Golf GTI: the good, the bad, the weird...and appreciation thread

[aussiegtidude]

I've had mine since June so maybe it is about time I chip in!

The good: Everything. I love it.

The engine and the noise, I love to downshift. Always feels great to accelerate.

The handling. I have had it a little squirrelly once or twice but it is really hard to do anything stupid *touches wood*

The cloth and colour scheme. The white car, red grill, red stitching and jacky cloth all come together and look great. So glad I didn't pay for leather which is pretty average anyway.

The RNS 510. I would like to have TMC but I have a feeling that isn't VW's fault. Everyone wanting swipe technology isn't really putting much thought into it. How on earth could that be safe? It gets slow every now and then but the nav is great, the input is great and the sounds is great. I prefer it ten fold over the COMMAND system in my mums C Class.

So, so glad I went for the extra doors. Coming from a 2-door I am thrilled to be able to put my suits and packages in the back without a wrestle!

Dislikes: Really not much.

The GTI rattle but that will only be a temporary thing.

Unlocking the doors. I just can't work it out. I thought one push was just the drivers door and two was everyone else. Nope....sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't! I'm so confused! It seems so random and I look like an idiot when I am trying to pull my back doors open only to find them locked.

Surprises: A few

The remote window function. Love it.

Boot space. More than my old 3 Series.

Adaptive headlights. Awesome for country driving, something I do a lot of.




Over all, happy little camper. I love it. I am so glad I didn't go for the Megane 250 with its harder suspension, manual, no nav, no sunroof. It is a great little car that I am proud to pull up to a silver service restaurant or 5-star hotel in.

[MiiLos]

Theres a lights & vision menu within th MFD.

[Mariani]

An adjustable arm rest, in fact - has several "stops" at which it will stay open.

I only have a 118TSI, but thought I'd chime in ...

Likes:
- DSG - once I got used to starting from a stop, I love it
- classy interior
- plenty of get-up-and go (though obviously nothing compared to you GTI guys ...)
- quiet interior
- the ride and handling is much better than I'm used to
- love the leather steering wheel
- love the MFD and steering wheel controls

Dislikes:
- no clock visible from the passenger seat (the missus picked up on this on our drive home after delivery ...!!)
- wheels get extremely dirty with, I presume, brake dust
- can hear brake "grinding" sound when slowing to a stop - more pronounced when rear seats are folded forward - the seats appear to deaden the sound transmission when not folded. Called my dealer about this at one point and was told it could be due to brake pads being clogged with dust ... ?
- Ipod navigation (on standard stereo) seems to be less intuitive than it could be
- Hill-holder could hold for just a bit longer to avoid occasional jumpy starts when jumping from brake to accelerator ... (yes, I'm being a little picky now ...)
- rear gets extremely dirty - much dirtier than previous hatchbacks I've owned

Surprises:
- Getting the MY11 DSG shift knob instead of the T-handle that I test-drove
- How spacious the trunk space is
- footwell lamps (with adjustable brightness!!)
- Red "mood lighting" above center console

How do you adjust brightness with footwell lamps?

Mic

[MkVIGTI]

- footwell lamps (with adjustable brightness!!)

Some oversea markets get footwell lamps for the rear passengers as well!

[Vagabond]

About time I posted here...

VW Golf GTi Manual MY12

Likes:
- Engine
- Manual gearbox + clutch - to me it feels very natural, I had no problems adjusting to it.
- Leather trim especially the steering wheel
- That red "ambient light"
- Rims - 18"s look fantastic
- Cruise control
- Handsfree phone integration complete with battery life
- The sound the bonnet and the boot make when opening.... tssttt.. .

Dislikes
- Paranoid about scratching rims
- Difficulty buying due to popularity... for e.g. would have been very happy to pay for xenons and parking sensors but didn't want to wait months.

Surprises
- Having to completely turn off the ignitation and restart to recover from a stall
- Being able to roll up/down all windows by holding down the central locking remote
- 6 stacker CD, had no idea

---

Overall have to say... My dad bought a brand new C-class recently and whilst I love it, after buying the GTi and seeing how polished it is its hard to see the value in the merc given the premium in price. I know in some ways thats comparing apples to oranges but to me C-class was always about having the best and latest features in a refined package and the Golf is doing a damn good job of that.

[ozziem]

locks open - the purpose is it to act as an arm rest.

An adjustable arm rest, in fact - has several "stops" at which it will stay open.

I only have a 118TSI, but thought I'd chime in ...

Likes:
- DSG - once I got used to starting from a stop, I love it
- classy interior
- plenty of get-up-and go (though obviously nothing compared to you GTI guys ...)
- quiet interior
- the ride and handling is much better than I'm used to
- love the leather steering wheel
- love the MFD and steering wheel controls

Dislikes:
- no clock visible from the passenger seat (the missus picked up on this on our drive home after delivery ...!!)
- wheels get extremely dirty with, I presume, brake dust
- can hear brake "grinding" sound when slowing to a stop - more pronounced when rear seats are folded forward - the seats appear to deaden the sound transmission when not folded. Called my dealer about this at one point and was told it could be due to brake pads being clogged with dust ... ?
- Ipod navigation (on standard stereo) seems to be less intuitive than it could be
- Hill-holder could hold for just a bit longer to avoid occasional jumpy starts when jumping from brake to accelerator ... (yes, I'm being a little picky now ...)
- rear gets extremely dirty - much dirtier than previous hatchbacks I've owned

Surprises:
- Getting the MY11 DSG shift knob instead of the T-handle that I test-drove
- How spacious the trunk space is
- footwell lamps (with adjustable brightness!!)
- Red "mood lighting" above center console

[rs73]

- after you over-ride auto by using the paddles, you can flick back from manual to auto on the DSG by moving the gear shift sideways and back. (Took me a while to realise you could also change gears using the stick by moving it sideways too, as well as using the paddles.)

