2010 Volkswagen GTI: Open Up and Say

I see the seats don't fold anywhere near flat.

"I have more crap than I could ever imagine stuffed away in a Public Storage."

What did we do before storage lockers? Seriously, a few decades ago, such things never existed. Now, they're everywhere. Packrats.

So, how did the car hold up? Any observations?

Wow. I'm with stovt001 on this one. Is this a joke, or just a slap in the face? The only way I could have appreciated this less is if you were doing a comparison with a Camry over which car can stop faster under unintended acceleration.

brn has the best observation here in the seats not folding flat. We discovered that when we sat in one at the dealership recently. We had to move the front seats forward a little too to get the back to fold as far as possible. However, the cargo area is fairly roomy for such a compact car, both with seats up and seats down, and the rear seat is surprisingly roomy too. The center pass through is a wonderful addition to the 60/40 rear seats. I love having 5 options.

Also, is a Vokswagen a cheap Chinese knockoff?

Seems to me that Edmunds should just get rid of all the cars they long-term test and just keep the trucks.

Another fascinating report about storage. Yawn.

"Also, is a Vokswagen a cheap Chinese knockoff?"

What do you mean here stovt?

I think the editors are screwing with us now, laughing their butts off reading our posts.

They say: "Complain about the lack of GTI posts, will ya? We'll get you back with posts almost completely lacking any useful information."

The GTI hauls less than a full size pickup. Who'd have thunk.

Why did they purchase this GTI if all they wanted was something to move "cargo"? Why is this considered a "long term test"? What are they testing? There was not an ounce of substance to this post.

Now redeem yourselves and chip the car already so you can haul the only thing that matters, ass.

@mcgs999: look at the blog title.

Do the rear seats fold flat with the head rests removed?

In defense of the IL staff, what's wrong with a post about using the car like most people would? It's a hatchback, people are going to haul stuff with it. I move stuff with my hatch all the time. And now knowing the back seats don't fold flat would probably make me less interested in this as a next vehicle.

I realize that this is an enthusiast's site and most people want to see track numbers constantly. But isn't the Long Term test supposed to be about how a car holds up for a year under normal driving? Or at least as normal as the Edmund's fleet drive!

The not-folding-flat seats irk me, too. But the hatchback configuration has been fairly useful, especially when bringing large items like plasma TV's and two sets of 18" wheels home. Honestly, the seats aren't that big of an issue unless you use it fairly often, and if you do you're in the wrong car.

However, this little ongoing joke that the IL staff has with the GTI is getting annoying, and I would really like some more driving impressions... please!

I'm bored.

Maybe I should clear out my storage unit. I only have a hatchback for the weekend but next week I'll have a full-size pick-up. That truck is really big and holds a lot of stuff. My boxes would fit great in there.

The pick-up is really useful for horrible jobs like moving 37 boxes every four years. It won't be so bad though because I can do it in just a couple of trips. I can really get a lot of boxes back there! Really. A lot of boxes.

The really cool thing is this: I have a great job where they will actually let me use the pick-up to move all this stuff. Can you believe that? A full-size pick-up to use for free. Man, I'm a lucky dude. It won't be so bad after all.

On second thought. Why wait?
This really horrible moving job will be much, much harder if I just do it with this small hatchback I have right now for the weekend. It will be brutal work and I'll be miserable for days after. I'm going to do it anyway. I know, I should wait.

I must be insane.

I know French, maybe Edmunds will hire me too!

I decided not to wait for the IL's editors posts to appear about this car. I have purchased one a week ago. Anyway, IL talks about it as if it's a minivan and not the World Car of The Year with the best 2.0l engine in the whole freaking world. So here goes my short review of my black, 2 door, manual GTI:
1: Is it possible to buy one without mark-up price or below MSRP even if you live in CA? Yes. I got mine almost $600 less then MSRP plus $750 friends and family discount, which was given by a manager because it turned out they didn't have the car on a lot but it was still in transit. Next day i picked it up, no problem.
2: Brake-in period. Some of you might not believe in the brake-in theory but I do. With TSI engine you can upshift early due to the high torque, this give you an ability................... Long story short, you won't be driving this car slow even if you don't want to overload the new engine. 3000RPMs is more than enough to enjoy the sound of the exhaust.
3: Is the ride comfortable? Hell No!!! The ride is hard but not shaky. Some parts of the freeway will make you feel as if you're sitting on a rocking chair or make your girlfriend's legs slightly shake from the vibration.
4: What is the real world MPG? Amazing!!!! The onboard computers gives me a lot of useful information. For example, for better economy it shows me an arrow up or down depending on a gear I should switch to achieve better MPG. I'm on my second tank about 700ml. My average MPG is 30-32 with 70% freeways and the rest is heavy traffic in West Hollywood. The computer tells me that one tank of gas will last a little more then 400 ml.
5: The engine. I'm not a mechanic so here is the link about that: http://askavwsalesguy.com/2009/10/14/2010-gti-goes-on-the-dyno/

I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. And if you have questions don't hesitate to ask. If you want me to keep adding my experience with this car to the "GTI long term" posts I will do so with pleasure.

