scotthilly
Passed Driver's Ed
- Location
- Chicago, IL
- Car(s)
- 2019 GTI SE
Hey everyone,
Just got a 2019 GTI as my first car and wanted to post some comparisons to past cars my family has had - super lucky to have grown up in a car household and have been driving my families a ton since I turned 16 - a 2017 BMW 340I M Sport, 2014 Audi S4, Honda S2000, Alfa Romeo Stelvio, BMW X1.
The pandemic made a deal too good to pass up, and I was able to get a 2019 GTI SE w/Exp (Fender Audio & DCC) and a manual. I got nearly $8k off along w 0% APR for 72 months and VW Care for 6 years, and I’m super happy with it. Purchased the car 7/11/20, so I’ve had it for a month and put on 1000 miles. I’ll just run through a few categories and give my thoughts.
Exterior - amazing. I think these look great and while I don’t like black cars, mine is Deep Black Pearl and gives off almost a Navy vibe similar to BMW Carbon Black. LED Headlights are phenomenal too.
Interior - Wow. The front seats and dash have materials pretty much equivalent to my dads Alfa Romeo Stelvio and are only slightly behind his old 340i. The infotainment is awesome, and the Fender audio is better than any of the systems we had in the BMW‘s (h/k), Alfa (h/k), and Audi (base) by a significant margin. The backup camera is super high quality and the only thing I can’t believe is that the car still has manual seats and a/c. Not dealbreakers, but having to occasionally share the car means I miss the hell out of memory seats.
Engine / Transmission - Stick feels very similar to the one in our S4 did, and the engine purrs and even has a surprisingly loud exhaust. Speed is good enough for me and about on pace with the Stelvio, a little ahead of the X1 and significantly behind the 340i and S4. Gas mileage is probably too early to tell, but about 26 combined and low-mid 30’s on the freeway.
Steering - The only thing I don’t totally love. All EPS systems are bad, and this is way better than the 340i (even when it had PS4S tires and this still has the stock Potenza) but behind the Stelvio’s in terms of feedback. I need to get used to the variable ratio because I find myself cutting parking lot corners waaay too close. Just haven’t had a variable rack before. However, the front diff is insane and I can always feel it working. It’s shocking how little understeer within limits there is and how the grip never ends!
Ride - Wow. People who say they can’t feel DCC are people I feel bad for. I live outside of Atlanta and this thing rides miles ahead of the X1 and 340i, and even better than the Stelvio, which also has adaptive suspension. The comfort mode is on pace with my grandparents E Class, I’m not kidding. This system doesn’t get enough love and still in comfort doesn’t even have much roll whatsoever. There was a Top Gear Test where the Stig got the exact same (or very similar) times in a GTI in Sport, Normal, and Comfort - that speaks for itself.
Overall, man this thing is incredible. I’m thrilled to be here and hopefully this is interesting or helps some people with comparisons. The Mk7 is really a class (or two, in some areas) above the competition and I’m just so happy with it. Enjoy everyone!
Just got a 2019 GTI as my first car and wanted to post some comparisons to past cars my family has had - super lucky to have grown up in a car household and have been driving my families a ton since I turned 16 - a 2017 BMW 340I M Sport, 2014 Audi S4, Honda S2000, Alfa Romeo Stelvio, BMW X1.
The pandemic made a deal too good to pass up, and I was able to get a 2019 GTI SE w/Exp (Fender Audio & DCC) and a manual. I got nearly $8k off along w 0% APR for 72 months and VW Care for 6 years, and I’m super happy with it. Purchased the car 7/11/20, so I’ve had it for a month and put on 1000 miles. I’ll just run through a few categories and give my thoughts.
Exterior - amazing. I think these look great and while I don’t like black cars, mine is Deep Black Pearl and gives off almost a Navy vibe similar to BMW Carbon Black. LED Headlights are phenomenal too.
Interior - Wow. The front seats and dash have materials pretty much equivalent to my dads Alfa Romeo Stelvio and are only slightly behind his old 340i. The infotainment is awesome, and the Fender audio is better than any of the systems we had in the BMW‘s (h/k), Alfa (h/k), and Audi (base) by a significant margin. The backup camera is super high quality and the only thing I can’t believe is that the car still has manual seats and a/c. Not dealbreakers, but having to occasionally share the car means I miss the hell out of memory seats.
Engine / Transmission - Stick feels very similar to the one in our S4 did, and the engine purrs and even has a surprisingly loud exhaust. Speed is good enough for me and about on pace with the Stelvio, a little ahead of the X1 and significantly behind the 340i and S4. Gas mileage is probably too early to tell, but about 26 combined and low-mid 30’s on the freeway.
Steering - The only thing I don’t totally love. All EPS systems are bad, and this is way better than the 340i (even when it had PS4S tires and this still has the stock Potenza) but behind the Stelvio’s in terms of feedback. I need to get used to the variable ratio because I find myself cutting parking lot corners waaay too close. Just haven’t had a variable rack before. However, the front diff is insane and I can always feel it working. It’s shocking how little understeer within limits there is and how the grip never ends!
Ride - Wow. People who say they can’t feel DCC are people I feel bad for. I live outside of Atlanta and this thing rides miles ahead of the X1 and 340i, and even better than the Stelvio, which also has adaptive suspension. The comfort mode is on pace with my grandparents E Class, I’m not kidding. This system doesn’t get enough love and still in comfort doesn’t even have much roll whatsoever. There was a Top Gear Test where the Stig got the exact same (or very similar) times in a GTI in Sport, Normal, and Comfort - that speaks for itself.
Overall, man this thing is incredible. I’m thrilled to be here and hopefully this is interesting or helps some people with comparisons. The Mk7 is really a class (or two, in some areas) above the competition and I’m just so happy with it. Enjoy everyone!