You can also use the paddle to resume from manual override back to auto, by holding the shift up "+" paddle for a few seconds.

- the storage container under your left elbow locks open if you only open it a little way. Thought things were jamming!

locks open - the purpose is it to act as an arm rest.

[Steveo]

Good
- Like most - great engine - goes like a train... but doesn't have the fuel consumption my old SS experienced for roughly the same performance.

- agree with most of the others

Surprises
- how useful the auto-dimming rear view mirror is. (I do a lot of night time highway driving) I would never have selected it as an extra cost option.

- small red LED that lights the handbrake/gear shift at night

- after you over-ride auto by using the paddles, you can flick back from manual to auto on the DSG by moving the gear shift sideways and back. (Took me a while to realise you could also change gears using the stick by moving it sideways too, as well as using the paddles.)

- the storage container under your left elbow locks open if you only open it a little way. Thought things were jamming!

- tyre pressure warning seems to be there - despite confusing manual

- the fact that "comfort indicators" are the three flashes when you just touch the turn indicator stalk (only just found that out by reading this thread - had no clue what it meant until then!)

Dislikes
- like many I have had a lot of trouble getting a good driving position. Around town it doesn't cause problems, but on highway driving I have had wrists and shoulders ending up quite painful. After much experimenting I have found a reasonable position... and have put a thin cushion under my backside at the back of the seat. I think it largely comes down to the squab being tilted too far to the back. (I don't have the leather/adjustable option). As someone else said - woe betide anyone who moves the seat. (think this means I can never get the car serviced again!!)

I have moved the steering wheel up and down to find the right position and find when I get it comfortable, the wheel is too low and so blocks the indicator lights on the dash.

- would like to be able to control the MDI from the steering wheel a bit more. Having to take my eyes off the road to change a folder (eg go from music to a podcast) using the touch-screen - especially on a bumpy road - is a bit dangerous.

- On that topic - the fact that it always switches the iPod to track repeat (a known bug) is a pain.

- That dirty rear windscreen and the unpredictable nature of the rain sensing wipers are a big gripe. So is the cruise control switch - to take it off temporarily without touching the brake, I sometimes turn it off all together. (On the plus side, being able to set a kmh number for the cruise control is brilliant)

I WISH

- that it had a taller top gear or a seventh cog. It has train-loads of torque from 1700rpm but runs at about 2700 revs on the highway. Another gear to bring it down to 2500 or less would still give you plenty of flexibility and improve economy while maybe dropping noise. It never gets out of 6th on my country drives - while my old Honda Euro would kick back to 3rd on a couple of hills because it did not have the torque but ran at lower revs in 5th (and got the same economy as the GTI)

However, it is still a fun car to drive and love the sound when the DSG changes if you are getting into it... almost as good as the V8 (I know... I know). I am not sure it is the best car for a grand tourer (the highway driving) but on winding roads and around town it brings a big smile to my face.

[vdubber1212]

Exhaust vibration on switching off ignition?

The first video was recorded inside the car - the vibration heard at the beginning is when I switched off the ignition and then I switched on and off the ignition. This time it's also heard on switching on as well. It's not consistent though but it almost is when switching off the ignition.

In the second video, the phone was put on the ground near the exhaust.
Do you guys also have it?
Thanks for watching and replying.

[vdubber1212]

So here is the recorded clicking from inside the car. It's very faint but it's heard after the gear is changed - please ignore the loud noise when gears are changed. I think I was holding my phone too close to it. It's also audible from outside the car but didn't attempt to record it due to exhaust noise off the wall behind my car.

[vdubber1212]

Btw also do you guys get the clicking sound when standstill and change gears from N to D and D to N?? It sounds like the gear is engaging but didn't really notice it until yesterday. It's not that loud but can hear it fairly easily inside and outside the car if there are no cars around. I'm not trying to get it diagnosed here but wanted to see if others also have it or noticed it. Thanks.

[vdubber1212]

No. Time to speak to your service department.

Ok I'll have a chat to them. Does anyone else have it? It's like something is not physically holding the exhaust right - but sometimes it's not there after driving for a while and if I turn the ignition off quickly. I'll try to record it and upload here.

[hooba]

It was louder on turning it off at a lower oil temp. Do you guys have this too on your GTI?

No. Time to speak to your service department.

[vdubber1212]

I have picked up my GTI about two weeks ago and I am enjoying every moment in the car even with the known wastegate actuator rod noise. But I was just wondering if other MK6 GTI's do this - the exhaust or muffler vibrates momentarily for about a second when I turn the engine off. It does it most of the time although it sometimes makes no vibration especially after driving for a while and turning off the engine (30 mins. plus). But then again still gives that momentary vibration most of the time when turning off the engine. It was louder on turning it off at a lower oil temp. Do you guys have this too on your GTI?

[Corey_R]

Hey guys, I know it's Friday and the weather is driving everyone insane, but can we please keep things on topic.

I appreciate the input that the long-term-regulars give to this forum. But this is the MK6 forum. There is no need to be comparing the MKV to the MK6 all the time. You can't buy a new MKV anymore as it has been replaced, so deal. Prospective new owners aren't interested in the bickering about what once was, and are more than likely to just become confused or get turned off.

Also, please don't continue arguments which have been deemed off-topic in other threads, into threads that feel are close-enough to on-topic to get away with it. It's not appreciated.

I've cleaned up the last page or so of posts to get it back to topic.