@f1ndler: is there really a markup problem in Southern California? Edmunds' TMV shows a market value comfortably below MSRP for the 2010 GTI. I was at a dealer last week sitting in one. I told them I wasn't buying soon, but it definitely seemed like price was negotiable and we could work out a deal.

@f1ndler: Good post, keep it up!

Some dealers told me that I won't be able to buy this car without mark-up price due to the high demand. For example BMW MINI, I think their headquarters are somewhere on a planet Mars, they wanted to sell a car to my friend for $1000 over the MSRP. Lunatics! So, just in case if someone wants to buy GTI for MSRP, think again. There is a chance to get a better deal.

It was to: stovt001's question.

@f1ndler

Thanks for the post, and I'd love to read more about your new baby. I love my Mk5, but will be giving it back in late June. I understand the Mk6 feels even more refined, almost Audi-like. My biggest complaint about mine is the interior squeaks and rattles. But still, the GTI is the finest blend of practicality, performance, and fuel economy.
Sooo, I've narrowed it down to the GTI or pre-owned WRX(265). Subie is ugly, but not as much as the new Mazdaspeed3.

I, like others, love the multitude of posts on the GTI. So detailed and informative... [/sarcasm]

I just bought an Mk6 GTI a week ago and have put a couple hundred miles on it. Just quick comments: if you think the ride isn't comfortable then you don't know what a hard ride is. Take a last-gen Z4 equipped anyway you like it and then drive this GTI. You'd be lying through your teeth if you think the GTI wasn't as smooth as butter.

Bottom line so far with the car is that you buy the Mazdaspeed3 because you want power. Speed3 might have higher limits but its handling balance and composure is nowhere near the GTI. Power from the GTI isn't blow your eyes out good but it is plentiful and you certainly don't "need" more. That said, a chipped GTI would likely be the perfect hot hatch.

Dude! I moved TWICE using nothing but my crappy (through trusty) old 1994 Hyundai Excel, driving from Albuquerque to New Jersey and then a second time from New Jersey to LA. I only kept what I could fit in the Excel, selling off or disposing off of everything else.

My Mark V GTI was larger than my Excel, so just imagine what I did with it! Trips to IKEA were no sweat!

I know the MK VI has the same engine as my erstwhile Mk V, so performance would be about the same. The build and interior quality of the Mk V GTI makes every other non-Volkswagen, non-luxury car feel cheap. That $30-35K Toyota or Honda? They felt far cheaper than my $22K GTI.

Btw, you guys totally need to upgrade you login page/experience (newsflash: it sucks!). If you need recommendations for a very good software company, why, my company Jaws Algorhythmics is available ;-).

On our admittedly short test drive of the GTI, my wife and I absolutely agreed that the ride was surprisingly smooth for a "hot hatch" and it did feel buttoned down, like what you'd expect in, say, and Audi A4 or a BMW 3 Series. It really did feel like a proper European sport sedan, but a hatchback, and at an everyman price.

I really hope that markup thing doesn't make life too difficult trying to get a good price on one.

@f1ndler: Start your own blog ;-) (and let us know about it).

@markvgti -

perhaps EVERY one of us already has a ROAD blog that has TAKEN to doing a feature on the GTi v MS3.... dot com...

What would we do w/o posters like @f1ndler and mpowerf1?

For those of you who have a Mk VI, do you have any rattles/squeaks from the interior? This seems to be a common complaint on older VW's and I wonder if they have improved. The one I test drove was solid as a rock, but who knows what happens after a couple of thousand miles? (I guess Edmunds will never tell us)

As far as the price, I get the impression that around here (DC/Baltimore metro) the cars are going for less than MSRP.

"I see the seats don't fold anywhere near flat."

This was an issue in previous generation Golf/GTIs as well. In my 2004 Golf I actually found it more useful to keep the back seat up normally and then stack the back seats and the hatch area separately.

Regarding the usefulness of a hatch, I moved my entire apartment (minus the bed) home from university in that 2004 Golf. Its amazing what you can fit in when you really try.

My wife got a VW CC this past weekend. I was really tempted by the GTIs on the lot. They had atleast five 2 doors with manual transmissions and no options. They were all around 22-24K. I wanted to do a 2 for one deal. My wife didn't like that idea.

I did talk to the fleet manager extensively about the GTI price and supply. So, in Texas (Houston area), where I talked to a VW dealer they have plentiful supplies that you can get at or below MSRP.

I would buy one in a second if we could swing an extra payment each month (the car I drive is already paid off).

I got a black 2-door manual about a month ago. The market is really slim if you're looking for a relatively nice car with a manual transmission and decent power for under $30k; my choice came down to the GTI or a Hyundai Genesis coupe (3.8 GT). I got mine with the Autobahn package (leather seats + sunroof) for $24,500. I'd have liked the Xenon headlights, but I couldn't find one without 18" wheels and nav, which drove the price up to $28k. For comparison, there was one Genesis coupe 3.8 GT with a manual transmission in the DC area; the internet price on that one was $26,800.

