[vj123]

This is the ownership review about my 2019 Golf GTI Rabbit DSG. I bought this vehicle by end of August and have clocked 1800 miles so far.

I have been using tBHP for more than a decade and my membership was approved recently. Here is the link to my introduction thread - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intro...o-detroit.html (Hello from Detroit). This is my first ownership review in tBHP so I might not be going into the minute details.

My review has a lot of pictures and its split into 7 parts. Please use the below links if you are tired of scrolling down.

Part 1: Introduction and Buying
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/assem...tml#post467751

Part 2: Exterior
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/assem...ml#post4677558

Part 3: Interior - Driver & Front passenger
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/assem...ml#post4677627

Part 4: Interior - Rear passenger, Trunk and Details
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/assem...ml#post4677645

Part 5: Creature comforts and Features list
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/assem...ml#post4677656

Part 6: Performance, Usability and Overall
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/assem...ml#post4677659

Part 7: Mods planned and Maintenance
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/assem...ml#post4677981


Likes:
- Reliability
- Powertrain
- Driving dynamics
- 6 years or 72,000 miles People's warranty
- Discount from my dealer ($6680 off MSRP)
- Limited availability (Black Rabbit DSG was 1 out of 250 sold in US)

Dislikes:
- OEM tires
- Weak exhaust note
- Creep groan brake noise
- Fuel tank capacity (12 gallon approx)
- Soundaktor (artificial exhaust in the cabin)
- Lack of equipment even in higher trims (Auto dimming RVM, Memory seats)

Options considered:

We had a 2016 Golf GTI Autobahn DSG for 21 months in the past and clocked 26,500 miles. I sold the GTI in 2018 as we wanted a bigger vehicle for family needs and replaced it with a 2018 Dodge Durango RT.





I started missing my GTI big time as days passed and was looking forward to add another GTI which can be used as a second vehicle in the household. MK7 platform is one of the most reliable golf platform ever produced. It does have minor issues like sunroof leak & interior rattle and I wanted to buy one towards the end of this platform because of its reliability. I didn’t want to buy a MK8 as I didnt want to have too much technology in my vehicle which i have planned to keep for a long time. US gets Golf platform a year or two after European launch and my plan was to buy one towards the end of 2020 (MY21) when dealers are trying to clear their MK7.5 inventory. VW introduced People’s warranty with their MY2018 vehicles and it was one of the best warranties in the market. This was a marketing strategy to clean their image from Dieselgate in US market. There have been rumors among the community that VW would not continue this warranty for a long time as it was too good to be true.

Things started changing rapidly by end July when I saw a report that VW is replacing their existing People's warranty (6 years or 72,000 miles) with 4 years or 50,000 miles and 2 years of free maintenance for their MY2020 vehicles. I started contacting dealers on the same day to understand the deals currently being offered in the market.

With no other vehicles being considered, the only dilemma was the trim. I drove manuals all my life and my previous GTI was the first automatic i have ever owned. I did not consider a manual due to knee issues and also numerous stalling issues were being reported with 2019 GTI manuals. 2019 MY GTI had below trim options:

S was the base trim and it has few features (performance package, limited slip differential) as standard in MY2019. Some of those features were only available in higher trims in MYs prior to 2018. This trim gets plaid cloth seats (trademark for GTIs) and Austin style wheels.



Rabbit was a limited trim for MY2019 and had most of the options which I was looking for. Unlike Canada (which got unlimited number of Rabbits this year), only 3000 units were allocated to US. This trim came in four exterior colors - Urano Gray, Cornflower blue, Deep Black Pearl and Pure White. Urano Gray, Cornflower blue were exclusive for this trim with 1000 vehicles being allocated for each of these colors with an equal split between manuals and automatics. 500 black and 500 white vehicles were allocated with a similar split between manuals and automatics. This trim had plaid cloth seats and 18” black Pretoria wheels (which I had retro fitted on my previous GTI). Rabbit owners also get a special package from VW with some goodies.







SE trim gets bigger infotainment, leather seats and sunroof. Experience package was an option in this trim which adds DCC (Dynamic Chassis Control) and Fender audio. This trim gets Dallas aka Milton style wheels.



Autobahn was the top trim with all driver assist features. This trim looks similar to that of SE outside and i am not attaching a picture of it.

