Mk 7.5 Cost Cutting

[SnailpowerMk7]

I had posted this on the mk6 forum once I got the 7. Some immediate observations coming from the 6.

"off the top I notice already inferior things about the mk7 that I miss on the 6. Small things like, the overhead interior ambient red lighting that shines down over the shifter and center console at night. The wipers being tucked away under the hood on the 6 so you can't see them from outside looking straight at the car. The red edging stitch on the seat belts I had on the 6 Wolfsburg Edition... My aftermarket OEMish touchscreen on the 6 had a large screen size and with the updated firmware it had nice features that seemed to be easier to navigate. Even the glove compartment feels cheaper. The lack of suede material, no compartment to hide the car's manual. Even that black binder that holds the information is lesser quality (no magnets to hold the flap). Car pedals also look cheaper than the 6." -Let's remember, they had the same car pedals in the 6 that they put in the initial years of the Audi R8...

With that I've noticed additional weaker quality items. One being the color of the fog light/headlight switch. The green color looks kind of Hyundai to me. Not sure why they made it green with the general trim theme being red... The seat belt has a weird feel that seems to lack in quality. Not sure how to describe it. Perhaps it's thinner? More loose? The click on it makes a squeak which might not apply to everyone else but I noticed it on mine. I also feel the chime sound when you initiate the turn signal got degraded if that makes sense. It had another sound on the 6th that was more apparent. This one reminds me of my mother's Hyundai... The positioning of the side mirrors control is in a weird angle. Like, on the 6 it was aligned with the door where you didn't really have to look at it to know, the 7's angle I find I need to actually eye ball it to know where I'm directing it. The buttons on the steering wheel also feel inferior to the 6. Definitely a more cheaper feel to them. The doors also feel lighter than the 6. This can be a positive for weight reduction but it made the 6 build quality feel stronger with a satisfying thunk when the door was closed.

BTW, any other good use for those card holder slots in the center console? I don't think I'd ever put a card there and not sure what else I could use them for... kind of weird to include something like that into the build.

 

[dequardo]

Wow. Surprised you post so much here with all that seat time.

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

Wow. Surprised you post so much here with all that seat time.

lol not sure if I'm detecting much sarcasm or just annoyance from my post, lol. I'm in the right thread to talk about cost cutting right?

I literally jumped out of my 6 into the 7 and things were immediately apparent. With everything I said, I still enjoy the car a lot thus far for the near month I've owned it. I got ways to go to be happy with it similar to the 6 but looking forward to it. Despite everything I said, it's not like they render the car useless or anything like that. Just small observations really that I accumulated.

 

[jimlloyd40]

lol not sure if I'm detecting much sarcasm or just annoyance from my post, lol. I'm in the right thread to talk about cost cutting right?

I literally jumped out of my 6 into the 7 and things were immediately apparent. With everything I said, I still enjoy the car a lot thus far for the near month I've owned it. I got ways to go to be happy with it similar to the 6 but looking forward to it. Despite everything I said, it's not like they render the car useless or anything like that. Just small observations really that I accumulated.

He was talking to me because of how many miles I drive.

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

He was talking to me because of how many miles I drive.

oh lol. That just made this funnier to me.

 

[dequardo]

Yeah. All good. I’ve only had MK7s and appreciate the comparison to the 6s. Many of us here complain incessantly about cost cutting from the 7 to 7.5. Then again, forums are made for that.

 

[Raguvian]

I had posted this on the mk6 forum once I got the 7. Some immediate observations coming from the 6.

"off the top I notice already inferior things about the mk7 that I miss on the 6. Small things like, the overhead interior ambient red lighting that shines down over the shifter and center console at night. The wipers being tucked away under the hood on the 6 so you can't see them from outside looking straight at the car. The red edging stitch on the seat belts I had on the 6 Wolfsburg Edition... My aftermarket OEMish touchscreen on the 6 had a large screen size and with the updated firmware it had nice features that seemed to be easier to navigate. Even the glove compartment feels cheaper. The lack of suede material, no compartment to hide the car's manual. Even that black binder that holds the information is lesser quality (no magnets to hold the flap). Car pedals also look cheaper than the 6." -Let's remember, they had the same car pedals in the 6 that they put in the initial years of the Audi R8...

