2013 Irish Golf GTI poverty spec

carsfan

Went to look at this car assuming it would be the equivalent of the UK version.
The spec in Ireland is pathetic compared to UK.
17" alloys here instead of 18", no xenons, no climate control, no adaptive cruise control which are all on UK model.
I know VRT will be blamed but I think VW are taking us for a ride as well.
Nice car, but too expensive for a golf if you spec it properly.

kdevitt

Whatever about the other items, xenons should be a standard item on a premium segment car like the GTi. Pretty shocking - but not a surprise.

Saab Ed

kdevitt wrote: »

Whatever about the other items, xenons should be a standard item on a premium segment car like the GTi. Pretty shocking - but not a surprise.

Off topic but xenons should be banned, they're lethal for on coming traffic.

Sorry. Back on topic.

MuppetCheck

Saab Ed wrote: »

Off topic but xenons should be banned, they're lethal for on coming traffic.

Sorry. Back on topic.

If they have knackered level sensors or are aftermarket yes but working correctly they should be fine.

I agree 17s is a bit miserable at this stage and would ruin the look.

porsche boy

Ireland has always suffered with spec levels compared to England. VRT is definately to blame as it artificially hikes up the car price far beyond whats reasonable. Best solution I have is to source all your car's in the north.

bobin fudge

Slightly off topic but I was going through some sales invoices in the place I work and for basic add ons like blue tooth, metallic pain, spare wheel etc on to the car the prices is staggering. It is little wonder to be honest how people who are not that fussed about cars are going to fork out an extra couple of grand for what should really be standard -spare wheel?!

JoeA3

carsfan wrote: »

Went to look at this car assuming it would be the equivalent of the UK version.
The spec in Ireland is pathetic compared to UK.
17" alloys here instead of 18", no xenons, no climate control, no adaptive cruise control which are all on UK model.
I know VRT will be blamed but I think VW are taking us for a ride as well.
Nice car, but too expensive for a golf if you spec it properly.

Yep, unfortunately so. I recently bought one and I did spec it up to closely match UK spec. It wasn't cheap!

The UK do get a very good standard spec, but having said that they are the exception. The standard German spec, for example, is closer to ours, but they also pay a lot less too. Blame VRT I'm afraid.

carsfan

Can't agree re. xenons. Think they are excellent to have and with high beam assist you wont blind anybody.After market light kits are the main offenders re. blinding other motorists I think.

How much would it cost VW Ireland to offer equivalent spec to the UK as standard? Nowhere near the cost to the buyer of adding them on as extras I bet?
People buying the GTI in the first place will be relatively knowledgeable about cars and will research enough to know the Irish car is inferior to a UK model in spec terms.
VW Ireland apparently were not even going to add the performance package as an option at all which is a must have if you read the reviews.
I think they are being too clever by half.

APM

climate control should also be standard in a car of the GTI's class. Knowing people will add these things to the spec VW ripping us off I think

JoeA3

Yeah that comment re xenons is rubbish tbh. Factory fit OEM xenons do not dazzle, quite the opposite.
It's the boy racers retro fitting HID's to halogen reflector units that's the issue.

No Pants

bobin fudge wrote: »

metallic pain

Who pays extra for that?

bobin fudge

place I work in, you do if you order it -kid you not. Think it was an extra 350e

Leonard Hofstadter

Whatever about Xenon headlights and the 18 inch wheels (I think 17s would be better on Irish roads, although there are plenty of bad roads in the UK as well), no climate control in a car costing that much is shocking really. I would also have expect cruise to be included at that price. The VRT is relatively low on that car too, as it is very fuel efficient for what is after all a 2.0 turbo petrol.

As others have said, the kind of person who wants a GTI is clearly interested in cars, and will know that the UK gets a much better spec. Then there was the fiasco about VW refusing to offer the performance pack in Ireland. You'd think they'd know better at this stage. I thought the days of complete poverty spec VWs were gone after VW in Germany took over from MDL, clearly I was mistaken.

MuppetCheck

To he fair it's not complete poverty.

And why the feck would VW complicate the range when they sell a miniscule number and anyone wanting more power will go to Joe Power anyway.

JoeA3

The ADC cruise was something i was delighted wasn't standard equipment. It means you get a seriously ugly sensor in the middle of the grill. Looks awful. For once, I'm glad something isn't standard! If you really want it, it's something like €150.
The reason it's standard there is insurance. With ADC it's in a lower risk bracket. I highly doubt same applies here.

JoeA3

captainspeed wrote: »

Whatever about Xenon headlights and the 18 inch wheels (I think 17s would be better on Irish roads, although there are plenty of bad roads in the UK as well), no climate control in a car costing that much is shocking really. I would also have expect cruise to be included at that price. The VRT is relatively low on that car too, as it is very fuel efficient for what is after all a 2.0 turbo petrol.

As others have said, the kind of person who wants a GTI is clearly interested in cars, and will know that the UK gets a much better spec. Then there was the fiasco about VW refusing to offer the performance pack in Ireland. You'd think they'd know better at this stage. I thought the days of complete poverty spec VWs were gone after VW in Germany took over from MDL, clearly I was mistaken.

Agree on the climate control. Ridiculous.

The 17 inch wheels suit the GTI better imo, certainly in the mk5 and mk6 anyway. Xenons wouldn't be a big deal to me either. It probably should have climate control but once it has a/c it's not too bad. My mk5 GTI doesn't have a/c as it was bought at the time when it was either a/c or a sunroof and the original owner went for a sunroof. To be honest 90% of the time I prefer the sunroof it's only on a long journey in the current weather that I would miss not having a/c.

