Seventh-generation VW Golf

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JASONP

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 24, 2008
Location
Guelph
TDI
2015 Golf TDI Comfortline 6spd
January 14 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of Mexico building VW's by now they've got it figured out I'm sure.
I've owned 4 VW's assembled in Mexico and there's no difference in where it's assembled to me.
ANY car assembled in Mexico is not the problem it's the manufacturers designs that are flawed and prone to failure.
I work in automotive and we ship parts to Mexico, China, and the US and we have manufacturing issues that are design flaws right from our customers we supply but we work through them to resolve all Of them.
6 of one half a dozen of the other...
Ford, GM, Chrysler VW it doesn't rally matter.....
 

BeetleGo

TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 21, 1998
Location
Cambridge, MA
TDI
5-door, 5-speed Golf GLS replaced BeetleGo.
I finally test drove the Gen VII GTI. A fine car, no doubt. I enjoyed it emmencely. I just want it in a GTD wagon. ;):D:)
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
I finally test drove the Gen VII GTI. A fine car, no doubt. I enjoyed it emmencely. I just want it in a GTD wagon. ;):D:)
Then you'll have to get a TDI wagon, and spend a considerable fortoona getting it chipped, putting in GTD suspension parts, trim bits and interior.

And you may not be able to do the suspension. If the wagon is anything like the hatch, the add-blue tank precludes the installation of independent rear suspension. Which may partly explain why no GTD in N. America.

Personally, I'd just get the GTI but on my radar I think a base Golf 1.8 TSI is more likely in my future. Early partial retirement = belt tightening and one of the first things to go will be nice-to-haves on my cars. Fortunately the base Golf is pretty well equipped out of the box.
 

vwmk4

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2005
Location
ROCKPILE IL. USA
TDI
None at this time, Looking for a nice one though.
Looks like the 1.8T for me as after retirement I don't put that many miles on. So think the TSI will be for me and yes a Golf S has all the goodies that I need plus cold weather pack.
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
I have a few more years before retirement but in looking at Planecrazy and vwmk4's posts, I started thinking aobut travel after retirement versus now. Since I currently have a very short commute, under 10 miles, and my wife's is aobut 20 miles, I think we will put more miles on at least one of the cars after retirement. One daughter just moved to the South Bend, In area, which is a little over 700 miles each way. The other is currently thinking about the west coast. So I can see doing a minimum of 20k miles per year versus 12-15 now.
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
I have a few more years before retirement but in looking at Planecrazy and vwmk4's posts, I started thinking aobut travel after retirement versus now. Since I currently have a very short commute, under 10 miles, and my wife's is aobut 20 miles, I think we will put more miles on at least one of the cars after retirement. One daughter just moved to the South Bend, In area, which is a little over 700 miles each way. The other is currently thinking about the west coast. So I can see doing a minimum of 20k miles per year versus 12-15 now.
I think our solution resides in my wife's wagon (and whatever it's replaced with) being a TDI, and my car being the second car, a gasser.

However I think we won't travel by car as much after both of us fully retire. Yes we'll drive a lot locally as we now do, but my wife has family on the West Coast, so that's by air. For our vacation trips, we favour Europe, so there may still be TDIs in my future after I get rid of "Fritz" (my wife's nickname for my 2011 Golf Hatch), just not my own :p

Even for around here, if we go to, say, Toronto, we're now more likely to take the train than tackle the 401, and rent a car at the other end. My wife's TDI did just over 20k km in the first year. Mine has averaged 36k since new, but most were done at the beginning. Since I no longer commute, I'm down to 15-20k a year. When we do travel (like to Maine in the spring) we take the wagon. Mine rarely goes beyond 100 km now. But it's paid for, so the odds of it being traded in the near future are zilch. The only reason I'd consider new is if it were totalled or stolen.
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
I spend a great deal of time in the Toronto area and understand the desire to stay off the 401.
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
I spend a great deal of time in the Toronto area and understand the desire to stay off the 401.
Indeed. Especially through Metro Toronto, there is zero lane discipline and far too great differences in speed between vehicles.