With that I've noticed additional weaker quality items. One being the color of the fog light/headlight switch. The green color looks kind of Hyundai to me. Not sure why they made it green with the general trim theme being red... The seat belt has a weird feel that seems to lack in quality. Not sure how to describe it. Perhaps it's thinner? More loose? The click on it makes a squeak which might not apply to everyone else but I noticed it on mine. I also feel the chime sound when you initiate the turn signal got degraded if that makes sense. It had another sound on the 6th that was more apparent. This one reminds me of my mother's Hyundai... The positioning of the side mirrors control is in a weird angle. Like, on the 6 it was aligned with the door where you didn't really have to look at it to know, the 7's angle I find I need to actually eye ball it to know where I'm directing it. The buttons on the steering wheel also feel inferior to the 6. Definitely a more cheaper feel to them. The doors also feel lighter than the 6. This can be a positive for weight reduction but it made the 6 build quality feel stronger with a satisfying thunk when the door was closed.

BTW, any other good use for those card holder slots in the center console? I don't think I'd ever put a card there and not sure what else I could use them for... kind of weird to include something like that into the build.

My dad's Infiniti G37 has that overhead ambient light that shines on the shifter and it's so damn annoying at night. I'm glad they didn't include that in the MK7. I don't need to have a light over my shifter to shift gears.

 

[bentin]

The Mk6 had gone full Audi, and paid the price at the scales. I'd gladly trade a little fluff for lighter weight. I just really hope the Mk8 continues the trend and loses a little weight over the Mk7, but early EU reports seem to have it gaining a little weight due, which is a shame.

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

Yeah. All good. I’ve only had MK7s and appreciate the comparison to the 6s. Many of us here complain incessantly about cost cutting from the 7 to 7.5. Then again, forums are made for that.

I'm re-reading this from more the beginning and seeing what I have or do not have as a 2017 SE. I notice I had a battery sleeve but it also looked cheaper than the 6, lol. Didn't pay attention to the hood insulation. I have the Fender sound system but it does sound weak still at times but then Okay other times. Like I guess it depends the quality of MP3 I'm streaming via my phone. Some of them sound real good, others rather flat. On my 6 that was OEM lowest level trip, the sound quality was amazing. Everything sounded pretty damn good. Even after installing the Chinese VW OEM touch head unit, it degraded the quality a tad, but even that sounded mostly better than this.

As others said though, you either add weight for quality, or reduce for powa. Usually can't have it both unless you throw crazy HP in to make up for the weight gain. I know the 7 has HP increase stock over the 6, but the 6 really felt extra slow because of the extra weight. I can tell you being untuned that the 7 definitely feels a lot faster than the 6 stock. Between the extra HP and combined weight loss, it moves a lot quicker than the 6. Can't wait for the tune feel

 

[krs]

I just read an article with some snippets from Elon Musk, in regard to the overvalued Tesla stock. In it he mentions they’re only turning about a 1% profit.

he also mentions this:

“... in order to make our cars affordable, we have to get smarter about how we spend money. This a tough Game of Pennies -- requiring thousands of good ideas to improve part cost, a factory process or simply the design, while increasing quality and capabilities.

A great idea would be one that saves $5, but the vast majority are 50 cents here or 20 cents there.”

Seems about on par for what’s happening across a lot of other platforms, VW included.

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

My dad's Infiniti G37 has that overhead ambient light that shines on the shifter and it's so damn annoying at night. I'm glad they didn't include that in the MK7. I don't need to have a light over my shifter to shift gears.

I'm not sure how it was in the G37. The Mk6 is a red ambient light that is very light, almost unnoticeable but just adds a nice touch.

