I’m 52 and just brought a 2020 GTI S as a daily driver and so far enjoying it but some what wishing i had did the Autobahn trim now to enjoy all those added perks :)
Had a Mk6 (2013) GTI that I loved. However, I have a teenage daughter who will soon be driving and thought it would be a good idea to replace the car with a vehicle that added all the safety and convenience features that had come along in the last five years, or so. Not wanting to give up the enjoyment of the GTI I seriously looked at several recently introduced mid-size sedans (i.e. Accord 2.0 Touring, Camry V6 XSE, Mazda 6 2.4 turbo, and the Ford Fusion 2.7 L turbo V6). Each had its virtues. And none was a stodgy "family sedan." But when I compared each to my GTI, none offered the combination of fun, practicality, quality, and safety I was looking for. Long story, short. I traded my Mk6 GTI for a 2018 model and while it was like trading in a family pet, I couldn't be happier with the choice. And best of all, my daughter agrees.
Great review. I have a GTI but I am a hypermiler too. So I'm hooked on to the trainer. Once a week I drive it hard on country roads. Am getting almost 34mpg overall. Great car.
Great review. Refinement is the key word. Bought a 2020 White Silver Metallic SE. Far ahead of the other competitors in terms of fit and finish and thoughtful little touches. I enjoy driving it and cannot wait to take it out day to day. They did a phenomenal job with it and it is quite a blast to drive. I cannot remember being so satisfied with a vehicle as far as initial impressions (have only had it a week though). The more I get familiar with it, the better it gets. My wife enjoys it as well. That might be the first for any pseudo-performance vehicle we have owned!
This is the only review I've seen that has mentioned the Think Blue Trainer... I drive mine more enthusiastically... But when I have my daughter with me we put it in Eco Mode and try to go for an Efficiency High Score... A small little something to make driving slow somewhat entertaining. Especially with mine being a manual. The Think Blue Trainer will have you rowing through all 6 gears in city driving. It's oddly challenging to do Eco Mode city driving in a manual.
I have a mk7.5 golf R and the dealer was joking around about the eco mode and blue trainer, but on highway travel i find myself making a game out of being efficient
Great review! I pick mine up this week and I can’t wait. Curious to hear your opinion on two things: a) I recall that your long-term GTI had Dynamic Chassis Control and the new GTI no longer has DCC as an option... did you notice much of a difference in casual cruising around town vs. more spirited driving? b) there has been some debate as to whether or not the 2018 GTI has the VAQ electronically controlled limited slip differential. I believe your long-term tester had it as part of the old performance pack. Can you confirm if the two cars drove any differently (especially off the line and in corners where the limited slip diff would play a role)? Enough to confirm or refute the existence of the VAQ on the ‘18 model? Most on the forums say it is there and VW simply lumps the e-diff in with what they call XDS. In most world markets, XDS only refers to the feature where the car can apply braking to one or more wheels to assist with cornering... not the ability to send extra torque/power to a given wheel. The lack of clarity that VW Canada’s literature provides on this subject makes the car buying experience a little confusing.
Ben Soucie The autobahn has DCC. I have an ‘18 with 6 speed manual. Also the car does have the VAQ e-diff and it works great. No torque steer or anything. Recommend you test drive one haha they are very solid performing cars and my car has 1100 miles on it now and the performance/handing is soooooo good
SidekickMat snow is fine for my MK7. I run a set of 17” ws80 on mine though. No issues what so ever. Uphill, downhill, snow, ice no problem at all. You’ll be fine as long as you have the right tires.
It was good in the snow. It would have been better if it had fitted snow tires. I got stuck a few times in a couple of snowstorms in Barrie, otherwise, it got me where I needed to go.
Had the APR Stage 1 plus on my 2013 GTI and the difference in performance with little loss in economy was amazing. I'll wait a while before "tuning" my recently purchased 2018 GTI but once my daughter is off to college and no longer driving my car, I'm looking forward to it.
That's because the car had just started up and was sitting idle. Once the you start driving it recalculates and goes down significantly anywhere from 7-9 L/100km depending how you drive. This car has very good gas millage especially being hot hatch.
On highway, I'm gettin arround 6L/100km. Town use gets me arround 8-9. That's better than half the normal compact cars in the market. Of course, it is on premium fuel though.
Worth mentioning is how the Wolfsburg trim is a total waste of money. Compare to SE trim, which has everything a driver wants and none of the bells and whistles you don’t care about. (The Clark plaid is standard on SE trim, but leather is an option at a reasonable price-I think an additional US$1200.) Also worth noting, the stock sound system (not Fender, a company known for making...solid body guitars) is EXCELLENT. I am a professional musician and the sound system is the *first* thing I check out when test-driving a car-before I even pull out of the lot, literally immediately after turning on the ignition.
