The Best GTI Yet - 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

The Best GTI Yet - 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds conducts a long-term test of the 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI and ponders its place in the driver's car pecking order.

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dvanos

Drove an MK7 with the PPK this weekend and boy want a wonderful machine!! That limited slip is amazing, the road was semi-wet and as I pushed it harder it never faltered nor did the stability light flick even once. VW really hit it out the park here now my only dilemma should or should i not eat the negative $3K for an MK7?

throwback

I rode in a co-workers 2015 GTi recently and I was impressed with the refinement of the car. The last GTi I drove was 2(?) generations ago, and while fun, it was also somewhat crude.

kirkhilles1

I'd be honestly interested in a very-long-term evaluation of a VW model. Log in maybe 100,000 miles or so and see what the reliability is like. People seem to absolutely LOVE the vehicles UNTIL the repairs start stacking up. I'd like to see what its like for a majority of VW owners which is ownership AFTER warranty.

ducky10

I have driven all 112,000 miles in my 2010 mark 6 GTI with DSG and it is remarkably reliable. It has no rattles, no visible wear inside or out, and drives better than the day I bought it -after using Koni yellow shocks to replace the worn out stock Sachs shocks. Oh, and a 23 mm rear sway bar from ECS, and upgraded brake pads addressed most of the other concerns raised my the editors regarding the 2010. The rear end is lively on twisty roads, understeer is minimal, and I have lift throttle oversteer before the nannies ( thankfully) kick in.

s197gt

very nicely put. sums it up well.

the lack of a true LSD in other performance FWD vehicles is hard to understand; (i give VW props for finally offering one). i can't imagine it being much of a drivability or cost issue. and the inability to fully deactivate the computer nannies? SMH... but i know there are workarounds on the forums.

atari

I had so much trouble finding a PP equipped autobahn GTI nearby that I ended up "settling" on an 2015 Oryx White Pearl Golf R instead. Never thought I'd find an R first. No regrets. 700 miles later and I'm not missing the sunroof one bit. It's a blast. Can't wait to get past the break in period.

shadrach2

Own a PP 4 door. The limited slip diff makes a world of difference. I was shocked at how immediate and obvious an improvement it provides. Our other car is a 2012 Mark 6 GTI so the back to back comparison is easily made.

dvanos

shadrach2 said:

Own a PP 4 door. The limited slip diff makes a world of difference. I was shocked at how immediate and obvious an improvement it provides. Our other car is a 2012 Mark 6 GTI so the back to back comparison is easily made.

Are you able to chime in on the a/c compared to the MK6?? For some reason I always found it to weak, I'm currently looking at an MK7 PP.

dldave

kirkhilles1 said:

I'd be honestly interested in a very-long-term evaluation of a VW model. Log in maybe 100,000 miles or so and see what the reliability is like. People seem to absolutely LOVE the vehicles UNTIL the repairs start stacking up. I'd like to see what its like for a majority of VW owners which is ownership AFTER warranty.

I have almost 110k miles on my 08 Jetta (2.0T, DSG) and have had 2 mechatronic and 2 intake manifold replacements. Other annoying priblems started at around 94k miles and just last year I spent just over 4k on maintenance. I still like it, but I will not have a repeat of 2014. By the way, I really take care of this vehicle and do not miss a service.

milleman

shadrach2 said:

Own a PP 4 door. The limited slip diff makes a world of difference. I was shocked at how immediate and obvious an improvement it provides. Our other car is a 2012 Mark 6 GTI so the back to back comparison is easily made.

Don't want to hijack this thread, but it's frustrating reading editors here comparing the Mk7 GTI to their Mk6 GTI recalling from memory 5 years ago with 100 cars in-between. You have them back-to-back -- in the space of one post how would you summarize improvements and compromises of the Mk7 (before PP plays its hand)? Ride characteristics on mixed pavement, steering precision, turbo lag, front-rear balance, road noise, whatever you most notice. I've test-driven several Mk7s vs my 2010, but that's not living with a new one...

schen72

dldave said:

kirkhilles1 said:

I'd be honestly interested in a very-long-term evaluation of a VW model. Log in maybe 100,000 miles or so and see what the reliability is like. People seem to absolutely LOVE the vehicles UNTIL the repairs start stacking up. I'd like to see what its like for a majority of VW owners which is ownership AFTER warranty.

I have almost 110k miles on my 08 Jetta (2.0T, DSG) and have had 2 mechatronic and 2 intake manifold replacements. Other annoying priblems started at around 94k miles and just last year I spent just over 4k on maintenance. I still like it, but I will not have a repeat of 2014. By the way, I really take care of this vehicle and do not miss a service.

Reliability issues is what prevents me from being interested in VWs. Had a New Beetle for a few years that had horrible build quality. I've also had Audi company cars several years ago that constantly broke down. I like VAG products as long as someone else pays the bill, but I'm afraid to own them myself.