2010 Volkswagen GTI: What's It Like to Live With?
Read the latest updates in our long-term road test of the 2010 Volkswagen GTI as our editors live with this car for a year.
When we posted our intro of the long-term GTI there was a chorus of comments saying we should chip the thing for more power. It's cheap, it's easy and totally reversible. What could go wrong?
Well, I'm sure nothing would go wrong, but after driving it for a couple of days I'm not so sure it needs more power. Actually, let me qualify that, I don't think it needs more power right now.
This engine already delivers enough power to get the wheels spinning for traction. It's good fun around town, but I suspect that a quick run on a twisty road would expose the GTI's handling limits way before any lack of power.
So yes, more power would be nice, but if I were going to spend my money on upgrades I would probably start with a tighter suspension setup first.
I climbed into our 2010 Volkswagen GTI for the first time last week. Right off the bat, I'm a big fan of the seats. My fit in the driver seat is snug and supportive. At 6'2" my lanky frame is reliant on tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustments to find the proper seating position. There aren't many fore-aft options with the manual seat adjustor here. But thanks to the tilt/tele wheel there are plenty enough for me to find that sweet spot. Great seating.
Then there are the seat heaters. I could usually care less about these. In my experience it's always the same story: Enough warmth on my back means too much on my backside. But this time it's different. The GTI seatback heats up plenty without burning a hole through my pants. And it ranges nearly three-quarters of the way up the seatback. None of that heat my belt loops only nonsense.
What could use work? I prefer more lumbar support. This manual lumbar pillow isn't quite enough. But the seat heaters are so kickass that I can forgive the lumbar. Wow. I've definitely never been this excited about such a basic feature before. Sometimes little things go a long way. GTI gets a thumbs up from me so far. And I haven't even left my parking space yet.
I was driving our 2010 Volkswagen GTI into the office and caught this guy driving in traffic beside me on the freeway. Looks a heck of a lot like the 550i Gran Turismo we tested last month. Why is it still wearing the camoflauge? We couldn't tell you. But in my opinion it isn't much more attractive with the camo off. What do you think?
As someone who spent 12 years of her life forced to wear a Catholic school uniform, I'm not a fan of plaid. Just saying.
There are a lot of things to like about our long-term GTI. This time around, I'll call out the Vee-dub's wonderful steering wheel. (Are you listening, Camaro designers?)
On appearances alone, it's a pretty sporty wheel. The shape of the wheel is just about perfect for my tastes - sculpted with indents for my thumbs and bulges that fill my palm for a positive grip. Whether or not it's wrapped in real leather or not, the material feels great, and the red stitching adds to the look and feel.
I'm usually a harsh critic of flat-bottomed wheels (they belong in very tight racecar cockpits with super-quick ratios), but this one doesn't bother me too much. Probably because it's not as pronounced as other examples (Audi R8) that interrupt an otherwise smooth return to center as it slides through my hands.
The buttons are well-placed, look good and have a solid and positive feel when pushed. The metal accents add an extra little panache, too. Now, if only the steering effort and feedback were as good as the wheel.
Here's a problem my 5-foot, 4-inch wife ran into (literally) with the GTI today. With the seat adjusted properly for the rest of her body, her knees hit the steering column. The issue, she says, is that the seat bottom is lower at the back than at the front and isn't adjustable for angle. Naturally, she sits high and forward to properly reach the pedals and wheel.
She doesn't drive in those shoes. Relax.
I have more crap than I could ever imagine stuffed away in a Public Storage. I don't need to spend that extra $75 bucks a month to hold stuff I should just probably give/throw away. It was time to tighten the monthly budget belt and move all the boxes out.
The only problem was, I had the GTI for the weekend. Time to drop the seats and pack it deep. Cargo limitations were cursed multiple times in French. I was completely worn out after a few trips back and forth between the house, or rather my garage, and the PS. Now my garage is nearly unusable as it's backed-up and non-functioning.
Yes, the Ram would have been a lot better for this, but beggars can't be choosers. The tougher thing to motivate is going to be my lady and her stuff for a garage clearing yard sale. Any takers on a partially chewed on My Little Pony collection?
Most of the blog entries so far discussing our 2010 Volkswagen GTI have revolved around interior bits — the wheel, the seats and their position and plaidness — and other functional elements. This is not because we're wowed by the interior (though it is very nice) it's because dynamically, the GTI just isn't any fun. The graph above explains quite clearly. (MS3 is our 2010 MazdaSpeed 3.)
The steering is numb. The engine makes great noises but never feels energetic. The clutch and shifter are damped by at least 15 inches of yogurt. The ESP can't be turned off and lays the smack down as soon as you get on a twisty road.
No doubt this is a great value for money. The GTI is a solid, well priced car. It's just not any fun.
Ok, this might seem like part three of "Hot Hatch Not Found" but I got the keys to the GTI last night after Oldham saw I had the keys to a test car he wanted to take a spin it. I drove the GTI home and back and I have an opinion to weigh in on the discussion.
Yes, the clutch is vague, the shifter isn't positive and the suspension is soft. But you know what? I frankly don't care. I don't think you need a hatch to be hardcore to be fun. I do drive in traffic. I do have a regular Joe life outside of this office. I make runs to Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond (if I have time). I can't think of a time when I've actually wanted to take my car out to a track for weekend racing. Those people are the rarity and honestly I don't know if they'd have a stock car anyways. The GTI is for the everyday person.
What do you say? I'm soft? So what! Yeah, I'm middle aged and unapologetic about it. I appreciate the comfort the GTI offers after a grueling day of work while going though 12 miles of I-405 traffic. My shin wasn't killing me from a stiff sport clutch and the slow speed rough bumps were softened by the cushy suspension. But, on the flip side, I drove in late to work today. No traffic.
I was blip shifting like a mother trucker. I had the windows down to soak in the beautiful Spring weather we've got here in LA and I was loving the whistle of the turbo as I screamed down the road. It's quick, maybe not lightening quick, but I was swooping through the light traffic noon time West LA has to offer. The turbo spools up quick from the red light for fun launches and the broad power curve keeps the freeways interesting. Once I got near my office it felt like my Mr. Hyde turned back into Dr. Jekyll as I comfortably drove down Olympic Blvd.
As it was pointed out to me, the GTI is more mature in comparison the the Mazda Mazdaspeed3. Listen, I'm 38. I'm officially mature myself. This car, for ME, is a blast to drive. I don't need the bugs in my teeth or the caché of some high end brand to tell me I'm having fun. It's comfortable for my normal life, and capable when the congested streets of LA are open. Any time the keys are available to this gem, game on.
The more I drive this GTI the more I'm impressed by its relatively affordable price. For $25K, this is about as much car as one could expect. It's well built, has great seats, more than enough power and the kind of detailing you rarely find in this price range.
Take this steering wheel badge for instance. It's made of actual metal. Looks good and let's face it, if you're going to spend a little money on trim why not spend it on something that's right in the owner's face?
Obviously, the fact that VW made this piece of trim out of metal doesn't make this a better car. It's just another example of the detail work that went into its design and execution. Would love to see more $25K cars with this level of detail work.
I'm not usually a fan of finger-tip shifters. You know the type, so light through the gates that you feel like you could rip the thing right off with one forceful yank of the lever. That kind of delicacy usually doesn't feel right, but not in this GTI.
In this car, the light shift action feels nearly perfect. Quick from gate to gate, notchy on the way into gear and not so delicate that you feel the need to be gentle. The fact that it's matched to one of the best four-cylinders around doesn't hurt either. Together, they make ripping around in this GTI as much fun as anything else in the fleet. I think Jordan may have been on to something with his whole M3 comparison.
The Volkswagen GTI is shockingly good. It's one of those cars that has you grinning before you're 500 yards out of the Edmunds.com parking garage, and that's impressive considering you're still slogging through Santa Monica traffic at that point. Get it on an open freeway or twisty stretch of road and other drivers probably wonder why the guy in the GTI has that stupid smile plastered on his face.
Unless said guy is trying to operate the GTI's various center-stack controls with a quick glance in-between heel-and-toe downshifts, because that is frustratingly impossible.
Germans have a history of using weird icons and pictographs for their interior controls, but I've gotten used to that. What had me grinding my teeth during my recent GTI seat time was how long it took me to figure out the climate dials.
I simply needed cooler air coming out of the dash vents. Spotting the temperature control dial was relativley easy, though the tempertaure numbers are small and only legible because it's the closest of the three dials. Then there's the fan speed. Simple logic suggests turing it clockwise ups the amont of blow you get, even if the actual speed numbers are similarly diminutive.
But the ventilation control? That's an ergonomic train wreck. I took the above photo at both a lower and shallower angle to the climate control dials (than my eyes' location when driving) because I wanted the markings to at least be legible, and even in this photo it's clear how hard the right dial's markers are to read. You can't even see the right side setting for this dial (which, as it happens, is the dashboard setting I was searching for).
After spending more time scanning the dials than the road ahead I finally waited until I had stopped at a red light, then I bent down and swung my head around to get directly in front of the controls. "Oh, there it is!"
As someone with recent lasik surgery and better than 20/20 vision I'm not used to basic controls with unreadable markings. And it's not like there isn't more real estate available. Look at the three top buttons in this photo. The icons are only using about 20 percent of the total area.
I know VW likes to think of itself as a young-and-hip company making young-and-hip products for young-and-hip buyers, but in this case they could learn a lesson from Buick.
The MkVI Volkswagen GTI has been floated as a possible family car of my future, so each drive in our long-termer takes on extra significance, because I think about how it might be to spend 5 years with this car (or more likely, the 5-door version). I don't think it would be that bad.
But I'm not taken with the flat-bottom steering wheel in the GTI. I know, the previous-generation GTI had one, too. But we never had that car in our long-term test fleet. And honestly, though I like the look of the steering wheel, the flat side ends up being a minor annoyance in everyday life.
I'm a 9-and-3 person. I'm also a shuffle-steer person, meaning I adjust my hand position at about the point when my arms started to get crossed up. And the steering ratio in the 2010 GTI is such that someone like myself needs to shuffle during ordinary left turns — the sharper ones anyway.
I don't like it when my 3 o'clock hand ends up gripping the flat part. It's a reminder that, hey, this isn't a racecar, and that flat-bottom wheels only belong in racecars with steering ratios quick enough that you never turn the wheel more than 90 degrees (give or take a few degrees) in either direction.
Thanks to stpawyfrmdonut for this week's favorite caption.
Here are the others that made us reel:
Swing your car rear round and round! (ergsum)
All the right moooves. (technetium99)
At a hoedown, the GTI is farfromgrovin'. (ampim)
Unpimp My Ride with a Hoedown (ergsum)
*Coming Soon* Heel 'n Toe FRI (ampim)
Unpimp ze hoedown. (technetium99)
A VW? Here? Udderly ridiculous. (thegraduate)
Redline dancing (stpawyfrmdonut)
VW 2 step: heel and toe (stpawyfrmdonut)
Saturday Night Hay Fever (ergsum)
Udderly great to drive. (sherief)
Lets go GTI tipping. (chirsch3)
GTI'r Done (gregnv)
TGIF (drfr3d)
Das Boot skuten boogie. (technetium99)
GTI-up! (actualsize)
Bahn Dancing (actualsize)
Rhinestone Cowboy! (thedarkhorse)
What was your favorite?
