[FC]

After 5 months and 3k miles, I thought I'd give some more thoughts on the GTI.

Overall, very pleased with the purchase and it was the right car for us. It is an excellent do-it-all car, but it is not perfect.

The car is very well built. It feels upscale, refined, and as a commuter, I am appreciating having the larger screen and Carplay. Seats are great and the ride is surprisingly comfortable for how well it handles given the 18" wheels. We had an MK7 eGolf for 3 years so all that we liked about ergonomics, roominess, cargo, etc. remains.

As far as driving, I give it the highest marks for handling and braking. The brakes have excellent feel and are very powerful. The car hardly ever feels FWD, takes high speed turns with ease and minimal lean, and the tires have high grip levels despite being the all-season Pirellis (Centauro?). Very impressed with these. As a commuter car, I am frankly second-guessing the expected move to replace these with summer tires after they wear out.

As far as power and transmission, this is where I am most torn. The car is incredibly quiet at idle. It's easily the smoothest 4-cyl I've ever driven. You'd think the engine was off at a stop light. This remarkable smoothness is a double-edged sword. It allows the car to drive smoothly and quietly at very low rpms, which is good for (excellent) fuel economy, but at times, when you want to "go," you sort of get caught with your pants down and realize you need to go down at least one more gear. This is particularly the case in 6th gear which is geared spectacularly high. No passing should be attempted on 6th.

That brings me to the actual performance. Around town, or at speeds below ~70, once in the correct gear, it is downright quick, but you do need to let the rpms build. Sure, it may produce a bunch of torque down low, but you really need to be deep in the 3k range to get it to pull properly. At that point, the character of the car changes and gets louder and racier. Not in a bad way, but in an unexpected way because you can really drive around in surprising quiet and comfort most of the time. Passing at higher hwy speeds is a different matter though, with the GTI just not being able to get around a 75mph car all that quickly. 6th gear is useless, 5th is much better but not great, and 4th gets the job done but not exactly effortlessly. I blame the M3 for this, which is of course tremendous at this.

Finally, my biggest pet peeve, and admittedly something I did not notice early in the ownership is the throttle lag off-idle. I've stalled or come close to stalling way too many times on this car, particularly after backing up. I usually can get the car going very smoothly without going over 1krpm with a light blip. But in this car not enough happens quickly enough so it has to be a more deliberate engagement. This brings me to the clutch, which is far too light. It is too smooth and without enough feedback and it is very easy to ride the clutch. You can barely feel it. I can see why people wear the clutch out so quickly on these cars. I am sure most drivers feel they "shift so smoothly" and are surprised when it is worn at 40-60k miles.

In the end, like I said, it is a great all-around car, but as a driving fun toy, it can't touch the Miata. Frankly, it can't touch the M3 either. I drive both cars 2-3 times a week so it's easy for me to compare on the same roads and situations.

For the typical person or most car guys, the GTI is a perfect all-round car. But if you value feel, response, engagement, etc., the GTI alone may not scratch the itch. You'd be leaving a lot on the table. I'd recommend complementing the GTI with some kind of Miata.

That brings me to the point that the GTI reinforces my waffling desire for owning a cream puff Miata or some kind of Boxster in the future.