As a lot of guys are often looking on this forum before ordering their new GTI's I thought i'd just mention a few optional extras that I wish I didn't spec (after 3500 miles covered). Feel free to say what you wouldn't have spec'd and we'll see if theres a pattern.
Of course these are all based on price, usability and coolness.
Dynaudio;
After hearing that Dynaudio was incredible on the Mk6 and that it has been created and designed specifically for the Mk7 it was an option I was quite excited to spec. I always have music on in the car and when i'm driving alone then it's always on loud and was always frustrated with the distorted sound you got from the stock speakers at high volumes in the Mk5. Now the system is good...at low volumes but no matter how much i tweak the settings I still can't get that perfect balance of high sound quality and clarity at high volumes. I've tried it on Authentic and Dynamic, moving the sound to the back of the car, to the middle. Moving bass down but whatever I do it just doesn't sound good at all. It seems you have to turn the bass almost completely off to get any clarity from the sound at all which makes it sound crap. An option that hasn't really impressed me as I hoped it would. I wouldn't have spec'd this knowing what I do now.
DCC - Dynamic Chasis Control;
Now people will throw spears and various other large objects at me for saying this but I really can not tell the difference between the suspension settings on this car. Comfort to me feels identical to Sport, maybe a very SLIGHT difference if I really force myself to try and feel it but I think that's more a case of my mind convincing myself that theres a difference. As I've said before if my car randomly switched suspension settings while driving without telling me then I would have no idea that it had changed them. Maybe my DCC is faulty, maybe the transport pucks have caused some unrepairable damage, I don't know but this option was definitely not worth the £780? that it cost. Wish I had spent this on Keyless Entry and High Beam Assist. Will I spec it again? Maybe on the R because it adds Race mode, but that's the only reason. In my opinion, a waste on the GTI. I never find myself using the individual settings, nor do I ever find changing into comfort. It just stays on Sport.
DSG;
Now this is a difficult one. This is my first car with DSG and i've always admired the gearbox on test drives and thought it was incredible. The gear changes are beautifully smooth and some days I find myself really loving it. Other days with the delay in gear shifts (on manual mode) and the lack of interaction with the car when driving spiritedly then I must say I do miss a manual box. In traffic the DSG is the best thing in the world though and using the paddle shifters is so cool and lots of fun. Drive mode though? I feel it starves the GTI of quite a lot of it's gut by up shifting far, far too early. Do I regret speccing it? Not really. I'm glad I went for it but i'm not sure that it's persuaded me to stay with purely DSG cars in the future. The extra soundtrack alone you get with it is worth it though
That leaves the following options that I'm glad I did spec;
Performance Pack,
Panoramic Sunroof,
Reverse Camera,
Would spec all of them again in a heartbeat.
What do I regret not speccing?
Keyless Entry is really the only one. However for the sacrifice of DCC and Dynaudio I could have easily spec'd High Beam Assist and Park Assist also. Maybe even Climate Windscreen (Although I don't believe this is really needed.)
So, what about you guys?
Poll