Mk7 vs Mk8

[jimlloyd40]

*edit: just realized im super late to the party lol.

Did you just say the difference in the exterior design is "negligible" ??? The MK8 is pretty hideous. Looks like a Hyundai, before they bought all of VW's designers.

The MK8 is also MQB like the MK7, and the MK8 doesn't have an improved VAQ to my understanding, so other than the improved turbocharger (which, admittedly is likely going to be good for ~350WHP at Stage 1), MK8 is a very slight evolution. Uglier exterior, uglier interior with capacitive steering wheel controls, likely negligible change in suspension dynamics.

I think the MK7/MK7.5 GTI is the pinnacle for GTIs, I wouldn't get a MK8. I say get the MK7.

Didn't know that Hyundai bought the VW designers. Hyundai did get some of the BMW designers and engineers. It was a BMW engineer that handled the Veloster N suspension tuning.

 

[themaincop]

Hey I can answer this because I just bought a 2021 Mk7.5 DSG autobahn! I saw the Mk8 announcement and it's not for me. I don't like the exterior as much, I don't like the interior as much, and I absolutely hate the industry dragging us even further into touch and capacitive everything and away from physical buttons that just friggin work! Also like someone else said, being able to jump in on the last year of what's widely considered a great generation of a great car feels good. I don't expect many surprises, there's a ton of aftermarket support, and the community is huge. When you get in on a new generation of car you end up being a bit of a guinea pig.

I can also touch on the manual vs. DSG situation a bit because I'm coming from a 2017 Civic Si and I had many of the same complaints with the manual in that car. It was supposed to be a sporty car but I was routinely getting dusted at intersections by 10 year old minivans that weren't even trying. I didn't bother test driving the GTI with a stick because everything I read about it seemed to say it suffered from the same issues that plagued my Civic and almost every modern sporty eco car with a stick. I'm having lots of fun with the DSG and being able to zip around in that 0-40 zone makes city driving (the vast majority of my driving) way more fun.

 

[Boje]

I keep seeing these references to people with 6 speed GTIs being super slow to take off compared to trucks, minivans, Corollas, etc., what is that about? I have never had this issue. If I want to take off fast from a light, I'm always well ahead of everyone else unless there was someone next to me who wants to get on it. Admittedly I have done most of the standard upgrades (short shifter, weighted/shorter knob, cdv delete, etc.), but I don't recall having any problems taking off quick when my car was completely stock... Wheel hop was an issue if I really gave it the beans, but that's completely gone through various mods. I do wish 1st gear was a bit shorter, but I find it workable. I'm from the UK and grew up driving stick, but I presume most people on here with a 6 speed know what they're doing, so I find it super odd that so many people find the car slow from a take off (FWD aside).

Sorry, not meaning to derail the thread...! As you were.

 

[jimlloyd40]

I keep seeing these references to people with 6 speed GTIs being super slow to take off compared to trucks, minivans, Corollas, etc., what is that about? I have never had this issue. If I want to take off fast from a light, I'm always well ahead of everyone else unless there was someone next to me who wants to get on it. Admittedly I have done most of the standard upgrades (short shifter, weighted/shorter knob, cdv delete, etc.), but I don't recall having any problems taking off quick when my car was completely stock... Wheel hop was an issue if I really gave it the beans, but that's completely gone through various mods. I do wish 1st gear was a bit shorter, but I find it workable. I'm from the UK and grew up driving stick, but I presume most people on here with a 6 speed know what they're doing, so I find it super odd that so many people find the car slow from a take off (FWD aside).

Sorry, not meaning to derail the thread...! As you were.

He said his Civic SI was slow off the line and didn't test drive a manual GTI.

 

[bentin]

He said his Civic SI was slow off the line and didn't test drive a manual GTI.

Hehe. A Golf would give an Si a hard time.

 

[themaincop]

I keep seeing these references to people with 6 speed GTIs being super slow to take off compared to trucks, minivans, Corollas, etc., what is that about? I have never had this issue. If I want to take off fast from a light, I'm always well ahead of everyone else unless there was someone next to me who wants to get on it. Admittedly I have done most of the standard upgrades (short shifter, weighted/shorter knob, cdv delete, etc.), but I don't recall having any problems taking off quick when my car was completely stock... Wheel hop was an issue if I really gave it the beans, but that's completely gone through various mods. I do wish 1st gear was a bit shorter, but I find it workable. I'm from the UK and grew up driving stick, but I presume most people on here with a 6 speed know what they're doing, so I find it super odd that so many people find the car slow from a take off (FWD aside).