We ruled out S trim as it has halogen headlamps and came without DRL. These features might look insignificant on paper but changes the complete look of the vehicle. We didnt use many of the features in Autobahn trim (in our previous GTI) and we wanted to have a vehicle without much driver assist features. So Autobahn was out of the contention as well. Final options were Rabbit and SE with experience package. Rabbit trim was limited and had my favorite wheels. SE trim had all the options I was looking for, except the wheels. SE trim was around $3000 more than a Rabbit and I had to spend extra money on replacing the wheels as well. Considering the aforesaid factors, we zeroed in Rabbit trim.

Now comes the color options. We liked Urano Gray but dealers got these vehicles by early 2019 and there wasn’t anything available in the market by late summer. Cornflower blue was too bright for our liking. Black and white were the final contenders. Since we had white GTI with black wheels in the past, we wanted to get a black one this time. Rabbit trim would have a completely blacked out exterior look and would be similar to that of our Durango. Finally we chose Deep Black Pearl Rabbit DSG.

VWoA 2019 GTI press release - https://media.vw.com/en-us/press-kit...-gti-press-kit

Buying experience:

Based on my past experience and reports in Golf forums (where I am very active even after selling my GTI two years back), Washington DC area VW dealers offer one of the best deals in the country. I have been tracking listed GTI prices from two of those dealers from the end of last year. So I contacted those two dealers and also a couple more from the area, including the dealer who I bought my previous GTI from. My sales guy (who sold my 2016 GTI) is pretty straightforward and he gave me a quote which was at least $1000 lower than the other quotes which i got. Since dealers were running out of 2019 Rabbit trim vehicles, I had to act fast. My dealer didn’t have a 2019 Rabbit DSG in stock and he was willing to find a car for me from a different dealer.

After thinking about it for a couple of days, I placed a deposit and asked him to find a vehicle for me. Within a week he found a vehicle of my choice from a different dealer who was located in a nearby state. He told me that the vehicle would have close to 150 miles in the odometer as their porter had to drive it from the other dealer. I have had less than 20 miles on all of my brand new vehicles in the past and was a little skeptical about the extra miles driven by an unknown person. But I went ahead and asked him to get that vehicle as we were getting the trim and color of our choice. After receiving the confirmation, my sales guy got that particular vehicle to their dealership by first week of August.

Pricing information:

MSRP $31,375
Negotiated price $24,695
Document fee $799
Sales tax $1,883
Title and other fee $270
On road price $27,647
Total discount $6,680

Delivery experience:

So far, we have bought two brand new vehicles from Washington DC area dealers (8 hour drive from Michigan) because of their aggressive pricing and we always plan a good road trip while picking up the vehicle. We prefer taking inner roads and avoid interstate highways as much as we can during all on our road trips. Our baby boy was born early this year and this would be his first ever proper road trip.

We flew to Washington DC on 23-Aug evening and i scheduled the delivery by 24-Aug morning as soon as the dealership opened its doors. My sales guy was very happy and introduced me to his colleagues as a repeat customer from Michigan. I took the vehicle for a short spin before signing the paperwork. I had to finance the loan through the dealership for a higher APR to get their pricing. So my plan was to refinance the vehicle through my credit union as soon as i took delivery. While signing the paperwork, finance manager offered additional warranty and other stuff which i politely refused. I had asked my sales guy not to wash the vehicle and also not to drill holes for front license plate holder which he complied with. I had a pretty good understanding of the vehicle and my sales guy didnt waste my time on the delivery day.

Our plan was to start the journey back home on the same day. We had planned to break out journey mid way in Pittsburgh so that our baby boy would be comfortable during the road trip. While we were driving back, i got an email saying that my teamBHP membership was approved and it was a memorable day as a whole. Since i was not planning for a tBHP review, i did not take pictures during delivery.

Normal route:



Our route - day 1:



Our route - day 2:



As i had mentioned earlier, Rabbit owners get goodies (rabbit badge & decal and an ownership certificate) from VW. Below is the package which i received.



In the past, I have got numbers plates related to the respective vehicles (2013 Audi A4 - A4 plate, 2016 VW GTI - GTII plate, 2018 Dodge Durango RT - DDRT) and i have ordered GTTI plate for this one.



Pictures of my 2016 GTI.









Finally, some pictures of my 2019 GTI.

[vj123]

Exterior:

Golfs have evolved over time and MK7 platform got a refresh in MY2018. Personally, MK7.5 is one of the best looking Golfs ever built and i feel it has the right mix of classy and modern elements.

















GTI specific red strips and badges.







