Loaded up DSG. Vortex brought it out for all to see.

All I can say is

Sorry bout that.

P.S. Jamie@VwVortex sure does know how to drive it!

Attachment: mkV-GTI-csprings1.jpg (262218 bytes, downloaded 1138 times)

Quote, originally posted by MissVeeDub,5-14-2005 10:00 AM »

I was very happy to see the t-shirt wasnt that flimsy fabric, its thicker and it feels durable. the logo was pressed on neatly and clearly, not blurry at all, i'm a satisfied customer

HRDUBS.COM

Quote, originally posted by MissVeeDub,5-14-2005 10:00 AM »

I was very happy to see the t-shirt wasnt that flimsy fabric, its thicker and it feels durable. the logo was pressed on neatly and clearly, not blurry at all, i'm a satisfied customer

HRDUBS.COM

Here's some of my impressions, and keep in mind I own a fairly well
suspended R32 on very sticky tires which I drive the snot out of,
so my bar is set pretty high.
The first thing I noticed is that it's very quiet compared to the R32
(and my old GTI-VR6).
It has a nice exhaust note which you can hear from inside the car while
accellerating hard, and it makes some interesting burbles and
snorts when it's shifting but like all efficient turbo motors it
really doesn't make that much noise. Will be interesting to see what
the aftermarket exhausts sound like.
There's no perceptible turbo lag and it revs more freely than a 1.8t.
It's been described as having the torque of a 2.8l VR6 and revability of
a 16v, and I think that's a fairly apt description.
If you turn the steering wheel and step on the gas with DSG in sport mode
it will spin the inside front tire anywhere in 1st gear. It'll even spin both
tires launching in a straight line using launch control. It's very
well behaved about it though because with the electromechanical
steering assist it pretty much eliminates torque steer, but after
having owned the R32 for over a year, I don't think I could ever go back
to a high hp FWD car (I had a supercharged Mk3 GTI-VR6 with Peloquin
diff). I'd rather go fast around the corners than spin the tires.

The car handles very well. It feels very planted, and produces minimal
understeer. I noticed that I was working the steering wheel a lot more
than my R32 and realized it's because it has a longer steering ratio. It may
be shorter than my old GTI-VR6 was, but definitely not as short as
the R32's (which is the same as the TT) which I absolutely love. Jamie
figures they needed to leave a few things off the GTI so they can make
the next gen R32 replacement that much better and this could have
been one of them..
The steering wheel is thinner and a little larger diameter too, but very nice.

This was the first time I'd driven DSG and it was pretty easy to get used to.
I'm used to driving automatics (in rental cars) as though they are manuals
(launching in 1st, shifting to 2nd, and then Drive.. and downshifting
to regulate my speed on hills), so I found myself switching between Drive
and Sport modes depending on my mood (Sport will keep the revs up
and Drive pretty much feels like an automatic). The DSG shifter is
now an attractive looking knob instead of a rectangular tiptronic style lever,
I didn't use the paddles on the wheel much except occasionally to downshift
to slow down so I wouldn't run over the slow moving cars in front of me
on hills. Generally though I found that if I tapped the brakes to scrub
a couple mph off, DSG would downshift automatically and then hold that
speed without upshifting again.

There are a couple quirks in the DSG. If you bring the car to a stop on a hill
in 1st gear and then take your foot off the brake, the car will roll backwards
immediately. Seems obvious enough (it's not going to ride the clutch for
you), but it's easy to get lulled into thinking it will behave like an
automatic, because in almost every other respect, it does. Loan the
car to someone and they'd better be aware of this.
Also it's got a annoying launch mode. In normal Drive mode
with ESP on, if you take your foot off the brake and mash the gas to
the floor, there is a pause (of about a second) and then it launches
smoothly with no drama, not reaching full power until the top of 1st or
even until after it shifts to 2nd. They do this to minimize wheelspin..
Other than the pause, that'd be fine if it only did it in Drive.
But now we switch to Sport mode, ESP off, and activate launch control
by putting the left foot on the brake, right foot mashes gas to the floor
(revs rise to 3000 rpms), and then simply lift foot off brake to launch
hard. It will eventually spin the tires, but they didn't get rid of the
pause. There's a delay between when you lift off the brake pedal and
when it actually goes, and then a furthe delay between when it goes
and when it reaches full power and the tires start to spin
It's possible that it's partly due to turbo lag, but it feels more like the
clutch and DBW throttle are being engaged slowly very deliberately.
It's the most disconnected the throttle has ever felt from the engine in
any car I've ever driven. It only does it when trying to launch hard and
otherwise I had no issues with the DBW throttle
(bottom hinged gas pedal btw). Jamie and crew have had some
input into which Sport program the US is going to get so he's
going to go back and suggest that they eliminate lag in the
launch.

