GTI Waffle thread
 

As I mentioned before, the plan is to replace the Miata with a GTI sometime in 2021. I really do love the Miata, but it is loud in the highway, less safe, and with my wife refusing to drive the M3, a GTI would provide a 5-door car she would be comfortable driving for short errands involving both kids or when more cargo than the Miata offers is needed - which is pretty often.

I could hold on to the Miata as a 4th car, but what is the point of babying a cosmetically imperfect, well-driven Miata? That's what you do with a nice Boxster, which is what I hope to get a couple/few years down the road. I prefer to save the maintenance, space, and money until such time.

On to the GTI. Resale values are dumb, so we will almost certainly go new. It will be MT and will also have to be in a stealthy-ish color since I don't want to call attention in the hwy and I already have an orange M3. I'm thinking Silver, White, or Black (but worry about upkeep and stone chips showing). I'm done with gray cars for a while. (Their smurf-blue "cornflower blue" is fun, but too crazy for us)

But the question is 2021 MK7 or 2022 MK8?

I'm leaning towards MK7 since I expect to get a decent deal in the outgoing model, I hate the idea of not having any buttons, and I don't love the grill (though all black may make it ok). The MK7 is well sorted by now and we loved our MK7 eGolf in terms of looks, ergonomics, and quality feel.

The MK8 is supposed to be an improvement, will have ~15 more hp/lb-ft, and will likely have better tech inside. It's also a 1st/2nd year car.

When do you think would be the best time to get an MK7 if we go that way?

It looks like VW was planning Q3 2021 as the launch for the Mk 8 here even before all the corona stuff, so if you want a Mk 7 you have plenty of time (and if you want a Mk 8, you'd probably have to wait at least 8 months).

Spring might be the best time to sell the Miata, but on the other hand we're still on the downward slope of that crazy demand for used cars, so maybe you'd get a decent deal for it now.

I wouldn't worry too much about timing the market. My local VW dealer is showing a healthy inventory of Mk 7 GTIs with "instant internet savings" advertised, so you'd probably get a good deal now. It's all about whether you want to drive the Miata for another winter or not.

EDIT: And I would definitely get a Mark 7 over a Mark 8. The new one is fugly.

VW is offering 0% for 60 months on the GTI right now but I imagine that sort of deal will be around for a few months, no?

Also, I don't know if the US will get the one-piece front sport seats Europe gets on the MK8, but they are big and bulky and I'd hate the obstructed view as a rear passenger.

Around for a few months? Who knows? Maybe? Probably? But who knows what a few months from now is going to look like, generally?

Honestly, I don't see much reason to wait if the intent is to get a nicer winter car. It's winter now; if you wait a few months the Miata will start making a lot more sense to keep.

whatever you do, get the blue

I think I'd rather get the last of decent model car than the first of one built in the time of COVID.

Such is the case with my Mazda. We are coming to the end of the model run. Only change for this year was the bigger screen. And there have been running improvements, including better, quieter glass, etc., for the cabin--addressing customer gripes.

The 0% interest mitigates the risk of having had pulled the trigger a little too soon.

This blue looks pretty cool and elegant.

https://cdn-ds.com/blogs-media/sites...f_GTI2-A_O.jpg

wrong blue.

;)

Almost $40k for a GTI seems like a reason not to get the good blue.

It kind of sounds like you are asking the group here to tell you do something now (consciously or not). If there might be some truth to it, why not just do it?

If you got rid of the Miata and got this, would the next shoe be to get rid of the m3 and get a boxster?

Have you looked at the trade in value on the Miata? Might be worth it for the tax savings on the new GTI + ease of total transaction / not dealing with private sale headaches.

Not sure if the M3 stays or goes. I really like it. We'll see.

As far as trading the Miata, I'll look into it, but I suspect it will not be worth it.

Not really. I would actually prefer to sell the Miata in the middle of summer and wait until then to get a GTI.

That's perfectly reasonable. There will probably still be some Mk 7 stock then, though my guess is that at some point they'll stop building them to do the factory changeover in Mexico. I don't think deals will be wildly worse then, but 0 pct financing might not still be available.

It really comes down to whether you want to do another winter in the Miata, or whether you'd prefer to drive the VW in the snow. Given the no cost financing, I'd probably pull the trigger now, but YMMV.

Right. I normally would have waited at least 3 more months before waffling in earnest, but this deal is making me wonder if I should act. It's not as if the Miata hanging around as a 4th car is an expensive proposition if it takes until spring to sell.

So, one thought if you're going to wait is maybe reserve an ID.4? No idea when delivery will happen but the terms are posted on the VW website and they look intriguing.

https://www.vw.com/en/models/id-4.html


But if you're going to get a GTI, I'd get this one. The leather and sunroof are nice but not worth 4 grand, and I've got a soft spot for white GTIs.

https://www.sheehyspringfieldvw.com/...va-id-39937380

Though the Mk 7 still isn't as cool looking as the Mark 2.

https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars...ittle-asphalt/

https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassi...13/05/GTI9.png

The hell is that? Must read about it.

Wife loves white VW's so that is likely to happen. I dunno about cloth, man. I mean, I personally would love it. But we have a dog and kids who play soccer and basketball. That and my wife will invariably want this to nominally be "her" car, so I have to let her pick that stuff. I'm happy enough that she allows it to be a MT.

Also, while I could care less about the roof on this car, I do like the LED headlamps. But yeah, that's huge savings and tempting.

OK, I read more about the ID.4. I'm gonna say no. I drive >40 miles of hwy a day and thanks to COVID those are >75mph miles. I don't think that use case is EV-friendly.

