GT Tdi DSG has arrived!

[Huftons]

My new Golf GT Tdi DSG has arrived (ordered in Jan) and I'm picking it up at the weekend all being well :D

Will post some first impressions next week (fingers crossed).

Having said that the salesman I just spoke to didn't appear to know anything about the spec change I made on the car just after placing the order (the original salesman has since left) so he's just gone off to check the car is as ordered (Tornado Red, 18", no badges).

Might be interesting!

[Dolmen]

Good luck and health to enjoy your new car.
cheers

[Huftons]

Well dealer has confirmed spec is as expected ;)

[Guest 2]

Congrats on the new car :)

Remember to post some pics too.

[algarve]

Well dealer has confirmed spec is as expected ;)

That must be a relief .
Now enjoy..

[dickt]

Good for you. Enjoy!
Other than my mpg gripe, and the lack of seat memory, I am enjoying mine.

[Huftons]

Just sorted out insurance today for the new car and it seems the UK insurance industry is yet to acknowledge the existance of the Mk 7 Golf! Got a bit of a shock when Tesco Insurance wanted an extra £100 to cover the car (2/3 year) vs my current 2.0 Tdi Tiguan. Will be shopping around next time.

[maisbitt]

Huftons: When shopping around for insurance on my new GTD (due June) I could see MK7 GTs on most of the comparison sites, but in my case I thought that looking at insurance costs of a MK6 GTD to be more relevant to me seeing as the GTD isn't listed yet. In the likelihood of me having one of the first GTDs in the country I am a bit concerned that my insurer won't have the GTD listed for risk when I get my hands on it and make me pay through the nose for insurance. I am hoping that the insurance companies treat it reasonably when they do acknowledge it. It does have 15PS more than the old model but it has a lot more safety features (bigger brakes, ADC etc) and has the same published risk banding (26E). On the upside, when using MK6 as a comparator, the insurance is half what I was paying on my Scirocco just over 18 months ago and a third cheaper than my latest renewal.

[Huftons]

Popped in the dealer to sign the paperwork tonight. My car was in the workshop awaiting fitment of the exhaust pipe trim (couldn't resist the bling).

They had a Golf in the showroom on the 18" wheels that mine has and must say they looked great (better than in pics).

Roll on tomorrow morning.

[Huftons]

Picked up the car this afternoon. Too early for overall first driving impressions as I only drove back from the dealer, but seemed smooth, fairly quiet (tyres on 18" rims throw up some noise on rough tarmac) and has pokey performance. DSG is lightning fast at changing. Will post more when I've driven it properly.

Its been raining ever since so I've spent a few hours trying to get to grips with the media system.

Car couldn't see my iPhone 5 but the phone could see the car (!) so paired it that way.:D
Contacts loaded but no contact images showing..need to investigate (any tips?) :(
Music on an SD card (in AAC format, copied directly from my iTunes library on my Mac) played fine :D
Album artwork didn't show at all and loads of hidden files could be seen on the SD card that slowed reading albums down :(
After much fiddling (running an iTunes script to re-size artwork to 400x400 and some terminal scripting on my Mac to delete the hidden files on the SD card) most (but not all) album artwork now shows OK :D
Knocked up some icons for the pre-set Radio stations and copied from SD card - worked fine :D
Nav (standard system) does have postcode entry :D
Screen resolution looks a bit rubbish when you're used to iPads, retina displays etc (don't know why they couldn't of spent a few more euros on a higher res screen) :(

Thats it for now. Will post more next week.

[HHGTTG]

Can you tell me what badging does your TDi have on the back. Does it say TDi or TSi?

[Norbreck21a]

TSI is the petrol engine technology, so unless they screwed up at the factory and have him the wrong engine, I would expect it to say TDI ;)

[lozzer]

some terminal scripting on my Mac to delete the hidden files on the SD card) most (but not all) album artwork now shows OK :D


Hi,

Interested in the script you use. I put sd card into a windows machine to see and delete the mac 'hidden' files. Is your script more straightforward?

There are a couple of threads here that indicate why not all the artwork is showing.

Nice post :)

[Huftons]

Hi,

Interested in the script you use. I put sd card into a windows machine to see and delete the mac 'hidden' files. Is your script more straightforward?

There are a couple of threads here that indicate why not all the artwork is showing.

Nice post :)


To get rid of the hidden track files do the following

1) Plug SD card into Mac
2) Start Terminal
3) Highlight SD card in Finder and drag over terminal icon (opens terminal with SD card mounted)
4) Type find . -name "._*" -print - locates all files from root of SD card that start with a "._"
5) If you're happy with the list type find . -name "._*" -exec rm -rf {} \; - this will delete all these hidden files, takes a while if you have loads
6) Et voila! Only the actual music files now show in the car system when you put the SD card back in

Please be careful though, execute this in the wrong place with a typo and you could wipe your Mac's hard drive !!!