Seats are very supportive with good side bolsters. The rear
seats are good, and there's both more leg room and more head
room than the MkIV Golf (and especially the R32). Forward visibility is
good but there is a strange upward lip to the front of the dash that
you notice right away. I'm told this is because of the new pedestrian
crash standards in Europe. They've had to raise the height of the
hood above the engine (which actually explains a lot about why newer
European cars like the Golf have such a high hoodline), so that in a
pedestrian impact the hood can crush and absorb more of the impact.
With the higher hood, they had to add a little extra to the front of the
dash to hide it so you wouldn't be looking at the edge.

The main thing I noticed while driving it (which I've found to be true
of most german cars) is that you feel at home right away. Controls
are where they should be. It's quite different from my Mk3 GTI, and
from the R32, but still took only a few seconds before I felt totally
comfortable driving it. I recall having the same experience
when I first drove the R32. At once very different, and very
familiar at the same time.

That's about all I've got.

Would I trade the R32 for it? No way. If they want to drop a 300hp 3.6L
VR6 under the hood and give it all wheel drive, then I might
consider it. They'd need to fix the rear lower skirt though, as I'm
no more a fan of the rounded butt on the new GTI than I was
when they first did it on the MkIV GTI. I didn't like the look of the
MkIV at all when it first came out, but it got better over time
with the styling of the 337/20AE and finally the R32. Hopefully
the MkV will go through the same evolution.

ian

Yes, and again at Waterwagons.

ian

Jamie should have brought it out for Dub Wars - would have been nice to see it handle on the auto-x

Can't wait to get mine -

Quote, originally posted by Patrick@EMT »

Very nice~ Wish I was there - Jamie should have brought it out for Dub Wars - would have been nice to see it handle on the auto-x

ian

Wow - people got to ride in it as well! -

any videos?

BTW, did this one have Navi? If so, how did you guys like the interface?

Modified by Patrick@EMT at 3:23 PM 6-27-2005

Quote, originally posted by Patrick@EMT »

Wow - people got to ride in it as well! -

Quote »

any videos?

Ya, I got videos of it on the Auto-X course, launching from the
side, and behind, a couple videos showing the odd delay in launch
mode and finally a couple minutes of in car video on a twisty road,
and I'm pretty sure I do not have the bandwidth to host them all.

Quote »

BTW, did this one have Navi? If so, how did you guys like the interface?

It did, and I didn't get to play with it. Jamie said it uses the same
disks as the Touareg bug they couldn't get it to load up. All the text
on gauges, MFA the Nav unit were in German.

ian

Quote, originally posted by Daemon42 »

Ya, I got videos of it on the Auto-X course, launching from the side, and behind, a couple videos showing the odd delay in launch mode and finally a couple minutes of in car video on a twisty road, and I'm pretty sure I do not have the bandwidth to host them all.

I can imagine people wondering why everyone is wearing helmets -

You mention that there is a launch mode - is that similar to BMW SMG launch control? Is it something like, turn ESP off, put it into DSG manual mode and hold knob down on "-" position while pressing gas???
Sorry - been out of the loop with up-to-date DSG info

ian

After driving an Acura TSX this weekend, I can say that the VW navigation systems seem far inferior to Acura's systems.

2006 GLI .:. 2008 Rabbit S

MkV Forum New User Information :: MkV FAQ & DIY Guide

Quote, originally posted by Daemon42 »

Would I trade the R32 for it? No way.

true, but it's a better value if you're on a budget

We'll soon be posting an article highlighting the VWvortex GTI/GLI road tour and all the places and dates we'll be in attendance

Quote, originally posted by brad@vmg »

We'll soon be posting an article highlighting the VWvortex GTI/GLI road tour and all the places and dates we'll be in attendance

It will, unfortunately, be a cold day in hell before it comes anywhere near the oh-so-great state of Mississippi.

2006 GLI .:. 2008 Rabbit S

MkV Forum New User Information :: MkV FAQ & DIY Guide

2006 GLI .:. 2008 Rabbit S

MkV Forum New User Information :: MkV FAQ & DIY Guide

Quote, originally posted by BRM10984 »

I wish I could see the GTI in real life. After driving an Acura TSX this weekend, I can say that the VW navigation systems seem far inferior to Acura's systems.

well i'm not suprised...i would be suprised if the Germans came up with a nav system to beat Honda's. It's widely known as the best in the world.

ian

If I go to church on Sunday and cabaret all day Monday, nobody's business if I do.

Uh.. No, unfortunately not. This is a German-spec GTI. But there's a rumor
that a little software update might bring it back.

ian

ian