Painted front and rear calipers adds an extra oomph to the blacked out exterior.

[vj123]

Interior - Driver:

View once you open the driver door.





Steering wheel size is just perfect and flat bottom steering is a boon.



Plaid cloth seats is a trademark design from GTIs and it complements well with black exterior. Seat snugs the front passengers perfectly with right amount of bolstering.





Seat reclining is power assisted and other adjustments are manual.



MK7.5 in US still gets manual parking brake.



Center console is well laid out and buttons are slightly tilted towards the driver.



Controls in the door gives a solid feel. Window control knob has heated mirror switch as well.



Headlight switches / stalks and wiper stalks are very similar to other VWs.







Bottle holders accommodate medium and big size cups.



Storage in central console is pretty good size but not great.



Driver side visor gets vanity mirror and light.



Lights for front passengers.



Dead pedal is of good size.



Interior - Front passenger:

View once passenger door is opened.





Doors have good amount of storage.





Door inlays are simple yet classy. Place where you rest your arm (when the door is closed) has cloth material.



Seat adjustments are similar to that of the driver.



Passenger also gets vanity mirror and a light.

[vj123]

Interior - Rear passengers:

View with rear door opened.







Good amount of storage in door pockets.



AC vents for rear passengers.



Jacket hooks for rear passengers.



Lights for rear passengers.



Interior - Trunk:

Trunk is pretty spacious with good amount of cargo capacity.





Slots on either side of the trunk comes handy.





Trunk has cargo hook on either sides and also a 12 V power supply.



Spare tire and tools in trunk well.



Details:

Rabbit badge on front seats.





Red stitching all over the cabin.



Honeycomb design on steering wheel and door panel.

[vj123]

Creature comforts:

This trim do not get automatic climate control.



6.5" center infotainment is of good size and the screen is very responsive. SE and Autobahn trims get 8" infotainment without any buttons on the side.















Multi function display screen inbetween gauges can be controlled with buttons on the steering wheel.























Heated mirror control is integrated into window control switch.



Blind spot indicator integrated into ORVM.



Small but convenient storage for driver.



Center storage for front passengers with USB outlet.



Decent size glove box for passenger.



Sunglass holder for front passengers.



Key fob.





Window sticker with list of features:



Performance:
- 2.0L TSI 16 valve DOHC turbocharged 4 cylinder engine with direct fuel injection
- Front wheel drive
- Engine Stop Start System
- Four wheel independent sport suspension
- VAQ limited slip front differential lock
- Vented front & rear disc brakes with red brake calipers
- Electro-mechanical power steering with variable assistance

Safety:
- 3 point safety belts, all seating positions
- Advanced Airbag Protection System with 6 airbags
- Anti lock Braking System (ABS) with disc brakes
- Anti Slip Regulation (ASR) & Engine Brake Assist (EBA)
- Electronic Brake pressure Distribution (EBD) & Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA)
- Electronic Stability Control (ESC) & Electronic Differential Lock (EDL)
- Intelligent Crash Response System (ICRS)
- Lower Anchors & Tethers for CHildren (LATCH)
- Rear View Camera System
- Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)

Exterior:
- Automatic, LED headlights & LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL), LED taillights
- Adaptive Front lighting System (AFS)
- LED front fog lights with low speed cornering lights
- Heated, foldable, power adjustable side mirrors with integrated turn signals
- Rain-sensing, variable intermittent front wipers with heated washer nozzles
- Rear window washer & wiper
- GTI grille, bumpers, side skirts & trim; rear spoiler & chrome tipped dual exhaust
- Red GTI badges on grille, front fenders & rear hatch; GTI logo on front brake calipers

Rabbit edition:
- 18" gloss black alloy wheels with all season tires
- Black Vmax rear spoiler & black side mirror caps
- Cloth seating surfaces with Clark Plaid inserts & Rabbit Edition accents
- Rabbit Edition red stitched floor mats, front & rear

Interior:
- Manual climate control
- Leather wrapped, 3 spoke, multi function sport steering wheel with shift paddles
- Tilting & telescoping adjustable steering column
- Driver's seat: 6 way manual (including lumbar support) plus power recline
- Front pass. seat: 6 way manual (including lumbar support) plus power recline
- Heated front Sport seats
- Rear seat: 60/40 split-folding with armrest, storage & pass-through
- GTI interior with red accents & black headliner
- Front center console with cup holders, armrest & storage
- Ambient interior lighting, front footwell lights & illuminated vanity mirrors
- Carpeted cargo area with adjustable floor, retractable cover & 12V power port
- Stainless steel pedal cluster & illuminated GTI metal door sill scuff plates

