The Mega Mk7 Golf GTI/GTD/R thread

JoeA3

carsfan wrote: »

wow!
that brings back memories to me. My first brand new car was a black golf gti 1.8T mark 4 in 1999. I ordered in February and got it in July.
I remember it was 150bhp and generated 155lbs of torque and at the time I thought it was a rocket. 0 to 60 was 8.5 seconds I think.
It came with a glass roof but you could delete the roof and pay a reduced amount to get manual a/c. Who in Ireland would be bothered with air conditioning when you can have a sunroof I thought!
I think it was about 21000 pounds to buy which people told me was mad money for a golf...

Haha, yeah, the standard spec on Irish VW's used to be truly shocking. I remember pricing MK4 Golfs in the early '00's and remote Central locking could only be gotten as part of a "tech pack" costing £700 (punts!) or something crazy like that.
Early MKV GTI's came with standard sunroof too. Aircon could be spec'd instead - at a cost of course.

It's great that VW are finally spec'ing the cars properly.

carsfan

Good memory. I had that tech pack which was the remote central locking and a trip computer I think.

Foreign Sports

carsfan wrote: »

I think it was about 21000 pounds to buy which people told me was mad money for a golf...

Yeah it was pricey enough at the time. I think he paid 22400 pounds as he added the recaro leather seats which were expensive!

They had stopped putting in the recaros for the cloth seats and had replaced them with VW ones unless you spec'd leather.

carsfan

Yeah I had the recaro seats which were a lovely feature.
The car itself was a mixed bag. The engine was lovely I remember but handling was poor enough. I recall having trouble keeping up with a ford focus 1.6 petrol one evening over twisty roads. I could catch him on the straights but around the bends the focus could cling on where I struggled. The chassis on the mark 4 was not a strong point.
I trade the car in in 2001 and got about 17000 pounds for it such was the demand for them.

Foreign Sports

4 grand depreciation in two years!

Not too shabby! I'd take that on the mark 7

carsfan

Quick question for those that already have their gti/gtd and may have this feature.
Does high beam assist work by just turning on and off the high beams when required or is it the more advanced "dynamic" high beam assist that actually keeps the high beam on but moves the light down not to dazzle other road users?
I tried to find this info online but am none the wiser.

bazz26

I have high beam assist on my BMW. There is a button at the end of the stalk to activate/deactivate it. When activated it meaning that it switches between high beam and low beam automatically when it senses other vehicle lights ahead or street lighting. No need to set the full beams to on first at all. I'd imagine VW's system is similar.

Oafley Jones

carsfan wrote: »

Quick question for those that already have their gti/gtd and may have this feature.
Does high beam assist work by just turning on and off the high beams when required or is it the more advanced "dynamic" high beam assist that actually keeps the high beam on but moves the light down not to dazzle other road users?
I tried to find this info online but am none the wiser.

VW offer both options on the new golf. Wouldn't bother paying extra for non dynamic assist.

carsfan

I have the high beam assist on my current bmw. It has moved beyond just switching between high and low beam and actually moves the high beam around other road users to give you max light but not dazzle.
What I would like to know is what way the vw system works.
It does appear they have two versions, dynamic and a more basic version.
I am getting a car with the technology pack but it doesn't tell what system that has.
Anybody know?

JoeA3

carsfan wrote: »

I have the high beam assist on my current bmw. It has moved beyond just switching between high and low beam and actually moves the high beam around other road users to give you max light but not dazzle.
What I would like to know is what way the vw system works.
It does appear they have two versions, dynamic and a more basic version.
I am getting a car with the technology pack but it doesn't tell what system that has.
Anybody know?

You are getting the basic version. The dynamic light assist is much more complex and a fair bit more expensive. A friend of mine has it in his GTI. It includes a camera built into the rain sensor in the windscreen (which will recognise traffic road signs in conjunction with the Nav) and the headlamps themselves have different internals. Impressive stuff but I'm not sure I'd pay the extra for it.

carsfan

Thanks for the info joe.
I suspected as much for the price of the tech pack.
Still looking forward to the car any how
Dealer rang me the other day to say car brought forward and will be here sooner than thought.

