Tweet
Well, there's been a few of us who've picked up new cars in the last week or two... nsshunt, golfworx, JBSGTI, blue R32, rikin...
I'm going to post some first impressions of the Golf GTi manual I picked up on Friday...
- I've done 350km in 2.5 days... mostly on Mt Nebo / Glorious, for those of you in Brisbane
- I've been relatively gentle. Whilst I generally subscribe to the theory "drive the car from day 1 how its going to be driven long term", I have perhaps been a bit gentler this time as the GTi is relatively torquey and you can have a fair amount of fun below 4000rpm. I have had the odd fult tilt blast... how can you not?!
- The car seems quick rather than really fast. By way of reference my 3 previous cars were: Honda S2000 (razor handling, but peaky engine), HSV Clubsport (v fast in a staight line but way too heavy), BMW M3 E36 (loved this car). I'm going to get an APR chip the moment the GTi is run in. And maybe it'll feel zippier once I can rev higher, but I figure the last 1000rpm to the redline probably don't add much anyway?
- Very impressed with the handling... absolute hoot to drive. To be honest this was my biggest concern when buying a FWD car - its been years since I had one. But the GTi is well balanced and you can really chuck it around. Whilst it wouldn't be as quick as an S2000 round a circuit, on the road its a lot easier to drive fast and probably more fun.
- Manual gearbox feels good. Feels like the M3 gearbox, funnily enough. Very good but maybe not quite as good as the S2000. Very happy I chose manual, though I may not feel that way next week when I start commuting in to the office in heavy stop-start traffic...
- Spent 6 hours cleaning it... my wife thinks I'm weird. I put on two coats of Meguiars NXT. In the past I've used a sealant followed by two coats of a Carnuba wax. Thought I'd try the NXT from day 1 as I recently tried it for the first time on my S2000 and it was terrific. Perhaps doesn't last too long, but I'm happy to re-wax once a month.
- The honeycombe front grill is a pig to clean. And made to catch insects. After giving it a clean I treated it with Meguiars vinyl cream, which leaves a thin film. The insects still splatter on it, but at least they now come off real easy... and the grille plastic looks darker too. Anyone else had any ideas on how to clean it? I've used a medium stiff plastic brush.
- Love the leather seats. Grip you like a bear hug. I'm determined to stop the leather from cracking and looking used. More Meguiars...
- How are Australian number plates meant to be mounted - did everyone else's car come with mounting kits/brackets? Mine didn't, and the people doing the PDI (not a VW dealer - long story) mounted my plates directly onto the bumpers... The PDI people also forgot to remove the spring spacers - they looked suitably embarrassed when I pointed this out. Amateurs.
- Love the steering wheel... even better than the ///M-Sport item in the M3.
- The black magic pearlescent paintwork is interesting. My S2000 was a deep glossy but solid black, so the pearly flake in the GTi is a nice change despite still being 'black'. In bright sunshine it looks kinda gunmetal grey, whilst at one angle its almost bluey-black.
- Stereo seems OK-ish for a standard fit, though I find it really 'bright', ie quite trebly and harsh in the higher ranges. Anyone else get this? I ended up turning the treble right down and base about middle. Stereo upgrade in near future a distinct possibility.
- I've was told my first service would be after 7,500km or 6 months. I heard some people are put on a schedule whereby the car itself decides when it needs its first service, which could be 2 years / 20,000km. Given I plan to chip it, I'm happy to be on a more orthodox schedule. What's everyone else on?
OK, to finish off, here as some links to pictures:
I'm going to post some first impressions of the Golf GTi manual I picked up on Friday...
- I've done 350km in 2.5 days... mostly on Mt Nebo / Glorious, for those of you in Brisbane
- I've been relatively gentle. Whilst I generally subscribe to the theory "drive the car from day 1 how its going to be driven long term", I have perhaps been a bit gentler this time as the GTi is relatively torquey and you can have a fair amount of fun below 4000rpm. I have had the odd fult tilt blast... how can you not?!
- The car seems quick rather than really fast. By way of reference my 3 previous cars were: Honda S2000 (razor handling, but peaky engine), HSV Clubsport (v fast in a staight line but way too heavy), BMW M3 E36 (loved this car). I'm going to get an APR chip the moment the GTi is run in. And maybe it'll feel zippier once I can rev higher, but I figure the last 1000rpm to the redline probably don't add much anyway?
- Very impressed with the handling... absolute hoot to drive. To be honest this was my biggest concern when buying a FWD car - its been years since I had one. But the GTi is well balanced and you can really chuck it around. Whilst it wouldn't be as quick as an S2000 round a circuit, on the road its a lot easier to drive fast and probably more fun.
- Manual gearbox feels good. Feels like the M3 gearbox, funnily enough. Very good but maybe not quite as good as the S2000. Very happy I chose manual, though I may not feel that way next week when I start commuting in to the office in heavy stop-start traffic...
- Spent 6 hours cleaning it... my wife thinks I'm weird. I put on two coats of Meguiars NXT. In the past I've used a sealant followed by two coats of a Carnuba wax. Thought I'd try the NXT from day 1 as I recently tried it for the first time on my S2000 and it was terrific. Perhaps doesn't last too long, but I'm happy to re-wax once a month.
- The honeycombe front grill is a pig to clean. And made to catch insects. After giving it a clean I treated it with Meguiars vinyl cream, which leaves a thin film. The insects still splatter on it, but at least they now come off real easy... and the grille plastic looks darker too. Anyone else had any ideas on how to clean it? I've used a medium stiff plastic brush.
- Love the leather seats. Grip you like a bear hug. I'm determined to stop the leather from cracking and looking used. More Meguiars...
- How are Australian number plates meant to be mounted - did everyone else's car come with mounting kits/brackets? Mine didn't, and the people doing the PDI (not a VW dealer - long story) mounted my plates directly onto the bumpers... The PDI people also forgot to remove the spring spacers - they looked suitably embarrassed when I pointed this out. Amateurs.
- Love the steering wheel... even better than the ///M-Sport item in the M3.
- The black magic pearlescent paintwork is interesting. My S2000 was a deep glossy but solid black, so the pearly flake in the GTi is a nice change despite still being 'black'. In bright sunshine it looks kinda gunmetal grey, whilst at one angle its almost bluey-black.
- Stereo seems OK-ish for a standard fit, though I find it really 'bright', ie quite trebly and harsh in the higher ranges. Anyone else get this? I ended up turning the treble right down and base about middle. Stereo upgrade in near future a distinct possibility.
- I've was told my first service would be after 7,500km or 6 months. I heard some people are put on a schedule whereby the car itself decides when it needs its first service, which could be 2 years / 20,000km. Given I plan to chip it, I'm happy to be on a more orthodox schedule. What's everyone else on?
OK, to finish off, here as some links to pictures:
I've used the treble/bass controls to make them sound level.
Comment