GTI at 10k Miles

"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
12/11/2016 at 12:55 • Filed to: GTI, VW

A bit more than six months after purchase, my 2016 VW GTI (Autobahn with DSG, DCC, Performance Pack, and Lighting Package) has rolled over 10,000 miles. Here are my thoughts on ownership thus far.

Basically, I am very, very happy with the car. It meets my requirements of four doors (because dog), good fuel economy, and comfortable/nice interior. I also appreciate that the styling is understated, as I am not trying to attract attention to myself.

And yet it will accelerate more quickly than the E30 BMW M3 that I coveted as a lad (among other vehicles). And having an adjustable suspension from the factory is great - setting it for “sport” results in terrific cornering abilities.

Fuel economy has averaged 30 mpg for me. My commute is pretty smooth without too much stop and go (if no accidents), so it is like I am mostly highway driving, and I let the DSG keep the revs very low. The worst tank I had was 18 mpg when I was being vicious with the accelerator, manually keeping the revs high and in the turbo, and braking a lot on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The best was 33 mpg.

The biggest downside to the car is when I keep it in standard “drive” mode on the DSG, it hesitates to accelerate because it keeps the revs low, and then there is turbo lag. Other than that, my only slight dislikes are 1) The steering wheel controls: They are not well differentiated by feel (I sometimes turn up the volume instead of canceling cruise), and don’t have a scan button for the stereo, only bumping to the next preset, and 2) That the thing has visual alerts that are irritating (It’s 39 degrees F out, watch out for ice! Your fuel is low, can we help you find the nearest gas station?) Oh yeah, 3) The fuel at empty still has probably 2 gallons in the tank, so it starts warning me at about 4 gallons left in the 13-ish gallon tank.

Of course, there is some torque steer even with the Performance Pack limited slip differential. I’m quite happy with the handling, although above 9/10th I would like a rear- or all-wheel drive car. But since this is my daily driver, I’m okay with the trade-offs. I can !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and the initial and long-term costs should be less than rear-/all-wheel, four door, equal performance and fuel economy options that I considered.

I no longer want a second car for performance.

Now it just comes to mind occasionally for entertainment.

DISCUSSION (21)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
12/11/2016 at 13:17

Excellent, though I must object: hatch is good for doggo, but why is 4 doors good for doggo?

My citroen won't start > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
12/11/2016 at 13:31

Doggo goes in the back-seat, 4 doors make pupper ingress easier.

My citroen won't start > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
12/11/2016 at 13:36

I think we have the same engine and DSG combo.

On normal mode the DSG hesitating + Turbo Lag are the biggest complain.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > My citroen won't start
12/11/2016 at 13:37

Fair enough.

LongbowMkII > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
12/11/2016 at 13:46

It’s tough to think that a modern redline is 6k rpm

I wonder if there is any chance of a return to SOHC 2 valve heads. I guess 4 valves adds more flexibility, but SOHC would be cheaper, lighter less parasitic drag.

theloudmouth > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
12/11/2016 at 14:55

Any squeaks / rattles? They are singularly making me hate this car, the passenger seat squeaks like mad over bad expansion joints or bumps (yet somehow never when it’s at the dealer....), there’s a sunroof squeak, a nut actually came loose under the dash that was rattling and then it fell out on the floor....

I want to like this car but it’s driving me insane. I know better than to get a first model year, but it was a late 15 and they had already been making it in Europe for 1.5 years. I also desperately miss AWD from my Saabaru. I have my 335is for fun and all the nice days, so in all the other days I’m driving the GTI it doesn’t want to hook like I want, etc. I know for the price I can’t beat it at all, and it feels solid as can be, it’s just those damn rattles!!

And I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it “feels” like it has no character. it’s very capable, but I very rarely get a smile on my face. My old Saabaru would hooning about, of course I love my E92, but even my dad’s manual non-sport, auto E46 325i makes me grin. And I’m not just hating on FWD, my Integra GSR (first car) always made me grin. I just never find myself wanting to take the long, windy way home. Granted, my commute is mostly straighter roads with lights and hard 90's where AWD can still be fun but only highlights the deficiencies of FWD with minimal fun return.

plumpzz1337 > LongbowMkII
12/11/2016 at 20:13

If you look closely, the redline is actually 7k. VW does a half redline 6k, and a solid redline at 7k (even on my MK6 R)

LongbowMkII > plumpzz1337
12/11/2016 at 20:26

Good eye.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
12/11/2016 at 20:40

Yes, what My Citroen said. Plus I occasionally allow humans back there, if I must.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > theloudmouth
12/11/2016 at 20:47

What you described would drive me nuts, too. But no, I have almost no squeaks or rattles. For about the first 8,000 miles I intermittently had the B-pillar rattle that people online attributed to the door weatherstripping (somehow). But that has stopped. Otherwise it has not rattled. The pen I keep in the center console rattles and that is bad enough for me, so I feel your pain.

As much as I love the GTI, I understand those who say that it feels like it has no character. It is just so competent, and couple that with slightly numb steering, and I think that is where it comes from. My first car post-college was an Integra GS, and even though this could surely beat that in any objective test, I still miss the Integra for the feels.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > plumpzz1337
12/11/2016 at 20:48

Yes, the aggressive auto shift point is at 6k, and it usually goes a bit past that if I’m hammering it hard.

theloudmouth > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
12/11/2016 at 21:06

I admit it’s a lease and I haven’t made as big a deal about it to the dealer as I would if I owned it, but maybe I’ll make a special trip for the passenger seat squeak especially.

