Yet another Golf VI thread I'm afraid :-) Thought I would post a few observations from a test drive in the new GTI. Had the car for a few hours last week, did around 100 miles of mixed Motorway, A/B-road and urban driving. Something a bit different from the 2.2 diesel Avensis I currently drive. Apologies for mentioning it throughout, but obviously it was my yardstick for comparison - if an unlikely one!
It was a 5-dr GTI manual on optional 18in alloys, no other significant extras.
First impressions were how easy it was to drive around town. I expected it to feel over-eager and hard work, but the engine was very smooth and tractable. It actually felt less powerful and eager than the Avensis in these low rev tootlings. Sharpness of the brakes took a lot of getting used to. Ride quality far better than expected.
Onto the M5's rutted and washboard effect inside lane, aim to potter along at 60 or so and see what sort of economy it was capable of. Surprising lack of wind noise, an acceptable amount of tyre rumble and engine/exhaust noise. Not as civilised as the Avensis, would not expect it to be, but hugely more refined than I expected. From memory, it was a massive step forward compared with the Mk5 2.0 TDI I test drove 3 or so years ago. Trip computer (reset when I was still in town) was showing 46mpg after about 25/30 miles, and was still rising. Yes, driving like a nun, but very creditable for a 210bhp turbo.
Now for the A an B roads. The car was as good as I expected at this, incredibly taut and balanced handling, obviously putting the understeering Avensis to shame. Given a few revs the exhaust note was lovely, but clearly to drive legally in this country this car is just pottering. And it does that well, again the ride was better than expected and very acceptable for this type of car. If I bought one I would definitely want the Adaptive Chassis option simply because the comfort mode would (hopefully) add that extra 10% of comfort that would make the GTI a better commuting companion.
Other thoughts -
stereo looks nice, sounds average (worse than the Avensis and I don't rate that system). I am fussy about stereos though.
Alloys - not sure that the 18s are necessary but they fill the arches nicely. Shame the 17s and 18s are both of similar design and both a bit love 'em or hate 'em
Interior quality (perceived) - another massive step forward from the Mk V. Everything just looks that bit classier. Felt no more or less robust than my Toyota does at 50k miles.
Pity about the list price and, more particularly, the fact that 3 or 4 choice extras can easily push it to perhaps £27k, which is discounted S3 territory, never mind a huge choice of classy saloons. Huge money for a small hatch, albeit one that holds it's value well. IMO the ACC/AAC (chassis thingy) should at least be standard, as it is on the cheaper Sirocco, and probably Xenons too.
Just my opinions....interested to hear if anyone has driven an Adaptive Chassis equipped version and particularly in back to back comparison with the standard car.
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