I can say that I find driving in the UK, on the opposite side of the road, steering wheel on the right, and shifting with my left hand, easier than driving the 401 through Toronto. It's intense, but disciplined. Toronto is anything but disciplined.
 

SilverGhost

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Location
Back in So Flo - St Lucie
TDI
'05 Golf - totaled :(, wife's '13 Beetle - buy back, TDIless
WooHoo! Second Golf TSI showed up, this one a SE. They are starting to dribble in and I'll update when a TDI shows up.

Jason
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
WooHoo! Second Golf TSI showed up, this one a SE. They are starting to dribble in and I'll update when a TDI shows up.

Jason
How are sticker prices comparing the 2015 to a 2014?
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
I've owned 4 VW's assembled in Mexico and there's no difference in where it's assembled to me.
Actually there is a difference. Our Mexican-built Golf wagon has been absolutely flawless to date:)

Our German-built Golf hatchback has been something of a reliability disaster :mad:

Not quite the "conventional wisdom" but I'm really pleased with our Mexican-built wagon. The German built one... when people ask "does it go good", I reply "it goes good when it's going good...". It does go very well indeed when the stars and planets are aligned...
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
I'm 50/50 on my VWs. Two from Mexico and two from Germany. The beetle from Mexico had issues but the other three have been very good.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Actually there is a difference. Our Mexican-built Golf wagon has been absolutely flawless to date:)

Our German-built Golf hatchback has been something of a reliability disaster :mad:

Not quite the "conventional wisdom" but I'm really pleased with our Mexican-built wagon. The German built one... when people ask "does it go good", I reply "it goes good when it's going good...". It does go very well indeed when the stars and planets are aligned...
As a friend of mine says, "two data points don't make a trend." And you only have one of each. I wouldn't generalize from my own recent VW (not air cooled) ownership, but I've had four Mexican, two Belgian, and four German. Truthfully they've all been great. Some I liked better than others, but I have no complaints about any related to the country of manufacture.
 

SilverGhost

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Location
Back in So Flo - St Lucie
TDI
'05 Golf - totaled :(, wife's '13 Beetle - buy back, TDIless
Hmmm, just noticed it has Bi Xenon and cornering, but no price listed on the sticker for advanced lighting (which was supposed to be HID and cornering).

$24,495 for a SE

Jason
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
As a friend of mine says, "two data points don't make a trend." And you only have one of each. I wouldn't generalize from my own recent VW (not air cooled) ownership, but I've had four Mexican, two Belgian, and four German. Truthfully they've all been great. Some I liked better than others, but I have no complaints about any related to the country of manufacture.
I realize that. I was just trying to point out that there's nothing inherently wrong with Mexican-built VWs, and that poop can happen to German-made ones too.

So far I've had 2 Mexican VWs: 99.5 Jetta TDI and the current wagon; and 4 German ones: A4 Jetta Wagon, B5.5 Passat, B6 Passat wagon, and the current Golf. Of those, the B5.5 had a ticking time bomb (BS module chain drive). The A4 and B6 wagons were good (at least the A4 until it was totaled). The current Golf has been problematic. Of the Mexican ones, the 99.5 was fairly troublesome, but I don't think the Golfs of the same vintage (Germany and Brazil) were much better, the early Mk IVs had a lot of teething troubles.
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
I saw my first non-GTI Golf Mk VII Golf today! (I'd already seen a GTI). It was slate gray. I couldn't tell if it was a TDI or not but I'm guessing a Trendline TSI. But it was going the opposite direction in a 90 km/h zone so no opportunity to see exactly what it was.

So they're trickling out there.
 

