Topic: The Quick and the Dad: 2013 Volkswagen GTI

[Autos_Editor]

The perfect machine for the chronically impatient.

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[GTeye]

I'm glad the article mentioned the issues Volkswagens can have with.
I owned a brand new 2011 GTi that was full of issues. These issues were common with other GTi owners as well.
- Hood release broke (couldn't open hood)
- Hood insulation fell off
- Passenger door didn't seal properly (loud whistling on highway) This was never fixed
- Complete ECU failure
- Intake runner failure (new intake manifold required)

I didn't even have the car for a year. 
Everything was fixed under warranty but it was quite an inconvenience when the dealer had it for days and I was left with a crap rental. This was my first brand new car, too.

Once I decided to get rid of it I tried different cars to compare...nothing really drove like the GTi did...so I bought a 2012 :/

This one has been pretty good. Nothing electrical has occurred (knock on wood) and I'm quite happy with it. Only a few warranty claims so far:
- Bluetooth autoplay issue (fixed)
- Air vent in dash popped out (fixed)
- Windshield replaced (had weird warp in it)

[dougjp]

A silver GTi? I don't think so. For years now (5 or 6?) the only colours available in Canada have been white, red, black and very-close-to-black (called Carbon Steel Grey). They could easily dispense with one of the last two and sell the same number of GTi's.

Too bad about the lack of colour choice, the car was high on my list of new car purchases, twice over the past 4 years. However in the end, it dropped off primarily because of this reason. 

[quadzilla]

Nice review.

Excellent, as this car is about as Dad-spec as you can get. Four doors? Check. Spacious trunk? Check. Rear seats big enough to handle the rear-facing child seat? Check. Dual-clutch gearbox to handle the dreary stop-and-go commute? Check.

I don't think many people would ever call that trunk spacious. 

On slick streets, the pocket hatch has a tendency to spin the tires coming off the line, but both in the dry and the wet, there’s plenty of cornering grip. In normal mode, the six-speed tranny shifts up quickly for efficiency’s sake, but as there’s so much lag-free torque, it’s not really a performance-hindering factor.

Have to love high tq from FWD.  One thing the car needs is a much sticker tire.

I'm still in love with my MKV GTI and can wait to see the MKVII Golf R come here before thinking about a replacement.

[tpl]

while there will probably be a slight softening of the car for North American tastes,

Those North Americans who want the GTI "softened" should have their hearts cut out with obsidian knives and then eaten raw in front of them.

There is plenty of room in the Golf line for soft and medium, lets leave the GTI as a proper Euro car please.

[carcrazed]

I wouldn't personally call that a spacious trunk space.  Plus, either the driver or passenger would have to be very short to be able to fit that rear facing car seat on either side with LATCH.  (I noticed the one in the pic was secured by regular seatbelt.)

VW should make a Golf Wagon sized GTI 

[drive67]

while there will probably be a slight softening of the car for North American tastes,

Those North Americans who want the GTI "softened" should have their hearts cut out with obsidian knives and then eaten raw in front of them.

There is plenty of room in the Golf line for soft and medium, lets leave the GTI as a proper Euro car please.

I hate when I hear that North Americans want a soft ride where do they get the information from. I want my manual transmission with road feel no marshmallow American car for me. VW is 30% in the States if I get one I'll be importing. When we have free trade with Europe  I hope we will be able import auto's.

[Brendan McAleer]

VW should make a Golf Wagon sized GTI 

This times eleventy billion.

FWIW, "spacious" is perhaps stretching it a bit, let's say "usable". Some competitor figures below:

2013 VW GTI - 410L
2013 Subaru WRX 5dr - 538L
2013 Mazdaspeed3 - 481L
2014 Focus ST - 673L

That's weird. I remember it being a real pain to get the stroller into the ST, but it fit in the GTI no problem.

[redman]

This car still is the benchmark as far as styling IMO for a sporty hatch. Hard to put a finger on it, but it looks much better in person.
Hopefully the 2015 will address reliability concerns. The larger 2015 vehicle looks updated while still maintaining the essence of the Golf/GTI.

[jyarkony]

VW should make a Golf Wagon sized GTI 

This times eleventy billion.

FWIW, "spacious" is perhaps stretching it a bit, let's say "usable". Some competitor figures below:

2013 VW GTI - 410L
2013 Subaru WRX 5dr - 538L
2013 Mazdaspeed3 - 481L
2014 Focus ST - 673L

That's weird. I remember it being a real pain to get the stroller into the ST, but it fit in the GTI no problem.

there is definitely something fishy with the Focus ST trunk measures - i remember that from TestFest last year - it simply does not look like the number they are claiming - must be because they measure to the roof while others to the window. Focus hatchback trunk is a big disappointment. GTI is fine for a compact hatch. Some American sites have the Focus at almost double the GTI... no way.

I got my Jetta 1.8T wagon exactly because I thought of it as a GTI wagon - a shame i couldn't find one with a manual, but these aren't that common so i grabbed the one i could get. man i hate that automatic transmission.

Who's got those CR ratings for cargo capacity?

[tpl]

I wouldn't personally call that a spacious trunk space.  Plus, either the driver or passenger would have to be very short to be able to fit that rear facing car seat on either side with LATCH.  (I noticed the one in the pic was secured by regular seatbelt.)