Howdy folks,
Vehicle Testing Manager Mike Schmidt sent me this photo of our VW GTI a hop, skip and a jump from here.
We suggest: Sashays from 0-60 in a do-si-do
I'm sure you can do better. For a closer look at the sign, click the thumbnail below.
We'll call the winner this afternoon.
As you can see, there's not a whole lot of room to store stuff in our GTI's center console. The iPod adapter takes up most of the space, leaving just enough room for perhaps a box of Tic Tacs. More importantly, there's no power point here. There's just one up front in the center stack, so if you want to plug in two devices (say, your cell phone and a radar detector) you're out of luck. There is a power point in the rear cargo area, but that's obviously not very convenient for most items.
In case you missed it, there was a bit of hubbub over our track testing of the GTI last week. But I was curious to find out for myself how much the GTI could move the fun needle on an enthusiastic drive. So hopped in this morning and drove the same curving route I had done late last year in the Mazdaspeed 3.
Not surprisingly, the GTI isn't as capable. If I was really going at it, the soft suspension tuning resulted in a lot of body roll in quick transitions, and a general sense of squishi-ness (there's a technical term for you) sapped my confidence to keep pressing on. This is not the Bruce Lee of hot hatches, it's more like the Chris Farley version doing karate.
But you know, this really doesn't bother me much. The GTI is still plenty fun to drive if you've backed off to 7/10s or so. The steering is decent enough, the brake pedal has a good feel to it and the 2.0-liter turbo-4 pulls hard. The GTI sounds better than the MS3 does, too. Considering that the GTI also has the better interior, ride quality and exterior looks, it would be my pick if I had to choose between the two cars to use as my daily driver.
You would think that being a premium car the GTI would have a hook to hang the fuel cap. But it doesn't. So instead you have to let the cap hang loosely against the paint while fueling up. That's disappointing.
UPDATE: Some commenters have pointed out that I'm wrong and that the fuel cap can be rested atop the fuel door. I must admit that it didn't occur to me to try this. Assume that while the "testers for IL must be the dumbest group ever" comment is certainly hyperbole, it very well applies to me in this case. You'll find a photo of the correct fuel cap placement below.
"I can't ride in that," my daughter said when I picked her up from school on Friday.
"Why not?," I asked impatiently.
"Because I'm wearing stripes!," she protested.
"Get in the car," I said. "Now."
Aside from her concern about the VW GTI's plaid interior clashing with her outfit, Emma and I agree that the GTI has the perfect seats for both of us — me in the front and her in the back. Sure, she's not thrilled about climbing into the back of a coupe, but once she's in, she says the seat feels like it was made for her.
I feel the same about the driver's seat. It feels like a custom fit — not too wide, not too short, perfect level of support and side bolstering.
I may have overlooked the ultra seat comfort if I hadn't just driven a Lexus LS 460 the night before. As nice a cabin as the Lexus offers, I never really got comfortable.
Couple of seat covers (and maybe two more doors) and the GTI could be my next car.
GTI! Right on! Shifts at redline at every opportunity! Burnout! Or not, if you heed the advice of Volkswagen. If you're driving a manual-equipped 2010 GTI and you follow the shift indicator, you'll be in top (sixth) gear by — ahem — 38 mph. Obviously, VW is going for maximize fuel economy here with shifts at about 2,000 rpm. Thankfully, there's plenty of torque at low rpm from the direct-injected turbo-4. No boggy turbo lag here.
I've got a video of the upshift indicator in action on our long-term car.
My apologies on the video being a bit bouncy. I had to rest the camera atop the steering wheel. But it got the job done.
Just look at this headlight and all its fine detailing. You've got the little logo there and all sorts of carefully constructed reflectors that look good whether the light is on or off. Clearly someone thought long and hard about this.
So then, why is it that the GTI doesn't have automatic headlights? I mean, all that effort and they couldn't figure out a way to price in a knob with an extra detent for the ol' "A" option. Seems like an odd oversight for a car that has so many details right.
Our long-term 2010 VW GTI has — like all VW/Audi non-smart keys — a switchblade key. These were real cute when they first came out. The supposed benefit was that it wouldn't ruin the pockets of your trousers. But that's hardly true, because like most auto keys today, it's internal cut — no sharp edges.
Also, VW's design has the key 90 degrees off-axis from the fob, so turning it is slightly awkward: there's a bit less leverage. And the key keeps inadvertantly deploying — it defeats the whole purpose.
Yeah, the VW fanboys loved it because they could play Sharks & The Jets from West Side Story.
Hit the jump for a nice version of the movie trailer in HD.
Enough debate about the GTI's handling and its questionable track numbers, lets get down to the important stuff. That's right BTU fans, I'm talkin' 'bout the VeeDub's seat heaters.
And lets face it, Volkswagen does seat heaters right. Always has. And the GTI's are near perfection. Three levels. Quick warm up. Nice even heat distribution from the back of your knees all the way up to your tippy top of your shoulder blades.
Bottom line: Even the most demanding seat heater enthusiast (my wife) would give them an A+.
That is all.
My typical commute streches 30 miles and ranges anywhere from 1 hour to 2-plus hours. It can be a real grind. This morning I completed the trek in our 2010 Volkswagen GTI and the hour-and-a-quarter flew right by.
Let's get right to it. The GTI is good in traffic. Comfortable seats and satellite radio are obvious reasons. But the real standout for me is the clutch. Its pedal action is light with a clear, progressive engagement point. This combination allows for impeccably smooth shifts into first gear. And if you want to break up the monotony of stop-and-go, start in second gear. It's just as easy.
Manual transmissions quickly lose their appeal in traffic. But the GTI is different. I survived the commute this morning with my sanity intact. I'd trust the VW to grant me the same patience tomorrow. If forced to face rush hour with any manual in our fleet, I would choose the GTI every time. If given the option, I would curl up under my desk and sleep until traffic lightened up.
Our long-term 2010 VW GTI has easy to fold rear seats like most hatchbacks with an easy to access seat release.
But VW adds an easy way to verify that the rear seats are — to borrow a phrase from your flight attendant — in an upright and locked position. There's a small tab with a red indicator that protrudes when the seat isn't locked. This could be important if you have children riding in the rear seats. The photo below shows the seat locked and the tab retracted.
Nice. And simple too.
I got more flak about the Mazda Mazdaspeed3 interior post I did a few days ago than I expected. On the suggestion of reader chirsch3, I got into our GTI to give the interior a fresh look.
Fair disclosure, I think it's safe to say I have a soft spot for plaid. I grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains and plaid flannel shirts were a staple. Yes, that was way before Smells Like Teen Spirit. It also reminds me of a real cool punk rock girlfriend I had back up in the Bay Area many years ago.
I like the plaid interior of the GTI. I think it's cool.
Herald the onslaught of rotten tomatoes and putrescence. Yeah! Bring it on!
I usually like the classically styled interior, but not always. I don't think I'd say the GTI's interior is trendy. You might say it's dated (besides ugly). Maybe I like it because of the Santa Cruz Mountains or maybe it's because it reminds me of my Gwen Stefani like ex-girlfriend. Sure my affinity for the interior may date me, but this is one time capsule I don't mind being strongly associated with.
Do you think I'm crazy? I have no taste? Is the GTI's interior really that bad?
I had our 2010 Volkswagen GTI one night last week when I was running around trying to get ready to fly 6,000 miles away the next morning. And, you know, much as Brent wrote earlier, I really do like some of the things it does — even compared to our hotter hatch, the Mazdaspeed 3.
The clutch takeup is infinitely more predictable and refined in the GTI, and the shifter feels more fluid moving between the gates. Despite the car's sleepier feel, I bet I'm making quicker gearchanges in the VW GTI than in the MS3. Pedal spacing is wider in the Volkswagen, requiring a slight pivot of my ankle to execute a heel-and-toe downshift. This is a slight bummer compared to the turnkey arrangement in the Mazda, but in time, I'd adjust.
And apart from that quibble over the pedals, the driving position in the GTI is a little bit better for me than in the MS3 — simply because the steering wheel telescopes out a bit farther in the VW.
Finally, the ride quality. In conjunction with our long-termer's 18-inch all-season tires, the GTI's stock spring and damper settings really are ideal for putting around the city. And, though I don't like to admit it, if I bought either of these hatches, I'd spend 90 percent of my time lapping freeways and broken city streets. Even so, I really do like the insistent, wound-up personality of the Mazdaspeed 3, which has a perfectly acceptable ride. But when I'm in the mood to just relax, the Volkswagen GTI really is a compelling and very chill alternative.
I spent the weekend in our long-term 2010 Volkswagen GTI and I really like the well damped ride on this car. The suspension smothers most all of the ruts on decaying Los Angeles freeways, but there's not a hint of float. The ride is so good I had two (adult) passengers fall asleep in the GTI, though I think the well-shaped, well-cushioned seats had something to do with it, too.
There's very little road noise from the 225/40R18 92H Dunlop SP Sport 01 tires mounted at each corner, resulting in an incredibly serene cabin for a warm-hot hatch. That's probably why I notice the wind noise. At highway speeds, there's a consistent low whistle at my left ear, and after consultation with my front passenger (when he was awake), the same thing is happening on the passenger side. It's a minor problem, but now that I've noticed it, I'm fixated on the GTI's imperfectly-sealing door seals. Ugh.
At this point, I'm not convinced the seals are bad. Rather, I think this might just be how they are — which is not to my liking. We'll keep an eye on the situation, and see if anyone else on staff notices the issue.
In addition to its polished driving demeanor, spirited performance and sharp looks, the GTI has something not all of its sport compact competition can boast about — an accommodating rear seat. Compared to some of the economy class rear seats seen in its rivals (Mini Cooper S, Honda Civic Si) the GTI's spacious rear quarters seem like first class.
Carrying a couple of passengers back there brought this to light. The Vee-dub's tall cabin allows a high seat cushion, which in turn offers plenty of under-thigh support. The seat is well-shaped, generously padded and has an ideal backrest angle. The fold-down center armrest — which sits up nice and high so you don't slump over when you use it — is another perk not usually seen in this segment.
More often than not, okay almost always, the answer to this question is an obvious "no." The ratio of spoilers that generate worthwhile downforce to spoilers that generate profits for Chinese plastics companies is probably 1 to 10.
Does this spoiler do much? I don't really know. I'm sure there's some engineer working in a basement in Wolfsburg that does. What I do know is that it gives the GTI a much sharper silhouette than the standard Golf, an upgrade that's instantly noticeable from a distance. Yes, a shallow reason for liking such an add-on but it's still a good one if I do say so myself.
Anyone have a better reason?
It seems that some staffers here like the steering wheel on our long-term 2010 VW GTI, while others don't.
I love it. I love the perforated leather, the small (but not too small) diameter, the thumb cutouts, and the details such as the red stitching and the metal GTI badge.
The cross-section diameter is also just right for me. Some cars install a super thick rim trying to front being sporty. That's just uncomfortable for me and sometimes will cause fatigue on a long drive.
And that somewhat controversial flat-bottom? So racy. And if you turn to near steering lock it helps you know the orientation of the wheel without looking — when you shuffle you can feel the flat section pass through your hands.
Our dearly departed Nissan GT-R and his sister the 370Z had very nice steering wheels, but for me, the GTI's STW is one of the best I've tried.