Technology and Convenience:
- Forward Collision Warning & Autonomous Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Monitoring (Front Assist)
- Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Traffic Alert
- Cruise control
- Keyless access (doors & hatch) with push button start
- Compostion Color: 6.5" touchscreen AM/FM radio with USB input
- 6-speaker sound system
- Bluetooth® connectivity (for compatible devices)
- Color multi function display
- Washer fluid level indicator

Warranty:
- New vehicle warranty: 6 Years or 72,000 miles
- Limited Warranty against Corrosion Perforation: 7 years or 100,000 miles

24 hour Roadside assistance:
- 3 years or 36,000 miles

VW Car-Net:
- App-Connect (Smartphone Integration & Interface)

[vj123]

Performance:

2.0L TSI turbocharged engine (EA888) produces 228 horsepower & 250 pound-feet of torque with minimal or zero turbo lag. This engine has a lot of potential and people have modified it to produce twice the stock power by tuning and changing the internals. Personally, the engine has more than enough power and torque for a daily driver. This engine is also used by several other vehicles in the VAG (Audi A4, A5, Q5, & Skoda Octavia vRS). I had the same engine on my 2013 Audi A4 as well. Power delivery of this engine was a little sluggish in an A4 due to higher curb weight but the same engine in a lighter GTI is a blast for the driver.



DSG is one of the best transmissions out there and no one can ask for a better automatic in a vehicle of this price range. In fact, this transmission is one of the main reason I chose a GTI in 2016. Shifts are crisp, lightning quick and wants you to drive faster even during regular commutes. I drive in the manual mode and use paddles 90% of the time as stock TCU mapping is not driver oriented and tuned for better fuel economy. Paddles could be a little longer and i might add a paddle extension in the future. Mid cycle refresh in 2018 got the new 7 speed DSG which is perfect for highway cruising as well. I am glad that VW is offering such transmission on an economy vehicle in the market.







All GTI trims in 2019 get the same front brake package as Golf R and this was an option (part of performance package) for previous model years. Brake feel is pretty aggressive after the initial bite as this platform was mainly developed keeping EU customers in mind. Brake dust is a big issue but thanks to the black wheels. EU vehicles get rear electric park brake whereas US models still get manual parking brake. I am old school and prefer having manual park brake. I have tracked my previous GTI and it does see some brake fade during track use but its just perfect for day to day usage.

Stock tires are a big big let down in a GTI. Even though summer tires are an option, almost all vehicles in dealer inventory will be equipped with crappy all season tires. I have seen different tires (Bridgestone, Pirelli, Goodyear) equipped from the factory, but all of them are equally terrible. Someone in VW should have picked these grand touring all season tires keeping fuel economy and tire longevity in mind. Wheel spin is inevitable even when the roads are slightly wet. Most people in the forum replace their stock tires right after taking delivery and I will be doing the same by next month. I had two sets of wheels and tires for my previous GTI to tackle Michigan weather but I don’t see a similar need for my current GTI as we have another SUV to tackle snowstorms. But one has to have summer tires to exploit the full potential of this vehicle.



Ride and handling is slightly towards the stiffer side for a usual driver but personally, i feel it could be better for a performance hatch. There is quite a bit of body roll while taking corners. Swapping coils and swaybar is done by many people but i have not planned for this. Driver can choose different driving modes (comfort, sport and custom) using the button next to the gear shifter. This only changes throttle, steering response and artificial noise pumped into the cabin. If one chooses a vehicle DCC (dynamic chassis control) option, suspension height can be varied with these modes. DCC was a nice to have feature and wasn’t a deal breaker for me.



Usability:

I mainly use this vehicle for my daily office trips (40 miles round trip) and solo drives. Storage space is good for short family trips but it gets limited with a child seat and baby stroller in our present scenario. My previous GTI was the only vehicle in the household a couple of years back (we didnt have our baby at that time) and was just perfect for all our needs. Hatch offers great practicality and boot capacity by volume is more than its sedan counterpart (GLI).

I drive it in a sprinted manner most of the times and my overall mileage is between 26 to 28 mpg with mixed city & highway driving. My lowest mileage was around 24 mpg and the highest was 33 mpg.

