mk5 gti a view/opinion without bias!

[RedRobin]

Very interesting and obviously much truth in the consumer psychology subject. Everyone here will I'm sure agree that I've been particularly vocal and very enthusiastic about the Mk5 GTI....Whereas I have to accept that an element of reinforcing my own decision in buying doubtless exists, with every mile I drive I remain enthusiastic....In fact I like this car more and more as I become more familiar and confident. Nearly 40 years of working life (I'm 58) has trained me to be analytical and objective but I still find it difficult to find fault as far as my individual use of this car is concerned. The GTI is a brilliant allrounder....Not without a few minor faults but does it really matter? No!! The positives far outweigh any negatives and the key to enjoyment is to work with rather than against.....It's all in your mind. What the heck is 'perfection' anyway?

Others in this thread have eloquently described the GTI's main attributes but it isn't just about the car....It's also about the whole: Car AND Driver....As one! I don't quite know how to explain this....It's almost 'If-you-have-to-ask-you-wouldn't-understand!" It's how a car suits its driver or how a musical instrument suits its player or a racing bicycle suits its rider or a horse suits its rider....It's a 'oneness'.

Can I give an unbiased view of the Mk5 GTI? Of course I can't!! And why would I want to? It can be further improved but I'm only interested in enjoying what I got, sharing that enjoyment and helping and being helped by what is posted in this forum.

In many ways, cars are like women....Each one is different, each one has a degree of perfection, each one has faults but it's utterly pointless to compare the one you're with to any other....Just simply enjoy the present and live each day as if it was your last. Too much analysis screws up your mind.

Enjoy driving....That's what cars are for!

[CRJ_1]

Well put Red. If only women were like motors, just a trip to the dealer to sort out their problems

[steven_cs]

Thought I'd add my thoughts after owning a Mk5 GTI for just over one month. My previous car was a Civic Type-R.

First the negatives:

The standard stereo doesn't sound like anything special

One or two of the plastic parts are poorly finished

DSG takes some getting used to - if you don't quite get the accelerator position right in D mode, it either doesn't drop a gear when you wanted it to, or it drops two gears instead of one. I'm getting tuned into this though, and the paddles are there to let you take control when you want.

DSG does sometimes let the car roll back a little on steep hills, but it's not a big problem, and I think I'm used to it now.

Sport mode on the DSG box takes no prisoners. It's great if you've got a quiet road to yourself, but otherwise it's not that useful. A "brisk mode" between D and S would have been nice.

The DSG box is so smooth that I sometimes lose track of what gear I'm in. I miss being able to tell what gear I'm just from the engine noise, or flicking my hand across to the gearstick, as I could in my Civic. Hopefully this will get better as I use manual mode more.

The engine sounds a bit rough upto about 1500rpm, and a bit breathless over about 6000rpm. I miss the extra kick of the Civic's VTEC mode.

The GTI definitely feels slower at high speeds than the Civic. I think that it's actually just as fast, but it just doesn't have the sense of occasion that the Civic had when driving hard. I agree with what Pedalhead said about it being easier to accidently speed in the GTI than it was in the Civic.

Right, on to the good points :-)

The engine between 1500 and 6000rpm is wonderful. It may not have the top end kick of cars like the Civic, but there's just huge amounts of smooth power available all the time. It also seems to be bit better on fuel than the Civic, and with a larger tank and the range meter in the highline display, it can comfortably go a lot further between visits to the petrol station.

The DSG gearbox is lovely to live with day to day. Whilst I'd prefer a very good manual box (such as the one in the Civic) on a fast, quiet road, the DSG is so much better the rest of the time. Once I fully get to grips with the manual mode, I suspect I'm going to like it even more. Coming from the Civic's great gearbox, I still have no regrets about buying the Golf with DSG. I doubt I would buy a manual again, unless I was buying a trackday car.

The interior is very nice. The leather seats are comfy, I like the red lights at night, and the blue instrument dials work for me. It also comes with a pretty decent set of standard equipment, and good options. It feels like they spent several times as much on the interior as they did on the Civic. Very similar to my dad's A4 SE in feel, but the Golf has more toys.

I really like the look of the Golf - "discreet performance" sums it up for me. Anyone who knows cars will recognise it and appreciate the little touches, but it doesn't stand out in the way that cars like the Astra VXR, Impreza, and Evo do. Nothing wrong with standing out, but the Golf pretty much suits my taste perfectly.

Unlike many other hot hatchbacks, the Golf is available with 5 doors, which makes it fantastically practical.

It's very very easy to drive. No silly turning circle like the Civic. This car is so painless to own. Lots of performance, yet it's very relaxing to cruise around in.

As an an overall package, this car has very few rivals.

BMW 130i - lovely engine, but more expensive, and very little space

BMW 330i Auto Touring - Ticks almost all the same boxes of performance and practicality, but it costs almost £10K more when specced up.

