It's been two months since I've been living with my new GTI, and I thought it was time to do a follow up to my earlier review.
So I still like the car a lot. It has proven to be practical, fun, and still feels as well built as an Audi. I have not had any issues or need to contact the dealership about it. I've driven about 2500 miles so far.
I stand by all the positive first impressions I had of the vehicle, but living with a car for a few weeks has given me some time to reflect on the minor annoyances that any car will give you from time to time.
So the first annoying thing is the internal fan on the base model. It has four on positions and often times I wish it had more. I think a variable control would have been better, and I'm guessing that option comes if you spring for the climate control option.
Then there's the seats. They are extremely comfortable, and supportive, and remind me how much I missed having cloth seats in a car. My last three cars have been leather equipped, and I just don't really see the point. With the BMW is was leather or pleather, and the latter blows chunks so I had to go with leather. But I'd probably have been more happy with cloth. All that said, I do think that the bucket portion of the seats is a little narrow, and suspect that a typically large American butt or a woman with wide hips might find it a little annoying. Only marginally annoying, but annoying nonetheless.
I was watching Top Gear the other day, and Jeremy Clarkson was sarcastically commenting on the fact that one of the vehicles they were driving had a button that had to be depressed for ten seconds in order for it to function. Similarly the GTI has a very annoying rocker switch that must be held for three seconds to do select the root menu on the multi function display. And even when you hold it for three seconds, sometimes it goes to a different menu, in which case you have to exit and repeat the procedure.
After such meticulous attention to detail, and such a good design, I cannot for the life of me understand why this system was chosen. So to switch the display from whatever your default is, to say fuel range, is a bit of a chore and a little annoying.
But really these are the only three issues I have with the car. Other than that, driving experience, and overall fun factor remains high. I still cannot think of another similarly priced car on the market today that I'd prefer at this time. I'll do another follow up after some long term driving.