VW should make a Golf Wagon sized GTI 

If the Golf wagon has the IRS then I bet that it would be only a 12 hour job to change the powertrain over from a GTI.   A bit more to move the instrument panel and you'd probably need some fiddling for the ECU and the other computers to talk to each other.

[JRM]

I love the GTI, but ended up getting the Golf wagon for it's superior versatility.  I really like the wagon, but would like it even more if it had the GTI power train, even if it isn't as reliable as the 2.5 5.

[Sammy70]

The last sentence in the review is why I'd probably pick up one of the current Golfs, GTI or otherwise, before they are replaced by the totally new, Mexican built, design next year. The current Golf has proved reliable, as indicated by CR and others, and I don't want to take my chances with an unproven VW model just to get marginal improvements in handling and interior design.

[Northernridge]

I'm glad the article mentioned the issues Volkswagens can have with.
I owned a brand new 2011 GTi that was full of issues. These issues were common with other GTi owners as well.
- Hood release broke (couldn't open hood)
- Hood insulation fell off
- Passenger door didn't seal properly (loud whistling on highway) This was never fixed
- Complete ECU failure
- Intake runner failure (new intake manifold required)

I didn't even have the car for a year. 
Everything was fixed under warranty but it was quite an inconvenience when the dealer had it for days and I was left with a crap rental. This was my first brand new car, too.

Once I decided to get rid of it I tried different cars to compare...nothing really drove like the GTi did...so I bought a 2012 :/

This one has been pretty good. Nothing electrical has occurred (knock on wood) and I'm quite happy with it. Only a few warranty claims so far:
- Bluetooth autoplay issue (fixed)
- Air vent in dash popped out (fixed)
- Windshield replaced (had weird warp in it)

Oh, so you got a good one then? 

[Ace]

Surely you jest! Only an dolt would consider chipping a new GTI with only the "slightly alarming consequence of VOIDING your warranty, at least for your drive train".

[JRM]

The last sentence in the review is why I'd probably pick up one of the current Golfs, GTI or otherwise, before they are replaced by the totally new, Mexican built, design next year. The current Golf has proved reliable, as indicated by CR and others, and I don't want to take my chances with an unproven VW model just to get marginal improvements in handling and interior design.

My 2010 Golf wagon was built in Mexico with the same parts and pieces as the Golf's built in Germany, I would assume.  It has never had a warranty claim in 3.5 years and 50,000 kms and is still as solid as new.  Three annual services and that's it. 

[Sammy70]

The last sentence in the review is why I'd probably pick up one of the current Golfs, GTI or otherwise, before they are replaced by the totally new, Mexican built, design next year. The current Golf has proved reliable, as indicated by CR and others, and I don't want to take my chances with an unproven VW model just to get marginal improvements in handling and interior design.

My 2010 Golf wagon was built in Mexico with the same parts and pieces as the Golf's built in Germany, I would assume.  It has never had a warranty claim in 3.5 years and 50,000 kms and is still as solid as new.  Three annual services and that's it.

I'm sure your Mexican-built Golf is fine, but I'm also sure that most buyers would prefer a German-built Golf if given a choice (I believe all current Golf hatchbacks are built in Germany). Besides, your Golf was already a proven design by 2010, so any initial issues it may have had were probably addressed by then. The 2015 Golf is both a brand new design and is built in Mexico, which are two causes for concern imo. I would only buy that car at least a couple of years into its lifecycle, that is if I can't pick up one of the current Golfs, which would be the preferable choice for me.

Finally, I'm not crazy about the exterior design changes they made to the 2015 Golf; I know there's only so much you can do to the iconic boxy design of the Golf, but the front and back ends of the current model are more appealing to my eyes. I haven't seen the car in the metal, though, so that may change when I do.

[tpl]

^^ The 2015 Golf has been on sale in the EU for over a year now.   It is completely new from the floor plan up. Some of the engines are holdovers.

[dirtyjeffer]

the "where its made" is most irrelevant nowadays...cars aren't hand made any more (at least the ones we are talking about) and are assembled mostly by various automation systems/robots...an ABB robot, whether located in Canada, USA, Mexico or Germany performs its task the same.

where differences can be is what the manufacturer does for a specific model...for example, let's say that Golfs made in Mexico are the regular model with the 2.slow engine and Golfs made in Germany are the higher end GTi models...people may say the fit and finish, performance and overall car is better on the ones in Germany...of course it is, it is the higher end model that isn't "built to a price" like the "Golf City" was...as well, some of the base models may actually have less complicated systems in them, so some may find the City Golf more reliable than their German made GTi simply due to the more complex systems and advanced features in the GTi (hence the FGC comments).

[Sammy70]

the "where its made" is most irrelevant nowadays...

Not really; the Jetta and the Golf have always been identical under the skin (with some exceptions like the current Jetta which is larger and uses the ancient 2.0 engine in its base version), yet the Jetta, which is made has is made in Mexico, consistently scores lower than the Golf, which is made in Germany, in CR reliability ratings, for example. Shouldn't be the case since the two cars basically use the same components under the skin, but the difference does exist, at least according to CR. Maybe some of those components are sourced from Mexican suppliers for the cars built in Mexico, which may not be of the same quality as the German-sourced ones, who knows, but what I do know is that I'd have more peace of mind buying the German-built car.