JoeA3

carsfan wrote: »

Thanks for the info joe.
I suspected as much for the price of the tech pack.
Still looking forward to the car any how
Dealer rang me the other day to say car brought forward and will be here sooner than thought.

Exciting times!

Foreign Sports

carsfan wrote: »

Thanks for the info joe.
I suspected as much for the price of the tech pack.
Still looking forward to the car any how
Dealer rang me the other day to say car brought forward and will be here sooner than thought.

What is your new build week as a matter of interest?

carsfan

Apparently I had build week 5 which was moved to 3 and now 2.
Don't understand why this is the case but I suppose the sooner the better.
Maybe vw not getting as many orders as anticipated.
Dealer says that cars ordered for customers get moved up over cars built for general stock.
Your car will possibly be something similar as I think you ordered around same time.

Foreign Sports

I'm still build week 4 based on my last phone conversation with my dealer a few weeks ago.

I'll give them a call in the new year to see if it has changed.

Cheers.

blingrhino

The high beam assist and rear camera were part of the package that vw were offering in November when I ordered the R. I presume it's also the basic version ?
I had it on a BMW in 07 and must say I found it brilliant .

My dealer says " february" when he ordered it November 24th so that would be build week 6 or 7 ?

Foreign Sports

blingrhino wrote: »

The high beam assist and rear camera were part of the package that vw were offering in November when I ordered the R. I presume it's also the basic version ?
I had it on a BMW in 07 and must say I found it brilliant .

My dealer says " february" when he ordered it November 24th so that would be build week 6 or 7 ?

I ordered on 28th November and was told bw 4. The dealer said it could arrive in the country as soon as 2-3 weeks later (depending on when it makes it onto the ship) and then I'd be looking at mid to late February for collection.


Assuming you have a similar build week (bw 3 - 5), then when your dealer says february, it could mean collection rather than build week.

carsfan

My order was 28th of November too so you might have gotten bumped up too.

damo86

Ah jesus, was expecting that it would be the dynamic one, I don't see it on the options list either as I would of specced if I knew it was different.

That mean we wont have the traffic sign monitoring or the lane assist then...slight disappointment.

Popping into my local dealer tomorrow (blackwater) if ye have any questions you want to ask?

carsfan

Damo86
I checked my price list given to me by the dealer and it doesn't list dynamic light assist anywhere just high beam assist. I would have paid a bit more to get dynamic if I'd known it wasn't what we were getting as part of the tech pack. I should have done more research..
Would appreciate if you could ask about this. I also don't have the traffic sign or lane assist option on my price list and I checked the configurator where there is no sign or no dynamic light assist either so maybe these features aren't on the irish spec.
Why? I don't know as people would spec them if available.

damo86

The dealer didnt know much about it either but he will find out for me from volkswagen. He did say it does have the traffic sign assist (but wasnt sure) so that might be some indication that it MIGHT have the camera in question. My car gets delivered in the next 2/3 weeks so will let you know

noelf

Good Golf forum www.golfmk7.com

MisterDrak

Got to sit in the Golf R on Saturday. Going to get a chance to give it a test driven next Wednesday week (as it not PDI yet), so ill report back. Its the dealer principals car, so it specked to the hilt...

Foreign Sports

I'd say once you drive it, you'll want one...the extra horses over the gti will be noticeable as will the 4 wheel drive, assuming you can push on a bit!

carsfan

It will be very interesting to get a back to back comparison of gti vs. r
In a way I hope you are not too impressed because I am getting the gti and don't want to hear how much better the golf R is....

MisterDrak

Well I'm up for changing mine, but probably wont stretch to the R.

Still the dealer don't know that, so I will make the right noises when taking it for a spin.

Ill might go for a GTi performance, with the same extras I have at the moment. Also I see that the 18" and the xenon lights are now standard with the Gti...

