[JPGTI]

Hello all,

I am currently in the process of searching for my next car. I'm almost two years out of college and my career is going well. I drive a 1999 Civic Si that I've had for about 4.5 years and it has been flawless reliability wise. There are some squeeks and rattles, but mechanically the car has been solid.

What I'm looking at: I have made myself postpone my purchase until I'm absolutely sure of the car I want to buy. With that said, I have driven almost every car I've that has peaked my interest over the past 2 years. Below is a condensed version of what I am looking for in a car and the cars I'm still considering.

-Manual transmission or in this case possibly DSG
-More torque than the 111 lb/ft I am currently used to (pretty easy to top that)
-Excellent handling
-Compliant ride (pretty much anything softer than a Subaru WRX STi and I should be good)
-Good gas mileage (at least 20 mpg overall)
-Practical enough...
-Leather
-Decent sound system
-Sunroof
-Reliability***

Currently looking at:
Acura TSX
Honda Accord V6 6 speed
Volkswagen GTI (preferred over the Jetta)
Volkswagen Jetta GLI

I've driven each of these cars in the configuration I would want at least once. Overall, I find that the GTI is the perfect blend of everything, however, the one glaring downfall is reliability (based on past reports) and dealership experience. If I do have an issue with the car, I don't want a hassle from the dealership. It seems that VW is lacking in this area. Next up would be the TSX/Accord. TSX for styling/handling and the Accord for power/straight-line performance.

I realize this is a GTI forum so my answers will likely be bias, but I want an honest assessment from current owners. Would you buy again? What issues have you had? BTW, I have read the issues/complaints/problems section.

Thanks for your replies.

-Jonathan

 

[GTI MKV]

the GTI meets everything you want EXCEPT decent sound system... hah well ok its decent but its not too good. other than that it sounds like the GTI would be a good car for you.

 

[JPGTI]

Thanks for the reply GTfly.

Have you had any reliability issues? Dealership woes, etc? I am used to a car that I put gas in, change the oil, and rotate the tires and that's it. VW's reputation is not exactly stellar, although my first and current impressions of the GTI are that I find it to be a wonderful blend of performance, style, and comfort. I almost pulled the trigger on a TSX, but can't find one with 6 speed and navigation like I want. GTIs seem plentiful.

 

[bcruzin]

I agree with GTFly, but at the same time, with an upgrade your system is set for perfection. 11 speakers?!?! Can't beat it. I have logged close to 18000 miles and I will tell you, I have done nothing but rotate the tires, change the oil and fill it with 91! In my humble opinion, you're paying extra for an Acura, merely for an Acura badge. Besides, where else can you find this kind of support base with any other make? I would buy again in a heartbeat. Best of luck in your decision

 

[JPGTI]

Thanks for the reply. What is this 11 speakers you speak of?

Glad to hear that you haven't had any issues with yours. To me, there seems to be this cloud (in my head) above VW saying I shouldn't get one for all I have heard about them in the past. It seems that the MKVs are holding up pretty well other than the occasional hiccup. I need more folks to chime in.

I love the car, but I will be incredibly upset with myself if I buy something and then 6 months or a year later feel like I should have bought the Acura/Honda at least for reliability reasons.

 

[bcruzin]

well there is a tweeter, mid and 6.5 inch woofer in each door, separately mounted. Then in the rear there is a tweeter and mid on each side behind driver/passenger seats. So thats 10. Then I am pretty sure of a center channel on the dash above the radio, makin 11.

 

[GranTurismoInjection]

Well here's my story with the service of VW.

My sister got a New Beetle Convertible about 3 years ago, and the people from Park Cities Volkswagen call back all the time! They tell her when to bring the car in, which is usually the next day, and sometimes they actually call too much. We had to tell them to hold the calling back a little. They do everything great for her. Anyways, I got an '06 GTI around June, and the service is exactly the same. A little while ago, someone broke my window for my cheap radar, and I sent it in the next day. I got it back the day after that, good as new. Took it in for the 5k mile mark a couple of days ago and they fixed the alignment (hit a pothole REALLY hard), along with some rattles from the back (from cranking the stereo to songs with really deep bass), which I didn't even ask for. The only thing that was slow was the touch-up paint, because I think they order it from Germany.

After I got it back from the 5k mark checkup, it ran even smoother and better than the day I got it. Nothing's ever gone wrong, and I don't expect it to. These things are built to last, and even the slightest problem would suprise me.

Long story short; buy one, you will look like this --> ;D

well there is a tweeter, mid and 6.5 inch woofer in each door, separately mounted. Then in the rear there is a tweeter and mid on each side behind driver/passenger seats. So thats 10. Then I am pretty sure of a center channel on the dash above the radio, makin 11.

The thing above the stereo is the air vent for when you don't want the air to be directly on you, but you want the car to be that temperature.

There are 10 speakers.... I'm glad to be driving a car with more airbags than speakers (12 airbags).

 

[bcruzin]

damn thought it was a center channel. thanks for the clarification

 

[GTI MKV]

i have not had any problems with the car either. my car was also in an accident when i first got it and i still never encountered any problems with the car after it was fixed... even when it was smashed it ran fine (just looked pretty horrible) hah.

