M135i

[P6GTD]

OK, so following all the comments on this thread I darkened the door of the BMW dealer this morning to look at one in the showroom.
A face only a mother could love. Claustrophobic interior. Still feels v tight front and back.
Back half/ rear looks like a Focus with mumps.
Climbed back into my 7.5 with a sense of relief that I am definitely driving the right car.
Sorry!

[Panelpin]

In all my time on Golf forums, this is the most serious, and sustained, discussion about any alternative car that I can remember. Maybe this BMW M135i is worth a look! Certainly sounds like it offers all the right things. VW need to get the Mk8 spot on.

I think its the first time in my 6 years with a Golf that I've seen anything that could compete, that was a genuine alternative both in terms of kit and design/styling.

That speaks highly of both the Mk7 and the M135i.

VW made a corker with the Mk7 but I think they also probably have all of the components they need to make the Mk8 a leap forward too.

Only possibly flies in the ointment will be pricing, included spec and whether the quite frankly ugly basic Mk8 can be dressed up in suitably smart looking performance trim. Having said that, I'm talking from the perspective of us lot here who would never buy a Golf Match or a M118i either. We are a little bit more picky, yet the bulk of the global sales will always be the non-performance models of any car.
 
Finally, VW get the damned thing released!! I've not seen anything to indicate a hard date on the reveal in the last few weeks.


Release date is next Thursday  24 Oct  ,
 should be I; showrooms early Dec according to my local VW dealer

[fredgroves]

A face only a mother could love. Claustrophobic interior. Still feels v tight front and back.
Back half/ rear looks like a Focus with mumps.
Climbed back into my 7.5 with a sense of relief that I am definitely driving the right car.
Sorry!

Hmmm I got back into mine thinking the interior looked a little dated by comparison. If I had a nice 7.5 R maybe I'd not feel that way though, but i don't.

My main driver though is that even if I wanted to, I'm not going to get a brand new factory ordered mk7.5 and I am determined not to keep the current car beyond 3 years. Fair play to anyone that does, but I have got to the point in life where i can and will change my cars.

The mk8 may or may not be the car for me, but equally i am concerned that i couldn't even get one in the timescales I have. I ordered the current one in January and got it in July. So I need to order the new one in January to get it in July... can't see that changing. I don't think i can see and order a Mk8 GTI in that time.

Admittedly I can push the BMW button if it doesn't come to fruition and it turn up in 6 weeks, so i could wait...

Still yet to be convinced about Mk8 looks though - it looks like an Astra on mogadon...

[fredgroves]

Release date is next Thursday  24 Oct  ,
 should be I; showrooms early Dec according to my local VW dealer

Hurrah!

I wonder about the GTI though :-/

[davyk31]

Have to say I stepped out of the M135i test drive back into my Mk 7.5 GTI and it immediately felt very dated. Part of that will be familiarity with the Golf but also because the Mk 7 / 7.5 is now a pretty old design. The Mk 8 will move that on for sure but as with Fred I'm ready to change now and a performance Golf is not available.

Some will love the BMW and some will hate it, some will hate it simply because they currently own a GTI and that may change if they then decide they want a BMW. We all have our reasons and thoughts, for me the M135i is a great choice for us. Would never buy another Mk 7.5 Golf at this stage, the S3 is very old now as well, that left the A35 but I didn't even go to look at it. The Merc really needs the AMG body kit to look anything special or it looks very plain and all that adds money. The BMW looks good to me, really pics don't always do it justice and drives brilliantly with a lovely interior but I will be able to report more in a few weeks whether the initial impressions were right.

[Jim_mk7.5]

Release date is next Thursday  24 Oct  ,
 should be I; showrooms early Dec according to my local VW dealer

Hurrah!

I wonder about the GTI though :-/

From Autocar:
The latest version of the long-running hatchback is due to be unveiled at the German firm’s Wolfsburg headquarters on 24 October, before going on sale in the UK early next year.

Might be a longer wait, especially for performance models which were said to be due towards the end of 2020. Don't know why they would wait to release a decent version though as the people who buy an SE or GT wouldn't probably the performance version anyway.

[Crezzer]

Just to go back to the price quickly if anyone is interested - Carwow are already doing decent discounts on the 135i

Got an offer back for 33947 which is 13.5% discount (39240 list)⁹

[fredgroves]

Jim - didn't the Mk7 GTI get released right at the start?

Crezzer - yes, I saw someone say 13.5% already. Which is definitely game on territory for me!

[Jim_mk7.5]

Jim - didn't the Mk7 GTI get released right at the start?

Yes, you are right, for some reason I thought they didn't release it straight away. Have definitely read that the GTI would be much later this time though.

[Panelpin]

Release date is next Thursday  24 Oct  ,
 should be I; showrooms early Dec according to my local VW dealer

Hurrah!

I wonder about the GTI though :-/

 My dealer reckons they will take orders from may/ June for performance golfs