118TSI - General Discussion

[zoomda]

Had my 118TSI Wagon for about 6 weeks now. Great car, a real pleasure drive. I'm slowly experiencing the small things others have mentioned, Speedo has about 7% inaccuracy compared to my satnav, supercharger squeak can be heard if it's quiet and I'm paying attention, DSG changes down gears when going down a hill(I like that).

DSG has taken a bit to get used. Working around the slight hesitation from a complete stop (I still manage to chirp the tyres by pressing a little too hard, but it's happening less and less . Some how I managed to engage the rev limiter in S mode as well (didn't think that would be possible).

Still haven't managed to have a bit of drag with anyone though. Some clown in an imported turbo ****box of some kind was hassling me when I was in my partner's Honda City the other week. I wish I'd been in the sleeper wagon then

A stage 1 from APR or bluefin etc is appealing but so is RNS 510 from ebay. Decisions decisions.

[Brendan_A]

A stage 1 from APR or bluefin etc is appealing but so is RNS 510 from ebay. Decisions decisions.

APR have an Easter sale on now. Good time to be buying!

[Sawed Off]

Really enjoying the car. It feels like it's attached to the road, even over the bumpy North Queensland goat track we call the Bruce Highway. My wife compulsively hangs on when going around corners faster than walking speed. The best endorsement I can give is when I take corners that are yellow signed as 60 and I take them at 80 and she doesn't even flinch.

One small annoyance is the chrome aircon vent surrounds on the dash. They reflect brightly in the windows right were you look at the mirrors.

It's a shame that we seem to be having an ongoing issue with the Catalytic Converter Failure light coming on. We picked the car up on Wednesday and it's been in the service department on Thursday and Friday, and is going back in tomorrow (Monday). It takes a lot of the shine off owning a car like this. They seem to think it's "a leak behind the motor", but have also "upgraded the ECU". I don't think they know. What I know is that taking it into the Service Department every day has gotten old already.

[Rendog]

You can check exactly what the inaccuracy is by using a GPS device, or by driving on cruise control at 100km/h and then resetting your trip metre whilst you're on the "average speed" display. The first number which comes up is the "real" speed you're travelling. This % of leeway is consistent no matter what speed you're doing. (So if 100km = 93, then 50 will be 46.5km/h etc)

This explains why I'm continually overtaken on the Bruce Highway, I thought people had suddenly taken to flouting the law or love over taking VW's ... So I need to do 115kmps to be close to the speed limit...

[SMOK3Y]

for me to be doing actual 100/101 i have to be doing 108 & to do actual 110/111 i have to be doing 119

[Roddy]

I had a 2003 Auto 2L Bora (a slug but beautifully built car), my wife had a 2003 auto Polo, I then went to a 2006 Golf Comfortline 2L Auto before inexplicably moving in to a 2010 Mazda3 SP25 Luxury auto. I took advantage of the drive away Golf deals to get into a new MY12 118 FSI DSG with Sports Pack and RNS Sat Nav.

Re the Mazda: beautifully built from beautiful parts (apart from some dash and steering wheel plastics which were a bit dodgy – feel the back, or even the front, of the Cruise Control buttons on the steering wheel!), but it drove well enough. It had excessive NVH, especially the road noise that emanated from the drivers front wheel well and also a bit of course motor noise, but it was a nicely built machine – the sum of its parts was ok.

But, the new Golf? Built seemingly from one piece of metal, so SOLID does it feel. It is hard to describe how superbly crafted this car feels. A girl in my office has a new C180 Mercedes, absolutely lovely car, BUT $24000 MORE than the Golf, which feels and looks JUST as expensive and classy? I don’t see the value. The Golf is THAT good, and in fact certainly shows up the new Jetta which has harder panels on the door trims inside and on the dash than does the Golf.

Driving the Golf ALMOST requires you to learn how the DSG/Motor combo works. To ensure a smooth low gear change from take- off or in traffic it is necessary (for me anyway) to ‘tickle’ or to ‘feather’ the accelerator BEFORE then giving a progressive and smoother pressure to it, gradually (gradually – NOT SLOWLY) increasing the pressure on it – this gives me a seamless and smooth and rapid transition thru the gears. No jerky/lumpy actions that some on here mention…just feather it, FEEL it engage, then g-o……marvellous.

There is NOTHING I dislike about the new Golf, well, maybe apart from the fact my old Golf had a chromed glovebox handle, the new one simple black plastic…nit picking! Maybe they are interchangeable, and I could order a chrome one up and have dealer fit it? But as I say, that’s’ how hard it is to fault it!

Never noticed before I bought it, but the simple 2 chrome strips in the grille set into the gloss black plastic…beautiful execution of a simple detail that looks sheer CLASS.

The Sports Pack wheel/tyre combo, is just right, superbly filling out the wheel wells, and no doubt assisting in a very agile driving experience.

Gas strut holding up the bonnet, not usual in this class (or should I say PRICE) range - the GOLF feels like a much more expensive car in my opinion.