Might also be worth mentioning that there is no "Wolfsburg" trim. I assume you mean the Autobahn trim. The options one "cares about" is a matter of personal preference. And personally, I found the "bells and whistles" on the Autobahn trim to be well worth the money. Those include a adaptive cruise control, better navigation, a more configurable driver seat, dual climate control (my wife insists) and perhaps most importantly, adaptive chassis control.. As far as the sound system is concerned, I think you're correct that the standard sound system is excellent but the Fender (re-badged Panasonic) is, imo, better.
I believe my SE has adaptive cruise control. the adjustable chassis sounds intriguing but as I have it set at simply awesome, I do not see how this would be worth it to me. btw, I got th eleather seats and I believe it was only a $700.00 option. anyway, options are in the eye of the beholder, but this SE is preety much perfect for me.
My 2016 Mustang with the 8 inch sync 3 has a clearer back up camera. Ford has one of the best back up camera resolution imo. Got a rental Transit connect, while the screen was smaller, the resolution is still one of the best. However, I agree that VW hidden camera is effective in making sure that the len is clean.
Anyone reading this should consider getting the 2019 model as 2017-18 models have jerky transmission issues at lower speed(both auto and manual) Not all have this issue but it's very very common among those year models
@Jon Well, that's odd. 2 door cars have almost always been considered 'sportier' and more aggressive looking than 4. Fortunately, the GTI is such a nice looking car, it does look great in both 2 and 4 doors. I had a '337' GTI, 2-door, a while back, and I thought that was one of the sleekest, most 'German looking' GTI's ever! I got 314,000 miles out of that motor too.
Kalash 7.62 Actually .. It’s 4 cylinders Daily drive compact and still sporty that’s why people admire this car .. because it has it all .. it’s not Bugatti w16 So why they don’t not care about fuel consumption !!.. asshole
@Mohs84 it doesn't have to be a Bugatti.And don't give me the "daily drive" thing.People buy things for the looks and complain about them and the golf is not the only example.You can see it with many cars,especially when they are bought used by people who try to take advantage of depreciation or brand new by people who can't afford them(meaning they get burried in debts just to buy a car which will burn their wallet if it's used as intended).Other,well known cars like this are : the Audi S,BMW M,Mercedes AMG,Porsche,Jaguar and whales on wheels. Yes,there are people who admire cars just like there are people who like to drive their cars instead of letting the ECU do it for them but there are not that many people. It''s a Petrol,220 HP,Turbocharged engine.What fuel consumptions figures do people expect?It's pretty obvious that it's not going to have a hole in its fuel tank if you drive it normally and it will drink a little when you push it.It's that simple.Looking at the weight and the engine is enough to know if you can afford to put gas in it.
40 years of refinement? My 2017 GTI has the same basic design flaws that were already present in the 2010 version. This car is fun to drive, but it's a piece of unreliable crap. VW doesn't even bother to make its cars watertight LOL
I’m 52 and just brought a 2020 GTI S as a daily driver and so far enjoying it but some what wishing i had did the Autobahn trim now to enjoy all those added perks :)
Excellent choice. Love my '18 Autobahn with DSG in Dark Iron Blue.
Had a Mk6 (2013) GTI that I loved. However, I have a teenage daughter who will soon be driving and thought it would be a good idea to replace the car with a vehicle that added all the safety and convenience features that had come along in the last five years, or so. Not wanting to give up the enjoyment of the GTI I seriously looked at several recently introduced mid-size sedans (i.e. Accord 2.0 Touring, Camry V6 XSE, Mazda 6 2.4 turbo, and the Ford Fusion 2.7 L turbo V6). Each had its virtues. And none was a stodgy "family sedan." But when I compared each to my GTI, none offered the combination of fun, practicality, quality, and safety I was looking for.
Long story, short. I traded my Mk6 GTI for a 2018 model and while it was like trading in a family pet, I couldn't be happier with the choice. And best of all, my daughter agrees.
Great review. I have a GTI but I am a hypermiler too. So I'm hooked on to the trainer. Once a week I drive it hard on country roads. Am getting almost 34mpg overall. Great car.
Great review. Refinement is the key word. Bought a 2020 White Silver Metallic SE. Far ahead of the other competitors in terms of fit and finish and thoughtful little touches. I enjoy driving it and cannot wait to take it out day to day. They did a phenomenal job with it and it is quite a blast to drive. I cannot remember being so satisfied with a vehicle as far as initial impressions (have only had it a week though). The more I get familiar with it, the better it gets. My wife enjoys it as well. That might be the first for any pseudo-performance vehicle we have owned!
