Why did you choose the mk7 golf/gti/r?

[MKSeven]

From my senior yr in High School with a ’77 Rabbit that I quickly modified with MSW wheels, Anza Exhaust, and Euro Bumpers I was hooked on VW’s. From there I had many modded mk1’s and mk2’s along the way. I took a long hiatus from VWs for a good 20+ yrs. Got into BMW’s and tracking a well sorted M Coupe quite a bit in our Northern Cal days and then kids happened and no fun cars for a very long time. My wife got sick of hearing me talk about Golf R’s and finally gave me the green light, so picked one up back in April 2019. I thought I would keep it relatively stock….don’t know who I was kidding. I do long to get back to BMW camp with a M2 Comp but in the short term the R won’t be going anywhere. As Jake said as an all-rounder and performance/$ its really tough to beat.

I see all the mods you listed, I'm sure your wife doesn't mind at all.

 

[MKSeven]

I came from a 10th gen Civic Si and a modified 2nd gen Fit Sport before that. Tbh, I wanted a Type-R, but the price of those things is more than I wanted to pay.

So, I started looking around for a hot hatch outside of Honda that would/could be in a similar league as the Type-R. I concluded the MK7 GTI was the one. The WRX, the Si, the Focus ST, the ND Miata; nothing I tried was as well rounded as the GTI, while also having it's potential. (Although that Miata really spoke to me; it just isn't practical at all) I always had a soft spot for the Mk6 and MK7 GTI/Rs too.

I've had it a year and like it a lot so far. It really is a great all around'er and the perfect base to build from to your tastes, if you're in to mods.

Yo, you're from NV? Are you in Reno or LV? Could always use more Vdubb support in Vegas.

 

[gixxerfool]

So, does the WRX and STI mostly come in CVT now? I remember when they were keen on only selling manuals once upon a time.

As far as I know the STi is still manual only. Much like the Type-R, Si, and RS.

When I was shopping I was only looking used and I couldn’t find one auto STi but I could WRXs. I believe CVT is the flavor for automatic. It wasn’t the only reason I looked past the Subie. I feel the interiors, even on the Limited, is rather cheap. I don’t want to deal with the engine leaks down the road either. I know the AWD is top notch, but it wasn’t enough for me.

 

[Ridebjj]

I like small, nimble cars but with some practically. I both hate and don't need an suv or a truck.

That's already a small niche. It was almost the only option in the US for a hot hatch that isn't completely boy racer looking or cheap feeling inside. For 20k lightly used and another 5k in upgrades, not much can touch it as an all a rounder.

In the US, we don't get the M140i (my first choice), the amg a45, the i30n, etc etc.

Besides going golf r, I don't forsee much worth changing to.

 

[MSchott]

Wanted the sportiest 4 door sedan I could afford. I tested a Focus ST and was underwhelmed. After that the GTI was a no-brainer. There’s a reason that it’s still on Car and Drivers 2021 10 best list even as it’s replacement is on the horizon.

 

[StockblockGLI]

Not a GTI but GLI. I got it for a great price. I originally went to get a GTI but ended up liking the GLI a bit more. Great daily drivers.

 

[Ezekiel81923]

Not a GTI but GLI. I got it for a great price. I originally went to get a GTI but ended up liking the GLI a bit more. Great daily drivers.

I was the opposite. I had my mind made up on a Pure Gray GLI with 6MT but they were almost impossible to find at the time (July/August 2020) so I "settled" for a White GTI after my dealer buddy convinced me to drive it.

 

[norsairius]

tl;dr: Had a 2008 GTI that got handed down to my brother, then later a manual 2010 GTI, then a number of cars after that. 2010 GTI is the one car I've consistently said I missed the most and consider it to be one of the best I've had. Traded in my Mazda CX-9 lease (a great family vehicle and surprisingly decent to drive considering its size) with the pandemic bump on used car values and happily got a GTI again.

Long version:
Got a 2008 GTI back in college, loved it, that got handed down to my brother. Dabbled around a bit with a 2009 Subaru WRX, my first manual, but it was severely lacking in refinement. Picked up a 2010 MK6 GTI manual and loved it. I had a few cars since that one and eventually ended up with a 2018 Mazda CX-9 which was hefty, but surprisingly a decent driver's car considering its size.

