2018 GTI: Initial Thoughts After a Week

One other little thing that is more of an annoyance on principle: Even on cars with fairly basic climate-control systems these days, there's usually an "auto" function that turns the fan up or down when you set to a certain temperature on the temp dial. The WRX had a pretty basic climate control and had that (you just pressed "auto" in the middle of the temp knob)

GTI apparently doesn't. You can adjust the temperature manually with one knob, and adjust the fan speed with a knob, but as I'm starting to use the heat more as it gets colder here, I find it pretty difficult to keep the car from being either too hot or too cold without constant fiddling with the two knobs. This isn't a huge deal, but for all the electronic gizmos this car has (including heated seats and mirrors, automatic wipers, auto-steering LED headlights, etc), you would think that the climate control would have an auto setting. Every other car I have had in the last 20 years has had one.

So yeah, not that it's a big deal, but it kind of annoys me that a higher-trim model like my SE (with only one trim above it) woudn't have a feature that pretty much every car other than stripper models has these days. 

Who needs John Davis and Motorweek?  That was a very comprehensive report.  Nice looking ride.  I prefer the stock wheels though :-)>

Since the last couple posts were things I don't particularly like, let me add a few little features I *do* like (and one more I don't).

Do like:

1. the small "second glovebox" on the left side of the dash. Good size for wallet, cellphone, pack of smokes, etc (really, could fit all three at once)

2. there is actually an additional under-seat slide-out "glovebox" available for these cars as well. Mine doesn't have it but I may look into it just because below the seat is wasted space...

3. The storage console/armrest between the seats is great. It's kind of small to put much stuff in (the WRX one was about 3x as big), but the armrest/cover is pretty cool as it adjusts easily to about 4 different heights and will slide forward and back to get in the perfect place when cruising. When slid forward it does pretty much block the second cupholder, but that's my passenger's problem :)

Don't like:

1. And this is really a small item, but notice that every time it rains or I'm driving in the rain....the side mirror housings are angled such that rain can fall straight down on the mirror itself. Most cars have a bit of an overhang of the housing to prevent this. So the GTI mirrors (which are already kind of small) are almost useless in the rain unless you're constantly moving enough so that drops can't fall right on. In yesterday's big rainstorm I basically had to trust the blind-spot sensors to tell me if a car was there if I coudln't see in the inside rearview. I guess I'll rain-x the mirrors to see if that helps. Seems like they could have put a little extension on the top of the housing to prevent this simple issue. But again, it's a really small thing in the grand scheme of things :)

2. The fact that the seat mounts and base are offset. And I only don't like this because it means these great seats (which are really, really cheap on ebay) would be extremely hard to retrofit into my Porsche 924 :)

Nice. The blue w/red trim looks awesome. VWs paint selection is probably the best of all the major manufactures.  I also approve of the wheel-swap, good call. 

Funny how certain things endure.  I bought a MKIV GTI back in 2003 because it was just a little more mature than the WRX.  WRX was the better performer, but the GTI was such a "nicer" car (stereo, sound deadening, interior, smooth torque).  I was 23 at the time.  Oddly enough, until my most recent purchase, my cars had gotten progressively less mature.

Until recently I'd always bought used cars.  It wasn't until I saw a few heavily discounted VWs that I actually gave new cars a serious look.  I have a 2017 Alltrack and agree with some of your complaints.  It isn't as sporty or fast, but it's been a great car so far.  Plus, Golf R suspension parts are interchangeable and more performance is just a quick tune away.

The cubby under the climate control where you plug in your phone is entirely too small to actually hold a modern cell phone.  

The left-side glove box by the driver's knee is ideal for sunglasses as well.  Too much heat will cause some glasses to delam, so I try to avoid using the overhead suglass storage.

I like the fact there is ambient footwell and door trim lighting (i assume the GTI has that as well).  classy.

I've also found the climate control in my car to be difficult to modulate.  Even the lowest fan setting seems too high sometimes.  The AC almost needs to have recirculation put on if it's above 80 degrees.

In reply to Hoondavan :

I started off with a minivan, then a Triumph GT6, then a 1st-gen Integra, then a 92 Accord coupe, then a Maxima, then the WRX. (not to mention the lifted Cherokee, 4Runner, and Sequoia as 2nd cars), plus two e30s, an e21, and currently a Porsche 924S. So I'm all over the road with adult-vi-teenager-vs-midlife crisis cars haha....

When I was originally  looking to replace the WRX last year I fully could see on spec that the GTI checked more boxes than anything else out there, but still didn't trust VW. The new big warranty they offer sealed the deal. Else I probably would have gotten a Civic or something more boring....

Hoondavan said:

The cubby under the climate control where you plug in your phone is entirely too small to actually hold a modern cell phone.  

The left-side glove box by the driver's knee is ideal for sunglasses as well.  Too much heat will cause some glasses to delam, so I try to avoid using the overhead suglass storage.

I like the fact there is ambient footwell and door trim lighting (i assume the GTI has that as well).  classy.

