5-speed manual...

so traded my 2012 golf 2.5 with the 6-speed auto in for a 2016 golf 1.8 with the 5-speed manual, pros and cons with both models, meh thats life... but one thing bothers me... this 5-speed manual. can anyone tell me more about its history and what their experiences are?

It feels right out of 1989... nothing slick or modern about it. the clutch is hard to modulate making it hard to get smooth shifts, and then there is the syncro on 1st gear... at least a few times per week i'm getting some crunches and popping out of 1st. it helps to shift into 2nd then 1st to avoid these...

wow i can't see the transmission lasting 10 years or 200,000km. over the last 19 months i now have 43,000km on the car and have been the only driver since new, broke the car in carefully and all that. this is my 5th manual transmission car but never expected these transmission issues from a 'modern' car. i guess VW has to cut corners somewhere... thoughts?

Overall, aside from the super long gear ratios in 3rd and 4th I really like our transmission. My experience with different manual transmissions isn't super vast but I'd say my 5mt holds up pretty well compared to the ones I have tried. For perspective, of the manuals I've tried enough to evaluate, I'd rank them like this in terms of solidness and feel: '96 ford ranger, '03 saab 95, '13 fiat 500, my golf, and an '06 porsche boxster s. The Saab and Fiat being quite different but overall similarly likable and the boxster and my golf also being different but overall the porsche a bit more likable. Keep in mind that unlike the other cars listed, I have done some mods to improve the feel of the clutch and shifting, but only basic cheap mods such as the bleeder valve delete and a dogbone insert. I plan to do a lot more with bushings and maybe a short shifter in the future.

I believe this transmission is largely the same as the 02J mq250 5mt's from the early 2000's, so not super modern but they have proven to be pretty reliable. A lot of what you're experiencing can be fixed with some cheap and quick mods such as the clutch bleeder valve delete and sturdier transmission mounts, but the grinding in 1st is something I never experienced. That's something you should get the dealer to check out, it's definitely not normal.

Also, I made a similar change going from a 2013 golf 2.5 with the 6at, and I can tell you from first hand experience you made a very good decision. There's nothing really wrong with the mk6, and the 5 cylinder is awesome, but the mk7 is better performance wise in just about every way.

For better clutch feel do the clutch delay valve mod. Makes the car 100x better.

thanks for the replies, and the advice about the clutch delay/bleeder valve.

just to clarify more from my first post...
when you put a manual into reverse you some times get a 'crunch' ...well a few times a week i will get a similar type of crunch going into 1st, the crunch happens less if i down shift to 2nd then up to 1st.
also a few times a week i will put the car in first, but its like its not all the way engaged in 1st and it will pop out into neutral.
thats why i was thinking it was a syncro issue developing

Yea, that's definitely a sign of something being wrong with your 1st gear synchro. I don't know what the deal is with VW warranty in Canada, but 43,000km is still within the 30,000 mile warranty we get in the US. You should get that checked out asap.