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

My first GTI was a 12 MK6 GTI. While I also noticed many of the things Snailpower did when I switched to MK7, the one thing that’s, to me, most important, is reliability and OVERALL QUALITY. Overall quality and reliability are up on the MK7/MQB Platform.

you’re nitpicking small things, while forgetting the EA888 Gen 2 had water pumps that failed 2, 3, 4 times before people’s warranties were up. Their timingchain tensioners slipped, grenading the top end. The TOB failed, dumping fluid on the clutch and killing it. The engines had really bad PCV systems / really bad carbon buildup issues (people were dynoing 160-170WHP between 40 and 60K miles, and then 190-210 after getting cleaned

they also didn’t come with a limited slip differential, made 200HP/TQ, and didn’t have an upgraded brake option. They didn’t have an upgraded suspension option.

the main things the MK6 had going for it were better gear ratios, especially for the 6MT drivers, and that classic, solid feel to them. But like you said - the difference in that “classic solid feel” and the MK7’s is the use of lighter weight materials for weight reduction.

the MQB platform itself is vastly superior. All MQB cars outperform their PQ35-era predecessors in nearly every category, including comfort.

 

[dequardo]

^^This

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

My first GTI was a 12 MK6 GTI. While I also noticed many of the things Snailpower did when I switched to MK7, the one thing that’s, to me, most important, is reliability and OVERALL QUALITY. Overall quality and reliability are up on the MK7/MQB Platform.

you’re nitpicking small things, while forgetting the EA888 Gen 2 had water pumps that failed 2, 3, 4 times before people’s warranties were up. Their timingchain tensioners slipped, grenading the top end. The TOB failed, dumping fluid on the clutch and killing it. The engines had really bad PCV systems / really bad carbon buildup issues (people were dynoing 160-170WHP between 40 and 60K miles, and then 190-210 after getting cleaned

they also didn’t come with a limited slip differential, made 200HP/TQ, and didn’t have an upgraded brake option. They didn’t have an upgraded suspension option.

the main things the MK6 had going for it were better gear ratios, especially for the 6MT drivers, and that classic, solid feel to them. But like you said - the difference in that “classic solid feel” and the MK7’s is the use of lighter weight materials for weight reduction.

the MQB platform itself is vastly superior. All MQB cars outperform their PQ35-era predecessors in nearly every category, including comfort.

Yeah I am nit picking the small things. I know where it matters the Mk7 is superior. Yes, water pumps, my first failed at 7k miles. Then the dealer replaced it again out of recall around 28k miles although nothing was really wrong with it but I prefer the revised version be installed. I've also heard of the timing chain tension issues but heard that was mostly for the 2010 -2012 models mostly. I had a 2014 so I think either I didn't have enough miles on it yet or whatever issues they had were already resolved by that point being the last Mk6 year.

Aren't mk7 bad on carbon build up also? I've read in some threads that by 50-60k miles you should have it done already... The mk6 I never had it done but was thinking about getting it soon. I was at 58k miles before trade in. Thought I could get to around 65-70k before doing it.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Yeah I am nit picking the small things. I know where it matters the Mk7 is superior. Yes, water pumps, my first failed at 7k miles. Then the dealer replaced it again out of recall around 28k miles although nothing was really wrong with it but I prefer the revised version be installed. I've also heard of the timing chain tension issues but heard that was mostly for the 2010 -2012 models mostly. I had a 2014 so I think either I didn't have enough miles on it yet or whatever issues they had were already resolved by that point being the last Mk6 year.

Aren't mk7 bad on carbon build up also? I've read in some threads that by 50-60k miles you should have it done already... The mk6 I never had it done but was thinking about getting it soon. I was at 58k miles before trade in. Thought I could get to around 65-70k before doing it.

I can't say for a MK6 but a MK7 does also need carbon cleaning done by 50-60K miles if you want your car to run its optimum.