So here's the scenario: You're unplugging your iPod and as soon as you do the car's audio system defaults to playing whatever radio station you had selected when you switched to auxiliary input. Naturally, you had the audio system's volume cranked all the way up to accommodate your iPod's sorry output at its default volume level.
Those who have experienced this phenomenon know what happens next. The radio hits you like a shovel to the eardrums at max volume. Ouch.
That's precisely why I like the GTI's adjustable aux input. It prevents the shovel to the eardrums. Max the aux input level when you plug in and you don't have to max the volume. It's a valuable feature and one that I'm yet to find anywhere else. And it prevents the inevitable shovel to the eardrums.
You might remember Mark's post about poor sound quality when the aux level is maxed. This, however, isn't a problem for me since I rarely listen to anything but spoken-word podcasts. Either that or I'm just not as discerning.
Three knobs, three buttons. Simple.
Even the seat heater buttons are integrated intuitively. I'll agree with Karl and admit that the icons on the mode knob are a bit small. But this layout is about as efficient and effective as it can possibly be.
Nearly every current climate control system uses buttons which are far less efficient. I'll save you my diatribe on why I prefer manual ventilation controls over climate control, but let's just says it starts with a blast of wrong-temperature air in the face when you climb in on a hot or cold day.
Not a problem here. One quick turn of the knob and that problem is solved.
Thanks to thegraduate for this week's favorite caption. Here are the others that we thought were a gas.
Now with a state of the art air suspension (lostboyz)
VW GTI Hindenburg Edition (ergsum)
We found the new GTI's ride a little bouncy. (ergsum)
Volkswagen is going to pump (clap) you up! (ergsum)
Volkswagen. Balloonists wanted. (ergsum)
No matter what, they will still get you at the pump. (ergsum)
PSI REPLACES GTI (snipenet)
Nena says, "Where are the other 98?" (technetium99)
Automotive bloat is affecting everyone (technetium99)
VW gets caught sandbagging. (good_2_go)
VW uses a 2.0 Liter 4-cylinder with a blower. (thegraduate)
Floatswagen Golf. (thegraduate)
German engineering in the bouncy house, ya. (05mazda6hatch)
GAS mileage (snipenet)
Best. Car cover. Ever. (9krpm)
VW misunderstood the term "Hydrogen car" (sherief)
Blimp my ride. (actualsize)
G.T.I = Got To Inflate (anilpunjabi1)
What was your favorite?
Director of Vehicle Testing Dan Edmunds sent me this photo of the new 2014 VW GTI with the enhanced airbag package.
What is your caption?
We'll post our favorite this afternoon.
Much has been said about the comfort and support of the seats in our 2010 VW GTI (here and here), but in light of our most recent criticizm of a 2010 Corvette ZR1's "noodley-ass seatback adjustment lever," I thought I'd propose to GM a simple fix: the rotary adjustment wheel with its infinite, micro adjustability, space-saving packaging, and intuitive operation. And the seatback doesn't wiggle either.
Just sayin.
Sure, our 2010 Volkswagen GTI is fun to drive and all that but what is up with the driver seat? Why does it tilt like that so your rear is hanging lower than your knees? And, yes, there have been other editors who commented on the comfort of the seat but then again they're all tall, well, except for news editor Kelly Toepke who's my height but with long legs. I, on the other hand, being 5'5" with short legs can't get comfortable behind the wheel no matter how low I make the seat and how close to the steering wheel I get. My knees hang right over the end of the seat so I'm basically tippy-toeing on the clutch. And by the time I get the seat angled and positioned where I can work the clutch comfortably, I'm right up against the wheel. Boo.
Josh Jacquot's wife, who's 5'4", faced the same issue when she got behind the wheel so I know it's not just me. Any other short GTI drivers out there who have the same issue...or no issue with the driver seat?
As previously reported, our long-term 2010 VW GTI has no Auto headlamps.
In order not to end up stranded like GTI fanboi Mr. Jacquot, I decided to give myself and the hotel valets a reminder on my weekend trip to San Francisco and Laguna Seca for the MotoGP race.
This weekend is the Red Bull US Grand Prix featuring the MotoGP World Championship at Laguna Seca raceway. (My video above is from 2008 free practice.)
My colleague Chris Walton will head up separately on a Harley-Davidson VROD, while I decided on the comfortable route — our long-term 2010 VW GTI.
The GTI has satellite radio and what I think is the best ride for a small car. Unfortunately, we didn't order ours with Navi, so I had to borrow a unit so I won't get lost leaving the circuit (there's what seems like a million roads out the many track exits).
I'll post a few tidbits on my trip, which should be between 800 and 1000 miles.
I usually check the tire pressures on a test car before a big trip. And I did check our long-term 2010 VW GTI's relatively large 225/40R18s before my weekend trip to San Francisco and Laguna Seca and was surprised that they take 38 psi.
I was also surprised when I discovered that our GTI is manufactured in Germany, not Latin America (verified by the monrooney below.)
Not that I have anything against Latin America, but Germany is now almost single-handedly supporting the EU and the euro.
Our long-term GTI is assembled in Wolfsburg, Germany. And that's fine with me.
Our long-term 2010 VW GTI turned 10K on my trip to MotoGP and San Francisco this past weekend.
I ended up putting 1200 miles on the car. I'll post some driving impressions later this week but I can tell you here that I liked this vehicle a lot.
I also got a 10K mile "Service Now!" reminder so we'll take it in soon.
Our long-term 2010 VW GTI started reminding us from a few days ago to perform the 10K service, so we took it to Santa Monica VW yesterday.
Our advisor JD was courteous and the service included Syntec oil and filter, tire rotation, and belts check. There was also a TSB for a driver footwell vent cover, which the dealer secured per VW instructions with a ziptie(?).
The service also included a wash, but curiously the vehicle was dirtier when I picked it up then when I had brought it in (had it at the carwash the day before). But everything else was fine and it was done in a few hours.
And the best part was that it was free, as 2010 VWs include 3 yr/36,000 mile maintenance.
See you again at 20K VW of Santa Monica.
Since we finally have been getting weather resembling summer, I decided to crack open our 2010 Volkswagen GTI's sunroof. I LOVE cars with sunroof controls like this — knobs and markings — where you can be precise about just how much of the outside you want in. None of this obsessive back and forth with a lever and just a smidge...more..THERE. Nooo! Don't close! Makes control freaks like me very happy. You can even ratchet up how high you want the moonroof to go. Love it.
Sorry about the blurry detailed shot.
Sorry for the picture quality, but it's not an easy subject to capture. See that whiteish / brownish stuff there? That's washer fluid. I didn't use the rear washer. It just did that on its own.
So not only is the 2010 Volkswagn GTI too scared to go around a corner without activating its ESC, but when you do manage to have some fun on left-hand corners, it pees itself a little bit.
Great.
We've been over this ground an awful lot, but for anyone keeping tabs on the ongoing "does the long-term 2010 VW GTI turn your crank" discussion, I'm in Mr. Jacquot's camp.
I like commuting in it. It's smooth, quiet, reasonably taut and has decent squirt. The cabin is quite nice. It's got absolutely heaps of headroom, which I dig since I'm 6'1" and all torso. I don't like driving it with enthusiasm, though, because the handling is a letdown once you dial up the entry speeds. Anything more than 6/10ths is an exercise in frustration, what with the squooshy turn-in, custard-filled brake pedal and killjoy non-defeat ESP.
It could be that simply changing to summer tires would sharpen the turn-in, but it'd take a reflash or enabling a secret-handshake diagnostic mode (up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-B-A-Start) to tackle the crappy ESP situation. I'd love to see if those changes alone (plus some sort of rejiggered brake master cylinder and/or booster?) could make all the difference in transforming my opinion of the GTI from a tepid "meh" to "hell yeah."
Oh, and the wheels are tacky. So there.
Coming off my Face-Off World Cup win, I'm in a feisty mood and with all due respect to our engineering editor, the right honorable Jay Kavanagh, I don't care what he says about the GTI.
Barring a massive infusion of cash allowing me to buy an XJ Supercharged, the VW GTI is the new car I'd go out and buy with my own money. The reasons hence ...
When the hell am I driving above "6/10ths"? Occasionally when I venture through a canyon, but more importantly, my 6/10ths is a whole heck of a lot lower than 24 Hours of LeMons superstar driver Mr. Kavanagh and our hot-shoe track driver Mr. Josh Jacquot. In fact, my 6/10ths is about their 2/10ths, while their 6/10ths is me wetting myself and recollecting the contents of my life. And that's me, who I'll not so humbly admit is actually a pretty good driver.
For most people, the GTI adds just the right amount of spice and involvement without taking away from the sublime seats, the perfect driving position, the massive visibility, the impressively large back seat, the beautiful interior (that makes the new Jetta feel like it's intended for Brazil), the well-balanced ride and the fact it doesn't wrench the wheel out of my hands at almost every opportunity.
Are the all-seasons crap? Yes. Are the track numbers not as good as others? Yes. Should the traction control be fully defeatable? Absolutely, but I haven't experienced it with the frequency of others (though I'm pretty sure I don't drive as nutty as they do). Is it as much of a riot as a Mazdaspeed 3? No. Is someone likely to bring a stock GTI to a track? No, but then I don't really want to drive a car that would be good for a track. I believe that a hot hatch should be a hatchback that is hotter than its base version, not a hot car that happens to be a hatch. The GTI is one, the Mazdaspeed 3 is the other.
I equate the GTI to being a budget entry-level sport sedan. An A4 or 3 Series aren't track cars, but they in fact add some spice to their sophistication.
I love the GTI and I don't care what JKav says.
I do like our long-term VW GTI quite a bit, so it's pretty easy to think about it from an ownership standpoint. But then I've wondered: If I owned one, would I modify it? The interesting thing is that while I can readily identify where the GTI is deficient, addressing those deficiencies would likely alter the characteristics that make the GTI appealing in the first place.
More power? Well, maybe 10 or 20 hp wouldn't hurt. (Does it ever?) But beyond that, I'd be afraid that the GTI would encounter same the issues that the 263-hp Mazdaspeed 3 does. Crank up the boost? No thanks.
Stiffer suspension? This is a tricky one. If I installed lowering springs and firmer dampers, no doubt the GTI would be more fun to drive aggressively. But how far to go? A really sport-oriented setup would likely degrade the GTI's daily-driver quality. But if I was only doing something mild, why bother spending money on it?
Tires and wheels? This is where making upgrades would have payoffs with minimal liabilities. As we learned from the suspension walkaround, those wheels are kind of heavy. Lighter wheels and summer tires would be on the docket if owned our GTI.
Think I'm wrong? Anything else you'd do?
We've made reference a few times about how our 2010 GTI's engine sounds pretty cool, thanks in no small part to its honkus, a plastic tube that channels intake noise into the cabin. Well, I finally got around to shooting a couple videos to demonstrate. They follow after the jump.
Two quick videos here. I only had access to a point-and-shoot camera, so the quality isn't awesome. Wear headphones. Also, I was just driving around town, so don't expect any grand Le Mans sounds.
In general I think GTI's engine does sound a cut above more mainstream inline-4s. But I'd still rank the long-term 2006 Honda Civic Si we had in our fleet a few years ago as being the best sounding four-cylinder car we've had in recent memory.
I examined our GTI's oil level this morning and it checks out OK. However, the dipstick is made out of a dark-colored metal. I'm not sure why VW chose to have it this way as spotting the exact oil level is a lot harder than it is on a regular dipstick made with a brighter metal.
Two days ago Mike Schmidt told you about the broken hook, which locates the string, which in turn suspends the rear cargo cover in our 2010 GTI. What he didn't do was show you the result — one severely wonked rear cargo cover. It's not great.
This is the part where I refrain from saying anything about the flawless performance of the cargo cover retention hooks on our Mazdaspeed 3.
When the 2010 Volkswagen GTI came first came out, I was instantly reminded of this car, the 2007 VW Golf GTI W12-650, an insane (and nearly undriveable, as it turns out) special made for the annual GTI festival in Austria.
I always figured the wide-mouth grille and the bottom-heavy haunches of the current-gen car owed something to this beast.
Mostly, this was a theory constructed in my mind, because I'd never laid any pictures side-by-side, until now.
Do you see it, too? Or is it just me?
I love the stance on our long-term 2010 VW GTI. The car is lowered, but not excessively. And the gap between the large 18" diameter tires and the fender is just right. A friend of mine likes to tuck the wheels on his VWs; I don't care for that. To each his own.
And the GTI also has a slight rake with the front just a bit lower than the rear.
I hate it when the rear end of the car looks like it's squatting even when sitting still.
This is my friend's son, Adan. The little guy celebrated his 2nd birthday this week, and he loved our long-term 2010 VW GTI when he drove it (kidding).
I wonder if he'll wish for a GTI when he's older? Considering today's youth, maybe he'll dream of Iphone and Android instead.
When I was a kid, I dreamed of one day owning a Porsche 911/Turbo.
What about you? What was your dream car when you were a kid, and is that dream still alive?
Have you ever attempted entry to the backseat of a two door hatchback and the seatbelt tried to strangle you?
Well our long-term 2010 VW GTI may prevent such asphyxiation. The lower end of the belt is attached to a rod that lets the belt slide fore and aft, allowing both proper belt positioning and access to the rear seat. It's clever and convenient.
As a bonus, that rod is made of metal, a nice quality touch.
See that knob at the intersection of the seatback and seat bottom? It makes the GTI's seatback angle infinitely adjustable. Which is good for those who insist on a carefully arranged vertical driving postion like myself. And it's superior to traditional indexed seatback adjusters (like that in, say, the Mazdaspeed 3), which offer only a finite number of positions.
So there.
Our long-term GTI proves once again that the Germans know how to make a driving position for tall people. It shouldn't really come as a surprise considering that the average German male is 5 foot 10 tall (the average woman is 5 foot 5 and the average German 19-year-old male is 5 foot 11 1/2). If you were a bunch of tall, German Volkswagen engineers, wouldn't you want your car to fit you and your countrymen?
The GTI's provides lots of under thigh support by plunging the seat downward in back, while keeping the front elevated. The steering wheel then telescopes far out allowing for an ideal elbow bend. As a bonus, the flat-bottom wheel can be placed lower since there's less rim to interfere with the driver's lanky legs. The shifter also falls perfectly at hand. I love it and this is all without power adjustable anything.
I've heard some of our shorter editors complain that they don't fit comfortably in the GTI. Well, I'm sorry about that, but given that they fit in virtually everything else, I won't be striking up the violins. I would suggest checking out the Mazdaspeed 3, which I'm not particularly comfortable in. Not that that should come as a surprise either given that the average Japanese 19 year old is 5 foot 7.
Getting into our 2010 Volkswagen GTI after having driven our Mazdaspeed 3 for nearly a week, I couldn't help but notice the following differences:
The GTI...
...has heavier doors.
...has a manlier horn.
...has smoother shifts.
...is quieter at 4,000+ rpm.
I wish I had driving comparisons or something like that for you but all I really got to do with the GTI last night was sit in traffic. But just for giggles here's the burnout shoot-out video again.
Brain fade. That's my only explanation for leaving our 2010 Volkswagen GTI's sunroof open overnight.
I don't usually open sunroofs - I'm not a big fan. But 6'6" Kellan and I were remarking how the sunroof doesn't come close to impinging on his headroom, even though it's the kind that sucks down into the headliner rather than moving up and out.
I got lucky. No rain. Too little relative humidity for morning dew. The seats weren't damp at all. And the neighborhood cats didn't drop in for a nap, or worse.
As for the GTI's sunroof, this is one car where tall guys don't have to avoid the option to get that extra little bit of head clearance.
There has been considerable discussion in this forum about the tires on our GTI. Shockingly enough, those paper thin 40-Series tires you see here are not the most aggressive meats you can get. The optional summer tires are a bit stickier, and would conceivably provide more grip and improved handling.
That would be great and all, but I'm okay with this car as it is. I'm actually shocked that the car rides as well as it does with such minimal sidewall cushion. Maybe the summer tires would be just as comfortable, maybe not. All I know is that when I drive the GTI it doesn't put me in the mindset for canyon carving. Seems more at home just ripping around town.
Now I'm sure that with a few minor tweaks the GTI could tear into corners as well as our Miata, okay, nearly as well as our Miata, but then it would be miserable the other 99% of the time. Forget that. If I wanted an Evo I would buy one. The GTI is no Evo, and it doesn't bother me a bit.
It's no secret that I love seat heaters but...dare I say it, our 2010 Volkswagen GTI's are too hot for me, even through jeans. And that's saying a lot considering I always pick the highest setting on any seat heater. Then when I choose the medium setting in the VW it's not warm enough. I always end up checking the button to make sure it's even activated.
To give you an idea of what I mean, since I don't have Mike Schmidt's nifty gadget (I want one!), if we were talking summer days, the highest setting would feel like a 115-degree day, unbearable. The medium setting feels like a 65-degree day, lukewarm.
Solution? Switch back and forth from high to medium.
But that's just my opinion. Chief Scott Oldham and his wife think the heaters "rock."
Vehicle Testing Manager Mike Schmidt is my go-to source for caption contest photos. He does a lot of traveling. I'm not sure where he shot this photo, but thank god he did. Get it? God...prayer. Ah, I crack myself up.
I was reluctant to post this photo because I didn't want to start any holy wars, so I'm trusting you to keep it light.
What is your caption?
We'll post our favorite this afternoon.
A fog settled over West Los Angeles last night, but our 2010 Volkswagen GTI burned right through it. That sounds like an attempt at bad poetry. What I mean to say is that this car is stunning. Really stunning. On the walk back to the foggy parking lot, I was thrilled that this was my car for the evening.
I've gone on record many times as a lover of almost anything with the silhouette of a hatchback, and the GTI's shape is no exception. But the three-door VW GTI is just a little bit more special because of the B-pillar black-out effect at night. I've talked about how the five-door GTI might fit into my future life, practical considerations and all, but it's never going to look this good.
Another thing I find interesting about our GTI is that I can drive it the night after the Mazdaspeed 3 and like it, maybe just as much, for completely different reasons.
It's a more sedate driving experience for sure (though heel-and-toe downshifting is still fun), but the VW feels like a luxury car compared to the Mazda — and indeed compared to most other cars you can buy for about $25,000. I'd never have thought to seek out a hot hatch that wants to be a luxury car, but when I stumble upon it, it's kind of cool.
I have this long time friend. He and I met racing Formula Fords back in the early 1990s. He has means. And he spends it on cars. Since I've known him he has owned more Ferraris than I can remember including a 348, a 348 Spyder, a 355 Spyder, a 360, two 430 Spyders, a 430 Scuderia, a 550 and a 599. He also has a Ducati Desmosedici. But he doesn't only buy Italian toys. He has also owned a two M5s, an M3, a CL63, a CLK63 Black, a 1972 Porsche 911 RS, a Carrera GT, a 997 GT3 RS, a highly modified Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 and a 1993 Mercedes 500E. Oh, and he just bought himself a Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 convertible.
He was blown away by our little GTI yesterday. First thing he noticed was the car's wonderfully smooth idle. Then he said the plaid seats were to his liking. Before I could respond he poked his head in the window, looked around a bit and said, "Cool car. Nicely finished. Can you get DSG?"
When I said you can he said, "This is all the car anybody ever needs."
And he's right. It is.
I did a bunch of photo collages a while back to compare and contrast various coupes visibility. Those photo collages are a pain in the butt, though, so here's a video instead showcasing just how open and airy the GTI's cabin is. Sure, a VW hatchback doesn't look as cool as a Camaro, but there's something to be said for seeing where you're going.
I had the choice of the GTI, Kizashi, Crosstour and Raptor on Friday, and since I usually like to give the folks with families a chance at the bigger cars on the weekend, I gladly picked the smallest of the bunch. And yet, the little two-door VW swallowed a whole heap of stuff I needed to
dump off
donate to Goodwill. While I know a similarly sized sedan could've also done the job, the ease of loading and unloading is quite obviously not the same as it is with a hatchback.
I know most people hate hatchbacks for some stupid reason, but as long as the car doesn't look like this, the hatchback is a superior design for a compact vehicle.
When I got on the 405 freeway at 6:15 a.m. this morning, the traffic looked like this.
A shame, because the VW GTI is fun to drive and I purposely chose it last night knowing I'd be on the road early today. Thought I might be able to actually drive instead of just sit. No dice.
On days like this, I look for new ways to pass the time. This morning I played, "Who's Driving With Expired Plates." Turns out, pretty much everyone.
How do you pass the commute time?
Simple, straightforward and intuitively laid out. Everything's exactly where you expect it to be, and there's no clutter to contend with. It won't set the world on fire or anything, but it's functional and attractive enough. Does this look work for you?
Now if only the folks at Volkswagen had taken a similarly conservative approach when selecting the GTI's seat upholstery...
This is some kind of Audi; some two door A3. That's not a bad thing, Audi's are nice, but this is not a GTI.
Back in college, waaaay back in college, I was looking at buying a used 1992 16V GTI; red with those pretty BBS wheels. I'd read all the reviews and grabbed a ride or two in a friend's car and I wanted one. Even though I've since forgotten what dealer I went to, I do remember the test drive. The GTI was fun, playful, very basic and raw the way sporty German cars used to be. It'd be silly to say I lusted after it, but I really wanted that car. But since I wasn't able to scrounge up the money to buy it, I had to let it go.
When our 2010 GTI showed up, with the exception of a 20 minutes in a VR6 powered GTI, I hadn't driven a GTI since that used 1992 I drove all those years ago. I finally got a good crack at driving the this thing other night and I'd just like say it left me, mad.
There is GTI badge on the back of the car, but the hell if I know why it's there. This car is soft, the steering is over-boosted and not informative. There's also too much sound deadening. How much is too much? Well when you have to funnel engine sound into the cockpit with a tube, you might have gone too far. The ESP is overbearing and cannot be shut off. Someone should get hit in the head for allowing that to happen on a GTI.
This car is no longer the fun, playful and basic hatch that it was. I know times change, but plaid seats do not a GTI make. It's lacking all the character and personality the earlier generations had, you know the ones that were so good they defined a generation of hatchbacks. Had they called it a Golf GT, I would not have had this... visceral reaction.
It's not a bad car, it's just not a GTI. Not even close.
I put a quick 200 highway miles on our long-term 2010 Volkswagen GTI yesterday and was reminded again just how good this car is on the highway. If the GTI feels a bit out of sorts on back roads, it's perfectly home at 70+ on the interstate.
The suspension/tire package results in a neatly composed ride, and there's still enough compliance to smother out the bad patches of pavement. In addition, we drove through heavy rain, and the Dunlop all-season tires channeled the water well.
The other thing driver and passenger noticed was the low level of cabin noise. We still need to have a TSB performed on the leaky driver door seal, both otherwise, the cabin is incredibly well insulated from wind and road roar for a car in this price range. Even the wipers were quiet. It was so serene and relaxing that we turned off the radio and just talked.
So why haven't I taken a road trip in our GTI yet? Time for some paid time off.
So once it's parked, I look down and see the GTI's odometer reading, "14,076 miles." It's been around here since February, so this is a goodly number of miles.
And this makes me think of the Mazdaspeed 3, which struggled to crack 20,000 miles the last month or so, even though it's been around for almost a year.
Never mind dynamometer comparisons of horsepower, which car do people really like to drive?
After six months of being driven almost daily, the GTI had recorded 11,300 miles. After six months, the Mazdaspeed 3 had recorded 10,213 miles.
Well, you can quibble about frequency of drives and duration of trip and all the other variables, but the people's dyno has given us its result.
Our 2010 Volkswagen GTI has a pretty darned good shifter. Good action, great knob, cool looks. Heck, there's even a gear-position indicator on the dash. But that's not the point of this blog, after this weekend — lots o'rain — the VW's shifter scored two big points with me.
1) This is the proper and only way a manual transmission should be set up. Reverse next to first, push DOWN on the stick to get to the R gate. That's it. Period. First is used exclusively after R, why would you want it anywhere else? You wouldn't. End of discussion. (Feel free to discuss in the comments.)
2) When you've got the wipers on and put the VW GTI into reverse, the rear wiper on the hatch activates. How cool is that? Very.
367.9 miles to a tank with 5 miles showing on the DTE calculator. 367.9! This wasn't hypermiling and while it was a lot of highway driving, this wasn't a highway exclusive trip. And when I was on the highway, I wasn't loafing about. I changed gears, I passed people and the AC was on.
Not only is this number good on its own — I'm a range guy, I hate filling up — but it absolutely smacks the smile off of any mile-marker I've got on our 2009 Mazdaspeed3. It's even better than any non-Mazdaspeed Mazda3 I've ever driven. In fact, I don't think I've ever broken 300 miles on a 3.
So the 3 has a smaller tank, right? Nope. Our 2010 VW GTI rocks a 14.5 gallon fuel tank while the Mazdaspeed 3 has a 15.9 gallon one. EPA fuel economy estimates the 3 at 18/25 (21 combined) and the GTI at 21/31 (25 combined).
This is the kind of thing that would make-or-break a car purchase for me. The GTI keeps scoring more points this week.
So I like driving around L.A. checking out events, new restaurants, etc., but that means I rely heavily on Google map printouts or my iPhone's Google map function. However, on rare occasions, I score an Edmunds short-term or long-term car with a navigation system. That's why every time I get into our 2010 Volkswagen GTI and see this screen, I experience a split second of relief followed by disappointment. I keep forgetting that, no, we didn't opt for the navigation system. Argh. Seems like such a waste of real estate to be used only to display radio stations.
Out of curiosity I built and spec'd my own GTI.
Hm, $3,185 for the Sunroof and Navigation package which includes the nav system with 5-inch color touchscreen, sunroof, directionally adjustable bi-xenon high-intensity headlights with adaptive front-lighting. Damn, I hate it when they don't offer a la carte. And why throw the headlights in the package?
In any case, yeah, $3K seems a pretty penny...but then I'd convince myself that it would end up paying for itself. Right?
Normally when we complain about a coupe's cramped backseat, it's related to the people who have to sit back there. But it can literally be a pain for a parent, too, if he or she is having to constantly act like a contortionist to strap a child into a safety seat.
Not that most parents would willingly choose a coupe as a family vehicle (though I remember Editor Karl Brauer's wife drove his '70 Plymouth GTX as a family vehicle for a while). But the extensive headroom and world's best easy-slide seat in our long-term GTI (see, you knew I'd get to a point here eventually) makes this process a lot easier. And as a card-carrying member of the parent club, I'll state that it's greatly appreciated.
By now you've likely seen ads or read our road test of the the redesigned 2011 Volkswagen Jetta. After driving our GTI around this weekend, I just can't shake the feeling that competing on volume and price with the latest Jetta is the wrong direction for VW. So many of the things I like about our GTI, such as the upscale materials, special touches and all-around refined feel, aren't really present in the new Jetta. I'd recommend the Golf or GTI to somebody shopping for a small hatchback in a heartbeat. The Jetta? Now it's just one pick amongst many.
Why does VW want to go chasing after Honda, Hyundai and Toyota instead of maintaining and building upon the solid reputation it has as the alternative choice? I suppose the answer is obvious: VW thinks it can make more money this way. But it seems wrong-headed to me, and I'd like to think that my viewpoint will be proved wrong in the long-term. For now, though, I'm thinking this current generation GTI could end up being a desirable classic assuming the next generation gets the same value meal makeover as the Jetta.
You might not know it, but sister site Edmunds has an article on the Volkswagen Golf's history that might interest those who want to learn the whole background story about this car and the origins of the GTI version.
It has fascinating tidbits like, the GTI didn't make its debut in America until a decade after the hot hatch debuted in Europe. Plus, do you know why Volkswagen called the front-drive small car the Golf everywhere in the world but America where it was called the Rabbit?
If I were looking to buy a GTI, I think I'd be a little annoyed at the way VW arranged the car's optional features for 2011. For 2010, you could order the adaptive xenon headamps, navigation system and Dynaudio sound system as standalone options. Now they're all bundled into specific trim levels.
To get the headlamps, for instance, you have to select the Sunroof and Navigation trim level (an additional $3,185 above the base GTI). And the Dynaudio sound system is now only offered with the GTI Autobahn (add $5,315). To see the option sheets, here's 2010 and 2011.
The good news is that Bluetooth and the 18-inch "Detroit" wheels (the ones that are on our long-term car) are now standard (with only a slight 2011 price increase). If you don't like the way those wheels look, though, I suppose that's a negative. VW also isn't currently showing a 2011 factory option for any different wheel styles or summer tires, though I hope you can still get them somehow.
Automakers bundle options together all the time. Even the Mazdaspeed 3 has but one package that includes all of the car's optional features. So it's not really surprising how the 2011 car is set up. But compared to the 2010 GTI, the 2011 car is just a bit less special.
A couple days ago I managed to get the GTI's best fuel economy so far: 33.5 mpg. It was on a drive of about 230 miles of almost all highway. The pictured trip computer's readout was optimistic, as trip computers typically are.
Admittedly, I did have fuel economy in mind when I made the drive; I wanted to see if I could beat the previous best (which I also set) of 30.7 mpg. But I didn't go to extreme measures, either. I simply drove at or slightly above the speed limit (mostly a 70-mph limit on the route), used a lot of cruise control and didn't accelerate aggressively.
This isn't to say the GTI is somehow special. Its overall average is 24.6 mpg, which is right in-line with the EPA 25 mpg combined (and EPA combined is what we typically get out of our long-term cars). But it's nice to see an immediate result from just a little effort at better fuel economy.
I have the 2010 Volkswagen GTI this weekend and couldn't help but wonder if I run into the spitting motorist around my apartment will he mistake it for the 2. Hmm, maybe I should avoid the alley just in case.
As Brent recently noted, in nearly 16,000 miles of driving, our GTI is averaging 24.6 mpg and on a long freeway run, 33 mpg is attainable. This is doubly impressive to me. One, our average pretty much matches the EPA combined rating of 25 mpg — no mean feat considering that the GTI has to contend with L.A.'s worst-in-the-nation traffic and a staff whose addiction to boost is second only to mine for chocolate. Secondly, the GTI can scoot from 0-to-60 in 7 seconds flat and run the quarter in 15 flat. That's respectable performance for a roomy car that averages 25 mpg in tough conditions.
But as others have noted, the engine's personality transcends mere spec chart numbers — the little workhorse provides a broad, traffic-friendly power band that's accompanied by one of the best engine notes I've ever heard from an inline four. Who says you can't have your strudel and eat it too?
OK, this is really nerdy of me to be excited about this, but after I took our 2010 Volkswagen GTI for a wash this morning and was heading back to the office, I ran across this: a Google Maps Street View Subaru Impreza! I first noticed the odd contraption (camera) mounted to its roof and then saw the sign on its rear bumper. Neato!
I wonder, since I sat there taking a picture of it, does that mean our GTI will appear on the new updated Street View? Here's the current one. How awesome would that be? I should have waved.
This past weekend I was saddled with being the designated driver to a couple of friends, having to drive us from event to event around L.A. in our 2010 Volkswagen GTI.
I usually hate driving in the city — distracted drivers and traffic — but this time I actually didn't mind it so much. Such smooth and quiet power and so easy to work that clutch in stop-and-go traffic. I think I'm even getting used to the weird angle of the driver seat bottom. Because of all that, I didn't grumble too much having to play chauffeur to my friends. However, I think my having too much fun might have been problematic for my woozy passengers. Oh well, at least we got to where we were going quickly and I was in a good mood when we arrived.
On my way in to work today while in our 2010 Volkswagen GTI, I came across this Beetle with a vanity plate. OK, I never really understood why people get vanity plates with the model name of their car on it. Yes, I can see that you're driving a bug. Anyway, that's not my point. Seeing this made me wonder if GTI owners feel as passionate about their V-Dubs and if so what do their vanity plates say. Probably something about driving fast, right?
Any GTI owners care to share?
Driving stick I encounter gearshifters of all shapes and sizes. There's the 8-ball of the Mini, the pistol-grip of the Challenger and the top-heavy one belonging to the Z06. But out of all the ones I've come across, the 2010 Volkswagen GTI's shifter is one of the most comfortable.
I know you're not supposed to grab hold of the shifter but rather push and pull it, but sometimes I just like to rest my hand on it, you know, like while waiting at a light. And I like how it's shaped so that my fingers just fall over the top of it allowing the pads of my fingertips to very comfortably touch the backside of the shifter. Fits perfectly in my hand. Then again, my hands are smallish.
Which gearshifter is your favorite?
Well, actually it's not. But while driving away from the presentation of five concept cars by Group Lotus on Friday night and weaving through the cars brought up for the crowd by the valet guys, I was thinking that the GTI resembled a Lotus more than the cars that had brought all these Hollywood people here, the Prius being the most popular by my count.
The classic quotation from Colin Chapman is "Simplificate, and then add lightness," a colloquial phrase popularized by the designer of the British-built Canberra jet bomber that dominated the headlines in the years after World War II, a time when Chapman was studying to be an aircraft engineer. The idea was later expressed more eloquently by Tony Rudd, the BRM Formula 1 designer who moved to Lotus in 1969. He said, "The most elegant and effective and traditional Lotus solution is the one with the least parts effectively deployed."
This is the GTI's story, really, as it gathers together a few prosaic parts that add up to much more than you expect. It certainly impressed the valet guys, who had never really seen one before.
Maybe the VW GTI would get more respect if it had a Lotus badge. It kind of hits all the marks that a Lotus does, doing more with less, and yet you can show up at a Hollywood gig like this and be treated like an adult instead of a gatecrasher.
I came out of a Oaxacan restaurant to find our long-term 2010 Volkswagen GTI perfectly lit and simply stunning. There's something about this car that never gets old. I like looking at it today. And I suspect, I'd like looking at it 5 years from now. (Whereas with the Mazdaspeed 3, I hear Future Erin saying, "Yeah, back then, I didn't care if the car I was driving looked manically happy — I just wanted to feel that way when I drove it.")
I think I feel similarly about how the Volkswagen GTI drives. Nope, I never get all giddy about how quickly it can take a corner, but the car is steady, secure and enjoyable for the other 90-95 percent of my driving. It's also very comfortable, and the premium-grade interior has plenty to do with that. Probably, these are traits I would like 5 years from now, too.
So, do you think the MkVI Volkswagen GTI will age well? And, if you're feeling chatty, which other cars of the last decade do you think have aged particularly well?
Our long-term 2010 Volkswagen GTI was my ride to the Lima Residence (above) for the preview of the Saab 9-4X ahead of the LA auto show. This architectural wonder of Calabasas, California, is a little out off the beaten path by Los Angeles County standards — you have to take a few different two-lane roads to get there.
On the way home, one of these roads, Malibu Canyon, was magically clear of traffic like I've never seen it before, and the GTI and I got at least 8 good corners all to ourselves — at the pace of my choosing.
This was a fun few minutes. I clucked to myself about how balanced the chassis felt — it was unflustered over bumps and body roll was contained well enough, given the GTI's compliant ride quality. Ample torque was easy to come by with the 2.0 TFSI motor, and I ripped off a couple clean 3-2 downshifts for the tighter corners.
I've been driving Malibu Canyon/Las Virgenes for years, and I've never had this many turns to myself during daylight hours. It might never happen again. But this few minutes in the GTI put a smile on face for a good 15 minutes afterward.
I caught sight of the 2010 Volkswagen GTI's dual exhaust tips as I was headed up to the office one day this week. Are the dual tips overkill on a car with a 200-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder? Sure are.
But they look cool. I particularly like how they extend slightly beyond the dark gray, diffuser-style flourish VW added below the bumper. It's a subtly sporty touch on a subtly sporty car.
Not sure why the gray sill caps on our GTI caught my eye this weekend. They're so low that you almost don't even notice them, almost makes you wonder why they're even there.
Well, they're on there because this is a GTI and not just a plain ol' Golf. They're designed to make it look a little sportier, sort of like an extended side sills but cheaper. They're protective too, although, as you can see they don't completely cover the entire sill area. Sure enough, they leave just enough extra space for the tire to kick up all sorts of road grime. Might have been nice if they had extended the plastic cap just a little bit farther forward to cover up some of that white space. Probably a design decision though, so I can't blame them.
On a more general note, the GTI feels completely solid and rattle free after over 16,000 miles. And I still like driving it around town even if it does get sloppy when I push it hard around corners.
My adoration for our GTI continues unchecked — especially when I compare it to the Mazdaspeed 3. The Mazda has a significant turbo hit that, when combined with its considerable torque steer, makes it difficult to drive smoothly. The GTI, on the other hand, has a much gentler ramp up to the turbo and no torque steer to speak of.
This morning, I fired up Dynolicious on my iPhone to try to get a graphical representation of how the throttle feels when the turbo starts breathing. I wasn't heavy on the accelerator, just about the same application as I'd use when passing someone from about 30 mph.
There's a slight pause just after rolling onto the pedal, followed by an authoritative, but smooth rush of power. You can see it represented in the circled section in the graph I pulled from my iPhone. There's just a gentle little step in longitudinal Gs (shown in blue), but the horsepower (yellow) climbs quick and linear. I never got around to trying this in the Mazda, but I suspect it isn't anywhere as straight as the GTI. My intuition says the Mazdaspeed 3 will have a short and fairly tame climb followed immediately by a spike in power.
The GTI is definitely my type of car. Smooth power delivery translates to smooth driving. And smooth driving means quicker lap times. I can concentrate on adding just the right amount of power, rather than brace myself for a sharp hit of turbo kick.
I appreciate seats that provide proper support for the back and thighs. Hefty side bolsters that hold one in place during spirited driving are also nice to have. In the case of the GTI, there is thigh support a-plenty...perhaps too much. The generous seat bottom cushion is a bit long and it's also rather plump at its front edge. This is great...for those who are long of limb. For me and my shorter legs (29" inseam) it feels kind of like a rolled up towel behind my knees. I can appreciate VW's effort, but would prefer a shorter cushion with an adjustable thigh support so that short, long and medium legs can all be comfortably accommodated.
I had to watch some Russ Swift, British stunt driver, videos for work today (it's rough, lemme tell you ) and came across this video of the precision-driving champ driving a GTI very quickly, very sideways and very close to some parked VW Golfs.
This is the 2012 Volkswagen Golf R. It's got 266 horsepower from a turbocharged 2.0-liter I4. It's all-wheel-drive and the only available transmission is a 6MT. And it's headed for America.
If the traction control can be turned off, this should pretty much fix the GTI.
Bonus: No goofy plaid seats.
The VW Group sunroof opening whatsit is unique. Rather than pressing a button or pulling back on a two-way slidey thing that activates an auto-retract function, you twist a knob to the desired sunroof opening aperture. In my 2000 Jetta VR6, I'd just twist all the way to the top and it would open. Twisting the other direction would tilt the sunroof. It was simple and quick, and there was no fighting with the car's auto-retract function.
I'm not sure when the change happened, but the sunroof control in the GTI is more complicated.
You twist the knob around all the way to the end and run through a mushy detent area at the end of its travel (noted by a line next to the knob) before the knob settles back to the beginning of that detent area. You'd think this would open the sunroof all the way, but it doesn't. There's still 90-percent of the glass and shade showing. Twisting through that detent area once again opens the roof all the way.
According to the manual, this 90-percent open is for "quieter operation" with the sunroof back. I'm not sure if I detected much of a noise difference, though there was some buffeting with it fully back (corrected by cracking the windows a scoash). I suppose this is all well and good, but I have two questions:
1) The knob allows you to easily stop it wherever you'd like any way, so why the detent thingy?
2) Why allow it to open all the way if there's such an increased level of noise and/or buffeting that it requires you to set-up this overly complicated detent thingy-majig?
The pic above shows what the view looked like from behind the wheel of the GTI over the weekend: Rain, rain and more rain.
Non-stop rainstorms did little to dampen the GTI's spirits. It felt nimble and secure even when the water was ankle-deep on the road and its soothing heated seats kept me mellow and calm even when faced with the most egregious cases of poor wet-weather driving. I also appreciated its compact size and relatively small turning circle that one time when I had to make a quick, sharp turn to nab the last remaining spot in a parking lot packed to capacity with the vehicles of holiday shoppers.
One thing about the rain, though, is that when you've got inches of water of the streets, you can't see the potholes. And if you can't see them, you can't avoid them. Ouch. That's one stiff suspension.
The GTI isn't just a fun ride; it's also one of the safest small cars you can buy. That's the word from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which named the GTI a Top Safety Pick in the small-car segment.
So what exactly does a car have to do to get the Top Safety Pick designation?
Here's what the IIHS has to say: "[The] Top Safety Pick [designation] recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rollover, and rear crashes based on good ratings in Institute tests. Winners also must have available electronic stability control, a crash avoidance feature that significantly reduces crash risk. The ratings help consumers pick vehicles that offer a higher level of protection than federal safety standards require."
A complete list of all 66 IIHS Top Safety picks is available here. The IIHS groups its winners according to vehicle type and size, since size and weight influence crashworthiness — larger vehicles tend to offer better crash protection than smaller ones, even even if you're talking about a smaller vehicle that's a Top Safety Pick like the GTI.
So the GTI is safe, but a larger vehicle would very likely be safer still. Is the relationship between vehicle size and crashworthiness something that you consider when shopping for a vehicle?
I love the holidays for several reasons, gifts not being in the top 10. There are several excellent chefs in the family that love to cook for everyone. It's nice to be able to kick back without having to do much, except watch bowl games and playoffs. Thing I really dislike is all the driving.
Even though my girl and I live in LA, both of our family's live about 30 minutes apart in the SF Bay Area. That means splitting Thanksgiving, Christmas, all the family stuff in between when we're up north. Lots and lots of driving.
I had the GTI. Was the hatch up to the task?
I don't know if I can be more emphatic in saying: YES!!! I put over 1,500 miles on GTI over the Christmas+ weekend. It was a complete and utter joy to drive.
For me, it starts with the seats. I dig them. They are very comfortable. Yes the dial adjustment can be a bit of a pain for passengers, but for the driver you can fine tune in the perfect angle. I even got plenty of compliments from passengers on the seat cloth pattern. Most thought they were pretty cool.
Next is the engine. It's got power and the ability to quickly ramp up to blow past all the holiday traffic that has turned their brains off cruzing under the speed limit in the fast lane. Around town, it had all the power you'd want to enter freeways, have a little fun at the stop light and whatever else you want. I just wished it wasn't so muffled under the all the sound deadening. A little growl from the tiger under the hood is a nice touch for me.
The most important factor to me, however, was the ride. I know some folks on staff thought this to be not a true sport hatch suspension and was too soft. Well, ok, it isn't a true race tune. But after two 390 mile runs on the interstate, I appreciated not being kicked in the kidneys for every crack and crevasse I rolled over. It was super comfortable. I think it's a good compromise between the spectrums of all out sport and all out living.
Lastly, it actually gets pretty good fuel mileage! Great for all the driving I had to do over the holiday weekend. I was averaging 27.8 mpg. That's a very impressive figure to me for such such a sporty hatchback.
The more I drive the GTI, the more I love it. It's a great balance of sport and everyday driving to make you a very happy owner.
I've never understood sport pedals in road cars. You are essentially adding something for the purpose of looking cool in a place that you can't easily see. It's like wallpapering a closet. To make matters worse, sport pedals with their small contact patches of rubber don't provide the grip of normal, fully rubberized pedals. When I jumped into the GTI this weekend after walking around in the rain, I disliked how slippery its sport pedals felt against my shoes. They didn't exactly feel as if they'd been coated in a thick layer of Pam, but it was hardly reassuring. If I owned our GTI, I'd replace them with something not-so-sporty.
While sport pedals are now nearly ubiquitous, there's one sporty company that has largely resisted this silly practice: BMW. I've heard the reason is that the Bavarians believe that being able to drive properly is more important than having sporty-looking footwells. I obviously agree, but there is a cloud on the horizon — I say "largely" because the new 335is has them. Knock it off.
Our 2010 Volkswagen GTI is closing in on the end of its 12-month term and already there are those of us lining up for one last drive before it departs.
This is not the usual thing around here. After 12 months, almost anything (or anyone) starts to look tiresome.
So the question is, what is it that lets the GTI cut across the preferences of so many people? Speed? Comfort? Design? Heritage? Economy? Price? Plaid seats?
All of the above.
Though the GTI is generally pretty accommodating, a few of us have already noted the generously padded driver seat isn't a perfect fit for shorter folks. Still, it's well-shaped and would likely be fine for the shorties if the bottom cushion wasn't quite as long and the front end (not just the rear) could be lowered. But it was the sliding center armrest that got my attention recently. In its normal position, it's too far back to rest my elbow on, leaving my shifting arm hanging in the breeze. Pulled towards the front, it worked like a charm, providing support while not intruding upon the shifting process.