Overall:

Ya its not perfect performance hatch and has minor issue, but GTI is one of the best vehicles you can buy for sub $30,000. There is a reason why its being praised by every other automotive journals and reports. You can understand how much I like this vehicle when I have bought my second one (both are even from the same platform) within a couple of years. I hope I can hold onto this vehicle as much as I can. If you are in the market for a vehicle within $30,000, i would recommend it hands down.

[vj123]

Mods planned:

Modding this platform is a complete blackhole - you can never stop, once you get into it. There are numerous choices for all major components in this platform and only money can be the limiting factor for most of us. My mod list on my previous GTI was pretty small. Major mods were exhaust, wheels & tires and i had several other minor mods.

I have planned to replace stock tires with ultra high performance all season tires - Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 next month. I had those tires on my previous vehicles and they are one of the best in the market. This line of Conti tires are compared with Michelin who are leading this segment.

I might also add an aftermarket turboback exhaust in the near future. I had AWE track exhaust on my previous GTI and was extremely happy about the product quality, exhaust note coupled with stock downpipe and customer service. So I will be installing the same exhaust sometime next year in this GTI as well.

Exhaust from my previous GTI:



Maintenance:

My previous GTI was pretty reliable over the 21 month time period of my ownership. In addition to regular maintenance, front headlamp was replaced as it had bad seal and this was covered under warranty. Other than this, i took the vehicle to replace fuel suction pump and seal around sunroof as a part of NHTSA recall campaigns. Based on the experience and reports in public forums, i am expecting this vehicle to be pretty reliable as well.

VW recommends oil change once a year or every 10,000 miles. But I prefer changing engine oil after first 1,000 miles and every 5,000 miles after that on all my vehicles.

Below is the invoice after my first oil change after 1,000 miles.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[kashif_baig]

Originally Posted by vj123

Mods planned:

Modding this platform is a complete blackhole - you can never stop, once you get into it. There are numerous choices for all major components in this platform and only money can be the limiting factor for most of us. My mod list on my previous GTI was pretty small. Major mods were exhaust, wheels & tires and i had several other minor mods.

I have planned to replace stock tires with ultra high performance all season tires - Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 next month. I had those tires on my previous vehicles and they are one of the best in the market. This line of Conti tires are compared with Michelin who are leading this segment.

I might also add an aftermarket turboback exhaust in the near future. I had AWE track exhaust on my previous GTI and was extremely happy about the product quality, exhaust note coupled with stock downpipe and customer service. So I will be installing the same exhaust sometime next year in this GTI as well.

Exhaust from my previous GTI:

Attachment 1925031

Maintenance:

My previous GTI was pretty reliable over the 21 month time period of my ownership. In addition to regular maintenance, front headlamp was replaced as it had bad seal and this was covered under warranty. Other than this, i took the vehicle to replace fuel suction pump and seal around sunroof as a part of NHTSA recall campaigns. Based on the experience and reports in public forums, i am expecting this vehicle to be pretty reliable as well.

VW recommends oil change once a year or every 10,000 miles. But I prefer changing engine oil after first 1,000 miles and every 5,000 miles after that on all my vehicles.

Below is the invoice after my first oil change after 1,000 miles.

Attachment 1925032

Attachment 1925033

That is a mean looking machine vj123. I would love to own it one day. The GTI is one of the all-time greats in my opinion. I've seen it humble much mightier cars because of it's handling - truly a classic.

[mobike008]

Vibin- That's a pretty detailed and exhaustive report of your GTI rabbit. Having seen it in person it's an awesome looking car and black exterior totally enhances it's visual appeal

220 horses in a hatchback would be a real pleasure to drive as I have almost similar horsepower in my SUV

It's wonderful to see that you flew all the way to DC to pick up the car. Kudos and keep updating the thread with your experiences

[vj123]

Originally Posted by kashif_baig

That is a mean looking machine vj123. I would love to own it one day. The GTI is one of the all-time greats in my opinion. I've seen it humble much mightier cars because of it's handling - truly a classic.

Thanks Kashif. Its just another hatch for a common man but the kinda potential this platform has is enormous. I wish i can keep this vehicle as long as i can and enjoy every mile with a huge smile.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Vibin- That's a pretty detailed and exhaustive report of your GTI rabbit. Having seen it in person it's an awesome looking car and black exterior totally enhances it's visual appeal

220 horses in a hatchback would be a real pleasure to drive as I have almost similar horsepower in my SUV

It's wonderful to see that you flew all the way to DC to pick up the car. Kudos and keep updating the thread with your experiences

Thanks Avinash. Its truly a performance hatch and i wish i can share my journey with the community as long as i own it.