JoeA3

MisterDrak wrote: »

Ill might go for a GTi performance, with the same extras I have at the moment. Also I see that the 18" and the xenon lights are now standard with the Gti...

There's a lot of extra kit on the GTI now compared to when we bought...
- xenons
- 18's
- parking sensors
- rear tint
- climate control

and I think that "tech pack" (Nav, rear camera...) is still a freebie... it may even become standard spec yet.

When you spec them up, side by side, there's not a huge amount in it (€4k?) between the GTI-Performance and the R. And with the R you get 19's... not to mention 70 horses more and AWD.

carsfan

I actually prefer the look of the gti over the R.
19" alloys mean worse ride and more expensive tyres. The quad exhaust looks like a boy racer job and I think you can spec a R style body kit now which means any golf can look like the R.
Between fuel economy, road tax and insurance it has got to cost more to run.
I know depreciation is the biggest cost of a car but these are what you notice on a day to day basis but I also don't think the R will out perform the gti in this regard.
All this said I know the R is a cracking car and a great buy.

blingrhino

carsfan wrote: »

I actually prefer the look of the gti over the R.
19" alloys mean worse ride and more expensive tyres. The quad exhaust looks like a boy racer job and I think you can spec a R style body kit now which means any golf can look like the R.
Between fuel economy, road tax and insurance it has got to cost more to run.
I know depreciation is the biggest cost of a car but these are what you notice on a day to day basis but I also don't think the R will out perform the gti in this regard.
All this said I know the R is a cracking car and a great buy.

you trying to burst my bubble carsfan !!

Dealer tells me mine is BW5 so should have it mid february.

carsfan

Not at all!
Probably trying to convince myself I did the right thing not stretching to the R!

Foreign Sports

JoeA3 wrote: »

and I think that "tech pack" (Nav, rear camera...) is still a freebie... it may even become standard spec yet.

Don't forget the MDI cable and the high beam assist

Think the tech pack is worth ~€900.

Are they still offering the free service pack?

Edit: just checked the website, they're still offering the free service pack probably worth another €900.

Oafley Jones

carsfan wrote: »

I actually prefer the look of the gti over the R.
19" alloys mean worse ride and more expensive tyres. The quad exhaust looks like a boy racer job and I think you can spec a R style body kit now which means any golf can look like the R.
Between fuel economy, road tax and insurance it has got to cost more to run.
I know depreciation is the biggest cost of a car but these are what you notice on a day to day basis but I also don't think the R will out perform the gti in this regard.
All this said I know the R is a cracking car and a great buy.

Quad exhaust looks silly alright, but the Gti screams boy racer to me. It's notable how nearly all reviews I read on the R commented on it's understated/mature styling. Now, that's either a good thing or a bad thing depending on where you come from. Have to say that I absolutely hate that 1980s testarossa style vents on the Gti.

Foreign Sports

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Quad exhaust looks silly alright, but the Gti screams boy racer to me. It's notable how nearly all reviews I read on the R commented on it's understated/mature styling. Now, that's either a good thing or a bad thing depending on where you come from. Have to say that I absolutely hate that 1980s testarossa style vents on the Gti.

The R was always the more understated car in terms of appearance whereas the GTI is the original hot hatch. They are aimed at two different markets.

There are certainly more extroverted looking warm / hot hatches out there but the testarossa strakes are one of the better looking features on the GTI imo.

carsfan

can't agree that gti looks like a boy racer car.I think the styling is restrained enough yet has enough touches to lift it over the ordinary golf. The R with the quad exhausts and silver mirror caps looks more racer to me, but each to their own.

I'm not sure the service offer is still there by the way. My dealer said it ended in November and tech pack offer ends at the end of March.
Also with the way petrol prices are going I'm delighted I ordered gti over gtd

blingrhino

My dealer says he has 7 golf R on order and 1 Gti for delivery !

MisterDrak

JoeA3 wrote: »

When you spec them up, side by side, there's not a huge amount in it (€4k?) between the GTI-Performance and the R. And with the R you get 19's... not to mention 70 horses more and AWD.

