I may very well be walking to work tomorrow, but I just couldn't stand it any longer - the winter tires had to come off!
The weather wasn't too bad this afternoon, so I managed to get the summer rubber on the car and take it out for the first spirited drive since I picked it up almost a week ago. All I can say is - wow!
While the Civic was plenty fast on a twisty road, it always made you work to maintain your momentum. In contrast, the GTI is just effortlessly fast. It almost doesn't matter what gear you're in - there's plenty of torque on tap everywhere. And I was pleasantly surprised by the XDS system: without being overly intrusive, it really does pull the nose of the car into the turn.
All the controls are quite light - maybe too light - but that seems in keeping with the easy character of the car. The brake pedal is soft, and has quite a bit of travel, but once you get used to it, the brakes themselves have plenty of bite. And the pedals are perfectly spaced for heel and toeing.
Until I can keep the car clean for some proper pictures, here's a few more snaps:
And, yes, I am pretty lucky to have some decent roads around here. This road on my nav screen isn't quite the Passo del Stelvio, but it is only twenty minutes from my front door:
