The Way I Would Have Ordered It - 2015 Volkswagen GTI Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

The Way I Would Have Ordered It - 2015 Volkswagen GTI Long-Term Road Test

An Edmunds editor rambles on about the way he would have ordered the new long-term 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI. Think plaid seats and manual transmission.

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7driver

Well I guess that setup means you can't get the adjustable shocks. What are your thoughts on the Lighting Package, Driver Assist Package, Performance Package and 2 vs. 4 doors?

mercedesfan

@7driver,
I'm pretty sure the adjustable dampers aren't offered in the US market at all.

exnevadan

if I buy another GTI I'd have to go with the manual for the shift knob alone.

darex

Therein lies the reason why I got the F56 MINI Cooper, and not the Mark VII Golf: Choice

I had full control over what I got with my car, and you had next to none. That is not acceptable!

fordson1

darex said:

Therein lies the reason why I got the F56 MINI Cooper, and not the Mark VII Golf: Choice

I had full control over what I got with my car, and you had next to none. That is not acceptable!

So basically you're saying that if you had been able to get exactly the options you wanted, you would have gotten the GTI rather than the MINI?

I agree with you - no-brainer.

agentorange

I wouldn't go back to a stick now unless the government removed 90% of the vehicles from the road. Just not enough places where you can regularly enjoy a stick any more due to traffic IMHO.

darex

No, Fordson, I mean that I could have possibly considered the Golf, alongside the MINI; whereas, given the too many compromises I'd have to make, I couldn't consider it. I might still have chosen the MINI, but at least there would have been another option. It is a "brainer". The MINI offers options not available in the Golf at any price (even in Europe), and drives just as well.

quadricycle

@agentorange: Maybe you're living in the wrong place. I live in a decent size college town and it still doesn't take long to get out into the woods for a nice drive. When I head home for the holidays, we'll take a way that's shorter in distance but longer in duration instead of the highway just for the enjoyable drive. Not to mention we've found some great small town dinners, and the gas station with the world's cleanest bathroom! The roads are out there.

fordson1

darex said:

The MINI offers options not available in the Golf at any price (even in Europe), and drives just as well.

Well, the track test results for their GTI will be coming out soon and we can compare them.

chol92594

I think the argument for manual vs. DSG largely depends on where you live and where you drive. If I had to commute in a city with terrible rush hour traffic, it would be the DSG, no question. I just wouldn't want to deal with a stick in stop-and-go traffic. If I lived in a suburb and didn't have to deal with a ton of traffic on a regular basis, I could be tempted to stick with the 6-speed. Yeah, the manual is definitely more tactile and enjoyable than the DSG, but the trade off is that you don't get those lightning-fast gear changes OR launch control. I'd be curious to see what impact, if any, DSG vs. 6-speed has on residual values.

bgsntth

My biggest complaints regarding the MINI as a manual is that the tachometer is obliterated by the top of the steering wheel. Being as that the tach is attached to the steering column, adjusting the steering wheel does not solve the issue. I do confess I have not sat in the 2015 MINI. The other issue was the gear box was really notchy. If the new GTI was available in January 2014, that would have been my current car, exactly as Mike spec'd it. But I could not wait; hence, bought a 6sp Manual Accord Sport. Great car, but would have preferred a hatchback.

iheartturbos

@mercedesfan, you are incorrect. Adjustable dampers will be available starting early-2015 along with Performance Pack.

stickordeath

I commute into Manhattan every day, and I drive a stick, a Golf TDI. I wouldn't buy a car with an automatic. Driving a stick in traffic becomes second-nature, and is actually much easier in stop-and-go situations than automatics, CVTs or, worst of all, automated manuals. My weekend car also has a stick, an aging, but still utterly enjoyable Honda S2000. That's the car for the winding country roads . . .

iheartturbos

@darex - please. The MINI F56 is horrible. It placed last in a test behind the Civic Si. It recently got its fuel efficiency rating downgraded, it comes with a horrible dealer network that seems to have had no training, it costs a ton more with the same equipment a GTI comes STANDARD with, the F56 is horrendous to look at, is much much slower and softer, it is uncomfortable, cramped (even though it grew and now looks like someone pumped helium into the first two generations, it has massive overhangs, cheap interior full of hard plastic and flimsy build quality, the reliability of a 1970's FIAT, it's manual gearbox has long throws and the shifter comes detached when being driven hard - just Google that - it has the most idiotic design element I've seen in a car: LED light ring, and to top it off the performance data I've seen from EVERY REVIEW has proven it's slower than the R56 S. It doesn't have any features you cannot get on the GTI - unless you are referring to the small brake discs, light ring, lack of power, torque, style, quality, or comfort. I sold a 2011 R56 S 6MT and bought a MKVII GTI. I cannot even tell you how much better this car is made than anything BMW or MINI makes. When I drove the F56 S I was shocked by how poorly it handled, it's engine had no high end power, it sounded very strange and the exhausts were totally silent, the interior felt as cheap as my 2011 S and it couldn't even be compared with the GTI in price. What options are you referring to missing? My GTI has Nav, frontal collision warning, premium stereo, 5-doors, huge trunk, 18" wheels, 258lb-FT, REAL LEATHER, dual zone climate, sunroof, rear view camera, FRONT AND REAR parking sensors, LED/XENON headlights that swivel (all options on the F56 S), bluetooth streaming (also an option on the F56 - standard on ALL 2015 GTI's), smart key locking and start, no bump or torque steer, firm but comfortable suspension that doesn't have lots of roll, a real DIPSTICK, a spare tire, etc... The list goes on.