Had it for almost a year and love it.
bought a White Silver SE about 1 month ago and it is indeed a beautiful color. love my GTI.
Same!
Whats the color code ?
This is the only review I've seen that has mentioned the Think Blue Trainer... I drive mine more enthusiastically... But when I have my daughter with me we put it in Eco Mode and try to go for an Efficiency High Score... A small little something to make driving slow somewhat entertaining. Especially with mine being a manual. The Think Blue Trainer will have you rowing through all 6 gears in city driving. It's oddly challenging to do Eco Mode city driving in a manual.
I have a mk7.5 golf R and the dealer was joking around about the eco mode and blue trainer, but on highway travel i find myself making a game out of being efficient
I like the idea of a sunroof. But i don't have a garage - and i'm paranoid that the sunroof will develop leakage. Anyone have issues with that?
Great review! I pick mine up this week and I can’t wait.
Curious to hear your opinion on two things:
a) I recall that your long-term GTI had Dynamic Chassis Control and the new GTI no longer has DCC as an option... did you notice much of a difference in casual cruising around town vs. more spirited driving?
b) there has been some debate as to whether or not the 2018 GTI has the VAQ electronically controlled limited slip differential. I believe your long-term tester had it as part of the old performance pack.
Can you confirm if the two cars drove any differently (especially off the line and in corners where the limited slip diff would play a role)? Enough to confirm or refute the existence of the VAQ on the ‘18 model? Most on the forums say it is there and VW simply lumps the e-diff in with what they call XDS.
In most world markets, XDS only refers to the feature where the car can apply braking to one or more wheels to assist with cornering... not the ability to send extra torque/power to a given wheel. The lack of clarity that VW Canada’s literature provides on this subject makes the car buying experience a little confusing.
Ben Soucie The autobahn has DCC. I have an ‘18 with 6 speed manual. Also the car does have the VAQ e-diff and it works great. No torque steer or anything. Recommend you test drive one haha they are very solid performing cars and my car has 1100 miles on it now and the performance/handing is soooooo good
great review, I miss my GTI and maybe one day will get another one
the weather in ottawa can be a bit random, how was your long term in the snow ?
SidekickMat snow is fine for my MK7. I run a set of 17” ws80 on mine though. No issues what so ever. Uphill, downhill, snow, ice no problem at all. You’ll be fine as long as you have the right tires.
It was good in the snow. It would have been better if it had fitted snow tires. I got stuck a few times in a couple of snowstorms in Barrie, otherwise, it got me where I needed to go.
When will version 2019 be available?
Got a 2016 Gti. Love it! We remapped it, so it has almost 300 hp
Had the APR Stage 1 plus on my 2013 GTI and the difference in performance with little loss in economy was amazing. I'll wait a while before "tuning" my recently purchased 2018 GTI but once my daughter is off to college and no longer driving my car, I'm looking forward to it.
Mad Max Ok. Thanks. Good to know.
We have standard comfort tyres on it, so the front wheels spin no problem, even in 4th gear!
very nice car love it
thinking of buying it
not same place
I bet you think about a lot of things but never pull the trigger.
Getting 15.8 L/100km is definitely motivating to be light on the foot! Good work!
That's because the car had just started up and was sitting idle. Once the you start driving it recalculates and goes down significantly anywhere from 7-9 L/100km depending how you drive. This car has very good gas millage especially being hot hatch.
On highway, I'm gettin arround 6L/100km. Town use gets me arround 8-9. That's better than half the normal compact cars in the market. Of course, it is on premium fuel though.
Magnus
Worth mentioning is how the Wolfsburg trim is a total waste of money. Compare to SE trim, which has everything a driver wants and none of the bells and whistles you don’t care about. (The Clark plaid is standard on SE trim, but leather is an option at a reasonable price-I think an additional US$1200.) Also worth noting, the stock sound system (not Fender, a company known for making...solid body guitars) is EXCELLENT. I am a professional musician and the sound system is the *first* thing I check out when test-driving a car-before I even pull out of the lot, literally immediately after turning on the ignition.
Might also be worth mentioning that there is no "Wolfsburg" trim. I assume you mean the Autobahn trim. The options one "cares about" is a matter of personal preference. And personally, I found the "bells and whistles" on the Autobahn trim to be well worth the money. Those include a adaptive cruise control, better navigation, a more configurable driver seat, dual climate control (my wife insists) and perhaps most importantly, adaptive chassis control.. As far as the sound system is concerned, I think you're correct that the standard sound system is excellent but the Fender (re-badged Panasonic) is, imo, better.
