Mk7 1.4 ACT DSG in Night Blue / Shetland alcantara, just ordered

[a8toa6convert]

.... via drivethedeal. Local dealer couldn't get near the price. Stayed away from the expensive options, just added:
- high beam assist
- keyless entry
- colour display screen
- park assist
- rear side airbags
- rear view camera.

I'm hoping the exterior/interior colour combination looks good: agonised for ages over that. These pics sold me on the night blue:

VW Golf VII | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigblogg/8121490647/in/set-72157631848893977/lightbox/)

Shetland looks ok in this pic from a "real" car:

http://www.tilsungroup.com/used-car-photos/original/Volkswagen-Golf_Hatchback_3dr_13_Int.jpg

Been quoted about 18 weeks lead time - sound about right ?

[ellie43]

Don't know about the length of wait, but it looks great - Not enough people go for the lighter colour seats - me included!

[HHGTTG]

.... via drivethedeal. Local dealer couldn't get near the price. Stayed away from the expensive options, just added:
- high beam assist
- keyless entry
- colour display screen
- park assist
- rear side airbags
- rear view camera.

I'm hoping the exterior/interior colour combination looks good: agonised for ages over that. These pics sold me on the night blue:

VW Golf VII | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigblogg/8121490647/in/set-72157631848893977/lightbox/)

Shetland looks ok in this pic from a "real" car:

http://www.tilsungroup.com/used-car-photos/original/Volkswagen-Golf_Hatchback_3dr_13_Int.jpg

Been quoted about 18 weeks lead time - sound about right ?

God, that's a long time isn't it? Getting into the realms of my waiting for my currentl MK6. Surely others have reported about 10 weeks for delivery, haven't they?
I don't think that I could entertain that sort of waiting time for delivery again.

[mactrack]

Ours came via DTD and the dealer/salesman has been excellent and really on the ball when all the VW UK shenanigans were in full swing. We have the same model and it took 11 weeks, was quoted 12-14, and all the stops were pulled out to make sure we had it before Easter.

We chose Pure White / Titan Black (and part black Singapore wheels) although Tungsten Silver / Shetland was on the cards but I have still to this day not seen a Shetland coloured interior and can't tell if it's grey, cream or somewhere in-between. Also as the leather seats got dropped, after the memory seat debacle, I did not fancy a light coloured cloth/alcantara interior as I wear jeans a lot.

[algarve]

God, that's a long time isn't it? Getting into the realms of my waiting for my currentl MK6. Surely others have reported about 10 weeks for delivery, haven't they?
I don't think that I could entertain that sort of waiting time for delivery again.

Even brokers with their business placement have to join the wait when demand is high I suspect.

[a8toa6convert]

Hi All,

Drivethedeal have been great for me too - I'm a repeat customer - and I'm sure they're just being sensible as demand for the 1.4ACT is definitely pushing out waiting times.

Waiting isn't a problem as it's a replacement for a very nice spec S-Max that I still enjoy driving, but is just a bit bigger than we need as a 2nd car.

Have now been instructed by better half to add the "panoramic" sunroof, against my better judgment.....

[mactrack]

Hi All,

Drivethedeal have been great for me too - I'm a repeat customer - and I'm sure they're just being sensible as demand for the 1.4ACT is definitely pushing out waiting times.

Waiting isn't a problem as it's a replacement for a very nice spec S-Max that I still enjoy driving, but is just a bit bigger than we need as a 2nd car.

Have now been instructed by better half to add the "panoramic" sunroof, against my better judgment.....
I also used DTD for a previous A3 and they were just as good then. The panoramic sunroof was on the list of wants, after seeing one on the Evoque, however on the Golf it's just a slightly bigger sunroof on the inside so was quickly dismissed. Also there appears to be some consternation as to the quality of the internal sliding cover here;

what annoys you about your mk7! - Page 4 - GOLFMK7 - VW GTI MKVII Forum / VW Golf R Forum / VW Golf MKVII Forum (http://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148&page=4)

[a8toa6convert]

Car was finally built last week, and is on its way to the UK. Getting close to 1st September so have agreed with dealer to put it on a 63 plate. Will be 5 months from order to delivery, with about 2-3 weeks of that being voluntary delay to get the newer plate. I hope it's worth the wait !