Sorry, not meaning to derail the thread...! As you were.

I was responding to the guy a couple of pages back who was talking about the GTI. My Civic was capable of taking off fast off the line but it involved pushing it kinda hard and dealing with jerky shifts. If you're just driving smoothly the rev hang and heavy flywheel means you lose speed on the 1-2 shift and then again on the 2-3. I'm not talking about racing here, just wanting to feel zippy in your DD. The guy upthread was also referring to how the car comes from the factory, it sounds like on the GTI the CDV delete does a lot. I had a tune with rev hang delete on my Civic but it was still pretty bad. My tuned civic had more hp and tq than my stock GTI but my stock GTI butt dynos a lot quicker in DD scenarios (which is most of my driving, I don't street race or anything)

 

[Boje]

I was responding to the guy a couple of pages back who was talking about the GTI. My Civic was capable of taking off fast off the line but it involved pushing it kinda hard and dealing with jerky shifts. If you're just driving smoothly the rev hang and heavy flywheel means you lose speed on the 1-2 shift and then again on the 2-3. I'm not talking about racing here, just wanting to feel zippy in your DD. The guy upthread was also referring to how the car comes from the factory, it sounds like on the GTI the CDV delete does a lot. I had a tune with rev hang delete on my Civic but it was still pretty bad. My tuned civic had more hp and tq than my stock GTI but my stock GTI butt dynos a lot quicker in DD scenarios (which is most of my driving, I don't street race or anything)

Ahh, gotcha. I do feel like people say this about the GTI too, but it's very possible that if I got in a stock one now I would feel the same way. It took me a while in this car to make the 1-2 shift smooth during 'normal' driving, but because I'm not racing, I don't mind it now, having to wait for the revs to drop. I kind of think of it as the car taking a breath each time you shift and it has a lovely rhythm to it, part of the character of the car

 

[themaincop]

Ahh, gotcha. I do feel like people say this about the GTI too, but it's very possible that if I got in a stock one now I would feel the same way. It took me a while in this car to make the 1-2 shift smooth during 'normal' driving, but because I'm not racing, I don't mind it now, having to wait for the revs to drop. I kind of think of it as the car taking a breath each time you shift and it has a lovely rhythm to it, part of the character of the car

For sure, yeah I had a really hard time with the 1-2 shift on the Civic (although I didn't have a ton of manual experience before that.) I didn't hate the civic or anything, i just found it annoying in cases where, for example, there's two lanes going down to one after a stoplight if I wanted to pull out fast off the line so I could merge ahead instead of waiting for someone to let me in I'd have to rev it up pretty hard and do a crappy shift and probably look like an aggressive jerk. With my DSG now I can kinda just go.

 

[Boje]

For sure, yeah I had a really hard time with the 1-2 shift on the Civic (although I didn't have a ton of manual experience before that.) I didn't hate the civic or anything, i just found it annoying in cases where, for example, there's two lanes going down to one after a stoplight if I wanted to pull out fast off the line so I could merge ahead instead of waiting for someone to let me in I'd have to rev it up pretty hard and do a crappy shift and probably look like an aggressive jerk. With my DSG now I can kinda just go.

Also now that I think about it, I think having a robust clutch in the car rather than the stock one makes me okay with slipping first a bit more on takeoff if I want to be quick and smooth, knowing the clutch can take it, or at least take it better. And then I don’t have to do what you’re describing. You really don’t want to be that guy in the straight-piped econowhatever revving up to 8k and deafening everyone and accelerating slightly slower than the Prius next to him, ha

 

[themaincop]

You really don’t want to be that guy in the straight-piped econowhatever revving up to 8k and deafening everyone and accelerating slightly slower than the Prius next to him, ha

Haha exactly! I'm too old for that

 

[Nineeightyone]

This was something I was back and forth on for a while, initially I was looking at buying a new GTI in July of this year, but I started seeing photos inside-and-out of the mk8 GTI, and didn't like the direction the design overall was taking. I wanted a GTI from the time the mk4s were new, and so I definitely had a certain set of predispositions I favor.

