Couldn't resist- New 2015 GSW SEL

Hi:
I couldn't resist missing out on a new GSW TDI and took the plunge. I ended up going out of state to find the car I wanted. Got one of the last GSW SEL with lighting package in the state. Went with platinum gray which I think looks nice with the chrome accents.

I guess I was late to the party as the selection anywhere for SELs was very limited.

I ended up paying $1498 OVER MSRP to get the car. Based on the dealers I spoke to on the west coast (8 of them), you either had to pay a markup or 1% finance premium on the VW deal. (Dealer sets actual APR. Even with a 810 credit score)

So, I sucked it up and paid the premium, but got the usual 0% financing and the $5K off. Car only had 214 miles on it. Couldn't find any issues. Yay!

Some observations:

- Car reported 50.3 MPG (US) on the 800 mile drive home. Not bad. But when I hand calculated it, it was more like 40 MPG. I have no idea how full the initial fill was, so I'm not trusting the number right now.

- Love the SEL seats.

- Love the adaptive lighting on the package lights. They are awesome on two lane country roads.

- Engine is so quiet and powerful compared to my 2006 BRM.

- The MIB I infotainment system with 5.8" display is bad. Wish I could upgrade easily to the 8" MIB III system on the 2017 units.

- Car is very tight and solid. Couldn't be happier with the handling and feel.

- Even with the lighting package, the turn signals are incandescent and not LED. Seems like a cheap out to me.

- Wish the rear seats had more leg room.

- The sunroof is awesome.

I'll post more later.. but here are some pics...

Nice! Seems the MFI is always off .. even on my gti it was never right. I'm still on my first tank so I will do math as I set up my fuelly also.. good luck with her, love mine so far!

Sharp looking nice car..feel lucky you were able to find the one you like.

DSG I assume? What was the MSRP on that car? It's the opposite extreme of my GSW S Manual.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

DSG I assume? What was the MSRP on that car? It's the opposite extreme of my GSW S Manual.

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Yeah, DSG. MSRP was $33695.00 . The S is a great value, but being 6'3", the SEL seats won the SEL contest.

So some more observations after 1000 miles...

-The EA288 Gen3 engine is amazing. Loads of power at every RPM range and it is so quiet. Hope it lasts!

- The SEL seats are just devine.

-I've already got two thumbs up from people when filling up/driving. That was unexpected!

-The MIB 1 infotainment system is a joke. Low res and slow. Very clunky. So wish it had the MIB 2 or 3 system with 8" display. Might have to do a retrofit.

-Ed

CATDI said:

So some more observations after 1000 miles...

-The EA288 Gen3 engine is amazing. Loads of power at every RPM range and it is so quiet. Hope it lasts!

- The SEL seats are just devine.

-I've already got two thumbs up from people when filling up/driving. That was unexpected!

-The MIB 1 infotainment system is a joke. Low res and slow. Very clunky. So wish it had the MIB 2 or 3 system with 8" display. Might have to do a retrofit.

-Ed

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I think that retrofit would be pretty tough. I'd be interested in one two. On vwvortex there is info from a guy in Europe who did it.

Yeah man, the MIB 1 is just dreadful after living with an MIB 2 in my GTI.

The price is STEEP at around $2K. That goes against my gotta-stay-frugal-with-a-tdi mantra.

aditud said:

I think that retrofit would be pretty tough. I'd be interested in one two. On vwvortex there is info from a guy in Europe who did it.

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One other thing that I noticed is the the S and SE models home with a silver/grey dash. I really like the gloss black on the SEL. I think it is the same as from the GTI.

-Ed

CATDI said:

One other thing that I noticed is the the S and SE models home with a silver/grey dash. I really like the gloss black on the SEL. I think it is the same as from the GTI.

-Ed

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That black trim gets fingerprints when you just stare at it. At least it does in my GTI. It's like a black car's exterior. Shows everything and quickly.

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

That black trim gets fingerprints when you just stare at it. At least it does in my GTI. It's like a black car's exterior. Shows everything and quickly.

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But like black... it looks so good when its clean. I think the silver looks cheap- like 80s audio equipment.

Surprisingly it doesn't when you're in the car. I especially like the silver on the door panels, at least with a black interior. As I posted above, I was very negative about it until I drove the car with it for a while.

Another thing I was pleasantly surprised about... The front door cards have LED ambient lighting in them that glows at night. Nice touch.

(This in addition to the LED footwell lighting already there.)

What is the front door card?

door panel, where the window controls and soft bits are for your comfort.

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

Yeah man, the MIB 1 is just dreadful after living with an MIB 2 in my GTI.

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Ugh. I've noticed on multiple occasions now on startup that SiriusXM will not start on the last channel before shutoff but will go to the deadbeat channel (0 or 1, whatever the unsubscribed welcome channel is) for a few seconds and then resume the last channel.

Well, today it never went back and actually said "Initializing..." for over a minute. I shut off the radio and restarted; no dice for my entire hour commute. Had to go to regular radio. If it doesn't work this evening after the car being in sleep state, I'll attempt to have Sirius slap my car in the face from space and then if that doesn't work it's straight to a dealer.

MIB 1 is garbage. Slow, pixelly, garbage.

Yeah, it's not great. Better than anything I've had previously but you can tell it's already a generation or two old.

My biggest gripe is that the SD card always starts at the first song. Which for me is my wife's Dixie Chicks albums. Argh.

Congrats! I just picked mine up today, but purchased local. Wanted 6M, but no choice and got DSG. I did get lighting package on my SE though.

The Tortoise said:

Yeah, it's not great. Better than anything I've had previously but you can tell it's already a generation or two old.

My biggest gripe is that the SD card always starts at the first song. Which for me is my wife's Dixie Chicks albums. Argh.

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Get some ABBA on there and never have a complaint again!

So my dad finally got back from his travels and I was able to present his new TDI Sportwagen to him. He had no idea that I bought a new car,. much less for him. He thought that he was getting my old 2006 BRM Jetta TDI. (Which is a great car.. but this was a step up for him.)
He loves it!




-Ed

Your pops has a good son!

++++1