To be honest I would love a 2013 GTI and wouldn't be too worried about the nitty gritty of specs. It's the driving that matters

I'll give you a grand.

vectra

porsche boy wrote: »

Ireland has always suffered with spec levels compared to England. VRT is definately to blame as it artificially hikes up the car price far beyond whats reasonable. Best solution I have is to source all your car's in the north.

The Irish Octavia vRS is actually much higher spec than the UK counterpart.

@ OP
Why not hold off until September and look at the the Mk3 Octy vRS combi?

As for xenons.

The new Leon FR has LED Lights.

Anan1

All making options standard does is reduce choice and force people to pay for things that they don't want. If you want it, order it.

Fabgtd

Totally disagree Anan.

Making options standard ADDS VALUE.

is there any option that you would seriously not just accept?

Your statement just implies that you are happy to have the cost passed onto you to get what other markets are getting as standard.

Gumbo

Saab Ed wrote: »

Off topic but xenons should be banned, they're lethal for on coming traffic.

Sorry. Back on topic.

You getting mixed up with oem xenon and xenon retrofit in standard reflector housing? Because to say xenon should be banned is rubbish, sorry.

boreder

It works out far cheaper, including VRT, if you get from UK as opposed to spec'ing up on the Irish spec. The only hassle is that you need to pay UK VAT, then pay Irish VAT and VRT on arrival to the South, then claim back the UK VAT. Not easy to do if you're financing. That's what VW Ireland are banking on, I guess. I tried to order one twice here, but both dealers were absolutely shocking to deal with.

That, and VW Ireland don't offer the performance pack (or at least didnt the last time I looked), which should an option ticked on every GTI, imo.

RandomAccess

Xenons can be bad, RangeRovers and BMW X5's were notorious for dazzling drivers! They seem to have addressed it thankfully but it's ridiculous that they ever made such a mess of it in the first place. Those two are responsible for a lot of the ill feelings about those lighting options. It just takes a few bad implementations to tar the rest.

Supergurrier

Worst xenons ive ever seen were the original mk2 punto ones

Gumbo

RandomAccess wrote: »

Xenons can be bad, RangeRovers and BMW X5's were notorious for dazzling drivers! They seem to have addressed it thankfully but it's ridiculous that they ever made such a mess of it in the first place. Those two are responsible for a lot of the ill feelings about those lighting options. It just takes a few bad implementations to tar the rest.

The X5 ones never affected me but the older RR were high in fairness. I would like to know if they were not xenon, but a standard halogen bulb in the same projector at the same height, would they still be in your direct line of sight.

colm_mcm

Supergurrier wrote: »

Worst xenons ive ever seen were the original mk2 punto ones

Weren't they just projectors?

MuppetCheck

colm_mcm wrote: »

Weren't they just projectors?

I believe so. A lot of projectors can give a slightly blue hue from certain angles. They looked great in their day though.

ION08

Instead of a poverty spec GTI get youself a LEON Cupra with climate control and Full LED Headlights... A car that actually looks like it belongs in this decade unlike a poverty spec mk7 GTI that looks like it belongs back in the 90's with its gammy yellow halogen headlights and twisty button heater controls :rolleyes:

colm_mcm

MuppetCheck wrote: »

I believe so. A lot of projectors can give a slightly blue hue from certain angles. They looked great in their day though.

I know, i had one of the first mk2s ;-)

darragh o meara

ION08 wrote: »

Instead of a poverty spec GTI get youself a LEON Cupra with climate control and Full LED Headlights... A car that actually looks like it belongs in this decade unlike a poverty spec mk7 GTI that looks like it belongs back in the 90's with its gammy yellow halogen headlights and twisty button heater controls :rolleyes:

Isn't the Cupra not a faster car than the Golf too?

JoeA3

ION08 wrote: »

Instead of a poverty spec GTI get youself a LEON Cupra with climate control and Full LED Headlights... A car that actually looks like it belongs in this decade unlike a poverty spec mk7 GTI that looks like it belongs back in the 90's with its gammy yellow halogen headlights and twisty button heater controls :rolleyes:

If you can live with the looks the residuals and the horrific plastic fantastic interior... Knock yourself out.

mickdw

JoeA3 wrote: »

If you can live with the looks the residuals and the horrific plastic fantastic interior... Knock yourself out.

I have not been in the latest golf but is it really much better than the last one interior wise?
The last golf was cheap inside imo.

MuppetCheck

mickdw wrote: »

I have not been in the latest golf but is it really much better than the last one interior wise?
The last golf was cheap inside imo.

There's a noticeable step up alright, but in saying that the new Leon has taken two steps up. It's still not as nice as a Golf though.

Truckermal

MuppetCheck wrote: »

There's a noticeable step up alright, but in saying that the new Leon has taken two steps up. It's still not as nice as a Golf though.

I seen one earlier with LED DRLs and it looked the business! !

MuppetCheck

They have LED headlights as standard which is a first for that class I think. They're standard on the FR too which is a nice extra.

You can't get a petrol one here though as far as I know though, and if I had the choice I'd personally go with the Golf.

Truckermal

MuppetCheck wrote: »

They have LED headlights as standard which is a first for that class I think. They're standard on the FR too which is a nice extra.

You can't get a petrol one here though as far as I know though, and if I had the choice I'd personally go with the Golf.

I didn't know that now, Golf for me too the interior of the Seat just looks cheap and barron.

RandomAccess

I think I prefer the exterior of the Leon, but I would agree the interior is a bit bland. I think it was a deliberate sabotage!

vectra

I test drove an FR leon recently as I considered buying one as a replacement for my damaged car.
The dash and interior put me completely off.

Fabgtd

Ha!Ha!

I thought this also. Especially when combined with parking sensors the bodywork begins to look like its covered in unsightly warts!