KonaJack

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2010
Location
Barrington, IL
TDI
2011 VW Golf
I was talking to my VW service rep while having my 50,000 mile work done yesterday. I asked about the GTD and when they expect it to come stateside. He groaned and said it's now almost 0% chance it's going to come to North America. He explained that he just came back from VW corporate training on all things MkVII and one of the things the U.S. retail people were most excited about was the GTD (he himself planned on buying one when it gets here). The guys from Germany said they had been going back and forth on the subject but have pretty much decided it cannot work here. They would have to forego the IRS on a North American GTD because of the Adblue and they are just not willing to compromise that. He said that when Adblue finally becomes mandatory down the road in Europe they will drop the spare tire and put the tank in its place but they will not go the spareless route here. Also, the sales figures of the Golf in N.A. are just way too puny to justify engineering an alternative. I'm very disappointed. I just drove an I-beam TDI and while a decent car, it simply does not feel as "planted" and compliant as my '11 and much of the driving joy is missing for me.
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
I was talking to my VW service rep while having my 50,000 mile work done yesterday. I asked about the GTD and when they expect it to come stateside. He groaned and said it's now almost 0% chance it's going to come to North America. He explained that he just came back from VW corporate training on all things MkVII and one of the things the U.S. retail people were most excited about was the GTD (he himself planned on buying one when it gets here). The guys from Germany said they had been going back and forth on the subject but have pretty much decided it cannot work here. They would have to forego the IRS on a North American GTD because of the Adblue and they are just not willing to compromise that. He said that when Adblue finally becomes mandatory down the road in Europe they will drop the spare tire and put the tank in its place but they will not go the spareless route here. Also, the sales figures of the Golf in N.A. are just way too puny to justify engineering an alternative. I'm very disappointed. I just drove an I-beam TDI and while a decent car, it simply does not feel as "planted" and compliant as my '11 and much of the driving joy is missing for me.
I figured the IRS was the deal-killer for the GTD. Your mini review is really helpful. I too like the razor-sharp handling of my '11. Confirms that if I had to trade, I'd go 1.8 TSI or GTI (less likely as I near permanent retirement and must conserve cash).
 

tdi90hp

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2002
Location
Canuckland
TDI
2011 Golf TDI 6 speed(gone but NEVER forgotten)
I was talking to my VW service rep while having my 50,000 mile work done yesterday. I asked about the GTD and when they expect it to come stateside. He groaned and said it's now almost 0% chance it's going to come to North America. He explained that he just came back from VW corporate training on all things MkVII and one of the things the U.S. retail people were most excited about was the GTD (he himself planned on buying one when it gets here). The guys from Germany said they had been going back and forth on the subject but have pretty much decided it cannot work here. They would have to forego the IRS on a North American GTD because of the Adblue and they are just not willing to compromise that. He said that when Adblue finally becomes mandatory down the road in Europe they will drop the spare tire and put the tank in its place but they will not go the spareless route here. Also, the sales figures of the Golf in N.A. are just way too puny to justify engineering an alternative. I'm very disappointed. I just drove an I-beam TDI and while a decent car, it simply does not feel as "planted" and compliant as my '11 and much of the driving joy is missing for me.
Interesting. Not a rave review from an 11 owner about the new 7. maybe like Plane Crazy I will go 5 speed TSI 4 door and drive the wheels off it. Time will tell. No IRS on TDI. Ridiculous. No 6 speed on TSI...more silliness. Spend all that cash on a new Golf and leave out critical market segment definers is just wrong. My new 18K Mazda 3 Sport BASE has 6 speed and IRS.
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
Interesting. Not a rave review from an 11 owner about the new 7. maybe like Plane Crazy I will go 5 speed TSI 4 door and drive the wheels off it. Time will tell. No IRS on TDI. Ridiculous. No 6 speed on TSI...more silliness. Spend all that cash on a new Golf and leave out critical market segment definers is just wrong. My new 18K Mazda 3 Sport BASE has 6 speed and IRS.
Hopefully when I finally need to get rid of my '11, VW will have seen the light and offer 6-speed on the TSI and IRS on the TDI.

