How to spec a GTI

[charv94]

Hello chaps,

My names charlie, new to this forum.

Basically I am in the lovely position of getting a new GTI for my 21st birthday. Said birthday is in April next year but after a quick discussion with a dealer, i will be ordering early december once back from university for the christmas break.

The car will be an enormous jump in almost every measurable way from my 1.4 vauxhall corsa.

I do however have a few questions on speccing my car.

As its a present i am trying to keep the options limited but I will however need sat nav in the car because i live in nottingham while at university and often find myself struggling to deal with some of its silly one way systems.

I was just wondering if keyless go is really that good? I understand its not very much money but is it that hard to shove a key in the ignition???

I am also torn on Carbon Grey and pure white, with the possibility of the pearlescent white? any major opinions on these choices?

Any other specs you think should be added id be really grateful for your advice.

and one final thing, the sound ackuator, what is this? what does it do?

Kind regards,

Charlie

[charv94]

Forgot something, sorry!!

Ive never had a new car but my Dads cls63 and mums aston are both supaguarded. Her previous mercedes looked stunning through its 3 year cycle and i just want to know if its worth getting anything done to mine?

is supaguard the best? any other ones to look out for? should the dealer do it or go privately?

and this autoglym life shine thing volkswagen offer, any good?

id love to not have to wax it every 6 months

cheers

[mcmaddy]

I've got gtechniq exo on my pure white gtd and it's excellent. Very easy to wash and clean. I've got the nav pro on mine and whilst some will say it's expensive and 'my tom tom is better' it is a very good addition to the interior environment. The actual nav is very good also 

[Misterp]

I have the keyless. Looking back would I change my mind, nope. I love it, just get in and go no need to find where the key is. As long as it is on your person or in the Mrs bag I'm good to go.

[Mark V GTD]

Options are very much up to you (the nav is great but over-priced, some people like keyless but I think its a not yet fully sorted feature) - but on no account accept GAP insurance or Lifeshine from a dealer. get them from a third party, the former for a fraction of the price and the latter can be done for half the price, properly, by a pro detailer.

[Sootchucker]

Well I added the following to my GTD and I've listed below if I would take them again (in no particular order):

DSG Gearbox
Yes absolutely, aside from the fact that my wife (due to a dodgy left knee) can't properly drive a manual any more, I love it - super smooth and really quick changes. YMMV

Rear View Camera
Absolutely - makes reversing during the day or night (especially at night) a real doddle.

ACC (adaptive chassis control)
My last Scirocco had this but to be honest I always found it very subtle and quite difficult to tell the modes apart. Wasn't going to spec this until I test drive a MK7 Golf fitted with it (on 18" Alloys). I could now at last really tell the difference. Normal is just perfect for everyday use, Sport when you are feeling naughty (and to be honest doesn't firm up to the point of being uncomfortable), but comfort - that turns this hot(ish) diesel hatch into a limousine, with an impeccable ride (especially given the wheels), and makes the car a perfect long distance cruiser in supreme comfort. Also good for round my way where the roads are shocking !

Discover Nav Pro
I do like having Nav built in and the Pro version does bring some real advantages (especially the screen size and resolution), but if I was doing it again, I'd probably spec the standard Discover Navigation instead - the Pro whilst good is just far too much money in hindsight (but it does finish the dash off nicely).

Park Assist
Really does work and is quite spooky at how good it does work. It was so cheap (relatively speaking) that yes, I'd probably go for this again.

Keyless
Wasn't sure about this at first, but now after a year I find it weird getting into a car without it. No messing with keys or struggling in the rain, just touch the handle and jump in. Also can't beat a nice big "START" button 

Main beam assist
Again another real cheap option, but I'd actually opted for lane assist (to get the traffic sign recognition) and it came bundled but some months after ordering it VW decided I couldn't spec it on a GTD so they removed it but left the main beam assist on. On it's own its nice and cheap and does work quite well, but I'd probably leave this off next time.

Winter pack
Deffo yes. Quite expensive for what it is on a GTI / GTD (basically just heated seats as the GTD/GTI/R gets headlight washers and low washer fluid warning as standard), but it's so nice in winter to have a warm bum and back when it's freezing outside (especially when you reach my age).

Dynaudio
Never heard the standard set up but as I love my music on the go, this was one of the first options I ticked. People are divided it seems on it's effectiveness, but it's worlds apart from my MK5 Golf and Scirocco that I had before the GTD. Good dollops of bass but enough finesse to reach crystal clear highs.

Other items I considered :

Santiago 19" alloys - look stunning but at nearly a grand was a very expensive option and much dearer on the tyres (but did I say they looked the mutts nuts).

Leather - was really 50/50 on this one. Whilst I love the look of leather and the quality feel it exudes, it's was far too expensive in my view (is there a theme here  ), and having experienced previous VW's with leather found the squabs and bolsters went saggy after a short way and subject to cracking mainly on the bolsters. Don't know how the MK7 leather is fairing, i.e. if it's better quality. Also don't like the cold feel in the winter and stickyness and red hot in the summer. What I would really have liked is part leather like in some markets that retain the cloth backrest and squab (the bits your body mainly touches), but leather elsewhere - but sadly not for the UK.

