Hi All,
Wanted to say hi as I have just become the owner of a GTI PP after the last 3 years in a BMW 125d. Having had enough of the diesel drone that I have lived with in my last few cars, I just had to get back into a petrol car for the refinement, noise and general driving pleasure. Whilst I have always enjoyed the diesel torque, I just hated the rattle, noise and general clatter from the derv engines. I do about 15k a year, so the GTI is not the most economical choice, but the benefits far outweigh the extra fuel costs!
I was an owner of one of the very first Mk5 GTI's in early 2005 and have regretted selling that car ever since I moved it on, hence why I decided to come back to the Golf GTI stable. I have to say, I am really enjoying the experience so far and had some observations to make vs the BMW.
Interior: The GTI is a much more interesting place to be and whilst I think the interior quality of the BMW was superior(free of any rattles/squeaks etc) there is a not a massive amount in it. The BMW I had was well specced, but the Golf trumps it in terms of overall equipment. What I would say is that I like Android Auto, but I do miss the ease of use of iDrive.
Dynaudio: Must say, I am a little disappointed. I had the HK setup in the BMW which was just superb. I had high expectations for the Dynaudio system, but I just can't get the same dynamics as I had before. Is this because of sub in the boot vs under the seats? It almost seems that it needs to adjusted with each and every song played, sometimes too shrilly, sometime too bassy. If anyone has any good suggestions for sorting this, they would be well received!
Performance: On paper, both cars have similar performance, and in real use, that is definitely the case. I have already found myself changing out the tyres (came with Bridgestones) as I think they are awful, but this has helped enormously to get the power down. What I have found is that the GTI feels alive when pushed, the BMW just felt rather sanitised and maybe a little too grown up. Again, the BMW was a great all round car, but it never once made me want to 'just go out for a drive', which the golf does quite regularly.
Dealers: So far, not so good! I have nothing but good experiences with BMW dealers, however, my VW experience so far has been patchy at best! I am hoping this will improve, but I find the difference is the VW dealer seems to need prodding a little more to get things done whereas the BMW dealers were incredibly efficient and nothing was ever too much trouble. It's early days though, so lets see if this will sort itself out.
Overall, really happy with the car, and the long and short of it is: I think the VW has several negative points, however, unlike the BMW, I am more than happy to forgive these, as for me, the car is full of character and I am beginning to love driving again!
One question, I would really like some more exhaust noise. Has anyone looked at swapping out the standard back box with the Clubsport (s) version? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks all and I hope to contribute on the forum in the future.