My biggest dislikes on the mk8 were the front end and interior. Having test driven a few mk7s and talking to owners in my local SCCA region, the 7.5 seemed to be the way to go -- so the hunt was on! I wanted the 6MT and plaid seats, so thankfully my desires lined up with the less expensive examples available. BEC/Ed's HID options satisfied my desire for good lighting (the factory reflectors are awful, in my opinion) and so late last year I found a 2019 GTI with a titch over 13k on the clock, falling very nicely into my affordable range. I also didn't like the color options available, Great Falls Green and White Silver were at the top of my list, and so mine being white silver was just icing on the cake.

The digital/touch interior is also a turn-off to me, I like the visceral feedback of buttons and knobs, though the volume/power knob icon rotating with the dial is infuriating but easily resolved with cheap vinyl. I'd like to retrofit the backlit overhead buttons, and I'm still very skeptical about VW/Audi sunroofs, after having issues with my mk4 sunroof and the tales of rattling/problematic mk7 ones I felt the S was the way to go.

A higher pricetag, combined with the oddly-specific desires/featureset I had in mind ultimately pushed me to a mk7.5, and I've got no complaints to date. I don't think the mk8 is a bad car, and I'm sure it will wind up with plenty of VW fans scooping them up for it's advanced features and sharp looks. But I think it's moving in a direction away from what has drawn so many people to the GTI. Even with a little power bump and new tech features, I can't get over the unusual aesthetic of the mk8. But I'm getting long in the tooth, so I may not be in touch with current trends. It definitely seems that the EA888 Gen 3 is a winner though, and the MQB platform seems to be knocking it out of the park for VW.

 

[the]

2: Toyota Supra is more of a resurrection (I can think of zero people who would rather have the new one)

I'd gladly take a new one with a Garrett turbo for an easy 800hp. Have you been inside of an old Supra? The 2J is cool and all but I'm trying to live in 2020. Just waiting for these GME shares to cash out. The GTI is probably my last manual transmission project, at least for daily concerns.

 

[bentin]

Man I hate the old, fat, ugly, hoop winged A80. My dad had an FD, such a better car. At least his was, it actually worked, kind of rare for RX7's.

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

I’ll admit - if they still sold Alltrack’s in America I’d be enticed by a 7-speed MK8 Alltrack. This looks way better than the GTI to me.

 

[GenX Retread]

Hey I can answer this because I just bought a 2021 Mk7.5 DSG autobahn! I saw the Mk8 announcement and it's not for me. I don't like the exterior as much, I don't like the interior as much, and I absolutely hate the industry dragging us even further into touch and capacitive everything and away from physical buttons that just friggin work! Also like someone else said, being able to jump in on the last year of what's widely considered a great generation of a great car feels good. I don't expect many surprises, there's a ton of aftermarket support, and the community is huge. When you get in on a new generation of car you end up being a bit of a guinea pig.

I can also touch on the manual vs. DSG situation a bit because I'm coming from a 2017 Civic Si and I had many of the same complaints with the manual in that car. It was supposed to be a sporty car but I was routinely getting dusted at intersections by 10 year old minivans that weren't even trying. I didn't bother test driving the GTI with a stick because everything I read about it seemed to say it suffered from the same issues that plagued my Civic and almost every modern sporty eco car with a stick. I'm having lots of fun with the DSG and being able to zip around in that 0-40 zone makes city driving (the vast majority of my driving) way more fun.

You summed up my thought process pretty well; I picked mine up 1 month ago.

Look-back factor is non-negotiable for cars, bikes and sailboats, and from the bumper down that Mk8 looks like dogshit.

I had a 2012 Explorer Limited which had largely capacitive controls, and mechanical switchgear is just better suited to driving, particularly if you live where Winter is. I have nothing against a screen vs. analog gauges per se, but the Mk8 driver's view of the interior is less... something.

I've owned lots of manual shift cars, including 2.0 and VR6 GTIs, an NB MX-5 and an RX-7, along with a handful of pickups. With the exception of that Miata, shifting gears did nothing to really improve the driving experience in those cars, except vs. their automatic counterparts which were mostly hot garbage. The DSG is 1 of 3 things that sold me on this GTI. The speed and precision of gear shifts is close to that sensation on a motorcycle.