[Huftons]

Some pics….

20156201572015820159

..and no badges whatsoever (ordered the car without them)

[HHGTTG]

TSI is the petrol engine technology, so unless they screwed up at the factory and have him the wrong engine, I would expect it to say TDI ;)

Yes, that is what I would have thought as well but in my local dealer, there is a metallic grey (don't know what colour description is) Golf, which has a placard beside/infront of the car saying that it is a 2.0L GT TDi.
I rummaged around inside and indeed it looks like another GT I have seen recently but the mirror adjustment knob only had four positions i.e. L/O/R and heated mirror position and no indication as to having retractable door mirrors, which I thought, from the configurator, was standard.
The car was fitted with a panoramic sunroof and the badging on the rear was TSi, that is why I asked. Clearly the car's descripiton, re advertising blurb, is not correct.
The interior was all dark with a black shiny dash and had Alcantara seats.

[jk88]

Assuming the badge is more likely to be correct than a dealer placard, it's most likley going to be a TSi ie petrol. Some early GTs were delivered without the folding mirrors, well spotted. Take a look at where the redline starts on the tacho, that will tell you if diesel or petrol.

[HHGTTG]

Assuming the badge is more likely to be correct than a dealer placard, it's most likley going to be a TSi ie petrol. Some early GTs were delivered without the folding mirrors, well spotted. Take a look at where the redline starts on the tacho, that will tell you if diesel or petrol.

Well it's a dealer I only go past once a fortnight as it's a 30 mile round trip and so, if I have the audacity to visit them again and rummage around that car then I'll look further into it. If it was not for the fact that they have a ruddy surfboard straddling the roof, to give this rather staid looking car Yuff cred, then I would be able to lift the bonnet. As it is, the raised bonnet would/might hit the overhanging board and they wouldn't be to pleased.
I agree with you however in that it's almost certain to be the petrol version. As I have said maybe here or elsewhere, I'll give VW another six months plus to sort things out with their specs etc.
As a shape, though, I am not overwhelmed by the car and where has all that headroom gone? I dropped the seat down and down and my head seemed so close to that roofline just above the driver's window.

[Huftons]

Well had the car for just over a week now. It's taking a bit of adjusting to after my manual Tiguan (more than I thought it would).

Positives are good economy (mid 50s mpg), punchy performance (if you push the throttle past its initial point of resistance), smooth DSG changes (most of the time), good driving position, looks nice (on the 18" rims) and a quality feeling interior.

Negatives, the DSG/stop start combination is a bit irritating - the car wants to cut out as soon as you pull up unless you release the brake pedal immediately when the auto hold comes on. In gear held on the auto brake there's a fair bit of vibration as the car wants to move forward but is held back. Let the engine cut out and there's a small but noticable shudder as it stops (the stop-start was smoother on the Tiguan). You can switch off stop-start but have to do it each time. Overall I think stop start works best on a manual car.

Another bugbear is the road noise on the 18" wheels. Ride isn't too bad but the tyres kick up a hell of din on most surfaces which negates the refinement that the car generally has. If you value comfort and road refinement over looks stick to the standard wheels.

Also find the adaptive cruise to be a bit over zealous with the auto braking so tend not to use it in the cut and thrust of an M1 commute.

So a mixed back, generally like the car and will no doubt learn to drive around it's foibles. Perhaps not the home run that the press are all claiming though. I think that a petrol engine might suite the DSG better.

Will report back again in a few weeks when I've fully adjusted.

[dickt]

I agree about the dsg and stop/start. I try to get my foot off the footbrake. However, I've had the elec brake before with a Passat dsg, so perhaps I am used to it. In gear with auto brake on I get no vibration.
The ACC does not do so well in busy motorway traffic, (M4 just west of London, busy just like M1) so I just turn it off. Even with minimum distance set, it slows well before I would.

[algarve]

Huftons

As a matter of interest what make are your tyres that 'kick up a hell of a din'.
Also like dickt I get no vibration when in gear with the autobrake on.

[dickt]

My P7s are a bit noisier than the Michelins on my Mk5, but I normally have the SD card/radio on, so do not notice too much.

Also, when I was listening for the tyre road noise, I did notice a bit of wind noise - not too much, just a bit annoying. (Not the windows!) I have not been able to track it down. Initial thought was somewhere behind the driver, but noises like wind can be difficult to track down..

