Things you don't like about your MK7

[Dutch77]

Amen to that!

(And to everything else you said actually; as someone who never owned a Mk7 but who has driven many and spent a fair bit of time with them, I've never connected with them the way I did with my Mk6, despite being demonstrably the better car.)

I know we discussed the point a few times, and it really hit home.

As its turned out my last drive in the car was over two months ago now and the Speaker handed it over this afternoon (part of the deal I did, long story) and I'm not having any kind of reaction like I did when I did my final run in the Mk6 - lol, I actually was about to pull into the dealer that time and at the last second kept going and did one last 'final lap'!

I agree with all of that Dutch, particularly the head unit (like you I could never justify $3k to retrofit the big screen). My other gripe remains the bundling of options which still doesn't allow a 'purists combination' of manual transmission and Performance Package.

Cheers Jimi, glad it was taken in the spirit as intended and not as one taking a dig now that I've moved on.

The decisions HQ takes here shows how out of touch they are with their customer base and what the market wants.. but hey we knew that when they ran their fake five year DSG warranty and then took it away by just removing the page on their website. This at a time when a fair chunk of ROTW gets 5-10 years and even Skoda give out 5.

Imagine a three door PP manual with no other options.. even drop the Santiagos back to 18s and so on.

Ditto the three door R. They dropped it to bring us the Scirroco which kind of made sense although they pissed off a whole group of buyers (although made the group who did get their hands on three doors quite happy) but why can't it be there now?

As Aaron rightly points out, this involved very little to no work on VWA's behalf and heck, charge a premium, make it special order, whatever.. just show you give a toss about your customers.

Sort of ironic that one of their biggest driving forces and 'free' marketers - us, the enthusiasts - are the ones they stomp on at every opportunity.

It really annoys me that an Aussie delivered vehicle running down the same production line misses out on so many options or combinations that are available elsewhere in the world. I can understand from a spare parts and service point of view if VW Australia choose not to import a particular model (like the Sharan) because they don't see a market for it and don't want to keep all the spare parts on hand

Amen to that brother.

I look to the day that maybe VWW can parallel import the VWs we all want to drive..

[Arnold]

...While I do enjoy the big boot which not surprisingly fits more than my Mk6 given it is the largest boot in Golf history ...

That reads like quite a pointed comment about a car boot! I've heard of people finding boots practical and useful, but never a source of enjoyment.

Nonetheless I am glad if the Golf7 boot has been a source of enjoyment , Dutch77. Much more enjoyable than the high-capacity windscreen washer reservoir I imagine but, let's face it, not a patch on the centre armrest. Imagine the enjoyment if you could subtract the loading and unloading part from the boot experience, and don't even think about an auto closer (which will be added to the Golf8 with any luck).

That said, your boot enjoyment would be even greater if the Golf7 boot were not shorter than that in the Mark IV, V or VI.

As many have written in various online fora, including this one, items that would fit in the boot of their Mark IV, V or VI simply cannot be accommodated, or cannot be accommodated as easily, by the Golf7 boot due to its relative shortness fore& aft which is exacerbated by the height of the false floor and angle of the rear seats. This has been a source of frustration and inconvenience, rather than enjoyment and, in my case, would require an investment in new luggage or hanging on to my Mark V longer than I otherwise might.

However, as you are now giving your Golf7 the "boot", all that is of no moment to you and I trust you will derive as much enjoyment from the boot of your new car. Of course, someone with as much baggage as you should find that an A3 boot would be more enjoyable than the boot in the S3.

But giving VW props for its Golf7 boot design because its capacity is the greatest in Golf history when it is shorter in one critical dimension and, for many, less practical, is a bit like commending VW for a less efficient engine with lower specific power output simply because it has a higher capacity.

The utility of a boot does not necessarily correlate directly with its capacity and given the greater overall length of the Golf7 the reduction in boot depth fore & aft is even more lamentable.

I am sure your enjoyment of your S3 will not be affected by its boot capacity.

[Dutch77]

Lol.. I am amused.

I'll be honest, I have absolutely no idea whether it is more useful or not for me, given how 'squat' a Mk7 looks I assume the extra volume has come from width. I know Junior's ridiculous pram that cost more than my first car just fit in it - sounds like I would have been cruising if I'd retained the Mk6.