Thanks for making the decision easier Joe !

But seriously, I still only have 7900miles on mine that's after 18 months to the day. While the €570 tax (in the bigger scheme of things is nothing), I have got used to paying just €270, and the relatively good fuel economy that comes with car (33mpg at last count).

Lastly I am concerned about the possibly harsher ride with the R, I did go for the DCC on my Gti, and I have it in comfort mode most of the time. That's a €1100 option on the R...

In saying all of the above, both my teenage sons are begging me to get the R...

MisterDrak

carsfan wrote: »

can't agree that gti looks like a boy racer car.I think the styling is restrained enough yet has enough touches to lift it over the ordinary golf. The R with the quad exhausts and silver mirror caps looks more racer to me, but each to their own.

I'm not sure the service offer is still there by the way. My dealer said it ended in November and tech pack offer ends at the end of March.
Also with the way petrol prices are going I'm delighted I ordered gti over gtd

I think it possibly comes down to the colour you choose. I have the white GTi with the pano roof and it does look overly sporty (but in a good way).

The R that I seen at the weekend, was in the lapis blue, and imo looked very classy, bar the quad pipes. Put the same car in white and not so much...

sk8board

McAllisters in airside got a demo MK7R in and I went along to see on Saturday, before going to Joe Duffys to see the 420d, 330d touring and the new A6.

a quick view of each:
MK7R:
(with the extras you'd use every day, the dsg 5-door is over €48k): absolutely fabulous car, and in any other lifetime I'd have bought one there and then. HOWEVER, for me there were 2 issues:
1. we're a one-car family and the boot space is unacceptable. the 4wd system is under the spare wheel, so the boot floor is raised up and a noticeable amount smaller than a normal golf. After the trill of hte acceleration wears off, you're left with a golf, speaking from experience
2. I've owned GTI's in the past and the acceleration here is even better. I do 30,000km annually on motorways, so again its wasted on me (unfortunately).

new facelift A6:
you'd need the new model with sline and stronic, daytona grey and 20" alloys (€55/57k), but I just never felt like it was a unique car - I see hundreds of them each week up and down the motorways. Pity, cause again its a great all-round car. The 6-pot ones are far too expensive, when you can get a faster 330D for less.

330D Touring m sport:
base spec, with only 19" alloys and its €61k in estoril blue. I like estates, my current car is a 5-series Touring msport. I really like this car, but again, I'd be substituting usable options for great acceleration I wouldn't get to use! the base spec interior is not a nice place to spend a lot of hours

420D gran coupe m sport:
firstly, I can't understand why the 420D m sport auto is 500e more expensive than the same 520d m sport auto (€54k v €54.5k), yet in 6-pot guise the 430d is a whole 8500e cheaper than the same spec 530d (€61.5 v €70) - with base m sport spec. I think they have clowns like myself in their sights for this niche car.
I absolutely love the looks in estoril blue and the Plus pack (€2.7k extra, but you get 19" unique alloys, bigger brakes and M blue calipers, privacy glass, dechromed, harman kordan stereo). The 2.0D is perfect for my amount and type of driving and is about 1.5sec quicker to 60 than my current 520d. The boot is huge and is an auto hatchback with split rear seats. HOWEVER, I can't help but think the 430D is actually the 'value' here - but its more than I want to spend - a half-decent spec is 65k.
A top-spec 420D on the other hand is about €58k before any negotiation, but I was left in no doubt there wasn't much on offer.

so there you go, a high-class problem, with a few surprises and no real conclusions! My fickle money would probably go on the top-spec 420d though.

JoeA3

sk8board wrote: »

1. we're a one-car family and the boot space is unacceptable. the 4wd system is under the spare wheel, so the boot floor is raised up and a noticeable amount smaller than a normal golf.

I've heard this complaint before and it would put me off also. The boot in the regular Golf isn't the roomiest without making it even smaller!