I've also found the climate control in my car to be difficult to modulate.  Even the lowest fan setting seems too high sometimes.  The AC almost needs to have recirculation put on if it's above 80 degrees.

 

 

Agree on the little cubby. Though I have a smallish phone (Google Pixel 2) that fits mostly in there. Though the USB port and AUX ports are kind of tucked way back in that pocket and are actually kind of hard to plug stuff into unless you have teeny hands or long fingers. I also find it odd that the cubby doesn't have any backlighting itself, since everything else in the car does (the WRX had backlighting in its cubby). At night I find myself rooting around in there for the various small things I stick in there. 

Regarding the USB charge port in there....man, it's weak. With my phone plugged in and streaming Spotify or using GPS the phone BARELY charges. C&D's review of the GTI actually compared USB port charge rate and I remember reading that the GTI's was the worst of any car in its class, which I've found to be true. My phone will charge from 10% to 100% in about 30 minutes in my 2005 Sequioa but takes hours in the GTI...

Yeah, I always forget about that left-side glove box for some reason. Though there is no good place to put change in this car (other than the random coin slots everywhere that hold like 2 quarters), so I may pull that plastic left-side box out and flock the inside of it so I can just toss change in there with out too much jangling around.

I've found the sunglass holder is difficult to fit my sunglasses in, and they're not even very big. I have the same problem with the Sequioa and our CX-9. Seems all those overhead sunglass holders are made for wire-frame glasses that fold flat, where i always where curved-frame wrap-style glasses that don't fit.

For those of you experience phone cubby issues, I bought one of these and absolutely love it.

https://www.d-docks.com/

irish44j said:

One other little thing that is more of an annoyance on principle: Even on cars with fairly basic climate-control systems these days, there's usually an "auto" function that turns the fan up or down when you set to a certain temperature on the temp dial. The WRX had a pretty basic climate control and had that (you just pressed "auto" in the middle of the temp knob)

GTI apparently doesn't. You can adjust the temperature manually with one knob, and adjust the fan speed with a knob, but as I'm starting to use the heat more as it gets colder here, I find it pretty difficult to keep the car from being either too hot or too cold without constant fiddling with the two knobs. This isn't a huge deal, but for all the electronic gizmos this car has (including heated seats and mirrors, automatic wipers, auto-steering LED headlights, etc), you would think that the climate control would have an auto setting. Every other car I have had in the last 20 years has had one.

So yeah, not that it's a big deal, but it kind of annoys me that a higher-trim model like my SE (with only one trim above it) woudn't have a feature that pretty much every car other than stripper models has these days. 

I never had an automatic climate control until I got my RS, and now I find that I couldn't live without it.  I'm seriously considering trading in my wife's van because of its lack of automation.  Constantly fiddling with the heat settings is a royal pain once you realize how much easier it is to deal with it with automation.

Agree.  with manual it was a constant thing adjusting the heat or AC.   Now I just set it and forget it.

Almost at 3k miles and figured I'd throw out a MPGs update:

So all of my "regular driving" (mostly commuting) tanks, which are about 50% interstate @75mph and 50% surface roads with stoplights, My overall average MPGs, calculated from ODO/pump gallons, is sitting right around 29. Which is a pretty nice improvement over the 23ish the WRX did for 10 years on the same commute.

This week I did two full tanks almost entirely interstate (~80mph) and rural/country highways (~65mph), including about a dozen wide-open passes of slower traffic on the rural highways. For those trips combined it checked in at almost exactly 35.0 miles per gallon. I think if I drove "economically I could get up in the 36-37 range, but I just can't drive like that lol.

Other minor note: In previous manual transmission cars with cruise control, the cruise would cancel upon pressing either the brake pedal OR the clutch pedal. I found out today that on this car, only the brake cancels it, which allows you to shift (for hills or whatever) while maintaining cruise. So that's one little thing that I like - though the first time it surprised me since I was downshifting for a slower turn and as soon as I clutched out the cruise punched me back up to 62mph before I could get on the brakes ;)

That's phenomenal economy!   I'm really hoping to pick up a Mk8 Golf R in a few years, as long as VW doesn't put in a hybrid powertrain.  Fingers crossed them either use the RS3 5 cylinder or put a bigger turbo on the current motor and turn the wick up.

Shoot you are beating my fuel economy in my GSW 4motion. I'm in the high 20s but running regular gas and i climb mountains all of the time and have awd. 

Just put the winter tires on her and head into the mountains monday so I'll really see how she works. Both my wife and I are really enjoying it. 

bmw88rider said:

Shoot you are beating my fuel economy in my GSW 4motion. I'm in the high 20s but running regular gas and i climb mountains all of the time and have awd. 

 

Just put the winter tires on her and head into the mountains monday so I'll really see how she works. Both my wife and I are really enjoying it. 

I will say that every once in a while I have a tank where I am "driving hard"....whether due to being in a bad mood or just trying hard to hear the engine, lol. My worst tank so far was in the high-26s when I was basically gunning around town for a week in bad traffic. 