[Huftons]

Huftons

As a matter of interest what make are your tyres that 'kick up a hell of a din'.
Also like dickt I get no vibration when in gear with the autobrake on.

Tyres are Dunlop Sportmax. The tyre noise is very noticeable though I'm starting to get used to it now. Probably my expectations were tainted by the press reviews stating that road noise was minimal on the Mk 7.

The vibration thing isn't that bad but still noticeable, slip into neutral and it disappears. Engine is still tight (250 miles) so will see if it eases.

[algarve]

Tyres are Dunlop Sportmax. The tyre noise is very noticeable though I'm starting to get used to it now. Probably my expectations were tainted by the press reviews stating that road noise was minimal on the Mk 7.

The vibration thing isn't that bad but still noticeable, slip into neutral and it disappears. Engine is still tight (250 miles) so will see if it eases.

Tyres must be the 18" rims/tyre size by the sounds of it then.

I have Dunlop Sport Maxx RT on 17s and they are quiet.

May be totally different later on as I found out with Bridgestones which did become very noisy.

As you say I would expect the vibration to settle once things bed in

[maisbitt]

Oh dear! I was hoping that 18" wheels would not be coming with Dunlop rubber. My first Roc came with Sport Maxx (R18 235/40) and the slightest pothole collision caused sidewall bulges, knacking the tyre. Considerably worse impacts seen with the Pirelli P7's on my current Roc did no tyre damage at all. I will be fearing the worst for my tyres in the winter if my GTD arrives with Dunlop rubber. Wheel-spin/Tramping was prevalent on my first Roc too, despite it having 30PS less than my current Roc. I would never buy Dunlops myself.

[Norbreck21a]

I'd have to agree with the above, don't like Dunlops one bit myself either. Was hoping for either Pirelli or Continental (which Audi supplies on their 18" alloys).

guess well have to wait and see when the GTD finally arrives then ?

[andyk11]

Agreed on the Dunlop Sport Maxx's not being great. They came factory fitted to an Octavia vRS on 18" rims I had a couple of years ago. I found them noisy and downright scary in the wet! Thankfully the fronts didn't last long due them being prematurely taken out by potholes :D

[mcmaddy]

Ive got Dunlop Sport maxx tts on my tiguan r line at the minute and up until the cold weather I thought they were great. Then all of a sudden the cold snap did something with the outer blocks of tread and the driving sensation has been terrible. When i checked the build info on the tyre they were over three years old but still have 5-6mm left. Car only had 6000 miles on when i bought it but the lack of mileage combined with the age of the tyres has resulted in premature degradation to the point of not wanting to drive it. The warmer weather has improved the ride 150% and its now lovely to drive. I wouldnt be too bothered if Dunlops came as standard as long as they are Sport Maxx RT. If its Pirellis then they must be Cinturato P7 Blue. Continental would be good also. Looking at close up pics of GTD from Geneva it does look like Dunlops. Both Dunlops and Pirellis have good scores on the mytres website.

[maisbitt]

If my GTD comes with Dunlops I can nigh-on guarantee that VW's choice in fitting them is going to cost me £300 in 2 new front tyres before the following winter is done. First minor pothole hit and they'll be ******* - their cording just doesn't seem strong enough to cope with a bit of stress. As soon as the first one goes i'll be having Michelins fitted to the fronts and taking the second replaced Dunlop as a spare for the backs. I would prefer not to have to do this though. I don't mind paying out for tyres when I get some decent wear out of them rather than suffer a sidewall bulge at 4000 miles in. This was a very common problem for other Scirocco owners fitted with Dunlops on 18" wheels (standard on Scirocco GT).

[mcmaddy]

Were they Dunlop sport Maxx rt? maybe they've changed since then as seems to be new versions of tyres comb out all the time. If I have any tyre issues it'll be going straight to VW to sort. if it means Dunlop getting the tyres sent to them then so be it but I won't be spending a penny on new tyres.

[algarve]

Were they Dunlop sport Maxx rt? maybe they've changed since then as seems to be new versions of tyres comb out all the time. If I have any tyre issues it'll be going straight to VW to sort. if it means Dunlop getting the tyres sent to them then so be it but I won't be spending a penny on new tyres.

The Sport Maxx RT is the latest version and has won independent group tyre reviews.
It is fitted to the new Masserati quattrosporte (510 HP)

Reading comments on forums over the years the one thing you can guarantee is that the same tyre will be described as c**p by one person and brilliant by the next ..

[mcmaddy]

The Sport Maxx RT is the latest version and has won independent group tyre reviews.
It is fitted to the new Masserati quattrosporte (510 HP)

Reading comments on forums over the years the one thing you can guarantee is that the same tyre will be described as c**p by one person and brilliant by the next ..