Simple things like the superbly crafted buttons on the steering wheel (itself an absolute JOY to hold and use) that are beautifully recessed into their little modules on the wheel itself and work with a precision that belies the Golf’s price point! The simple boot opening, using the VW emblem -simple, but elegant.

Love (and missed in the Mazda!) the auto on headlights, auto dimming rear view mirror and auto-on wipers (the bane of some of you I know!). These are simple things that raise the bar in this CLASS of car. Dropping the windows from outside the car as you walk up to it, GREAT. Having my front inside wheel wells lit up (I am at 35%) at night, cool!

The Sports Pack seats are FANTASTIC, great range of adjustability, firm and comfortable. Fabric looks and feels beautiful as well. Plenty of space in the back and the boot is plenty big enough for me (bigger than the SP25 which had valuable boot space taken up by the fitting of the sub-woofer in the floor of the boot which I knew and accepted at the time).

After initial hiccups, I now love the RNS Sat Nav. I think it’s as good as any Sat Nav out there (which is to say, it’s NOT perfect, but it is acceptable). The MDI interface is great, the Bluetooth streaming not so, but it streams! I just wish I could use those steering wheel buttons or touchscreen in this mode, I can’t, I HAVE to use the IPhone itself, but hey, no biggie! Absolutely love(having included restaurants, petrol stations, banks and Police Stations in my Navigation setup) how you can tap, say a restaurant icon on the Map, and then DIAL the restaurant from the detail page that comes up about that restaurant straight from the Map! Great functionality!
The paintwork on the car is beautiful and rock hard by the feel of things, smooth to the touch, rich in feel.

So that’s it after a week’s ownership. I can’t speak for reliability yet, nor economy, though I DO think it gets better mileage than the Mazda. Having “learned” how to use (at least for me, I cannot speak for anyone else) the DSG and motor to get those seamless and smooth take-offs, I ABSOLUTLEY LOVE DRIVING this thing. I love looking at it and love touching it! The PERFECT car for me – I can only imagine what you guys with GTIs and R32s feel about YOUR cars!
Love it!
Rod

[Ryan_R]

Good to hear your're enjoying the 118 - it is a brilliant car.

[Roddy]

Hey Ryan...I see from your sig you have a "tiptronic wheel"??? After market or did VW fit? If its not rude, how much? I DO miss this from the Mazda Sp25 a bit...

[Ryan_R]

It's a genuine VW wheel that's pretty much identical to the one in the GTI except for there not being any GTI badges on it (which I prefer). I got mine from here, but you might find them on eBay as well.

Also check out this thread:

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/forums/f97/flappy-paddles-steering-wheel-tiguan-56968.html

[mr gee]

Roddy
I came from a civic sport and when we test drove the golf 118TSI, we ordered on the spot (thankfully the dealer gave us a good trade in deal on the civic so the transition was painless)

In fact we liked the golf so much, we recently bought a 2011 GTI. A 2012 Scirroco R is on order

btw, VW has a revised software for the 7spd DSG that changes the shift points so 1-2nd gear transition is lots smoother. The software 9256 is the latest. You can check it out if you have VCDS. Its in:

Address 01: Engine (CAV) Labels: 03C-906-027-CAV.clb
Part No SW: 03C 906 027 BA HW: 03C 906 027 F
Component: MED17.5.5 G 9256
Revision: LAH08--- Serial number: 00000000000000
Coding: 0000077
Shop #: WSC 00560 959 100532
VCID: 61E76809C650

[Ryan_R]

Thanks - I'll check later this week and report back.

[dwvw]

I also had just a proud owner of a golf wagon 118. Love it to bits! Everything is so smooth. We also have a civic sedan and it feels so rough after I had driven the golf, I had never notice that before!

[Roddy]

Gee, I just saw your before and after pics on the Accessories thread of your steering wheel conversion Ryan. I am SERIOUSLY considering this as I DO love that GTI shaped wheel. Personal preference though, I rather prefer the black plastic surrounds behind the steering wheel buttons than the metal look on the GTI wheel. Could those be retained from my existing wheel do you think? The wheel is on special at mo for 399 pounds (620 AUD) - I reckon that's a bargain. How much would a dealer charge to ft it do you think??

Rgds
Rod

[Brendan_A]

Gee, I just saw your before and after pics on the Accessories thread of your steering wheel conversion Ryan. I am SERIOUSLY considering this as I DO love that GTI shaped wheel. Personal preference though, I rather prefer the black plastic surrounds behind the steering wheel buttons than the metal look on the GTI wheel. Could those be retained from my existing wheel do you think? The wheel is on speial at mo for 399 pounds (620 AUD) - I reckon that's a bargain. How much would a dealer charge to ft it do you think??

Rgds
Rod

You should get one! It's a very nice upgrade that gives you that little bit more of a sporty feel

I don't know if you could change the black trims over to the new wheel.

Anyone that knows what they're doing should only take 30mins. I only paid $44.

[Ryan_R]

Not sure if you can change it either due to the buttons on the wheel.

The change-over doesn't take long (depending on how quickly you figure out how to remove the airbag clips) and if you've got VCDS you only have to change one number to enable the paddles.