That's funny because Fender doesn't make the best speakers. As a matter of fact, they used Celestion speakers in their most notable amp years.
I believe my SE has adaptive cruise control. the adjustable chassis sounds intriguing but as I have it set at simply awesome, I do not see how this would be worth it to me. btw, I got th eleather seats and I believe it was only a $700.00 option. anyway, options are in the eye of the beholder, but this SE is preety much perfect for me.
allegedly Fender = panasonic
My 2016 Mustang with the 8 inch sync 3 has a clearer back up camera. Ford has one of the best back up camera resolution imo. Got a rental Transit connect, while the screen was smaller, the resolution is still one of the best. However, I agree that VW hidden camera is effective in making sure that the len is clean.
I'm sure that the back up camera on your Mustang makes watching movies on it much more satisfying.
Anyone reading this should consider getting the 2019 model as 2017-18 models have jerky transmission issues at lower speed(both auto and manual)
Not all have this issue but it's very very common among those year models
I highly doubt it
Shit, my bad, you were talking about the mk7. My bad.
Redesign coming 2020?
S Almanza in Europe. We won’t get it until 2021 MY.
Good cars....shoddy interior plastics though very creeky especially when it’s cold. Expected more from a GTI.
I don’t like for the USA we are stuck with moon roof if we want LED headlight
18 months? No fking way. I bought my mk7 gti 18 months ago and the mk7.5s were not even out yet in Canada until late 2017. Or did you mean 18 weeks?
Allen Jin he was talking about the '17 model.
He said 18 months with the mk7, not mk7.5
This is the car I wish I had. But it has to be manual, can't get this car in automatic.
我有一台GTI,三年前在中国买的，加上税一共25万RMB
Did he say the auto Stop/Start was awesome, really???
southshore74 Loool just get the manual you won’t have to deal with that
I hope he meant push button stop start. That auto stop/start "fuel saver"
is annoying.
Too bad they stopped making 2 door GTI's a while back.
AudiophileTubes the 4 door looks better in my opinion
I disagree. 2 doors look sportier, but the 4 door is quite nice too. 4 doors are more practical, though.
@Jon Well, that's odd. 2 door cars have almost always been considered 'sportier' and more aggressive looking than 4. Fortunately, the GTI is such a nice looking car, it does look great in both 2 and 4 doors. I had a '337' GTI, 2-door, a while back, and I thought that was one of the sleekest, most 'German looking' GTI's ever! I got 314,000 miles out of that motor too.
Agreed! I think they look much better!
I doubt any owner of a GTI or R will ever actually look at that think blue screen. Want to save on gas get the base golf.
It's just there to appease bureaucrats.
As other actual owners have noted in these comments, you're wrong.
Unfortunately,there are shitloads of people buying sporty/sport cars so they can complain about fuel consumption and stiff ride...
Kalash 7.62
Actually ..
It’s 4 cylinders
Daily drive
compact
and still sporty
that’s why people admire this car .. because it has it all
.. it’s not Bugatti w16
So why they don’t not care about fuel consumption !!.. asshole
@Mohs84 it doesn't have to be a Bugatti.And don't give me the "daily drive" thing.People buy things for the looks and complain about them and the golf is not the only example.You can see it with many cars,especially when they are bought used by people who try to take advantage of depreciation or brand new by people who can't afford them(meaning they get burried in debts just to buy a car which will burn their wallet if it's used as intended).Other,well known cars like this are : the Audi S,BMW M,Mercedes AMG,Porsche,Jaguar and whales on wheels.
Yes,there are people who admire cars just like there are people who like to drive their cars instead of letting the ECU do it for them but there are not that many people.
It''s a Petrol,220 HP,Turbocharged engine.What fuel consumptions figures do people expect?It's pretty obvious that it's not going to have a hole in its fuel tank if you drive it normally and it will drink a little when you push it.It's that simple.Looking at the weight and the engine is enough to know if you can afford to put gas in it.
Not sure what the point is in doing a GTI w/ DSG review. This car should only be available with the millenial anti-theft device.
He's straight?
40 years of refinement? My 2017 GTI has the same basic design flaws that were already present in the 2010 version. This car is fun to drive, but it's a piece of unreliable crap. VW doesn't even bother to make its cars watertight LOL
Right now all the GTI's are rated high.
It's been around for 49 years with the worse reliability and not track worthy
jay czyzyk fake
Trash car
Trash comment.
Garbage hair cut
Trash face.