There is a little bit of a rattle from the sunroof shade every once in a while that's not a big deal. But if you have the sunroof all the way open but the windows closed, you get a weird resonance thing that happens around 40 mph.

For the record, deals on GTIs are out there. It just depends upon how open you are to going to various dealers to get them. For what it's worth, I paid 500 under invoice for mine. This was in Phoenix where there are a couple of different VW dealers to choose from. I also had a dealership in Southern California dealing right at invoice via email.

About build quality: there is a massive gap in quality between the Speed3 and the GTI (heck any other hot hatch and the GTI). This is apparent every time you step into either of the cars. There are no thin plastics and cheesy colors like in the Speed3 and this, to me, suggests that it's going to be a much more reliable car (in terms of rattles) over the long haul. And even if it's not. I'd much rather take a few small rattles in a beautifully tailored interior than sit in that ugly plastic box in the Speed3.

What a waste of cyberspace.....next time take the LT Miata for your moving needs.....

Are you guys trying to reduce interest in your blog?

@powell_jr "wanted to do a 2 for one deal. My wife didn't like that idea."

my wife never goes for the 2 for one deals I propose either.

This comment thread > the actual blog entry, including exnevadan's comment.

Amazing.

This is allegedly one of the most fun-to-drive cars that can be had for around $25k.

The Inside Line section claims to be the "enthusiast" portion of this site, and we get the following bits of complete twaddle:

- A discussion of how a photographer owns too much stuff and moved it from a storage unit to his house, but not one touch on how the car drives.
- The oh-so-useful "where am I" series where readers can guess in which car a GI Joe figure is photographed.
- More reviews of a Suzuki - not a GSX-R, but a Suzuki CAR for Godsakes - than of a Corvette Z06 and a GTI, also in the test fleet.
- Some Valley Girl complaining that there's no place for her sunglasses in the new 7er.

Looks like it's time to find another web site.

Is Edmunds EVER going to actually discuss how terrific the GTI is to actually, you know, DRIVE?

There is a reason the Mk6 GTI was chosen as Automobile Magazine Car of the Year as well as winning a bunch of other awards from others.

It truly is a well-balanced, practical enthusiast's car that does nearly everything well for not a ton of money.

And chipping it makes it even better.

Edmunds...are you listening???

"the best 2.0l engine in the whole freaking world"

LoL

That impresses me about as much as the statement "best Korean car ever made..."

I have a MkVI 4-door black GTI with the DSG, bi-xenons, leather, sunroof, 18s, and Dynaudio. Pretty much loaded. My other car is an 08 Infiniti G37S coupe.

My observations so far? The car drives fantastic. I don't know what it is, but I never thought I'd have more fun diving in an out of corners in a FWD hatch vs. my RWD G37S. I mean, I guess it makes sense...since you see more small cars at autox than mid-large cars.

Anyway, the GTI is confident through turns. It doesn't fuss, it doesn't require a lot of effort or correction...it just goes where you point the car. And you can take them at a decent amount of speed to boot. In my G37, I can take corners faster, it just doesn't feel as spritely...

Interior quality is fantastic as well for the price point. Keep in mind, I didn't pay $24,000 for my GTI...MSRP was $30,800. There's a lot more car I could have bought for that much money. But, World Car of the Year, positive reviews from just about every journalist, and overall fit and finish made me say, "Yep, this is the DD for me." The GTI is, in my opinion, even better than the A3 in quality.

Oh, the Dynaudio system isn't super great, but it's worth the $400 or whatever to upgrade. Decent highs, great mids, so-so bass. The system sounds seems to sound better over time for some reason...and I'm not just 'getting used to' the sound. I guess it's breaking in or something? I'm not an audiophile, and my only immediate comparison is the Bose Studio-On-Wheels system in my G...which is the best stock system I've ever had, but it really does sound better with age.

The things I don't like about the car so far is the lack of motorized seats and lack of auto-headlights.

Gotta get back to work...I'll post more when I have time! Definitely chipping this thing with APR stage 1 too :)

Oh, I paid $400 under invoice for my GTI. I can't remember exact price, but it was like 29,400 or something. Bought it on Black Friday 2009.

Still waiting for Edmunds to tell us if you can fit a wheelchair in the car.

Consumer Reports actually did this for several years with their car tests! Wouldn't surprise me if the old ladies running the show at Edmunds start doing the same thing.

I can respect the GTI for being able to carry a reasonable amount of cargo and still go fast and go around corners fast. But that is not the main purpose of this car, the main purpose is to be a well designed reasonably priced hot hatch not a Super Duty.

If you are going to move stuff out of your storage unit and still use the GTI then get a U-Haul and some friends and haul them in the GTI and the rest of the stuff in the truck that would be a better blog post in of its self.

If you're going to post something about cargo room in a long-term vehicle, how about some real world specs. Say, distance from back of front seats to the hatch, how about diagonal length, height, width?. I guess I'll just have to go to a dealer with my surfboard(s) to test fit...