Just a friendly dig given I think you've mentioned the boot more often than I have the fugly Santiagos on this forum.

As for the A3 boot - the sedan doesn't have height but it does have decent length, you may even derive enjoyment from it.
I do know the Sportback manages to have 10% less room than the Mk7 despite the car being longer.. it looks visually small and I'm not sure what Audi were thinking with that.

[zardoz]

After having my car for a good nine or so months, I'm starting to feel its shortfalls.

It's a good car. Love it. But there are a few annoyances:

1. The Discover Nav. If the dealer had the option sheet to tick the pro, I would have done so - but obviously our Australian dollars are no good in Germany. At least there are aftermarket solutions now.
2. There's no interior lighting around the ignition (I've found it hard to figure out where the key goes when it's dark). The bigger problem is that there's no light in the centre phone compartment under the centre console. If it's dark, even the interior lights (the LEDs, which are very narrow beams!) won't light it up, so if I want to plug a USB cable in, I have to resort to a torch or similar.
3. The 7 speed DSG. I've got a shudder issue. I've just had a software update done and it's still a bit rough; it was smooth as silk the day I got it - and I know this because my old 118TSI had the same problem and it was night and day.
4. I have Xenons, but the stock headlights on the Golf 7 loaner I had during my service were terrible! Wow. Glad I sprung for the extra lights but I shouldn't have to do that.
5. RATTLE IN THE DOORS. Taken it back to the dealer, they said they lubricated stuff but it didn't go away. Wasn't there the day I got the car and very noticeable with music going.
6. The reversing camera image gets obstructed for the first five or so seconds with a black background around the reverse sensor diagram. THIS IS A REALLY POOR DESIGN so I have to sit there for a few seconds before I can see the left hand side of my street, rendering the tool relatively useless.
7. Footwell lighting can't run at full brightness when driving. The mark 6 had much brighter lights in the footwells that were useful for passengers - the mark 7's are too dull to actually be of any practical use and only serve as decorative lighting.
8. I would really like the ability to, with one button, return to the digital speedometer on the MFD. If I get a call and answer it, it takes me away from that display and I have to fiddle with menu flipping to go back. Or even an idle timeout where it returns to a nominated page.
9. There was no golf R version of the wagon when I purchased mine. Glad they've resolved that issue now

Otherwise, it's been a decent car!

[REGS12]

Gloomy headlights

Headlights on GTI are absolute crap. Came home along Great Ocean Road last night and driving was most unpleasant.
I've been grizzling about Golf headlights on mk5, mk6 and now mk7.. No-one at VW seems to care, even though plenty of owners agree. How do we convince Europeans that we actually drive on dark, windy roads that we have huge mountain walls, steep cliffs to drive off and big animals jumping out at us? Headlights---headlights ----headlights. Everything else is brilliant.

[Dutch77]

Headlights on GTI are absolute crap. Came home along Great Ocean Road last night and driving was most unpleasant.
I've been grizzling about Golf headlights on mk5, mk6 and now mk7.. No-one at VW seems to care, even though plenty of owners agree. How do we convince Europeans that we actually drive on dark, windy roads that we have huge mountain walls, steep cliffs to drive off and big animals jumping out at us? Headlights---headlights ----headlights. Everything else is brilliant.

It's amazing just how crap they are given the number of other cars on the road with basic halogens that kick their ass.. they are easily the worst lights I ever had - 1982 Sigma included.

My advice for any buyers is easy:

1) If you are city based with little to no country driving, suck it up, you'll live unless you need to look cool, then spend your $2k.

2) If you are country based or expect to do at least some country or unlit road driving and value your life, FIND A CAR WITH BI-XENONS. It's not a luxury.

[veew]

Let me see if this works for photos, just by using attachment feature. Not that IT savvy.

I tell a lie the white bit showing under the mat is one of those real estate corrugated plastic advertising boards, didn't rush out to buy a masonite sheet as I had the plastic board lying around. Seems to support average luggage without any problems.

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Thanks mate, appreciate the photo!