1. Would you change just because the car would be 3 years old and out of warranty ?
2. GTD or GTI for doing about 8k miles per year
3. MIB II 6.5" Standard Nav or Still the 8" Pro unit.
My one and only post on this subject, in this thread:
1. No, I'd not change it solely for that reason but it's often a reason I use myself! In modern cars the electronics rule the roost, the manufacturing tolerances on the mechanical parts are probably way way better than they were 20 years ago but with current emissions regulations there are just so many parts that are begging to go wrong. Add in the tech that goes out of date not long after the car is registered and factor in the general oversupply of new cars and easy finance deals and you have one hell of a dilemma on your hands. Just face up to the fact your mind has been made up a little while now Mr N and there's only one thing you're going to do now...
So, on to
2. As I've probably bored everyone with many times over, on different days you will wish you had a different version of Golf. Some days a GTI is perfect and on other days a GTD would be better and once in a while an R trumps them both so long as you are prepared to work for it. The GTI is a bit more responsive than an R below 4000 rpm but after that the R gets into its stride. The R however does have a slightly different character programmed into the electrics that makes it want to shoot off towards the horizon. The GTD is a lazy lugger and with a tuning box, just like MH says, it would trump the lot of them at normal (safe) road speeds with the only drawback being traction from a standing start or a touch or wheelspin when nailing it out of a roundabout with a big grin on your face.
At the end of the day a Golf is still a Golf and no matter which version you buy it will still feel like a Golf. You can load up an R to £41k and it still feels like a Golf.
For me there are many arguments but none are right and it depends on your perception of money.
Get a DSG R and load it up then you will have a very expensive Golf with lots of toys which will be very satisfying to own for a while (until all the tech goes out of date) & make a very attractive private sale many years down the line with any luck, but won't hold its overall value very well in the grand scheme of things - however if you can afford the thick end of £40k to spend on a shopping car then you won't miss the ££££ that much.
Get a low spec R and you're buying into the 'value for money for a 300bhp car' territory. You're buying it for what it offers as a performance model, something someone like me who has run Golfs on and off for 20 odd years could only ever have dreamed of once. I do about 5k PA in my Golf most years and after 5 weeks with my R I don't miss any of the extras I had in my GTI one bit. It's a drivers car. The only downsides are that it is a lot worse on fuel than the GTI and the ride is much harder.
A GTI PP is the best allrounder for me, it runs on 95 RON and does decent MPG if you granny it and will show decent fuel savings over an R even on 8k miles PA.
19" tyres are pretty expensive so why not look at aftermarket 18's and keep the Austins for part ex time, plus the Santiagos are a nightmare to clean and is why I didn't order them for my GTI (ignoring the fact I had a set of 19's in the garage).
How much of your 8k PA do you spend sat in your car playing with all the gadgets? From history I'd say you're a bit of a gadget man (self confessed) so you'd probably not be happy unless you had the Tech pack.
Personally if I was ordering a GTI now the only thing I'd add would be park assist, I think aside from that it comes with a pretty comprehensive spec as standard and to minimise depreciation I'd minimise extras. I'd then add aftermarket wheels. But that's me and not you!
Another GTD? Probably a bit pointless looking at the big spec of your current one and its reliability record. Add a DTUK box and see what tempts you in 12 months time would be the 'sensible' option, but I think you've already moved past that mark.
3. How much time do you spend messing about with music and fiddling with the radio unit? For me it's a minimal amount. When I'm driving I'll either be chatting or have the radio on in the background whilst watching the road. In a traffic jam the radio is turned up a bit maybe, I don't generally use much imported music off CD or SD or phone nowadays as I just don't have time to upload music.
And when I'm parked up I generally have the radio on as I tend to listen to a lot of radio (it's a human company thing maybe? I like the chatter in between tracks depending on who's the DJ!) or I sit and chat on my phone with VW mates or play agony aunt to the women at work :roll eyes:
So I can't really give any opinion on no.3 as I just don't use the headunit to its full capacity.
