put it better myself!

[Hawaii-Five-O]

Hi Guys, First post here so go easy. I read the Autocar review over a bit of toast on Wednesday morning and had e-mailed them by 9 o'clock! Let's see if it gets published.
 
p.s. take the other car selections mentioned with a pitch of salt, I just wanted to demonstrate how one dimensional most car mags are in their comparison tests.

p.p.s. actually ordered a GTD this week (20K plus miles a year, I just couldn't do the GTI )

Dear Autocar,
 
I've just rolled my eyes and let a out a little sigh after reading your disappointingly predictable road test of the Golf GTI. As someone who has a GTI high on their next purchase list, I can promise you that the Focus ST and the Megane 265 are not on there, mostly because I don't want to be mistaken for a 19-year-old. Other considerations for me are the new A3 Saloon, or maybe a low-level Evoque. To put the GTI in the horsepower and cocked-wheel bracket is missing the point of it's appeal. 2-hours wanging round a track, I would probably pick the Ford too, but living with it for 3 years? You're off your rocker. And didn't the GTI comprehensively beat the Focus ST a few issues back anyway? So I can also add fickleness to the reasons not to believe.

Welcome to the forum Kingsley Remember to add you new GTD order to the Spec no spam stickie at the top of the Mk7 forum.

Good luck with your letter to Autocar however, I fear it will fall on deaf ears.

I'm fed up with the GTI receiving 5* reviews one week then 4* the other. Make your mind up chaps!

[Bill_the_Bear]

@ Kingsley, Love it!

[drisser]

Funnily enough I had that edition of Autocar in my office this morning and I quote ..

Front Cover " How brilliant new VW leaves Fords hero training in its wake !"

"The VW is razor sharp to drive and also the most comfortable GTi there has ever been"

"Then there is what happens in the corners.....the way it took the focus apart-on just about whatver kind of roads we drove on - was something of an eye opener"

"At a stroke Volswagen has transformed the GTi into a proper weapon of a car on roads that matter, and one that can take care of the once mighty Focus ST without having to shed much in the way of sweat"

" The steering was so much more accurate but also less fidgety"

" Its ride quality as in a different league from the Fords"

Want me to go on ?!

Overall they rated it 4.5 stars and " the most convincing GTi for a very long time,  possibly ever" and the Focus " Still great, but soundly beaten by the new Golf GTi"

[Running Man]

It's strange how one's taste can change. I never thought I'd ever want any car but a Golf GTI and I was convinced I should stay the course and change from my wonderful Mk6 GTI to a Mk7 GTI. Then one day I drove a BMW F30 33Od M Sport and it just blew me away: literally. The car was totally frictionless, its ride and handling were simply sublime, its performance devastating and it was everything all the road testers said and much, much more. A 5* car. So we bought two! But I still hung on for a couple of months to my trusty GTI as I tried to get my head around the BMW tech and the fact the car was a bit dimensionally large in comparison to the Golf. But once in the driver's seat the car simply shrinks around one, something the GTI never could do and still does not in it's latest guise. And then there was the amazing comfort of the beautifully appointed sport leather seats, the beauty of the simple dash, the terrific torque from the engine, the 8 speed sport gearbox with its seemless shifts and so much more. So I felt a bit sad that my torrid affair with my Mk6 GTI was no more but happy that I had found an ideal partner in this BMW.

I say all the above because today I drove a German Registered Mk7 GTI with PP. It was all very familiar and it was like visiting an old friend. Unfortunately, the sparkle in the relationship could not be rekindled. The car felt a bit old in design, especially on the inside, the paintwork on the door frames was still visible from the inside, it felt slow, rattled a bit on our roads and drank fuel at an alarming rate. I felt a quite sad as I really wanted to love this car. But I could not anymore. Yes, the Mk7 GTI is a very good car, but no longer a car I can feel passionate about. Perhaps the Mk7 R will tug at my heart strings a bit more.

All-in-all, a bitter-sweet day for me.

  Richard Head

[matchboy]

Then one day I drove a BMW F30 33Od M Sport

  Richard Head

Its not often I agree with you Running Man but this is one of them!! 

[Bill_the_Bear]

Funnily enough I had that edition of Autocar in my office this morning and I quote ..

Front Cover " How brilliant new VW leaves Fords hero training in its wake !"

"The VW is razor sharp to drive and also the most comfortable GTi there has ever been"

"Then there is what happens in the corners.....the way it took the focus apart-on just about whatver kind of roads we drove on - was something of an eye opener"

"At a stroke Volswagen has transformed the GTi into a proper weapon of a car on roads that matter, and one that can take care of the once mighty Focus ST without having to shed much in the way of sweat"

" The steering was so much more accurate but also less fidgety"

" Its ride quality as in a different league from the Fords"

Want me to go on ?!

Overall they rated it 4.5 stars and " the most convincing GTi for a very long time,  possibly ever" and the Focus " Still great, but soundly beaten by the new Golf GTi"

I think I might write an email to them asking for a refund for the mag I bought yesterday (or was it the day before?) on the basis of these quotes.

Here is another one by the way "The £980 Performance pack transforms the car"  Whereas the recent review said (not in front of me) something about not really noticing the e-diff.

[matchboy]

I think I might write an email to them asking for a refund for the mag I bought yesterday (or was it the day before?) on the basis of these quotes.

Here is another one by the way "The £980 Performance pack transforms the car"  Whereas the recent review said (not in front of me) something about not really noticing the e-diff.

Well that shows that the 2nd review is utter b0llocks, as we all know the PP is a no brainer!