Climate Windscreen - This was added after my car was ordered so not an option at the time. Liked the idea but not the price of a replacement @ £1200, if your insurance company doesn't cover it, and to be honest, not really had a problem with no having it.

About the only thing I would change is the colour. I have a pure white GTD which I umm'd and err'd about, but in hindsight should have gone for either Red or CSG (there are so many white GTI / GTD's where I live now).

That's about it, hope this helps.

[Brenbo]

The pearlescent white 'Oryx White' is actually 'Pure White' with a pearlescent fleck coating added on top.  So if your cash strapped you could get the 'Pure White' polish it and spend the money on other options instead.  That said, my GTI Performance is actually Oryx White and I would get it again as it is an awesome colour.  I would not be without rear view camera, Dynaudio,  Nav Pro and Performance Pack.  Have not really used Winter Pack in my year of ownership.  I also have not missed not having keyless entry. 

[monkeyhanger]

^ Is oryx really added on top of pure white, making it a 3 coat process and a really thick paint job? Seems over-elaborate to me, rather than just putting Oryx on undercoat like every other paint job, then lacquer on top.

It would take so much longer to cure in the IR ovens, and time is money when you're trying to push each car through the manufacturing processes quickly (redesign of the multilink rear suspension to a simpler one on the MK6 saved 4.5 hours per car apparently). Looks great, but added expense is probably more to do with needing Mica and TiO2 in the same paint mix, and/or maybe it's a bugger to clean up after a campaign of Oryx in a paint booth if there isn't one dedicated.

Oryx is a great looking colour (coming from someone that doesn't like white cars), not many around.

[GeoBog]

As its a present i am trying to keep the options limited but I will however need sat nav in the car because i live in nottingham while at university and often find myself struggling to deal with some of its silly one way systems.

I was just wondering if keyless go is really that good? I understand its not very much money but is it that hard to shove a key in the ignition???

I am also torn on Carbon Grey and pure white, with the possibility of the pearlescent white? any major opinions on these choices?

Any other specs you think should be added id be really grateful for your advice.

and one final thing, the sound ackuator, what is this? what does it do?

Kind regards,

Charlie

Hi Charlie and welcome.

With options it's better to weight your needs and budget and choose accordingly.

From my POV,  standard Navi is good enough, it takes you where you wanna go and I don't regret choosing it even though sometimes I miss my old IGO satnav. I must admit before placing the order I had loads of second thoughts if it's worth ordering a Nav or not. I don't think the Nav Pro is worth the extra money (no offence for those who have it) but if you want a bigger screen and a few extra features, go for it.

Keyless is for your convenience so it depends if you want to press a button each time you want to lock or unlock the doors/boot and flip a key to start the engine or just keep the fob in your pocket and lock and unlock the doors just by touching the handle and start the engine with a press of a button. In my case was really a no brainer choice as I had the keyless and the start engine button on my old Renault Megane so I just couldn't go back to flipping a key to start the engine on the GTI.

Winter Pack is a must have, especially for me. Mostly I care about the heated seats because again, I had them in my old Megane so had to have them in the GTI as well. The GTI heated seats also have 3 settings for temperature compared to the Megane which had only 1 setting.

The reverse camera could be a nice touch when parking especially if you are young, however I didn't spec it as I think the parking sensors are more than sufficient for me and my needs.

The soundaktor is a resonator device which enhances the sound of the engine in Sport mode for the occupants of the car. Basically is like a speaker that makes noise inside the car. The outside engine sound doesn't change at all. Some GTI owners don't like it and they either disable it from VCDS or they unplug the cable that goes into it, others love it because or the noise it makes.

Another option I have chosen is the Performance Pack which adds 10 BHP and you get bigger brakes with GTI logo on the front calipers and also you get a Limited Slip Dif. which I find it really good in tight fast corners.

[JBirchy]

Excellent pal, congratulations!

When I ordered I chose my spec very carefully, and some options to me were more important than others. Here's what I couldn't be without:

Adaptive Chassis (DCC): - I'm sure the standard car rides perfectly fine, however I just love the added comfort you get in the softer modes. Mine spends 80% of it's time in 'Comfort,' but I do use 'Sport' when attacking an A- or B- Road. It's brilliant. All modes are very well judged and Sport certainly isn't too stiff for the UK (which it was in my old Passat CC).

Keyless Go - This is one of the options that makes a big difference, it makes the car feel very premium when you simply walk up to it, unlock by putting your hand behind the handle, jump in and push the START button. It's a bit of theatre, but the added convenience of never having to take the key out of your pocket is well worth it.

Reversing Camera - Again, for a relatively inespensive option, the added premium feel is great. It also works really well, and it never gets dirty as the badge hides it (more than can be said for my Wife's 1-Series and in-laws Range Rovers!)

Discover Navigation - I've just got the standard size. I would have ordered the PRO as I'd have loved the bigger screen but I was at the top end of my budget and I couldn't justify it. The standard size is great though, I'd certainly order it again.

Winter Pack - Brilliant, couldn't be without the heated seats. With the cloth seats in my car they heat up incredibly quickly too.

One thing I wish I'd have ordered is the Performance Pack. I do find the car scrabbles for grip even in the dry which I just don't think it should do. The tyres are no doubt mostly to blame (Bridgestone S001's are utterly terrible) but I think it is worth the extra ££.

Either way, you'll get a fantastic car.

Jon