But then maybe by the time my '11 is shot (assuming all the emissions plumbing doesn't need very $$$ repairs), the Mk VIII might be out :p
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
One TSI has shown up at a local dealer here in MA. So I guess they'll start to appear.

I don't feel strongly about the number of gears or the rear suspension. I have both a six speed and two five speed VWs, and I like both. When an engine is as flexible as the 1.8T is reported to be, you don't need as many gears as you do in an NA engine like the Mazda's with a narrower power band. And I've always been happy with the trailing link rear suspension on VWs. The new Golf may have softer springs and smaller wheels than an '11 TDI which will affect handling feel more than the rear suspension.

I wouldn't be a gasser customer anyway. I'm waiting for the EA288. Can't decide if I want a Sportwagen or the refreshed sedan. It appears that my wagon is never going to wear out so a sedan would be OK, and the new interior is great. I'll drive one when those appear.
 

dubStrom

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Location
Kansas City Missouri
TDI
2003 A4 Jetta (sold), 2010 JSW (sold), 2013 Passat 6MT traded for 2014 JSW with 6MT-TOTALED in November 2016, 2003 ALH 5MT conversion (sold), wheezing 2015 GSW/DSG and a new 2021 Tacoma Access Cab 4x4 p'up
I saw my first non-GTI Golf Mk VII Golf today! (I'd already seen a GTI). It was slate gray. I couldn't tell if it was a TDI or not but I'm guessing a Trendline TSI. But it was going the opposite direction in a 90 km/h zone so no opportunity to see exactly what it was.

So they're trickling out there.
I see a few 2015 Golf TSI (non-GTI) models at our three main local dealers. It is surprising to see that the 2015 manual GTIs are about 26k, but the TSIs are all more expensive. Some slightly more (base DSG), some over $28k. Interesting.

I just bought my 2014 JSW for $25,600. Manual, base model, but I still feel like I got a great deal.

There are still more GTIs than TSIs (an no 2015 sportwagens yet), but there is a good assortment of the 2015 TSIs. Nice looking car. I saw a white 4 door that really looks good. I haven't/recognized/seen them on the road yet.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Stopped in at a local dealer today and they had, in addition to a couple of GTIs, a 4-door TSI Golf, automatic. Nice looking car, but the sticker was a bit over 29K. Considering there was a Passat SE manual on the lot for 24K that's a bit hard to swallow.
 

vwmk4

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2005
Location
ROCKPILE IL. USA
TDI
None at this time, Looking for a nice one though.
Waiting for the 2 door Golf S 2 door cars to go on sale. I don't need or want all of the bells and whistles and no more sun roof for me. As I never open the sun roof and don't want the added weight.
 

Max Period

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Location
Toronto Ontario Canada
TDI
2011 Jetta Comfortline
Looking at the window sticker, it says that vehicle's final assembly is done in Mexico, but the engine and transmission are imported from Germany. Isn't the new TDI engine supposed to be manufactured in Mexico?

And oh nice, the S trim comes with cruise control, but for the Canadian Trendline it is an option...
 

adoinmo

Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Location
St. Louis
TDI
2012 Golf TDI Tech Pack 6MT
I have a Mk.7 2015 GTI S 2DR 6MT on order at a Missouri dealership, I really want a Mk.7 2015 TDI but my dealer has told me there is no way to even order one yet?!

That post above clearly shows a 2015 TDI, what am I missing, why is it so hard to buy a TDI, any recommendations where I can buy one in the Missouri area?
 

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
I have a Mk.7 2015 GTI S 2DR 6MT on order at a Missouri dealership, I really want a Mk.7 2015 TDI but my dealer has told me there is no way to even order one yet?!

That post above clearly shows a 2015 TDI, what am I missing, why is it so hard to buy a TDI, any recommendations where I can buy one in the Missouri area?
Your salesman wants his commission money sooner rather than later.
 
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