8000 mile update

Just thought readers may be interested to see my comments after 9 months and 8000 miles of 2.0 GT Tdi DSG ownership.

The overall package is fantastic – quiet, smooth, refined, relaxing, enjoyable and beautifully engineered.

This is my first diesel and so far I am most impressed. The torque is terrific and mated to the 6spd DSG performance is more than enough for my needs. I have managed a best ever 56mpg and currently averaging over 50mpg on most journeys – the car computer states 47.6mpg over the last 3000 miles – and considering a high percentage of that is town/30mph driving that seems pretty good. I would have hoped for more compared to the official VW figures – as has been discussed at great length on this site before – but it will do for me – and the figures are getting noticeably better with the miles.

I did notice that on many journeys after first purchase the DPF was going through its cycle when I stopped. This appears to have settled down and is rarely noticed.

Having migrated from a manual the DSG is a real revelation. The gear changes are all but imperceptible and rarely does it get the gearing wrong. Having the paddles behind the wheel is great however when you want to drop a gear or two for overtaking/having a quick blast on a b-road! Using the “Driver Profile” selection makes a major difference on the gear changes. Very, very early changes in “Eco” – and really holds the gears in “Sport”.

Discover Pro sat-nav is terrific. Being able to input postcodes is great – although could be friendlier – why have to go to “town” input and then choose postcode?? I have found the voice control particularly responsive. I was however surprised at how little info there was in the handbook. Through trial and error I have found quite a few other voice commands that are not mentioned – such as “zoom in/out”, “zoom to a certain level i.e. 1 mile”, “auto-zoom” and being able to enter postcodes. The later is surprisingly capable and almost always hears correctly first time. Some of the voice prompts from the sat-nav amuse, such as “Please speak more quietly” and “there is too much background noise”. Like having a teacher in the car!!

Adaptive cruise works very well – once you have the confidence in the system. Bringing the car to a total stop, and switching the engine off without any driver influence is very strange – but superb in stop/start traffic jam situations.

Tyre Pressure monitoring is something I have never had on a car before – but wow was it useful the other day. Backing out of the garage the TPMS light/warning came on. A screw had punctured the tyre tread leading to a gradual (not complete) loss of pressure. I was able to put the car back into the garage, take the wheel to my local tyre dealer for a fix Without TPMS I would have set off on my long journey on a wet, manky day and would have ended up being stranded on the roadside changing a wheel.

Seat heating (with leather) has certainly improved since the Mk6 – now heats up much, much faster.

Negatives

I would be most interested to learn if anyone has suffered from any of the following.

Whilst filling the washer-fluid the other day I realised it was gushing onto the drive. Reaching down the filler-neck behind the headlight I found the neck had become detached from the bottle. I have “pushed” it back and it appears okay – but it is not a very secure connection from what I can feel.

The “Front Assist” radar warning has “warned” me visually/audibly on several occasions for no reason. Sometimes it appears to be going through a dip in the road – whether the radar senses the road “coming up to it” and reacts I don’t know – but it is rather irritating and does cause the heart to skip a beat!! At other times the road is flat, nothing in front of the car??

Whilst closing the driver’s door one day the cover that covers the door lock fell to the ground. This is made to be removed in case you need to use the key for access to the vehicle – and appears to “snap” into position. However mine appears to been fitted incorrectly and the “snap” locators have been snapped off. Currently being held with a dob of silicone – something to sort with the dealer.

I have also been very surprised at the lack of servicing information in the handbook. I am one of those people that actually read the handbook/service schedule. All my previous VW’s (up to and including the Mk6) service schedules stated in detail the servicing intervals & what was required at each service. Mk7 Golf – just main service intervals. “Your dealer will advise” the book states. Well I would rather know the information myself – and what happens when the car is not serviced at the main agent? When/if does my DSG fluid need changing, belt changes, pollen filter etc etc. Again something I will check with the dealer.





Overall these are minor gripes and most can easily be sorted. I haven’t regretted the purchase of my MK7 for a moment. Every time I drive it it brings a smile to my face.