I love turning on the GTI's lights. The switch knob has such a perfect heft and fluidity to its motion that I could flick it back and forth all day. Perhaps that's an exageration, but if I had just visited a Jamaican bakery, I'm sure its plausible. Any way, it's one of the many details within the GTI's cabin that makes it seem like a bargain-priced luxury car.
Last night I hopped in our long-term 2010 Volkswagen GTI and drove about 60 miles, no sweat. Ride quality is still comfortably firm in the warm-hot hatchback from Wolfsburg, and if road noise has crept up over the last 19,000 miles, it's the slightest of increases.
And that's about where my endorsement for our GTI's 225/40R18 92H Dunlop SP Sport01 all-season tires begins. After nearly 20,000 miles, all four tires still have plenty of tread left (though the rears are a touch closer to the wear bars).
When this car showed up in our fleet, I figured all the high curbs in Los Angeles would make mincemeat of the flashy 18-inch wheels, and I wondered aloud several times why we didn't get the standard 17s. (Evidently, the answer is that the 17s couldn't be more uncool, because VW discontinued them for MY2011.) But the Dunlops have a subtle lip around the edge that has provided good protection for the wheels during the car's tour of duty in our fleet. I took a walk around the car and only found two minor blemishes, both on the passenger side.
In short, our 2010 VW GTI has an attractive optional wheel/tire package ($750), and it has worn well — while giving the car a commuter-friendly ride quality. The only thing these tires don't do is make the GTI handle well; although, they're merely part of an elaborate conspiracy that also involves the dampers and stability control protocol. This latter failing keeps the GTI from being a true hot hatch in my book, but if you want a warm hatch to use as a commuter car, it doesn't get much better than this.
It's a small thing, but the cargo net in our 2010 Volkswagen GTI's hatch is one of the nicest, sturdiest nets I've ever seen. I've secured grocery bags and my overstuffed messenger bag (with my laptop inside) under it several times. But the net has enough stretch to it that you can secure a flat pizza box, too. And there are little pockets in the top of the net, one of which ably held a paper bag with pizza condiments.
This is a nice deal, especially, with the three-door hatch since you may not feel like finneagling your extra-large pizza (as this one is) into the backseat or making the front passenger hold it.
(Yes, Desmo, Abbot's again... I have a soft spot for the Popeye's chicken with garlic crust.)
I thought I'd get in at least one more ride in our GTI before I have to say goodbye (*sniff*). As soon as I started moving last night, I started hearing a little creak. It was coming from the B-pillar, over my left shoulder. I jiggled the seatbelt a little, but it had no effect. No big deal, I thought. Until my drive in this morning...
That creak turned into a steady ticking. From the moment I left my house until about three blocks from our office. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick... It was weird because it was in tempo. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick...
At every red light, I'd push the interior of the B-pillar, but as soon as I started moving, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick... I've no idea what it is. Maybe someone else on staff can try to track it down, or at least confirm I'm not finally losing my marbles.
Funny off-topic story on the graphic above: I had it on screen and Mike Magrath stops by my cubicle.
Mike Magrath: I know what you're doing. You're comparing the wheels on the GTI to wheels of cheese.
Me: What?
MM: That's the cheese guy from the 80's PSAs.
Me: Ummm, no. That's Timer, from "Time for Timer." It's before your time. 1973.
MM: No, it's the cheese guy. Look it up on YouTube. Do it, now.
Me: I'm busy, go away.
MM: Do it!
Fine, I thought. At least it'll make him go away. Turns out, ABC revived Timer for more PSAs in the 1980s to push cheese on kids.
MM: See?
Me: huh.
MM: Your childhood is trying to sell cheese to my childhood.
He realized how odd that last statement was, turned his head sideways and walked away.
Although I've had plenty of seat time in our Long Term 2010 Volkswagen GTI it wasn't until my most recent drive in the white hatchback I realized how many "dead buttons" are lining the center console.
We've all heard this complaint before (and it's one I wholeheartedly share): "I hate it when there are a bunch of blank button holes in my dash because it just reminds me of how many features my car is missing, and how much I 'cheaped out' when I bought this car."
That's true in most cars, and admittedly our GTI is missing one big option group. It doesn't have the Navigation Package, which includes not only a navigation system but a harddrive, DVD playback, an SD memory slot, a USB slot and an auxiliary audio input.
But really, if it did have that option would all four of those buttons been necessary? I don't think so. Is there another, high-end version of the Golf that includes a long list of features requiring five buttons at the bottom of the center stack? Again, I don't think so (though I'm sure the VW fans out there will let me know if I'm missing something).
So what's with all these dead buttons in here? I'm guessing there's some European version(s) of the Golf that has, oh I don' t know, the "Light Bright" package where you can independently turn off every side-marker light with these buttons. Those Europeans love having special exterior lighting controls.
Anyway, I don't appreciate feeling like I'm driving the poor-man's stripper VW every time I look down at the shifter, especially when I ("I" being "Edmunds" in this particular case) have ponied up for the GTI version of the Golf.
The GTI has a shift light that's constantly telling me when to shift. I've been shifting for 25 years. Even if fuel economy were a priority, I don't really need it.
To me, the shift light feels like a modern voice mail system which spends 45 seconds telling me to leave a message after the beep then hang up — something I've been doing for even longer than driving and am fully capable of doing without instruction.
What about you? Shift light or no?
This is cool. And if you want to hide some lightweight books or magazines under the GTI's decklid cover, it's genuinely useful.
Of course, it's virtually useless now that the hook which locates the decklid cover on the driver's side is broken off. Stick anything remotely heavy on that side and the cover can't stay put as the hatch rises.
Still, a cool idea.
We've taken the GTI in for its 20,000-mile service appointment. We'll let you know how it goes.
(Would it have hurt to say please? Maybe you can't expect politesse from a German car.)
I took our Volkswagen GTI in for its 20,000 mile service on Friday. The 20K service includes an oil change, tire rotation, a cabin filter if needed and various other inspections. I also used this opportunity to address all the lingering issues our editors had pointed out in previous blog posts — the air-conditioner odor described as "sweaty sock," a broken cargo cover strap and a mysterious "ticking" noise from the B-pillar.
When I brought the car in, our service advisor noticed that there was a recall (YW/97T2) that required a software update and addressed an issue with the body control module. On a VW forum, some GTI owners have noticed that their fuel economy has gone up since this update was performed on their cars. Time will tell if we get this benefit as well.
The A/C odor was a quick fix. Technicians replaced the cabin filters and cleaned the system, just to be safe. The cleaning chemicals they used must've had a baby powder scent, because that's what the car smells like now.
The broken cargo strap required a part that was not in stock. We will have to bring the car back in a few days to get the part installed.
As for the ticking noise, I heard it on the way in, but the technicians were not able to duplicate the noise. They checked the clips and panels in the B-pillar area, but did not find anything loose or broken. They even compared it to other GTIs on the lot and still didn't hear the noise in ours. Strangely enough, when I got the car back, I couldn't hear the noise either. So either it fixed itself when the mechanic poked around, or we all imagined it.
The dealership had the car washed and ready at the end of the business day. The total cost for the 20,000-mile service was zero, since it was covered by VW's "carefree maintenance" program. The other items were covered under the car's warranty.
Yesterday was a good day. I took a vacation day to attend a family gathering downtown as well as run a few errands. I found myself with an idle couple of hours and decided to hit the Barney's Warehouse sale (got a sweet $300 shirt for $59) and took our GTI out for a spin in Pasadena.
When I first started riding motorcycles, I'd wake up 45 minutes early to get in a canyon ride on the way to work. I learned every turn, every rut and every bump on these roads. So how'd the GTI do?
The GTI performed admirably — for a front-drive car. It railed through turns and always felt solidly anchored to the road. But this canyon run also made me realize why I've owned rear-drive cars almost exclusively.
Accelerating out of a turn requires a careful application of throttle. A little too much pedal and the front tires start spinning and the steering wheel tries to wrestle free of my grip. Sure, stickier tires would help, but only up to a point. Weight transferring to the rear under acceleration and the resulting increase in grip is what I live for, and FWD cars simply can't deliver or compare.
I noted before that the GTI was my top hatchback pick. I think I'll also pick it as tops among front-wheel-drive cars, too. That said, if I had $24k to spend on fun car, I think I'd go with a V6 Mustang or Hyundai Genesis Coupe.
After observing the grand old LA tradition of Valentine's Day Dinner, we returned to the parking lot to find this sweet Volvo C30 R-design. I haven't thought about the C30 in years, but this one looks great. For a few seconds there in the parking lot, I forgot all about the otherwise handsome GTI. Which do you like better?
In other news, the B-pillar ticking noise is back, and it has joined forces with the leaky driver door seal to annoy the bejesus out of me. Most likely, we'll have to insist on a test drive with a VW dealer service advisor or tech to avoid a "cannot duplicate customer concern" diagnosis — and time permitting, we will do that.
How do you travel 7.2 miles in 1 min. 47 sec. while reaching speeds of over 200 mph?
Flux capacitor?
Deal with the Devil?
A new long-term Veyron?
Nah...Movie magic.
When it comes to sport compacts that are offered with a choice of two or four doors, I usually prefer the one with a pair of doors. These coupes (or hatchbacks) are generally sleeker and sportier than their four-door counterparts, which can look like an economy car dressed up with side sills and a rear spoiler. Think Civic Si or Cobalt SS. The GTI however, looks good either way, probably because the two-door version isn't much different from the four-door. Either way it's rather boxy which typically doesn't win style points in my book. But in this case it works rather well.
With it's cleanly chiseled lines, the GTI's styling in either body style is more Euro chic than econo box. So running contrary to my normal leanings, I'd be tempted to take the four-door version for its greater practicality and smaller front doors. The latter are an asset here in L.A., where parking lots and garages have designated "compact" spots that are notably narrower than standard spots and thus only allow a short amount of door swing.
Right, so the cleverest amongst us will notice that that blue thing there with the gaping grille and cool, not-phone-dialey wheels, is not our 2010 Volkswagen GTI, but rather a 2012 Volkswagen Golf R. You know the deal: all-wheel-drive and 266-horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque from a turbocharged 2.0-liter, six-speed manual ONLY.
And I'll be driving it on Monday. We've already run a first drive, but is there anything we missed, or anything that you want to know about the US-bound hotter hatch from Vee-Dub? Get questions in early for best chance of an answer.
After parking the GTI in front of a Lamborghini Gallardo, I realized something rather strange. This German hot hatch and that Italian exotic are somewhat related. Back in 1998, Lamborghini was purchased by Volkswagen through their Audi division. That union brought Lamborghini back from the near-dead via a couple of all-new models (the Murcielago and then Gallardo), after being owned by seemingly disinterested Chrysler and then Indonesian interests.
That orange Gallardo sitting there happens to be the Superleggera ("Super light") model. It has a 570-hp V10 engine, all-wheel drive and a lot of carbon fiber. It weighs just 2,954 pounds — talk about power to weight! Our GTI, with its turbo four and front-wheel drive, weighs 3,103 pounds. Though I certainly enjoy driving the peppy, comfortable V-dub, it is rather pudgy for a small hatchback. Imagine how much more fun (yes, and expensive) it would be if they offered a 400-pound lighter, enthusiast-focused Superleggera version.