Very true indeed. Both dunlops and pirellis come out well on the mytyres website and as you say variables such as tyres are an individual like or dislike. eg I had a very bad experience with Toyo tyres and wouldn't touch them with a ****** stick but I know others who love them. Car manufacturers do test different tyres on different models before going with them for production rather than just pick some off the shelf.

[maisbitt]

They were whatever Sport Maxx variant was out in 2009 when fitted to my 140TDI Scirocco GT (R18 235/40). I had the tyres sent back to Dunlop and they said they had performed "tests" to show that the tyres had undergone serious trauma. I asked for specific test methods and the results obtained for my case as I have a background in QA/QC, including physical properties materials testing and Dunlop refused to provide any further information. I refuted their claims that my tyres had been put through any "extraordinary" usage trauma and also took it up with VW each of the 3 times it had happened stating that they had not provided any evidence that backed up their claims of abuse/extraordinary usage trauma. I got nowhere and bought michelin replacements which were faultless in use. On my 2011 170TDI Scirocco, it came with Pirelli P7s which did not incur any sidewall bulges or similar damage over 2 winters before the fronts wore out unevenly at 12k miles with a pattern that looked like extreme over-inflation (they were inflated to VW's recommendations on the fuel filler flap) - the central 60% of the tyre width still had 7mm left, but the 20% each on the inner and outer edges were worn away to nowt. Again, michelin replacements have been faultless to date.

[mcmaddy]

Hi Matthew. This sounds exactly like the problem I've got at the minute with the tiguan! To be honest though even if the gtd comes with dunlops on from new it just means you wear them out and don't put them back on again come tyre replacement time. I don't really fancy paying Michelin money for tyres but at least the 18” boots are less than half the price of the 19's on the tiguan!!

[maisbitt]

McMaddy: I'm fine to replace worn out tyres with superior ones, but if past history is to be repeated then VW's choice in fitting Dunlops will cost me £300 within 6 months of ownership due to their propensity to sustain tyrewall damage with the most minor of pothole impacts. It is important that anyone who suffers this kind of damage reports it to VW as well as Dunlop. If this happens to a lot of people and VW hear of it then they may just ditch Dunlop in the future. It's one of those defects that the blame is so easily shifted to the driver for as it is so hard to prove that Dunlop's tyres are too fragile for British roads. How big does the pothole have to be before you blame the pothole and not the tyre? For me, if the wheel is undamaged and the wheel alignment hasn't been compromised then I expect the tyre to be undamaged. Sidewall bulge is one of those defects that someone could quite easily not notice if they don't clean and check their car regularly, but it has huge safety implications.

I had my Roc into Benfield for a service today and took a good look at their displayed 150TDI GT in Deep Black pearl (same colour ordered for my GTD). I noticed that all of the metallic/pearl shades on display across the Golf/Polo/Passat range looked a bit "orange peely" under the artificial showroom lights, more so than my Rising Blue Roc has. Has VW paint quality deteriorated lately?

[HHGTTG]

Surely aren't these problem self imposed by fitting 18 or 19" wheels on these cars, or is it a standard wheel? We all know that large rims, no matter how much you think they look better (I don't as it happens), are not suitable when shod with so little rubber as they are bound to be rubbished by our ever worsening road surfaces, which can affect the tyres as well as the rims.

[maisbitt]

18" wheels standard on my current Roc and on my forthcoming GTD. These lower profile tyres need to be stronger due to there being so little sidewall for flexion/impact absorbance that higher profile tyres can regularly cope with. The Dunlops had a 95 load rating which should make then reasonably strong (the Pirellis also had 95 load rating). but were significantly less resilient than the Pirelli P7s on my second Roc treated the same way. There has to be a question of suitability for purpose. If Pirelli can make 18" tyres that can withstand what a typical British road can throw at it and the Dunlops can't then they're not suitable for purpose. Yes our roads need to be a bit better but when a company sells cars for a respective market they should ensure that the components chosen are suitably robust for that market.

[Huftons]

Surely aren't these problem self imposed by fitting 18 or 19" wheels on these cars, or is it a standard wheel? We all know that large rims, no matter how much you think they look better (I don't as it happens), are not suitable when shod with so little rubber as they are bound to be rubbished by our ever worsening road surfaces, which can affect the tyres as well as the rims.


I admit if I was ordering my car again I would not go for the 18". Just knackers the road refinement and to to a lesser degree the ride.

Will be interested to see of the GTI/GTD on standard 18" rims suppress the road noise/have a better ride than the GT on option wheels.