[OldBoy22]

a8toa6convert (http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/member.php?184713-a8toa6convert) I saw a GT in midnight blue just last week, looks AWESOME in that colour, you'll be very pleased i'm sure.

[cdgthreesalmons]

Must say Im thrilled with my Shetland (leather) interior. You see so few Golfs with the pale interior - probably not practical with dog/kids etc. Hope the attached pics give you a better impression of the colour - I know its leather but Im sure very similas shade - Pacific Blue exterior.

[GTwebb]

I must say when I first saw some pics of Shetland i wasn't convinced.. but that looks lovely.. very nice. Exterior colour not my cup of tea but that just my preference ;)

[a8toa6convert]

That Shetland interior looks lush. Looking forward to getting mine now. I've got a 5 series with the "oyster on black" leather interior, which also looks gorgeous and is also a pain to keep clean, but it's worth it.

[a8toa6convert]

http://imageshack.us/a/img839/4577/hoie.jpg (http://img827.imageshack.us/i/k5rc.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/a/img827/4540/k5rc.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/827/k5rc.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/a/img822/7439/ukhv.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/822/ukhv.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/a/img443/4756/97rv.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/443/97rv.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/a/img202/7007/iyg2.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/202/iyg2.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/a/img191/9494/xdax.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/191/xdax.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/a/img197/7025/r807.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/197/r807.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/a/img41/1460/c8u4.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/41/c8u4.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/a/img69/6886/lqpl.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/69/lqpl.jpg/)
http://imageshack.us/a/img90/9963/2o1o.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/90/2o1o.jpg/)

[a8toa6convert]

Finally figured out how to link to imageshack images....

First few photos show interior and exterior. Very pleased with the combination of the blue exterior and the Shetland interior.

Later pics show a few issues with trim/seals not sitting properly. Only serious problem is trim on base of driver's door mirror which is clearly not seated properly (pic of passenger side included to show difference). Will sort with local dealer.

The car drives beautifully. Engine is even quieter than I remembered. You really can't hear it inside the car at idle. Road noise is definitely reduced from the Mk6. Feels as happy pottering round town as it does at 80+ on the "autobahn".

Other car is a 535d so anything else was going to feel a bit lacking in power, but this is astonishingly good for a 1.4 petrol. Enough low down torque to make progress in 99% of situations, there's extra oomph there if you rev it, and it doesn't sound unpleasant if you do, but I find myself not bothering: it's so easy and so relaxing to drive sensibly.

Handling is neat and tidy, it stops and changes direction very nimbly, it does feel like a lighter car than before, not very exciting at the limit of traction but it's probably not fair to compare it with a RWD car with 2.5 times the power anyway !

Overall very chuffed :D

[acme]

Evening,

Tried sending the original poster an email but it would seem you need 10 posts before you can send an email to another forum user.

8 months in I was wondering how you were finding the car and in particular fuel consumption? I'm considering one as a company car as a way of moving away from diesel but am concerned fuel consumption is less than 40MPG rather than anywhere near the combined quoted 60.

In addition if any other users can advise on either the Golf 1.4 TSI ACT or Audi COD it would be appreciated.

Many thanks.

[Evil Dan]

In addition if any other users can advise on either the Golf 1.4 TSI ACT or Audi COD it would be appreciated.

Many thanks.

I'm not sure if there is something specific you want to know about ACT? Basically you don't know it is doing it unless you look at the MFD and see the "Eco" symbol or "2 cylinder mode" displayed. It's as seamless as the DSG gear changes are.

[acme]

I'm not sure if there is something specific you want to know about ACT? Basically you don't know it is doing it unless you look at the MFD and see the "Eco" symbol or "2 cylinder mode" displayed. It's as seamless as the DSG gear changes are.

Thanks for your reply, and to the other post of mine. Got to say on the test drives it was a little jerky at lower speeds, not sure of the differences between the 7 speed vs the 6 speed of the diesel DSG. I also didn't notice it going into 2 cylinder mode that much, but then again you couldn't tell when it did from any form of harshness etc either.

