MK7 GTI I know it sounds crazy. but they are sooo much fun to drive. I don't just smile....I laugh out loud ...when I zip thru the gears on back roads.

 

My mkvi was fun for a while, but the fwd with the k04 turbo was just too much tq and it wasn’t even a lot. Dsg was cool and all, but I felt totally cheated out when I saw/heard my buddies m3 shift. BMW DCT is so much better. DSG was also too stupid to drive in D. The car was in a race every time the light turned green. Only the race was, how fast can I get in 6th gear (top gear). All that being said it was planted and fairly nimble even with stock suspension, fwd without a mechanical LSD was not my cup of tea.

 

Agree LSD is a must. Don't take this the wrong way....I can't image driving a GTI that wasn't a 6-speed. I'm 48 so my days of racing people at traffic lights is over. The GTI has plenty of power for passing on the HWY....you can actually put stuff in it (seats fold down) and my buddy gets ~31MPG. You can get a fully loaded Autoban 6-speed for 27K new right now.
I'm tempted but my brain keeps repeating "you want to drive a German car but you don't want to own one"

Did you have any reliability issues with your MKVI?? What was your milage when you got rid of it?

 

No offense taken, but I wasn’t saying I was racing every light. I’m saying, when the light turned green the car wanted to go from 1st gear to 6th as fast as possible. Meaning it would be in 6th gear at like 35mph. And the clunky-ness omg lol. I know what you mean by sticking with a 6 speed, but I went DSG due to expecting another foot surgery. Luckily I didn’t need to go down that road. In all fairness, I’m convinced my car was a lemon.

Anyway if I were to go back to VAG, it’d be Audi simply for rwd or torsen awd.

 

I am heavily debating on leasing the C43 AMG, test drove it and really liked it, that or an S4 not sure yet. Or might just keep the G and lease the wife like an RX or GLC.
My G isn't heavily modded but now I have the bug and I think I'll just start modding it.
Car sits in driveway 5 days a week anyway

 

To be fair, transmissions have come a long way over the last decade. I've had my fill of stickshift for the time being... the faster shifts would be worth it to me. Plus I think the DSG + K04 may have been a bad combo.... sounds like you were kept out of boost. Stock MK7 GTI has crazy low end, so short shifting could keep it in the sweet spot.

 

Quite the opposite, I was peaking 36psi and hold 34. Stock tire diameter conti DW spun through 2nd gear. That’s in TX summer. With the k04 it would run out of breath at the top of the rpms and high speed runs (very small turbo). In fact when I compared the k03 and k04 side by side, I thought I was accidentally sent a k03.

But the mkvii is supposed to be much more responsive to mods and a stage 1 flash is supposed to be epic.

Personally, if I were going German auto, I’d go with 335is or something similar. But that’s just me!

 

When did boost come on though? If the DSG was short shifting in auto it was keeping you out of it... that's what my point was.

335i is nice, but after the G I definitely want something smaller. Also not a fan of iDrive. I think with good tires/brakes/suspension, as well as an engine and DSG tune, and the stock LSD, the GTI would be a riot and perfect daily driver. I should have considered one when I was looking at the G, oh well.

 

My apologies, we were on different frequencies. This is a DSG software issue that plagued all VW’s, well the mkvi GTI and GLI anyway. I assume a dsg tune would have fixed that, but I never read a review from someone addressing the issue directly after a tune.

The k03 and k04 turbos are so incredibly small you had to purposely stay out of boost, while being passed and given dirty looks by Prius’.

By all means buy a GTI, I can’t say I didn’t have fun with it (nostalgia is a funny thing). Parts always breaking on it, having to fight with dealerships to warranty items. Then having to buy the items and repair myself. I haven’t had this issue with other vehicles, so it can be truly argued it’s not me tinkering voiding warranty. Had issues even when the car was stock.

My girlfriend’s, brother’s, boyfriend just bought another VW. This time the accountant left the Passat and went with a mkvi GTI. He’s not a car guy, but loves his VW’s and I assume has had good luck with them. Again I believe I had a lemon, and had I purchased the Car new (bought with 2k miles) I would have started a lemon law case.

 

Ah, that sucks. I wonder what prompted them to sell at 2K. Probably the same issues.

I had a friend with an MKV GTI and he had tons of problems. But my wife had an MKV Rabbit for 4 years and all I had to fix on it was the vacuum pump (deleted it with a plate kit). MK7s have been out long enough to know if there are any issues with them... it seems like VW has got it together. I rented a Golf TSI and really enjoyed it so I imagine the GTI will be phenomenal. But I need at least 2 years in the G before I can think about getting something else.

 

I also like the GTI and the Golf R, especially since you can get some big gains from an APR tune if that is your thing. I agree that you at least need the Sport package with the limited slip differential.

 

Even with an LSD, I'd think traction at low speeds and heavy throttle would be difficult.

 

Yeah, you can only do so much with FWD- even with the right tires. It would still be a fun car on the street and maybe even some light track days, but at some point the AWD of the Golf R is the way to go.

 

alfa romeo giulia quadrifoglio!!

 

Coupe guy here, but I’m considering staying around the same age of my current g or going older. Kinda tired of so much electronics.

E92 M3 (prefer manual, has to have receipts of rod bearings being replaced)
C63/E63 (must have head-bolt warranty work done)
CTS-V must be 6 speed
E55 amg (seems bulletproof, easy to work on)
I’m sure I’m missing a few cars but that’s all that’s coming to mind right now.
Runner up (Nissan r32/33) I’m ruling this out due to high probability of being rusty, long waits for body panels and other parts, extreme price differences in insurance (can be extremely high or extremely low), and it’s a 25+ year old car. All fluids and a lot of rubber pieces would need replacing.