 

[JPGTI]

Thanks for your responses.

By any chance does anyone know of a good dealer in or around Atlanta?

 

[JPGTI]

Alright folks, I stopped by the Acura dealership last night to give the Acura TSX one more try. After driving the GTI for the 2nd time last week, I felt that the Acura was slow (no torque), but it is a really nice package. I'm truly torn. The GTI, in package 2 form, has all of the features of the Acura save the bluetooth connectivity and navigation that I would get with the TSX, but would forgoe with the GTI.

The seats are not as comfortable and sporty in the TSX and the overall demeanor is pretty docile. Like I mentioned previously, I come from a 1999 Civic Si which is quick, not fast, but does have some character to it. I must say that I drove the GTI pretty hard, but I did not push the Acura at all. Actually, I didn't even get the car into VTEC. The lack of power on the TSX makes me think the TL (more $$$ than I would like to spend) and the V6 Accord sound to me like the better match.

As it stands now, I like the GTI more, but am still concerned with reliability. That dark cloud from VW's recent past is looming over my head. Also, APR is convenient for me because I travel to Auburn, Alabama regularly. The idea of having the ability to chip the car is definately a positive. Then again, that makes me even more concerned about reliability and dealer isues.

:-\ I'm very much torn. Has anyone gone from Acura/Honda to VW here? Possibly had similar concerns prior to making the jump to VW?

Thanks again for everyone's help.

-Jonathan

 

[JPGTI]

Well, it appears that this thread has become my personal car search blog. :

As it stands now:
I test drove two GTIs last night, one manual and one DSG. I think I am about 90% sure this is the car I want to go with. It has everything I want in a car. As before my only concern is reliabilty so I need to do a bit more research on that to before I pull the trigger.

Now the question is, do I go manual or do I go DSG? The DSG is nice and it is fun to use the paddles, but I found my left foot to be a bit bored. I live in Atlanta and traffic can be horrendous at times so the DSG definately has an advantage in that respect. The way I look at it, though, is the DSG has quite a few extra components that could fail in the future, especially if I intend on chipping the car (which I do).

Feel free to respond if anyone would like, otherwise I'll update my blog as things progress.

-Jonathan

 

[10bv01]

DSG, ALL THE WAY...... its faster than manual, easier in traffic than manual, and cooler than manual, all your friends will think its sweet if you get it, trust me.

 

[GTI MKV]

all my friends love the paddle shifter option on the car... it works great for hard turns also. you can switch back and forth from the paddle shifters and the stick constantly with no problems also which is pretty cool.

 

[Bboy AJ]

It's really a personal preference. Think about it.

 

[dgm]

...had to chime in with a +1 for manual 6 speed. Sure the DSG is faster, its a perfect shift everytime, but come on, its like a 1/2 second faster to 60mph right? To me, the control of having the clutch and manual shifter is great and I love that part of the driving experience. I drove both at the dealership. The DSG might be slightly faster, but you also pay another good chunk of change for it, it gets slightly worse gas mileage and its just not as fun to drive in my opinion. Let us know what you choose to do.

 

[jgo]

...had to chime in with a +1 for manual 6 speed. Sure the DSG is faster, its a perfect shift everytime, but come on, its like a 1/2 second faster to 60mph right? To me, the control of having the clutch and manual shifter is great and I love that part of the driving experience. I drove both at the dealership. The DSG might be slightly faster, but you also pay another good chunk of change for it, it gets slightly worse gas mileage and its just not as fun to drive in my opinion. Let us know what you choose to do.

Feel free to correct me if I am wrong. I have an 06 and I haven't checked the specs on the 07. I know that they are different and I have no idea why but the 06, if I remeber right, was rated 1 MPG better with the DSG than with the manual.

 

[dgm]

Well, you may be right. I was just told that by my dealer when I was buying and looking at both. He may not have known anything. Anyone else have better facts on gas mileage between the 2? Also, I would guess that repairs to the DSG might be more costly?

 

[jgo]

Repairs on the DSG may be more costly but maybe less frequent since there is less chance of it being screwed up by human interface. There is nothing on today's automobiles that is cheap to fix. My method is to buy the extended warranty and get rid of the car when it expires.

 

[23eldorado]

Kind of ironic, but I found this page just a few minutes ago while I was looking for info on the phone button on the gti wheel.

I'm in exactly the same boat, trying to choose between the tsx and gti. Acura's virtually guaranteed reliability, with ho-hum performance and character vs. gti's traditionally questionable reliability, with all the performance and character you could ask for.

Price is practically a wash (if you can find a 2006 Acura around, as they're discounting them about 3,000). Both are available with navigation (VW's are harder to find with it though). GTI has sirius and tsx is xm. That advantage goes to GTI (gots to have my howard stern).

TSX has the blue tooth and, apparently (as I've read here), it may be possible to get bluetooth out of the gti (more money?).

So very long story short (sorry to take over your blog), Performance, character, howard stern . . . I think my adventurous side has won out over my responsible side. Tuesday morning I'm ordering my gti. Grey, pkg 2, navigation, automatic, 4 doors. All for about 28k (almost exactly the same as the 06 tsx with navigation). Probably be talking to you all more.

Any advice on the bluetooth issue would be appreciated.