Well finally some pics...

[VOGUE_MAN]

That is so very, very nice... I will concede that I am a very jealous man.

Question, does the DSG in the GTI have launch control like it does in the R? If so, sure everyone likes a manual but I'm childish enough to know that I would use launch control at every set of lights even if I was the only one there.

[thebrochureman]

Great car and nice colour, i think it looks best in white.

[RacingManiac]

Originally Posted by VOGUE_MAN

Question, does the DSG in the GTI have launch control like it does in the R? If so, sure everyone likes a manual but I'm childish enough to know that I would use launch control at every set of lights even if I was the only one there.

Yep it does have launch control...however I have not actually used it yet. The car is still only at 1100 miles on the odometer so I have not be really giving it a lot of thrashing....

[thebrochureman]

Originally Posted by RacingManiac

Yep it does have launch control...however I have not actually used it yet. The car is still only at 1100 miles on the odometer so I have not be really giving it a lot of thrashing....

I read somewhere that you’re not meant to rev the engine very hard for the first 2-3 thousand miles. Because this helps break the engine in gently, this is meant to make your engine more reliable in the future.

[RacingManiac]

Hence the reason why I haven't been thrashing it. Been keeping sure the car is warm before any large throttle input. Keeping the rev largely under 4, and staying away from constant rpm for long period on highway(not using cruise control). Also been driving in manual mode and manually downshifting to use the engine braking(supposedly help seating the piston ring during break-in period).There are occasional spirited acceleration to keep things interesting. But largely just been driving very conservatively.

[coolieman1220]

Funny, i took one of those for a spin over the weekend. I agree with your review though. It's not fast but it does move, it handles great too. Solid ride!

[LeonOfTheDead]

Originally Posted by coolieman1220

It's not fast but it does move

During my time there, I had the feeling American drivers should reconsider their need of power on their cars. Thanks for remembering that.

[johnnynumfiv]

I'm jelly. Congrats dude. Does it have the autobahn package?
So far with my '06 GLI things have been great (knock on wood). It has 75,000 miles, I've put on 60k in the past 2 years. Only issues have been a/c compressor literally exploded into pieces at 25k miles (fixed under warranty) and intake flaps broke at around 35k miles (fixed under tsb). The wheel bearings and struts need to be done soon but thats pretty easy. I put slotted rotors and some decent tires on and even that made a huge difference. I'm also tempted to chip it but I'd rather do suspension on mine.

[RacingManiac]

My office co-worker's 2.0T Jetta had that AC issue too....

This car is basically the 2011 base model, the only option I got on it was the DSG and the car they did the dealer trade with came with the GTI "Monster" mat(basically hard rubber winter floor mat with GTI emblems, which is actually really nice as I was planning to get WeatherTech stuff). I wasn't planning to get any options to start so it suits me just fine(not a fan of the sunroof, and the concept of it...lol). I didn't like it though you basically only get to choose from 4 option package, and no a la carte options, I would've liked Xenon headlights...18" wheels were standard.....

I can see that lowering the car might look nicer, but the roads and the already stiff ride really would take a beating around here, and I am not relishing driving a lowered car in the poorly plowed MI road...I am considering getting more robust brake pads and changing the brake fluid to maybe make it a bit more autoX/track day ready, and might invest in a set of dedicated summer rubber(plus winter wheel tire when the time comes). New wheels may be in the cards but I did opt for the wheel/tire protection and I think that only covers stock wheels. Plus to get a decently light and strong wheel will be quite costly....

So far though, only money I've invested in aside from gas, is some car care supplies to tackle taking care of a black car....

[johnnynumfiv]

I got the monster mats aftermarket, def an improvement. I recommend ecstuning.com for anything oem and aftermarket for your car.

[ScionDriver]

Awesome car man. I hope it goes well for you. I am quite jealous as I want a GTI for my next car, so maybe keeping up with your will give me a peek into the owner experience. Premium gas is already kind of a turn off for me, since it's so damn expensive. I would have thought the GTI would get slightly better mileage, but it is what it is. Enjoy!

[RacingManiac]

From the other owners anyway(I frequent golfmk6.com) the mileage should improve as the car gets more miles on it...so I am hopeful in the long run....

Just ordered something useless, the front lip-spoiler that's missing from the US/Canadian model....

[Dino Scuderia]

What other cars did you consider and why did you end up with the Golf?

How was the buying experience?

The dealer nearest me and the new VW plant has a horrible reputation.

[RacingManiac]

Cars that were on the list were Mazda3, and Civic SI, though I really wanted to make use of our supplier discount and VW was the only one on that list that has it. I was looking at cars around 25k, thats sorta practical and sorta good on gas.

The dealer was ok, it is literally down the street from work and a few of my co-worker also bought from there and had decent experience. It was as straight forward as a non-American on working Visa buying cars in US can be....I am doing financing and I need to prove my employment term, visa term, credit history, and show that I resides in US. After that it was pretty simple. Got the terms I wanted and the car was delivered through a dealer trade from Ohio to Michigan a week later.

The newer Jetta and I guess the yet to be release Passat are the new VW made specifically for US, which significantly cheap out a lot of features. The GTI while still made in Germany I guess is still relatively cheap out vs the EU model. Though considering the car starts under $24k MSRP vs in UK I think is 24K pound sterling, we are paying quite a bit less....VS the Japanese the car is nicer appointed and feels more solid IMO on the road, equipment level is not that different. I really would like to try the new Focus but as its not out yet and the more interesting ST model(and probably more expensive) is more than a year out, this is not a bad buy I think. The term I ended with basically is just under 27k out the door.

[Ferrer]

Here it's 29.000€ or thereabouts but it has more equipment as standard. And a more powerful engine.