Audi A3 Sportback - Very similar to the Golf. Just depends which interior, suspension setup etc you prefer. Slight worry about depreciation with the 3.2 though

Cars like the Astra VXR, Civic Type-R, and Clio 182 are at least as quick, and are significantly cheaper, but I don't think they have anything like the range of ability that the MkV Golf GTi has.

In summary, whilst I still have a soft spot for the Civic, there's no way I'd swap back. And I can't think of any other car at a remotely similar price that I'd rather have.

Steven

[RedRobin]

Steven....You showed me up! For someone who is supposed to be objective and analytical I did a crap job in my post above! Taking your well set out listed points:

The Negatives:

I'm not critical of some of the plastic bits.

Yes, DSG needs learning....It's so much more than 'automatic transmission' as we have always known it. But I would not list the learning curve as a negative. This is why I have been putting in miles on one mode at a time instead of rushing into it and trying to juggle all the balls in the air straight away.

Sport mode is incredibly useful in a tight spot such as overtaking 3 cars at once instead of hopping and squeezing in. Adds to safety providing you keep both hands on the wheel and are ready to brake or override with paddles or pop back to D-mode. LeMan has banned me from using the word "flexible"!

It's a big positive, not a negative, that the DSG box is so smooooth but the readout of what gear you are in is extremely poor (at least on the midline computer display). Again it's probably a matter of getting used to it (only had my car 3 weeks/1,120m). I'm hoping that soon-to-be-fitted Milltek Resonated Quads will let me hear the engine better as a driving aid.

The Positives:

I agree with everything you've said....Surprise, surprise!! except that I can't make the same comparisons with other cars.

Thanks Steven

P.S.- I still believe in "oneness" and I'm still biased positively about the Mk5 GTI.

[steven_cs]

Thanks Robin,

Having read your comments, and having had another think about it, I've got a bit more to say :-)

Agree with you about needing to learn DSG. It's very easy to pickup, but there's definitely the opportunity to tune your driving to get the very best out of the gearbox. But don't let that put anyone off. It's very good from the first moment you drive it, it's just that there's the opportunity to optimise the experience with practice.

I also agree about Sport mode being very useful in tight spots. It's great to know that the car will nail those gearchanges for you. This also applies in Drive mode in a busy city centre. It's one less thing to be concerned about. Probably makes driving 5% easier, but in tight spots, you can really notice the lighter workload. I'd be very surprised if the DSG box doesn't contribute to the safety of the car in some small way.

You're right about the smoothness of the DSG box being a great asset, and about gear readout being too small. There is only one scenario when this is really noticable. Driving at about 30mph in traffic, I can see the opportunity to overtake or change lanes. The car is Drive in either 5th or 6th gear (difficult to tell). What I want is 3rd gear now. Kicking right down to 2nd, or using Sport mode is too much. But do I press the left paddle 2 or 3 times? 4th will be too slow, and 2nd will be too manic. In reality, I would just leave it in drive, and just let the accelerator position kick the car down a few gears. Mostly works well, although occasionally it might drop to 4th, then end up with me kicking it down to second. Not an issue at higher speeds as it's usually pretty obvious that the car is in 6th gear.

I've had a few more thoughts overnight:

The speedometer and fuel tank meter are not as readable as the ones in the Civic were. They look much better, but I can't just quickly glance at the speedometer to check if I'm keeping to 30mph. With the fuel meter, it doesn't matter as you have option to put the range up on the highline display, but there's no such option for the speed. This is a very minor point, but it would have been a nice feature.

I really like all the hooks in the boot. Sounds like such a silly thing, but they're so useful when shopping.

The xenon lights and autodimming mirrors are wonderful. When tired and coming home from work on a cold, dark night, having climate, heated seats, DSG gearbox, ESP and tyre pressure monitor for safety, and autodimming mirrors and xenon lights, is very appealing.

The auto windscreen wipers work very well, but there's a bit of an issue with the auto lights, which has been mentioned before. If you leave them on and drive under a bridge, they come on. People in front must be wondering why I've just turned on my headlights on a sunny day? They work much better if you turn them on and off manually, but let it automatically decide between the headlights and sidelights when it's on.

Steven

[RedRobin]

Hi again Steven,

Spot on!! Exactly the point: The DSG system contributes GREATLY to safety in my sometimes not so humble opinion! Utterly flexible (LeMan has said he'll buy me a litre of Optimax every time I use that word!).

The ultimate gear readout would be within the windscreen like some BMWs. Just bigger numerals would help.

Yes, we forgot Xenons and autodimming and be glad we bought them come Winter. Have you spotted the 'luggage net' under the back shelf?

Robin

[simkna]

Talking of things you'll be glad of come winter - I am surprised I don't see more people speccing winter pack on their cars, and also very few of the used ones around have it either. I would definitely get it on my car, even if only for the heated washer jets, which are a huge boon in the winter.