:dunno:

VW is advertising a range of 250 miles for the ID.4. Even at 75+, 40 miles on the highway will use up 60ish miles of range. Plug in at 240V overnight and you should replace that in 2-3 hours... You'd have to be pushing 200 miles per day to have an issue with range...

The range isn't final yet, but I think manufacturers have learned that they need to be realistic in what they advertise so that when the EPA rating comes out that they it is slightly higher (that's what Ford did on the Mach E)...

I’m not saying it won’t make it. Heck, the eGolf would have made that range if I babied it on cold days. It’s just inefficient.

ZBB and I don't agree often on electric car stuff.

I agree with ZBB. There's no problem here other than whatever you are inventing to make it a problem.

Its still more efficient of a cold day than a GTI...

While I'm not in a cold climate anymore, I did spend 3 years with an EV in one, and my car sat in a concrete cold sink when at work -- so the battery was well below freezing most days when heading home. I used at most an extra 10 mile of range on cold days on my ~45-48 mile commute. And I charged at 120V at home. I never worried about babying it...

I am not against the idea of an EV. I’ve said it before - I’d like to have an EV again. I already have a MT sedan. But that ID.4 thing is not what I think I want. Nothing is forcing me into swapping the Miata, so I certainly could wait.

The several comments you made were all directed towards range and efficiency, so I guess I assumed that was the issue you had with it. The car itself leaves me cold, too, but range doesn't factor into it.

NIce car since almost exactly the same as mine:D

MSRP seems to have gone up but you still should be able to get it for cheaper then that price. Yes cloth is not ideal for dogs and kids but is working for me. I still prefer it over leather.

A few thoughts/comments...

We have agreed that an S is good enough and we will live with the seats. We also want white.

You guys have me thinking of an EV now. The idea of getting one to be used heavily in winter is kind of ridiculous, but as I have said many times, I loved having a practical EV for the MANY short errands we do. Also, I still have the charger from the eGolf.

But, I know my wife would love the idea of taking the GTI to visit her parents in Montreal, and this would make a great car for the kids to use in 3-4 years when our oldest gets a license.

I'm still open to the right EV, but the GTI is the plan of record.

EV tech is only getting better and cheaper, so there’s no harm in waiting.

I miss having a sunroof but now that I don’t have one in either car I’m fairly used to it. And I don’t miss having to worry about the drains.

And that cloth interior is super cool looking.

It’s a great all around car and is def in the running here too as I start to think about the kids starting to drive.

I've said for years that it is the best value in cardom - especially if you keep the spec simple. You may recall we almost got one for my wife in 2016 and then instead went with the eGolf. Then I almost got one for myself and then went with the M3. So this thing has always been on our radar. I like the idea of having one in the household.

Now with all the bells and whistles I care about (LED lights, perf pkg, LSD) available std on the S trim, it's an even better value.

On the EV front, frankly, I'd get an eGolf again if it had updated batteries and power a la ID.4 (~ 2x the range and power). It would need real tires though.

That's basically the ID.3, which VW has decided not to sell in the US...

Ah! I see. I didn't know about that. But yes, I'd be open to one of those. But 4000lb! Ugh. Still not very fast 0-60. I could care less about that around town, since even the eGolf was quick 0-40. But where it sucked was at hwy speeds.

I take for granted that EV's are quick around town. I think the C&D test of 50-70 accel is a very important metric for EV's.

You should just get a Model 3, tbh. Or maybe a Model Y if you need a bit more space.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...-acceleration/

I'm sure they are great. But they are also much more $$$. My plan has always been to replace the M3 with an EV (way) down the road. But the 3 doesn't do it for me just yet.

As for getting an EV over the GTI, I don't think the 3 has enough hatch/cargo space, does it? I'd have to look into the Y, and that's much more than the GTI.

Even the new GTI idea only works as long as it's "cheap" and has low cost of ownership. I really should be getting a used commuter. But I like GTI's and their resale is crazy high, so I can make a solid pitch that a new one is not crazy.

The 3 Performance is, IMHO, one of the greatest performance bargains out there, but it's still nearly 2X the cost of a GTI, so I'm not actually suggesting you do that instead of the GTI. Your mention of the 50-70 passing time just triggered my memory of that CD article.

As for space...you'd be surprised. The Model 3 has a deceptively huge cargo capacity. As an example, I could take both kids, my wife, and two full size steamer trunks to camp in the Model 3, with some room to spare--there's no way that load could have fit into the Golf or even the BMW.

It doesn't have a hatch, so if you're looking to carry big, awkwardly shaped things it's not ideal. But the combination of a wide, deep trunk and the frunk mean it carries way more than anything in the same size class.

The Golf that I had didn't have a huge amount of cargo room. I've read that the Rs lose a few inches in vertical height b/c of the AWD system, but I haven't looked into the hatch of a GTI recently. Certainly plenty to be usable, but packing the Golf for a trip for four people was always a challenge in a way that it never was with the Tesla.

Not interested in having to fit 4 humans + cargo. That's what the LR4 is for. More like 3 humans plus gear. Or 3 humans plus large dog at the most.

I should probably check out a 3 one of these days.

This thread just got fun ...



Then it got ruined ...

Any thoughts on a mini clubman instead? Every time I see one it looks like so much fun

I’m a former MINI guy and just can’t get excited about a new Clubman over some of the alternatives like a GTI. New MINIs have gotten really expensive, and ~10 years ago the premium for a MINI was ok when you knew you could get your money back at resale but that’s not the case anymore either. However if a used one is cheap enough, maybe that changes the equation a bit?

I looked at a Mini when I bought the Golf R a few years back. It was substantially more money than the Golf, was smaller and a lot slower, and worst of all didn’t really feel special the way the R56 did; the Golf was just as nice to drive.

Hard pass.

I didn’t drive the Countryman, but can’t imagine it would be better in any of those metrics.