I'm somewhat annnoyed I decided to get all-season tires (primarily because no cash sitting around for two sets of wheels/tires). These tires are amazing in the rain and very good in the dry, but I suspect that I'm going to hate all-seasons in any kind of snow/slush this winter. I'm so used to having AWD + Wintersports I'm kind of taking a double-hit here having neither. I suspect next winter I'll go back to some 17" wheels and winter tires if I can find some cheap on CL or something.

Let my dad drive the car this weekend and I think he's kind of interested in a Golf Sportwagon as well now ;)

In reply to irish44j :

Same identity criss here...GTI > E30 > Saab 92x + minivan (wife) > Civic Si (ep3)...back to VW.  Recently added an E30 into the mix..because my midlife crisis has me wanting to relive my youth?  924S must be a hoot to drive.  The VW warranty played a big factor for me...that and the fact the Alltrack is still available in a manual.  

I've found the phone charging is highly dependent on how good/new your cable is.  Because the USB cables bend when your phone is in the cubby, the cables don't last long.  First they start charging more slowly, then they start disconnecting/glitching if you touch the cable while it's connected.  I'll have to look into that cubby doc...could be a good solution.  

Funny about the lack of a good place for spare change. I throw it in the cubby w/my phone since it has a rubber trey.  I you don't empty it regularly it makes noise.

My Alltrack always reads 2mph optimistic on fuel economy.  I average about 29 to 30 mpg w/mostly flat highway driving (speed limit is 70).  car indicates 31-32. At 50-60 mph on 2-late highways mid-30s is totally achievable.  Close to 400 miles on a tank is certainly a big upgrade from my old civic. The 6MT is supposed to get better mileage than the DSG in this car.  Not bad for a wagon w/AWD.  

Sounds about right. 

It's pretty well known that the 6MT beats the EPA ratings pretty easily. DSG is usually spot onto the EPA ratings. 

Yeah, the in-car readout is optimistic with stock tires, but I have slightly taller tires (exactly 3% taller) than stock, so that actually makes the in-car MPG readout accurate, ironically. When I calculate my MPGs at the pump, I take the tire height into account (i.e. I'm actually going 3% farther than my ODO says). 

The problem with the 6MT for me is remembering to actually shift into 6th, haha....

irish44j said:

 

 

We should start a club. 

TR7 said:

irish44j said:

 

 

We should start a club. 

 

I assume your name refers to the triumph TR7. Up until the last year I had a triumph GT6 sitting in that driveway as well :)

In reply to irish44j :

I have a spitfire, and a bare gt6 block sitting in the corner of the garage. Is that close enough?

Looks great, nice review.  

After reading this thread, I've been seriously considering picking up a GTI. Then, this thing popped up. DCG, Lighting package and no sunroof. I'm wanting a Golf R (in the awesome Green color) but this is much cheaper and I wouldn't have to sell my Subaru to buy it like I would with the Golf R.

Brett_Murphy said:

After reading this thread, I've been seriously considering picking up a GTI. Then, this thing popped up. DCG, Lighting package and no sunroof. I'm wanting a Golf R (in the awesome Green color) but this is much cheaper and I wouldn't have to sell my Subaru to buy it like I would with the Golf R.

A very pretty Golf R (in the gunmetal gray color) keeps parking next to me at work and I'll admit, I do get a bit jealous, lol. I love the R wheels on the 2018...

That said, before you go DSG, drive the MT. It's definitely the smoothest-shifting manual I've ever driven and the clutch pedal is perfect weight. I'm  sure the DSG is a bit quicker, but still...

My dream Golf R is a Mk8 Golf R with the RS3 5 cylinder motor and a 6MT.  Fingers crossed that VW makes it and brings it over to the USA...

irish44j said:

Brett_Murphy said:

After reading this thread, I've been seriously considering picking up a GTI. Then, this thing popped up. DCG, Lighting package and no sunroof. I'm wanting a Golf R (in the awesome Green color) but this is much cheaper and I wouldn't have to sell my Subaru to buy it like I would with the Golf R.

A very pretty Golf R (in the gunmetal gray color) keeps parking next to me at work and I'll admit, I do get a bit jealous, lol. I love the R wheels on the 2018...

That said, before you go DSG, drive the MT. It's definitely the smoothest-shifting manual I've ever driven and the clutch pedal is perfect weight. I'm  sure the DSG is a bit quicker, but still...

After living with the 135i, my biggest concern with the DSG would be how it acts in stop-and-go traffic, or pull up and don't do a complete stop and keep going, situations like that make the DCT aggravating. 

But hit the Sport button, put the trans in Sport, then hit the paddle so your in manual mode and it's tons of fun and drives great. 

z31maniac said:

After living with the 135i, my biggest concern with the DSG would be how it acts in stop-and-go traffic, or pull up and don't do a complete stop and keep going, situations like that make the DCT aggravating. 

In my experience, you have to mentally manage the DSG just like a normal 3 pedal manual.  Which is why I have a Prius now.