Si.

[lagrian]

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I really like all the hooks in the boot. Sounds like such a silly thing, but they're so useful when shopping.

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I am glad there is someone else out there that shares this opinion , out of all the things I could mention on the GTi to people I always end up adding about the shopping hooks in the boot , so simple yet so useful.

I have to say my auto lights work pretty well, I have never had any such issues going through tunnels or bridges, they always revert back. Maybe its something to do with the light sensor and sensitivity and can be adjusted. I would like to adjust mine slightly as I feel they come on just a but too early when its getting dark.

The thing that can irritate me a little is the 'Motorway Function', drive over 90 mph for 10 seconds and the lights come on, just don't understand it, its designed to do that !. Can anyone answer why someone would decide to add this as a feature and even better whether you could turn it off through Vagcom or something similar then I would use the auto lights. Its the only time I have to switch.

[RedRobin]

Heated water jets? I missed that in all the excitement of ordering. Good point simkna.

[steven_cs]

Robin - hadn't realised what the luggage net was until you mentioned it. Just had a look at it. Not quite sure what I'll use it for, but it's definitely worth having.

simkna - I went for the winter pack too. Mainly for the low washer fluid warning, but the heated washer jets are also a good feature.

lagrian - I rather like the "Motorway Function". I like the idea of the lights coming on if I'm cruising at speed on a relatively quiet dual carriageway. It just makes people a bit more aware that someone is coming up behind them reasonably quickly. It makes you a bit more visible, which is a good thing when cruising at 90-95mph.

Another few points:

My car is Shadow Blue, which I absolutely love. However, it shows the dirt terribly. Significantly worse than my black Civic, which I had thought was pretty bad. Steel Grey or Reflex Silver are probably the colours to get if you hate washing your car. Despite this issue, I would still spec Shadow Blue if I was ordering the car again.

The fan-like spray of the windscreen washers is very good. Much better than the normal washer jets of most cars. Gives very even coverage of the screen, and doesn't seem to use much washer fluid.

Steven

[silentandy]

So is there anyone that actually doesn't like their GTI, or knows someone that doesn't

4000 miles and I'm still in love and being overly protective. How many of you go and check out the window once in a while to see she's ok.

[RedRobin]

Nice one Andy!!

I just read out your post to my 14yo daughter and she raised her eyes to heaven and said that TSN should start a forum just for GTI owners' wives and children!!

Well they say that true love doesn't stop and you are proving that after 4,000 miles. And yes I check her out of the window, though as of today I've got a rented garage lock-up.

Cheers

[EthanAllenCord]

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So is there anyone that actually doesn't like their GTI, or knows someone that doesn't

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I like my GTI, but it just seems a bit dull compared to my previous car, a Mini Cooper S

The Golf is much more comfortable, but just not quite as enjoyable to drive.

[RedRobin]

Welcome Ethan....Please tell us more! Has the Mini got better roadholding/acceleration/braking/response? Is your GTI manual or DSG? 3 or 5 door?

Betcha can't fit in your Mini what you can in the GTI....Much too cramped for my liking but each to their own. Different cars really....The GTI is a true allrounder and the Mini is very unique.

[aswall]

I drove a Cooper S Works while deciding what to get and it certainly is in another league for performance and roadholding, but it was just too frantic for me and too small inside. I also wondered whether the toylike dash would grate after a while

[EthanAllenCord]

My GTI is Steel Grey, 3dr, Manual.

Difficult to describe the differences really. Not really a negative, but Golf is deceptively quick, it hardly seems like its moving at 70mph! The Mini, with its supercharger whine is/was really easy to guage.

Roadholding seems better in the Mini, although not by a lot. The run-flat (particularly Pirelli) tyres let it down a bit, but saved me a lot of hassle on one occasion.

The sat nav in the Golf is poor compared with the one I had in the Mini, which itself wasn't the best.

Yes the Mini is obviously a fair bit smaller that the Golf, but as I don't have kids, and very rarely have more than one passenger, its not too much trouble.

I never really tired of the dash, but it certainly took some getting used to when I first got it. The interior of the GTI is excellent, and the sport seats are great. Definately a weak point in the Mini - you can really fly round corners, but you end up flying out of the standards seats !

[spankit]

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you need to get out more

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[Snoopy]

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It was the sportback I testdrove, but I should have said, the ride on the SE was fine, but the sport was horrible and as far as I could tell the 2.0T is only available in sport trim. If I had been on for a 2.0TDI (which I did think about) I would have gone for the A3 TDI with DSG, in the end I wanted a bit more power so the GTi called! If a 170TD had been around then maybe a different story.