[azeemhafiz]

Originally Posted by vj123

Mods planned:

Modding this platform is a complete blackhole - you can never stop, once you get into it. There are numerous choices for all major components in this platform and only money can be the limiting factor for most of us. My mod list on my previous GTI was pretty small. Major mods were exhaust, wheels & tires and i had several other minor mods.

Congratulations on the GTI! Absolutely love the car.

I would definitely add an APR stage 1 tune to the list. The difference post remap is simply outstanding, almost leads me to believe that the engine was purposely detuned.

However, I would throw some caution to this as well. I had to get my engine replaced and fortunately the tune was not inspected / detected. I did have to take the car into APR dealer to get it flashed back to stock before going to VW dealership with the issue though.

Wishing you many many exciting miles with the GTI

[vj123]

Originally Posted by azeemhafiz

Congratulations on the GTI! Absolutely love the car.

I would definitely add an APR stage 1 tune to the list. The difference post remap is simply outstanding, almost leads me to believe that the engine was purposely detuned.

However, I would throw some caution to this as well. I had to get my engine replaced and fortunately the tune was not inspected / detected. I did have to take the car into APR dealer to get it flashed back to stock before going to VW dealership with the issue though.

Wishing you many many exciting miles with the GTI

Thank you and its nice to meet a fellow GTI owner here.

Any tune will elevate this platform to a different level and no second thoughts on that. Even though people are extracting lots of power from MK7 platform, i have not planned for any ECU or TCU tune. Dealers can connect the vehicle to VW's database anytime when you go in for a visit (even when its not a warranty issue) and VW's system can detect any tune in the vehicle even if its is reverted back to stock. Once this happens, that particular vehicle will have a TD1 flag attached to it forever and VW will deny any powertrain related warranty claims. I am not sure when you replaced your engine but this has become a norm in the past couple of years. People's warranty was one of the main reason i got this vehicle and i dont want to void it at any cost.

Burger tuning offers plug in JB1 and JB 4 tune options which can be removed anytime. This cannot be be identified by VW's system but i dont see a need for it now.

[azeemhafiz]

Originally Posted by vj123

Thank you and its nice to meet a fellow GTI owner here.

Any tune will elevate this platform to a different level and no second thoughts on that. Even though people are extracting lots of power from MK7 platform, i have not planned for any ECU or TCU tune. Dealers can connect the vehicle to VW's database anytime when you go in for a visit (even when its not a warranty issue) and VW's system can detect any tune in the vehicle even if its is reverted back to stock. Once this happens, that particular vehicle will have a TD1 flag attached to it forever and VW will deny any powertrain related warranty claims. I am not sure when you replaced your engine but this has become a norm in the past couple of years. People's warranty was one of the main reason i got this vehicle and i dont want to void it at any cost.

Burger tuning offers plug in JB1 and JB 4 tune options which can be removed anytime. This cannot be be identified by VW's system but i dont see a need for it now.

That makes sense, I got my MK7 GTI back in 2014 and blew my engine in 2016. The issue was becoming increasingly common back then and it makes sense that VW put the new process in place.

I had leased mine and I returned it back in 2017. I fondly look back to the wonderful 3 years and about 46K miles I'd put on it. Lovely, lovely machine. Ever since the new MK8 photos were released, I miss my MK7 more.

[vj123]

Originally Posted by azeemhafiz

That makes sense, I got my MK7 GTI back in 2014 and blew my engine in 2016. The issue was becoming increasingly common back then and it makes sense that VW put the new process in place.

I had leased mine and I returned it back in 2017. I fondly look back to the wonderful 3 years and about 46K miles I'd put on it. Lovely, lovely machine. Ever since the new MK8 photos were released, I miss my MK7 more.

Yeah, it might have been possible before but VW is extra cautions about tunes and warranty claims as people are exploiting the real potential of these vehicles. Audi and VW have rejected warranty claims of their CPO vehicles which were even sold as TD1 flag free vehicles by their own dealers. Current vehicle owners are facing the heat as their dealers didnt do their diligence before certifying those vehicles.

I am happy that my bet to buy a MK7.5 before MK8 reveal has paid off. Even thought MK8 will be a step forward, it will have too much technology and thats not my cup of tea.

After owning a GTI, i understand why it has such a loyal customer and fan base including both of us.