As per the other post my main concern is MPG figures, I'd love to get out of diesel having had them for years, and I don't expect the combined figure of 60mpg, but 45+ would really be needed to ensure I'm not subbing the company, hence my reply on this thread to the guy who bought one last year.

I originally found the forum and this post as I was looking for pictures of the night blue & shetland interior combined as that's what I want to order.

[a8toa6convert]

Hi acme, I'm the OP.

ACT - it works pretty much as advertised. Sometimes I detect a very brief hesitation as it comes out of 2 cylinder mode, but only sometimes and only if I'm looking for it. If I drive with the windows down then I also sometimes hear the weird 2 cylinder engine / exhaust note, though it's not intrusive.

Fuel economy - I'm averaging about 40mpg. I do live in a very hilly area though and do a mixture of 15 mile commutes and 1/2 mile train station pick-ups. That was what I expected, as the car is dripping with features that make more difference to official mpg figures than to real ones - stop/start, ACT, 7 speed dry DSG with carefully selected ratios, small turbo'd petrol engine....

I would definitely have this engine again, though. I don't really care much about the fancy tech or the fuel economy, but it runs so sweetly. Almost silent when pottering/cruising, plenty of low down oomph, but still loves to rev. Once you've run one, it's a slight shock getting back into a diesel car, even say a 2.0tdi Mk7, which is pretty civilised as diesel hatches go.

This engine + DSG - most of the time it's a great combination. Gear changes are very quick and mostly very smooth. They say the gearbox learns from you, but really you have to learn how the gearbox will behave in a given situation. The engine is very free-revving and it can spin up very fast in 1st gear and light its tyres even in the dry when pulling out of junctions, emphasizing the fact there isn't a huge amount of engine weight over the front axle.

If you want DSG rather than manual, I would recommend petrol over diesel - both are ok when the box behaves as you'd expect, but the petrol is easier to live with when it makes/fails to make changes as you'd expect. Less engine inertia on the changes, less intrusive noise when it holds a gear rather than changing up.

Colour choice - another man of impeccable taste ! Night blue + shetland + GT spec = very expensive-looking but understated Golf.

I'm just about to order an SV version with almost identical spec.

[acme]

Fantastic, many thanks for the response and the level of detail, appreciated.


As mentioned I'm considering it as a company car, my real concern is that the MPG figures won't get anywhere near the combined and thus end up costing me on an estimated 15-20k per annum company miles (I'm less concerned about private mileage). We pay for the fuel ourselves and claim back via expenses and get HMRC rates - their assumed rate for an under 1.4 litre petrol is 43mpg, any less and I'm subbing the company.


After years of having drab grey and black interiors what I really wanted was a lighter one, or a bl**dy big sunroof - being able to replicate cream leather is what I'm looking for, so when I saw the Shetland option it seemed pretty good. The issue is that every dealer I've spoken to has never seen one!


Having test driven a manual and a couple of DSG's the engine seems superb. The first one was manual and I was blown away, sitting there talking to the saleman I had to blip the throttle to check it was running it's so quiet! Some may see this as 'dull', when you do a lot of miles and it's a daily driver I see this kind of refinement as a major bonus - it seems so smooth and to be pulling 2k rpm at 70mph (DSG) was lovely. The manual seemed quicker and more fun, but it'll be the DSG for me. When I compared back to back with the MK7 2.0TDI instantly you could tell what was under the bonnet, not only the noise but that 'leaden' feeling! So I totally agree with your comment about getting back into a diesel car!


Re the ACT, on the longer test drive I did of 21 miles I rarely saw it cut in, the salesman said it should constantly display 2 cylinder so I can but assume it's not that effective as I was driving very conservatively over A & dual carriageway and only just got 40mpg.


What I certainly did notice over the back to back test drive of ACT vs 2.0TDI was just how much lighter the nose was, according to VW it's 87kg lighter and I can but assume that's all over the nose, it was very noticeable. I also noted that it didn't seem to want to rev to the limit, though one salesman then pulled back on the stick and it did hold to the limit, I suspect leaving it in D will soon become the default position though!