Good point that someone made - the GTi is as nice looking as the A3, the standard Golf isn't

[/ QUOTE ]

you can get it in standard spec now 3dr £19070 or 5dr £19570

on the subject of the GTI i must say when i first sat in the new GTI i was quite disapointed after reading about the so called quality interior it was not what i was expecting

i think the A3 has a nicer interior but it seems my idea of quality plastics and interiors does not seem to match magazines ideas.

I also think the GTI is over priced when the audi is so near it and when the skoda octavia comes out with the same engine it too will make the GTI look overpriced in the VW group in my eyes.

[Simonl]

Look past the plastics dude. It's worth it, the GTI is the better drivers car.

Lets be honest the Mark 1 and Mark 2 were hardly sumptuous!

[spankit]

Like this review/opinion of the gti. Definitely agree the gti is no m3, but it is close enough twice the price! Also it’s no 911 but again this is like comparing night and day. Both are not front wheel drive, along with the rs4 mentioned in the post, so all are going to be different animals.

quick review here

Great post though…

[AndrewEdward]

Pearl Effect Metallic Black 3dr

Had my Gti now for about 5 months, done about 3000 miles, very impressed, but then again, my previous car was a Mk IV GTi (dont get me started)....let's just say 'chalk and cheese'..

Speed wise, well, i certainly don't cane it, although in 5th and 6th, i've pushed it. I, like many i'm sure, love that initial turbo when you change up, not to mention that beautiful sound. Sure, there are faster cars out there, not many though, and those who have managed to keep up, or indeed overtake me, have this burning smell whafting my way, lol...

I have a manual gearbox, so can't comment on the DSG. Gear changes aren't brilliant by any means, 1st to 2nd can be a bit crunchy, etc, but as i said, my previous car was a Mk IV and anything's better than that.

I've noticed that my MPG is definitely improving, i get about 310-320 on a full tank now, always use Optimax, so yes, costing me a fortune. Also, the car is indeed getting faster as time goes on, backing up other readers' comments.

Negatives, there aren't that many to be honest. I've mentioned that manual gearbox not being brilliant. The noise from the windows at high speed i don't notice, contrary to what MANY owners are saying. I do have rattles at times, mostly from the front dash, also sometimes from the passenger window, and even sometimes from just above me by the sun guard, but again like many owners are saying, it comes and goes. Anyway, i usually have my music on full-blast, so other noises i do try to not hear. The car judders when stationary sometimes, but no-where near as bad as i had in the Mk IV, so i can live with that.

Audio wise, this car is not great. I agree with many that rather than spending on ten speakers, VW should have invested more on quality. My wife has always insisted that quality, not quantity, matters, whatever she was inferring by that. I will say, however, that as long as the volume is not 2 high, i don't think the stereo is that bad...

As for the colour of my GTi, i have Pearl Effect Black. I was going for standard Red, but seized on a Cancelled Order, got my car within a fortnight, so i was stuck with the Black. I do think that Metallic Black is ace though, although whatever colour you get, let's be honest, we shall all be biased, they're all great colours in my eyes. Cleaning my car is a real drag; i clean it about three times a month, my alloys about once a week, can't be arsed any more than that, would rather be driving....

All in all then, the Mk V GTi is a Star, sure it has it's negative points, but as others have stated, the qualities far outweigh the negatives. I get constant stares, although that might be down to my rugged good-looks, lol. Seriously though, if i were single, this car would be a definite chick puller, it's beautiful...

I'll finish this painful story by saying that i doubt that i'll ever regret buying this car. With my Mk IV, i shall always have serious regrets. I still wake up each day looking forward to driving, not to the thought of a day's work i hasten to add, but to drive a quality car PERIOD..

[allgolfdup]

Thanks for the reassurance!Picking up on saturday...suspense is killing me!!however reviews like that make the wait worthwhile! i agree about us being biased about the colours!!!they are all beautiful!..as for the sound quality, that is a serious downer for me!I HOPE ITS NOT AS BAD AS I EXPECT..ESPECIALLY AS I-POD WILL BE LINKED!

Great review anyway!

[RedRobin]

Hi "deedup"....Standard sound isn't bad but it lacks edge and clear separation - Slightly bland. It's somewhat subjective and difficult to accurately describe. The best option is to replace it aftermarket if you are an audiophile - which clearly you are. Just my opinion.

There are other posts here about replacement options if it helps.

Robin

[allgolfdup]

You guessed right...definitely an audiophile!!will look into investing in some aftermarket stuff..cheers!speaking of audiophiles..You must be one with the music and all!!...have you consdidered any aftermarket speakers??

[RedRobin]

....Aftermarket speakers? - Yes, but I'm going to see what the Pioneer DEH-P80MP 60Wx4 HeadUnit sounds like first. I tend to approach things step by step.

The most important thing is to listen to the sound quality of the music rather than the sound system equipment. In the car, music is important but secondary to me.

Not long for you now!!