GT Tdi DSG has arrived!

[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

[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.