[mcmaddy]

this is making me think I should have ordered the dynamic chassis control on the new gtd!!

[maisbitt]

McMaddy: My Roc is in "Sport" most of the time, which should be comparable to standard 18" wheel GTD ride. You might be used to a softer ride on your Tiguan. You should ask Mick for a go in a Scirocco to check out the ACC/DCC settings if unsure. I'm hoping that the new MQB platform Golf offers a smoother ride than the old platform to which the Scirocco and MK6 Golf belong.

[mcmaddy]

Considering how heavy the tiguan is I think it's got a cracking ride even on 19” wheels. It's just right for my liking. back to the tyre issue I had an interesting conversation with a tyre fitter today who said Dunlop and Michelin are the only tyres he has seen that go mishaped and that it may be a design feature rather than a fault to let you know to change them. bit severe in my opinion but the rear tyres on the tiguan appear to have castled which has been causing the ride issue in the cold. looking at some tyre websites the pirellis don't appear to be as fuel efficient as the Dunlop's. I've also emailed Dunlop about the issue I have and to ask about the rt sport maxx.

[maisbitt]

mcmaddy: 19" Tiguan wheels won't be as severe as 19" Golf wheels as the 19" Tiguan tyres have a 40 sidewall (same as 18" Golf/Scirocco/Passat) and the 19" Golf tyres have a 35 sidewall. If anything your tyres should be comparable to 18" you'll have fitted on your GTD for ride comfort, but the suspension on your Tiguan is propably a canny bit softer than that which will be on your GTD, so the GTD ride will be firmer than you're used to in your Tiguan as i'd expect Tiguan sports suspension (not lowered by VW, just using stiffer springs) to be a lot softer than the stiffer springs and 15mm drop GTD/GTI suspension. The ride on my Old MK5 Golf GT Sport TDI170 with 17" wheels is probably slightly harsher than my Scirocco using the ACC in "Sport mode" and 18" wheels. I think that the standard GTD will be slightly harsher (ride) than my Scirocco in ACC Sport mode.

[mcmaddy]

I'm sure the r line 170 i've got has lowered sport suspension. If the ride in the gtd is comparable to either the r line or the mk5 gt tdi on 17's or the jetta sport on 17's then I'll be happy. If its back jarring stiff then I'll be kicking myself for not opting for the adaptive chassis control!

[Huftons]

Will wait with interest to read (in the press or on this forum) how the GTD performs on UK roads. Might even have a spin myself if the dealer will let me once they're available to drive (guessing late summer).

[Huftons]

Well had the car (GT Tdi DSG 18") for just over a a month now.

I'm now used to the DSG and quite like it - it's not perfect - with the occasional jerky change - but most of the time it gets it right. Whether I'll stick with DSG next time will have to see.

Car has about 1k on the clock now and performance is brisk enough and economy reasonable (mid 50s on my mixed road commute).

Must say that Tornado red is a great colour - most of the Mk7 s I see are variation of silver/grey - they just look dull in comparison.

Biggest irritant remains the road noise on the 18" rims - the ride is just about acceptable (although a little more compliancy wouldn't go amiss) but the noise on most surfaces is just not good enough. Noted a recent review in TG magazine on an A3 shod on 18s - tester made the same comment re: road noise being the worse of any MQB platform car yet driven.

Would I recommend the Golf - overall yes - but would be wary of optioning the 18"s unless you like road noise!

[dcdick]

My experience with Dunlops on my last Golf (2010 1.4 TSI) was that they were very noisy & lacking somewhat in road handling even in the dry.
After digging my heels in at the dealer I got a set of Michelins "swapped" from the demonstrators, quieter & less rolling resistance (about 2 mpg) & no problems with handling wet or dry.
Dunlop just seem to me to be a "budget" make these days unless things have improved over the last 3 years, which seems unlikely according to the previous comments.
Current golf has nice looking Continentals fitted that seem to be really good :D

[maisbitt]

dcdick: My experience of Dunlops was poor on my first Roc - 3 knackered tyres over my first winter with the car due to sidewall bulges developing, being very careful with potholes - I didn't hit anything of any significance and yet the tyres were ruined with about 4k miles wear on them 235/40 R18 Dunlops are crap. Second Roc came with Pirelli P7s - no damage but wore out unevenly quite quickly (over-inflation type wear pattern, but they weren't overinflated), but i'd still take 14k miles wear over 4k miles then goosed any day of the week. I'm praying my GTD doesn't come with them, but if you've specced 18" wheels on yours and they came with Dunlop rubber, I don't hold out much hope to avoid them.