Pandemic hit and used car values actually went up which made trading in the lease on my CX-9 early a decent proposition so I did some shopping around. I'd had a BMW 335i before I picked up the CX-9, but I knew I didn't want to worry about the problems that BMWs could have. Yes, I know VWs aren't exactly super reliable either, but my 335i ended up having every common issues the forums had identified, most were covered under warranty, thankfully. My MK6 GTI was actually very reliable and had zero issues from when I picked it up with ~20k miles on it to when I traded it in with something around the upper ~70k mile range on it. I also wanted something more understated. The badge on a BMW alone seems to attract the wrong attention sometimes.

My younger brother and I are gearheads and any time we talk about what our favorite cars are or the best cars we've owned were, we always say it was our GTIs (he actually had a 2017 GTI for a bit, but he now has a BMW M235i which is AWESOME to drive).

Anyway, the MK7.5 GTI was on my radar but I did shop it against a number of other cars because I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted. I also considered cars like the Kia Stinger GT (saw it at a car show and I was actually really impressed with the interior and space and the performance is widely praised), Honda Accord (more family and comfort oriented, but still pretty quick in a straight line at least), even another BMW (despite my concerns I mentioned earlier), and some others here and there.

I ended up with the GTI though because my MK6 GTI is the one I've consistently said over the years ever since I got rid of that I wish I had kept longer and that I missed the most. I found a decent deal on a leftover 2019 SE w/DSG last summer and I've been enjoying it ever since! I'm glad to have the longer warranty that was last offered with the 2019 model year and while I was shopping for a manual, I've been happy with the DSG even though I think the 7-speed unit feels less responsive than the 6-speed DSG in certain ways. There's ways around that though.

Well, that was longer than I expected, haha.

 

[IES99]

I'm an old guy so my story is different. 35 years ago I had a Dodge Omni GLH Turbo and sold it when we had to go minivan due to a growing family. Selling it was one of those "I wish I had never sold it" things. In 2017 with the kids all out of the house it was obviously time for a hot hatch again and the GTI was the obvious choice.

 

[bagged_hag]

I’ve been a VW fanboi for a while now. It all started when I purchased my first ‘96 GTI when I was 17 in high school, and that car ended up with a shaved bumper, on OZ Futuras and bagged. I then had one of those “I wish I never did that” moment and sold the car when I entered college convincing myself I “needed” an AWD car for commuting (spoiler: I didn’t). I picked up a 99.5 A4 which I kept for about 6 months and sold, and then went through a slew of GTIs (Mk3 and Mk4) and a couple Mk3 Jettas.

I finally ended up in a Mk6 Golf 2.5 after selling my second ‘96 GTI, started my first “real” job and bought a house, so I kept the Mk6 Golf through the life of the loan because it was dead nuts reliable, cheap to insure, cheap to run, and as a finance major I couldn’t go in the red on a loan/car .

As I was approaching the maturity on my Mk6 loan I started perusing the market as I wanted something more fun. I strongly considered a Hyundai Veloster N (it was a BLAST on the test drive) but the 3 door format was not my wife’s favorite and the lack of heated seats turned me away. Then enter COVID and great financing options from VW. I ended up trading in my Mk6 Golf on a brand new 2019 GTI SE leftover this past June and secured 0% financing for 72 months. I couldn’t be happier with my purchase, but I still miss my first Mk3 GTI!

To sum it up, I ended up in a Mk7 because I wanted a sportier 4 door hatch that I could finance for a great rate. VW GTI was the way to go.

 

[jimlloyd40]

I'm an old guy so my story is different. 35 years ago I had a Dodge Omni GLH Turbo and sold it when we had to go minivan due to a growing family. Selling it was one of those "I wish I had never sold it" things. In 2017 with the kids all out of the house it was obviously time for a hot hatch again and the GTI was the obvious choice.

The old "goes like hell" turbo Omni. It's a shame Dodge quit making small cars.

 

[EpicTech]

First car was MK1 and been wanting to get back to a VW. I always research before I buy and when I checked out the specs of the MK7, it was a no-brainer. I even called the dealer and bought mine over the phone without ever seeing it in person first.

 

[Mr. Conundrum]

Yo, you're from NV? Are you in Reno or LV? Could always use more Vdubb support in Vegas.

Vegas

 

[MKSeven]

Vegas

Oh sick. Do you go to the meets?

 

[MKSeven]

To sum it up, I ended up in a Mk7 because I wanted a sportier 4 door hatch that I could finance for a great rate. VW GTI was the way to go.

Congrats on getting the mk7. Wish I waited for a chance to snag those deals on the 7.5, but I'm content where I'm at right now.