So does the boot floor in the R not have 2 levels like it does in the lesser Golfs? With my boot floor at the highest setting, the boot is adequate for a few shopping bags and not much else...

MisterDrak

Was up in McAllisters Airside myself on Saturday and took the R for a test drive.

The car was better than expected, from the improved damping (over my GTi), to the ease of driving with the DCG box, to the obviously savage acceleration. I did expect a harsher ride, with the heaver car and the 19" wheels, but was pleasantly surprised. Also the outside sound damping seemed better.

That demo car had everything in it, which had the price at €54K, so outside my price range. But I did build up a lower spec car (with a 9 week build time) but would still be looking at €22K to change.

http://i.imgur.com/RWbEr2F.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/rMlFOzS.jpg

sk8board

yep, two levels as usual. the spare wheel is exactly where it normally is and the 4wd is underneath it.
basically the lip is barely a few inches deep.

heres a good example:
http://img4.auto-motor-und-sport.de/VW-Golf-R-Kofferraum-f900x600-F4F4F2-C-7d5122d1-377792.jpg

carsfan

I had a new bmw 330d tourer in 2013 and traded it back in 11 months later for a 6 month old 520d tourer for reasons you outlined. The acceleration and speed is phenomenal but the interior is a let down as is the refinement.
Mine was 60k at the time and it isn't really worth it.
Like you say, when you get over the acceleration that you can't use 99 per cent of the time it is a basic enough interior.
The gran coupe looks gorgeous I think but isn't great in the rear seats.

On a seperate note, dealer just e mailed to say car arrived at Dublin port!

sk8board

carsfan wrote: »

The gran coupe looks gorgeous I think but isn't great in the rear seats.

On a seperate note, dealer just e mailed to say car arrived at Dublin port!

my only concern with the GC was rear seat space. When they pointed me towards the car, I opened the back door first as that would be a deal-breaker.
I was very pleasantly surprised. I'm a lanky 6" and had head, knee and shoulder room, with the drivers seat back further than my position. Its tight at shoulder level as the rear wheel arches slope in a lot more. I never have adults in the back, never mind for long distances. The middle seat would be for shorter trips still.
4 adults in great comfort though.

Max Q

What sort of discounts (if any) are dealers knocking off the list price for new GTI's/R's? I know it all depends on the mix of trade in value/finance/cash but anyone got a ballpark figure?

sk8board

I'll tell you later - I've a call with bmw later today to ask that question and discuss hard prices.
PCP, part HP, straight cash, trade-in.
Finance options heavily depend on the interest rate of course.

I don't get the impression they have any more than 2-3% discount, and also may earn more commission on a finance deal to begin with.
Not to mention that it's January and I may wait for 152 to see if a better deal is possible

carsfan

I found VW dealers keen enough to do deals but I ordered in November.
I got 3k discount off list price. I don't know if this is good or bad but coupled with free tech pack and 3 years free servicing I am happy enough.

Max Q

carsfan wrote: »

I found VW dealers keen enough to do deals but I ordered in November.
I got 3k discount off list price. I don't know if this is good or bad but coupled with free tech pack and 3 years free servicing I am happy enough.

Wow, 3k is a very generous discount. You did well!

Foreign Sports

I got a similar deal to carsfan (2650 ish off list). But I suspect it was reflected in a slightly lower trade in for my car if I'm honest.

I had to work hard for it though . I spent alot of time going to 4 or 5 dealers and haggling as if my life depended on it!

Most dealers were willing to take money off list, only to take most of it back on the trade in offer.

sk8board

BadTeacher wrote: »

Wow, 3k is a very generous discount. You did well!

on a €45-€50k low-volume car, you'd expect a decent discount, albeit it's 4-6% - not entirely unknown.
I'd be v happy to get that off the €59k 420D m sport!

Foreign Sports

carsfan wrote: »

On a seperate note, dealer just e mailed to say car arrived at Dublin port!

Exciting times!

I must get onto my dealer given there is a good chance my car was on the same boat as yours!