Some questions if I may;
How many miles have you done
Type of driving, i.e. A/dual carriageway/town etc
Does it run on regular 95 ron - I seem to remember TSI engines use to need 98?
Outside of work I wear jeans most of the time, do they turn the seats blue?!
As for colour it was a partly a process of elimination largely based on what I've had before/like & don't like, but when I saw your pics of the two colours together it convinced me it was definitely the right one:)


Cheers
Gavin

[a8toa6convert]

Hi Gavin
- 5500 miles in 9 months
- 40% town, 40% hilly A and B roads, 20% flat motorway
- seems fine on 95 RON
- I wear jeans and haven't noticed a problem, perhaps just don't wear brand new pairs, and allow time for comfort stops on long journeys
- the pics above were taken with a decent camera and the colours - on my monitor at least - seem very close to real life.

Re the mpg, I don't think you should get too hung up on the 43mpg threshold. The fact is that the car is still very economical for such a quick and spacious vehicle, and the engine is a peach. Also, the petrol seems to give better mpg with DSG than manual, whereas the diesel seems to give - much - worse. Take into account the higher price of diesel and - on the official figures at least - the 2.0tdi DSG is virtually as expensive to fuel as the 1.4 ACT DSG. In the real world, I reckon they'd be a maximum of about 10-15% apart in fuel cost per mile, say about £250-350 per year on your mileage. What's the difference in BIK ?

[acme]

Many thanks for the answers, seems as though your mileage is fairly low and you're spending a fair bit of time in town so logically I should be able to better that. Is the seat colour actually beige or a very light grey? Looking at the swatch in the showroom it's completely different from the configurator!

BiK is 30% less for the petrol, not only is it 10gm/km less than the DSG diesel but of course there's no add on for the diesel factor, this makes the maths work even better. Reading the other thread re 2.0 TDi MPG it seems unlikely I'd get the 50mpg brim to brim I use to always get out of my old MK5 GT TDI anyway.

[a8toa6convert]

Colour is exactly as per the photos. Definitely more light beige than grey.

[cs2009]

Colour is exactly as per the photos. Definitely more light beige than grey.

I have the Pacific Blue and Shetland alcantara combo in my Golf ACT, and I would say the interior it is more of a light grey with a hint of beige.
Either way, it looks absolutely stunning.

[newgolfgt]

Hi first post for me as petrol golf GT ordered last Friday. Looking at the pictures the Shetland looks great with the night blue, I wish I had the courage to go with it but so afraid of stains etc. As a result I went for Quartz as a halfway house but I am having trouble finding pictures of this combination with the night blue. Has anyone seen or got this combination?

[acme]

Hi first post for me as petrol golf GT ordered last Friday. Looking at the pictures the Shetland looks great with the night blue, I wish I had the courage to go with it but so afraid of stains etc. As a result I went for Quartz as a halfway house but I am having trouble finding pictures of this combination with the night blue. Has anyone seen or got this combination?

Agreed the lighter interior could stain, I won't be surprised if the alcantara takes in a jeans blue hue! I had to have the light interior, one of the reasons I didn't go for the BM which was the alternative was the bloody depressing combination of black spartan interior and small windows.

Knew I'd seen it somewhere, search pistonheads for a thread called 'which would you choose' there's a couple of pics there, plus this is the best pics of night blue I can find in tests & I think this is the interior too?

http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/73174-vw-golf-gt-1-4-tsi-review/gallery

[cs2009]

Hi first post for me as petrol golf GT ordered last Friday. Looking at the pictures the Shetland looks great with the night blue, I wish I had the courage to go with it but so afraid of stains etc. As a result I went for Quartz as a halfway house but I am having trouble finding pictures of this combination with the night blue. Has anyone seen or got this combination?

I went for the Autoglym Life Shine on mine, which includes a fabric treatment for the upholstery (similar to Scotch Guard for carpets), so it should be OK. I used to have a Mk.6 Golf GT, which had an even lighter shade beige interior. The Life Shine worked, and I never had a problem with staining.

What I like about the Shetland, is that it gives a nice contrast with the matt black dash and door cappings, and gloss black centre console. That said, I'm sure the Quartz interior will also look very smart.

[newgolfgt]

Many thanks ACME, great pictures. The quartz is a bit darker than I was hoping but still looks good, just not as stunning as the Shetland.

[a8toa6convert]

Pretty sure the interior on those pocket-lint images is the standard titan black.