Honest opinion - anyone else regret buying their GTI?

[The Random Dan]

I’ve had my GTI+ 6 months now, covered 4,000 miles and totally not in love with it, never have been!

When I was looking at changing my previous car (2018 Ford Focus ST-Line 1.0l ecoboost 140PS) I had my heart set on a new Fiesta ST-3, but then they added some stuff to them which was previously optional extras and bumped up the price, and at the time a number of them were suffering from engine failures. So I discovered the Polo GTI+ was very reasonably priced considering the impressive spec it had, so I found where my nearest dealer was who had one in stock and went for a visit. I had a test drive and looking back I think the digital cockpit and having never experienced DSG before lured me into thinking i liked it and it was the car for me. After some negotiation I got the dealer to a price I was happy paying (initially £360 per month, got them down to £275. So I got the car I wanted, in the colour I would have chosen, with the spec I wanted, at the price I wanted.

I have never really ‘enjoyed’ driving it though and just find it a bit ‘meh’. I recently drove I fiesta ST and got that feeling i wish I’d got with the Polo, I’m now finding myself looking at ways of getting rid of the polo without it costing me too much. Anyone else in the same situation?

[Simonz]

I don't own one but can understand your thoughts, it seems the Polo is too sanitised and not a raw enough performance experience than the Fiesta? Could this be due to the automatic gearbox.

[monkeyhanger]

For me, DSG makes for a dull drive - it's like PlayStation driving.

DSG is a technological marvel, but it's still dull to use and won't do what uou want 5% of the time (because it can't read your mind)

Some people rave about DSG - usually where there's a 0-62mph advantage e.g. Golf R. Unless you're doing drag race starts in launch control mode, the DSG is no quicker than a manual.

I'd much rather have a manual, any day of the week.

Ford do still seem to be flying the flag for raw, exciting hot hatches and they do make great manual gearboxes. If you want something a bit more civilised- a fast car, not necessarily exciting car, then that's what VW are all about - a car with multiple personalities that you can drive every day in multiple scenarios - it won't be uncomfortable for your 80 year old gran in the back, but you can fling it about a bit too.

[OomStu_ZA]

Simple answer, no.

[S_94]

No from me. Loved it since day one and still look forward to getting in and driving it.

[Dark_cze]

um that is hard to answer ... like 90% of time I don't regret it. I got almost all options and manual, waited 20 weeks and I enjoy it for past 2 years. Except ... I had quattros before and I miss it also I ordered a few options Iam not gonna use (like ever again).

[Magpie-01]

Totally love my gti plus

[stuartrendall]

I've had my Polo GTI for 5 months now only managed 3000miles in it but i've loved every mile. It is only my second car and i've come from a mk5 polo match. Obviously the GTI isn't the best car on the planet and would be much better if it had a manual but for the price I have no regrets. I have driven both the last and current gen fiesta ST which were both great cars but imho the polo looks better and feels more quality.

[GTI_PLUS_TOM]

Short answer in my case - no.

Longer answer, I think it depends on what you've moved from into the GTI and personal circumstance of what you need from a car. I love driving a good B road but 70% of the time for me is spent commuting or sat in a traffic jam. I came from a manual diesel Audi saloon, which was great on fuel costs and commuting but sat in traffic was awful with the manual box and I didn't "enjoy" the driving experience (unsurprising in a heavy, lathargic diesel.)

Moving to a Polo GTI+ I get enjoyment even sat in traffic with the DSG and the ACC, smash it into manual and it's great to throw about on a B road and it's still decent enough on fuel and practical enough for daily living. So for me it's a plus in every aspect. I do resent the OPF though, it really needs a good exhaust on it to get some crackles and pops back which I think will help it massively.

I did consider a Fiesta ST at the time, whilst it is probabaly a more engaging drive the GTI, the GTI is a bit more 'grown up' and I imagine better to live with in the real world. But again, that's for my circumstance.

[S_94]

Was also tempted by the Fiesta ST but wasn't a fan of the interior.

[Dark_cze]

Oh yeah I was also thinking about Fiesta. I didn't get it for simple reason ... It miss one whole cylinder and 0,5L of displacement. Only thing I wanted more than Polo was Yaris GRMN but they were all gone at that time.

[Plend]

This was the first brand new car I ever bought, all of my 10 previous cars have been 'nearly new'.
I regret getting mine but that was going to be undertandable coming from an S3 and an RS3 previous cars, although the mpg improvement is good!
I had just moved house and splurged all the savings on getting it all kitted out from day 1 so needed cost cutting somewhere to get the savings back in order.

I am 100% guaranteed to move back to something I like next year.

There are so many small things that I took as being 'standard' on all of my previous cars that are missing on this one, things I overlooked during the buying phase as I assumed they would all be standard on a brand new car.

I had sold my old car at the start of February and had been driving my mums MX5 for a couple of weeks so was getting a bit desperate to get back to having my own car (especially since it was February and driving an old convertible in the rain isnt enjoyable) hence the rush to get it and overlooking far too many things.

I think if I had this car when I was 19/20 it would be a different story though and I'm sure I wouldnt notice the annoying parts and just enjoy driving it.

[SRGTD]

There are so many small things that I took as being 'standard' on all of my previous cars that are missing on this one, things I overlooked during the buying phase as I assumed they would all be standard on a brand new car.

I think if I had this car when I was 19/20 it would be a different story though and I'm sure I wouldnt notice the annoying parts and just enjoy driving it.

What things were missing that you thought would be standard, and which parts are annoying?

[monkeyhanger]

There are so many small things that I took as being 'standard' on all of my previous cars that are missing on this one, things I overlooked during the buying phase as I assumed they would all be standard on a brand new car.

I think if I had this car when I was 19/20 it would be a different story though and I'm sure I wouldnt notice the annoying parts and just enjoy driving it.

What things were missing that you thought would be standard, and which parts are annoying?

Unless someone bought a GTI rather than a GTI+, I can't imagine what people would expect to have as standard that wasn't there on this class of car. It's pretty much got everything the Golf GTI has except Nav and Climate control.

[RichTea]

For me its the best car ive owned, maybe looking at it from a standard point of view i get where your coming from but because ive lowered it, got a much better sounding exhaust and remapped to 250bhp, it feels a lot more fun to drive than when i first had it..... But i wish it was manual