Standard seats vs leather option re. width etc

[lowdown]

Just had a drive the other day in a performance pack demo at local dealers and was very impressed except for one aspect, the seats aren't near as body hugging as the mk6. Wider cushion, smaller bolsters etc.  Are the leather option ones the same ?

[harryhackenbacker]

I always found the Leather versions felt a bit tighter , I have cloth and having just had 2 years of an R with recaros ,
actually like the GTI seats , find them a very good fit ,and I am tall and 18 stone ISH 

[lowdown]

Thanks for that.  When I quizzed the dealer he said the wider seats were from requests.  Only 1700 Gtis were sold last year so maybe this is what it needs to boost numbers ?

[JoeGTI]

Seats were definitely more figure hugging in the 5 and 6, I noticed this straight away. I suppose the car itself is wider so the seats have grown in width too to fill it up! The 5 and 6 had the nicer integrated head rests too.

The leather seats are exactly the same, only the upholstery differs.

[timslim]

Yep, have found the same - need a bit of a bum shuffle to get comfortable, instead of just slotting in....that said, 400 mile round trip yesterday to Liverpool, and climbed out fresh as a daisy, seats are very supportive and comfortable

[Skinnee D]

Just had a drive the other day in a performance pack demo at local dealers and was very impressed except for one aspect, the seats aren't near as body hugging as the mk6. Wider cushion, smaller bolsters etc.  Are the leather option ones the same ?

Mine are leather and I'm finding them excellent - particularly the side support.  I'm pretty slim but the bolsters still fit me fine - if anything I had wondered how "wider" people would get on (yet to test it on a large passenger...)  I've seen some demos around with leather so maybe worth getting a go in one for yourself as a comparison.

[linc-dub]

Yes I'd agree the cloth seats have grown in width - not so good for a slim person like me.  Also think the downgraded headrests are not a patch on the old integrated style - VW didn't ask me for my opinion before making these changes!

[lowdown]

Her is the response from VW UK

Thank you for your recent email regarding the design of the Golf GTI seats. Please accept my apologies for the delay in my
response.

I am sorry to hear you are not happy with the seats produced with this vehicle. Your enquiry has reached Volkswagen UK Head
Office; our role is as an importer of Volkswagen Group vehicles to the UK and to provide sales and after sales care, we have no
input to the design process.

Our German Parent Company, Volkswagen AG, is responsible for the design of our vehicles. We employ a large team of highly
skilled engineers in our Design Team. I apologise this is not what you would like to hear.

Thank you for contacting Volkswagen UK.

I get the impression they couldn't care less !! LOL

[Mark V GTD]

They are simply revealing their true colours - licensed importers of vehicles conceived, designed and manufactured by another organisation over which they have zero influnece 

[lowdown]

They are simply revealing their true colours - licensed importers of vehicles conceived, designed and manufactured by another organisation over which they have zero influnece 

Well said indeed.

I was very surprised by the response (and I will escalate), they could have said:

"We value your opinion and have passed your observations to VW gmb"

1700 Gti's sold last year (UK) maybe the writing is on the wall for this icon? Not a chance I think, it is the best car ever after all !

Have tested GTi PP version and loved it BTW