You hit the nail on the head. I know it’s no GTR for “removing the driver” but even though it’s a FWD manual (or mine’s a manual at least) it all seems somehow muted. I swore I wouldn’t ever get a car with traction and stability control that can’t be defeated and now I remind myself why i said and should have stuck to that. My E92 has an electronic throttle, sure, but at least ECS/TCS is 100% defeatable and the car does what you want exactly when you ask it and it communicates back to you based on that input. The fact that I cannot tell the engine how much throttle I want AND I can’t tell what the front wheels are doing is both unnerving and frustrating. If I take my E92 around a high speed bend I feel the scrub and loss of grip and can apply more lock, but if it’s a freaking downpour or icy I don’t know what the hell my front tire grip level is.... maybe I should say screw it and maintain some old E46 for my next daily and skip the CPO B8.5 S4 I’d planned. I just want an honest car, but after BMW abandoned all hope with the F30 where can you find an honest feedback car anymore?

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > theloudmouth
12/11/2016 at 21:24

I often think, hey, it’s my daily driver, and it has a terrific performance package for what I want it to do every day. But it is thinking along your lines that means I still have a small part of me that wants a second car . . . but this is so good, I would likely only rarely use a second car, even if it was a blast to drive. And it would have to be older, as you point out “where can you find an honest feedback car anymore?”

Plus my wife doesn’t understand why I would need two cars.

theloudmouth > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
12/11/2016 at 21:33

Oh yeah, doing a cost benefit analysis is almost laughable with how much better it is at it’s price point than anything you’d compare it against (being 6'4" and having had the wagon before I would love if it were a bit bigger). Basically I want the feel of the old STI hatch in the Golf R estate package... I think I live in the wrong country haha.

My E92 is what I’d call one of the last of the “honest” feedback cars. I admit it’s overly complex but that’s being German over anything else and really isn’t bad to work on (I dropped the rear end and put in a Quaife and Delrin/aluminum bushings last winter).

I lucked into the wife thing. I bought the E92 when the Saabaru was paid off and had years paid on it by the time I met my fiancée. 3 months after we get married it’ll be paid off and then no arguments from her about it haha, she also loves it so that helps.

What older car would you get?

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > theloudmouth
12/11/2016 at 21:46

What older car would I get? It depends on how hard I want to drive it. I feel like cars more than 40 years old would not be good to beat on. But that may just be something to get over. A BMW 2002 set up to race might be fun. I’ve always liked the E30 and E36 3-series. And then I often think that a more depreciated 2009-2012 Porsche Cayman S nails it for feel and looks for modern cars for me.

But I just watched the Cletus-vette in full throaty V-8 roar and that’s appealing, too. A C5 might be cool. So, who know what I’d do, given the option.

nermal > LongbowMkII
12/12/2016 at 10:04

It’s a function of the turbo and tuning on the new GTIs. They have a small turbo that is designed to spool up fast, with a sweet spot from about 3k to 5k rpms. After that, power starts to taper off because the turbo can’t keep up.

The two alternatives are either a bigger turbo, which will cause too much lag, or a 2nd one, which will be too expensive.

Tatanko > theloudmouth
12/12/2016 at 10:58

I swore I wouldn’t ever get a car with traction and stability control that can’t be defeated and now I remind myself why i said and should have stuck to that.

It can be fully defeated with a series of VCDS tweaks on the MK7 Golf. My traction control button now does ESC On -> ESC Sport -> ESC Off (factory is only ASR Off, but no ESC Off I believe). You would need to also remove the torque limiter, as that is separate from traction control / stability control.

MPA > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
12/12/2016 at 14:11

Part of me wants to replace my FiST with a GTI, mainly because the interior of the FiST is a plastic pile of shit with a set of amazing Recaro seats. I had an MkIV GTi, and even that interior was a lot nicer.

theloudmouth > Tatanko
12/12/2016 at 19:53

Already did it but that but the VCDS trick only works on the ABS based stability control. The throttle will still snap shut if enough wheel spin is detected and even if it doesn’t kill the power it bogs you when you want it which I loathe. How do you remove the torque limiter? I take it that’s the throttle limiting portion of the system for torque control. Granted the ECS OFF was about as far as I’d go with a lease.

I guess the point is I shouldn’t have to code a car like a freaking GTI to disable ECS and TCS. It’s a damn hot hatch sold with a manual.

Tatanko > theloudmouth
12/13/2016 at 08:07

Torque limiter removal can be found here: http://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21888

Mine is a lease as well, which actually made me explore the coding a lot more because it’s easily reversible and free (after you get something to code with). More importantly, coding can benefit you in a lot of different ways, and the fact that our cars are able to be changed like this so easily by enthusiasts is a good thing IMO.

Panzrwagn > Tatanko
01/03/2017 at 14:45

Plug here for the OBDeleven Pro Bluetooth dongle and matching Android application. Every tunable parameter you can imagine, and a bunch you would never dream of. Very nice GUI, very powerful tool.