Ex Mk5 GTI owner..

[reidy-]

Hi all,

So I've sold my Mk5 GTI - stage 1 remap + milltek cat back exhaust  @120k miles (bought it with 63k)
short of 4 new calipers, a set of rear discs and a set of front & rear pads its been a nice low cost owner ship, a solid reliable motor.

...and bought a Mk7 '14 Performance pack, manual with Adaptive cruise control.

I'm sure there are plenty of people were in the same shoes as me. Thinking their Mk5 is a bit long in the tooth and I wanted to report back from the other side of the fence.

Well I'll be honest the Mk7 is competent as you'd expect it to be. It's fantastic in terms is ride quality, comfort etc, but damn its boring.
The Mk5 sounded the part and when pushed hard drove the part too, the Mk7 just feels super detached and more a casual business commuter with a bit more poke

Factors that I do like, the Mk7 cabin is obviously significantly nicer to be in, and adaptive cruise control is pretty ace for munching miles (more so with a DSG) auto hill hold on the electronic handbrake I thought would be a gimmick is genuinely great. the LSD/Diff is pretty decent too



So given I do a steady commute 8.5/10 drives this is a good move for me. However if I'd bought the Mk7 just to 'drive' I think I'd be fairly dissapointed.

Future consideration to find a happy medium is a milltek exhaust, but no remap (due to the chocolate clutches in the Mk7s).

I would be interested to hear other peoples opinions if they made the switch? (or even the switch back..), Is the Mk6 is that perfect middle ground.. effectively/mechanically a mk5 GTI with a decent amount more refinement & cabin quality.

Cheeers

[OldGTI]

Thanks for taking the time to report back as only really purchased a mk5 as one came up that I could not refuse and thought it a good test to see if I could live with a gti before I got a mk7.

[titchy]

I went from mk5 to mk7 the 7 is more refined better built it feels special. the mk 5 was more raw  [in a good way] the 7 is quite a bit better on fuel susp is better controlled obviously the amount of kit is exceptional. my main grip is the auto braking which warns far to soon of impending doom. its my first dsg which I love, I miss some of the 5s feel but I love my mk7 everyone comments on the colour ruby black. the digital instruments and general looks. oh don't like the single c.d player in the glove box overall im glad I made the swop

[Toasted]

@reidy- Hi there, sort of my situation but in reverse! Love the MK7 visually, the front end, the sharp lines and the overall stance but I too was left feeling a little underwhelmed.
Don't get me wrong, the MK7 is a great car with a stunning interior and as a place to be, it's head and shoulders above the MK5, but I feel that it's just and I mean 'just' a little isolating.
If I were in your position, to enhance the driving connection with the car, I think a minimum of a stage 1 tune would be on the cards for more bhp AND to cure the woolly throttle response, plus a more tuneful exhaust too.
Dare I say, to really make ground in this direction, stage 2 is more likely to get you 'feeling' the car, maybe some suspension mods too, but mot sure what's out there to be honest.

I was all set for a MK7 until I drove a friends MK5 and then that was it, the MK7 search ended. Yes the MK5 has the same dashboard as Caddy van from the same age, where the dashboard and switch material literally bio-degrade to the touch, but there is no doubt that as a driver, you feel connected to the car.
I read all the appraisals of the MK7, where none were particularly glowing, although pretty much all said it was a great advancement in the GTI's life - I wonder if any of these journalists had recently driven a MK5????
Chris Harris really liked it but I wonder if he is 'too' used to newer cars where the feeling of being involved in the drive is diminishing in cars of this ilk?? Car manufacturers are all competing to have the next best USP, where that generally relates to some technical advancement but not outright driver enjoyment. I also wonder what Mr Harris would say after a drive in a MK5, would he love it, appreciating its simplicity, or would he pour scorn on it, saying its old, creaky and noisy????? I would be really interested to know.

As for the MK6 being the perfect compromise, I have thought the same thing - Are MK6 owners secretly having their cake and eating it - after cam chain replacements of course!!!!

I think you should tune/mod it and report back 

[titchy]

Once the VW warranty is up it will be off to R Tech they transformed my Mk5

[reidy-]

@reidy- Hi there, sort of my situation but in reverse! Love the MK7 visually, the front end, the sharp lines and the overall stance but I too was left feeling a little underwhelmed.
Don't get me wrong, the MK7 is a great car with a stunning interior and as a place to be, it's head and shoulders above the MK5, but I feel that it's just and I mean 'just' a little isolating.
If I were in your position, to enhance the driving connection with the car, I think a minimum of a stage 1 tune would be on the cards for more bhp AND to cure the woolly throttle response, plus a more tuneful exhaust too.
Dare I say, to really make ground in this direction, stage 2 is more likely to get you 'feeling' the car, maybe some suspension mods too, but mot sure what's out there to be honest.

I was all set for a MK7 until I drove a friends MK5 and then that was it, the MK7 search ended. Yes the MK5 has the same dashboard as Caddy van from the same age, where the dashboard and switch material literally bio-degrade to the touch, but there is no doubt that as a driver, you feel connected to the car.
I read all the appraisals of the MK7, where none were particularly glowing, although pretty much all said it was a great advancement in the GTI's life - I wonder if any of these journalists had recently driven a MK5????
Chris Harris really liked it but I wonder if he is 'too' used to newer cars where the feeling of being involved in the drive is diminishing in cars of this ilk?? Car manufacturers are all competing to have the next best USP, where that generally relates to some technical advancement but not outright driver enjoyment. I also wonder what Mr Harris would say after a drive in a MK5, would he love it, appreciating its simplicity, or would he pour scorn on it, saying its old, creaky and noisy????? I would be really interested to know.

As for the MK6 being the perfect compromise, I have thought the same thing - Are MK6 owners secretly having their cake and eating it - after cam chain replacements of course!!!!

I think you should tune/mod it and report back 

Yeah aesthetically they look much nicer I agree.

'Stage' tuning is a bit arbitrary, though I get your point. I think where its missing out on primarily is driver feedback and throttle response. It's awful especially if <3000RPM. and steering wheel/road feedback is poor when compared to the Mk5 (I'm not entirely sure what changes would help where road feedback is concerned, some stiff sidewall tyres might do some favours)

I think its easy to jump into a car like this on a test drive, and get wowed by all the modern gadgets and refinement, to lose sight of it actually being a 'fun' car.

I've driven a 300bhp mk6 DSG and it was really nice so can definitely recommend on the front. the reason I didn't buy one was simple, 9k - private sale gets you an 2010 (with/without timing chain sorted) or 12k - dealer gets your a 4 year newer car thats the Mk7 revision, for me it was a no brainer, I think if Mk6's @ 60k miles were ~8k and lower it would have been a different story.


Mod wise I'm staying standard for the next 6 month encase I need to use dealership warranty, after that I imagine a milltek exhaust for sure, and potentially a remap + clutch may be on the cards

On a side note everything I've written about the mk7 is fairly negative.. I do actually really like it, it just doesn't drive how & feel how I imagined a 8 year newer design/age'd car would, but I'm certainly keeping it for the foreseeable future


Cheers