Checking out the consumer reviews for the 2010 GTI, it seems that most owners seem very happy with their choice. Although a few of these reviews should be taken with a grain of salt, most seem to be honest appraisals of the car. People are usually eager to share their experience with what is likely their second biggest purchase they'll ever make. For the 2010 GTI alone, there are no less than 59 consumer reviews. Enjoy.
OK, maybe "aging fast" is a little strong with the language, but that ticking noise from the vicinity of the driver-side B-pillar in our 2010 Volkswagen GTI has become a persistent squeaking noise. It's very annoying at 70 mph on the freeway and makes our warm hatch feel older than it really is.
It's too bad, because last night I was reminded again why I like this car. The drivetrain is as smooth as it is strong, the engine sounds great through its snorkus, and the six-speed manual is fun to shift. I may have to pay our VW service advisor a personal visit.
A year ago, regular unleaded gasoline was a mere $3.07 here in the Los Angeles area. And 24.6 miles per gallon could be deemed a small price to pay for the fun of a zippy little hatchback like the Volkswagen GTI.
Today, the average price of gasoline in L.A. $3.97. As you can see from the sign above, it was even higher in West L.A., which is where I filled the GTI today. (Thank heavens it's not one of those cars that requires premium.)
So with the cost of gasoline in mind, is 24.6 mpg still acceptable for a small, albeit spirited car? If we were to get another hot hatch once we sell the GTI, should we expect better fuel economy from it?
"Dude, dude, hey Jacobs... Dude." That's the problem showing up to a friends party really late. I'm driving, I'm not drinking, and my friend's had way too much bad wine long before I arrived.
"What are you driving right now to make me jealous?" my buddy asks while taking a hold of my shoulder, like we're sharing some kind of secret. "The GTI" I replied.
"Chsh!" He blurts out, waving his index finger in a disapproving manner over the red cup clenched in his right hand. "No, no way, no... Wait, what are you driving?"
Trying to explain something to a drunk is a tough, uphill battle. Reason cannot be used in such circumstances. Hard data is useless as well, especially when he retorts with "So what. My cousin's vintage Camaro will smoke your (s-box)." The drunk would never concede, even if your car was jet powered. No, the only argument you can make a roasted comrade truly understand is an emotional one.
I explained to him that the steering wheel has an excellent shape so you can really take control when taking a turn hard. It feels like you have the reins of a galloping horse. The seats are supportive, but you still comfortably sink into them with g-forces. The engine is a hoot from a stop light and responds with a nice crisp roar that only gets better as the turbo kicks in. The best part for me though is the shifter and clutch combo. I can easily throw the gears from one gate to another and the comfortable catch point of the clutch makes blip shifting a snap.
The GTI compliments my driving style very well. I feel like a better driver. In my book, it's simply a great car.
My friend stood there, slowly nodding his head with squinted eyes and "I totally get ya" pursed lips. He then pulled back like he had some revelation, "Yeah, but what color is it?"
"It's white" I replied. "CHSCH!"
Hopeless.
There was some drama surrounding our 2010 Volkswagen GTI last week. We filled it with 87 octane gasoline and it didn't go over well. So now we have another idea, dyno test it on 87 and compare it to performance on 91. What do you think?
So our time with our 2010 Volkswagen GTI is drawing to a close. Was there anything about it that you wish that we blogged about? Any dream shoot-outs? Gripes you wished we covered? Question we haven't answered? Speak now...
I'm a big fan of the GTI. I dig the plaid seats, I dig the power, and I dig the flat bottom steering wheel.
But I also really like the simple clean lines/layout of the center stack. Easy to find what you're looking for in a brief glance. Way better than the disaster of buttons in the Crosstour, IMHO.
There are now 22,145 miles on the GTI's odometer and it's past the year mark, which means it shall soon be departing to the big cloud in the sky (and by cloud I mean "list" and by sky I mean "old long-term cars in the lower right-hand corner of this page"). This makes me sad, because the GTI is not only one of my favorite all-time long-termers but also one of my favorite cars, period. I haven't been driving it that much since new long-term cars began flooding our garage like ... OK, so now's not really the time to be making flooding metaphors, but you get the idea. We have a lot of new long-termers and old ones get less attention.
So before the GTI sails off into the sunset (see, get the symbolism of that photo? Clever, I know), I thought I'd drive it home one last time to experience what life would be like if I didn't have this job and actually owned my own car. That's right, barring the funds needed to by an XJ Supercharged or CLS63 AMG, I'd get a four-door GTI modestly equipped just like ours. Hell, even with said funds, I'd probably own one in addition to those. And a ski boat. And this home theater.
Crap, what the hell was I talking about? Oh yes, the GTI. Wonderful car, one of the best cars you can buy today. I shall miss it, but it shall at least forever be placed alongside the 135i, Challenger and S5 on the mantle of my all-time favorites.
Today we ran a Track Tested piece on the 2012 Honda Civic Si. And the discussion there, and in our office, quickly turned to that of 2.0-liter 200 horsepower / 207 torque GTI or 2.4-liter 201 horsepower / 170 torque Civic Si?
It's a question that rears up every few years and 2011 is no different. There's a new Si on the block as the GTI is knocking on two. There is a $1,490 price difference in favor of the Civic. There is an incalculable appearance difference in favor of the VW.
I've made a quick list of performance specs after the jump. But we all know that cars are more than just track numbers.
Which would you buy, and why?
VW GTI
200 horsepower @ 5,100
207 pound-feet at 1,800
225/40R18 Dunlop SP Sport 01 AS
3,097 pounds
0-60: 7.0
0-60 Rollout: 6.6
Quarter mile: 15.0 @ 95.2
30-0: 34
60-0: 130
Slalom: 65.5
Skidpad: 0.87
Price: $23,695
/volkswagen/gti/2010/long-term-road-test/#track-tested-updated
2012 Honda Civic SI
201 horsepower @ 7,000
170 pound-feet @ 4,300
215/45ZR17 Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2
2,845 lbs.
0-60: 6.9
0-60 w/rollout: 6.6
Quarter mile: 15.1 @ 93.1
30-0: 20
60-0: 120
Slalom: 67.3
Skidpad: 0.86
Price $22,205
Vehicle Testing Manager Mike Schmidt sent me this photo of our VW GTI getting a hot oil treatment but not in Texas.
What is your caption?
We'll post our favorite this afternoon.
Note: The last few winners have not claimed their glorious prizes. I'm going to put a time limit on it. If you don't claim your prize by the time the next caption contest posts, the prize goes back in my prize box. That gives you a week.
Happy Friday the 13th.
Yep, we still have our 2010 Volkswagen GTI. We sent it on some errands off the radar for the past few weeks. Now it is back, well, until we sell it. Fortunately for the sake of the LTRTB our GTI got a flat while on its secret mission. But not just any flat...
You don't need a magnifying glass to see that puncture above the "P." You do, however, need $275 and a few hours to track down a replacement Dunlop SP Sport. Stokes Tire Pros handled the tire location part. We handled the cash part.
Total Cost: $274.27
Days out of Service: None
Mike Schmidt has already told you that our VW GTI is back from its secret mission off the grid, and that it returned home with a busted tire. Well, it also returned with this curb rash. Bummer.
It's great to have our prodigal GTI back home. A little the worse for wear, it still is a fun drive, and it got a chance to frolic Sunday morning on Pasadena's Arroyo Seco Parkway. (The parkway was the first freeway built in the United States and was designed for the then-maximum legal speed limit of 45 mph. The GTI took it a little faster than that.)
While I didn't hear the ticking and clicking that has bedeviled our car, the squeaking that Erin mentioned in March is louder and more persistent than ever. It seems to come from the area of the back seat and I think it's triggered by bumps and judders in the road. It sounds like an irked cricket, and if I owned the car, I'd tempted to go on a bughunt to find and silence the little sucker.
But if you saw "Aliens," you know why Pvt. Hudson (pictured, above left) was so skeptical of bughunts. They involve time and treasure (assuming the car is out of warranty). And there's about a 50/50 chance you'll be able to source and kill the noisemaker before you lose your mind. That's been my experience with such squeaks and creaks, anyway. What's yours?
A few months ago John DiPietro asked you to check out the consumer reviews for the 2010 GTI. This time it's our Edmunds Rating. Check it out. The GTI get high marks.
Should it? What do you think? Are we right or wrong?
G: Great powertrain. The smooth and eager turbo four also sounds great when you lean into it. And the tranny has a light, progressive clutch and a fairly slick shifter.
T: Timeless styling. This is what a hot hatch — a vehicle that combines a spirited driving personality with the practicality of roomy passenger/cargo areas — should look like. A cleanly chiseled form that's functional yet somehow still Euro chic.
I: Intuitive controls. For example, the proven, old-school three knob layout for the climate control and likewise user-friendly radio with volume and tuning knobs on either end. The steering wheel controls also become second nature in short order.
I saw this four-door GTI yesterday. Got me thinking about what body style I'd get if I was going to buy a GTI. I think I'd get the four-door. What about you?
Driving the GTI again this past weekend reminded me why so many people have different impressions of this car. I've spent most of my time driving the GTI in the city. In that environment, the suspension has always felt remarkable comfortable given its low-profile tires.
Get on a broken and rutted freeway like the 405 here in L.A. and it's a different story. More than once this weekend I felt like I was behind the wheel of a Nissan GT-R. At highway speeds, the GTI feels considerably less compliant. Those 40-series tires suddenly feel more like they look as every crack comes through to the interior. It's not quite as awful as the GT-R, but it's still more road intrusion than your average hatchback. I don't mind it that much, makes the car feel a little more serious. Wouldn't be surprised if other didn't agree though.
We've been given the word to put our long term Volkswagen GTI up for sale. So I took our long term Volkswagen GTI to get appraised at Carmax. We do this to set a baseline price for ourselves to either improve on in a private party sale or take the Carmax's offer. Take a guess as to what we were offered before you follow the jump.
Carmax offered us $19,000. For reference, Edmunds trade in TMV is $18,273. The Carmax offer is a solid price, but we think we can do better. Since the $19K is guaranteed for seven days, we will try to beat that by a grand or two in the coming week.
Any predictions as to what price we will end up at?
After being offered $19,000 in cold cash (well, a cashier's check) by CarMax for our GTI, our motivation to top that number is low. The problem is that a new GTI can be had for about $24,000. So any asking price over $20,000 begins to bump into the new car price. We did throw up an ad on eBayMotors and got one inquiry. And we also posted this YouTube video. But at this point, we might just take the CarMax money and move on to other things.
Our Volkswagen GTI was sold to Carmax today for $19,000. We tried to improve the price with our Criagslist and eBay classified ads, but only got a few tire kickers via email. Perhaps we could've beat it, if we had more time and took out an Autotrader ad. But like the GMC Terrain before it, this was one of those times when the Carmax price was very competitive. And it wasn't worth the time and effort to improve on the price by a couple hundred dollars.
I really liked this car. We bought it at the same time and at the same dealer as my Golf TDI. I would get a kick out of comparing the subtle differences on the inside and outside of the car. It was fun to drive and was relatively fuel efficient. After a year of ownership, the GTI held up well, with only a few minor scrapes to speak of.
Did your opinion change on this car? Would you buy one now?
