Gti Performance Pack - Do I Really Need It?

[beancaker]

I've been looking at used Mk7 GTIs, 2-3 years old. Plenty standard issue ones around, but seem to be very few with the performance pack. Tempted to get a decent bog standard model, but will I be then wondering 'if only....?' I drive like a vicar most of the time, so I can't see I'd miss the additional 10bhp, big brakes and fancy diff.
Anyone here driven both??

[cosworth330]

My wife has one without the performance pack. Really nice car and I love driving it but if it was mine I would of ordered the performance pack just for the diff. It wheel spins far too easy in wet/ damp conditions, can't get the power down just pulling out of a junction sharpish. Apart from that it's a great day to day car. She doesn't find it an issue though.

[stuart_83]

Have you considered an Octavia VRS 230? Same 230bhp engine, LSD, but a little larger and (usually) better specd.

Just picked one up under 1 year old, fully loaded (I mean FULLY) with DSG, 5k miles, and one previous owner (Skoda UK demo) for under £19k.

I waft about a lot rather than flooring it as I just don't get the opportunity, and does everything I could ever want, its effortless to drive.

[Juicetin1]

Hi i owned a GTI PP and drove a non-PP car a few times. I can honestly say I couldn't tell the difference. Perhaps the brakes were a bit stronger but i couldn't tell any difference in power and didn't push the standard car hard enough to notice the lack of diff.
I now have an R, if i was buying a GTI again I would go for the standard car.

[mc72]

Juice tin,

Thanks for your info above. I've driven (test with salesman in car) a PP GTi in the last week, and liked the car. I'm coming from a larger capacity Diesel engine so would be interested to hear about your economy with both the PP GTi and also with your golf R. Also, have you found the 4 cylinder engine to be lacking in torque at all?

Also did you notice the difference, if any, that the electronic diff made on the PP GTi?

Finally it's likely that I'd be going automatic so could you confirm if any of your cars had the dsg box?

Would appreciate your feedback.

MC72

[Patch1875]

I couldn't tell the difference the bigger calipers look nicer.

[chr15b]

I have a pp GTI, although I've had it from new, I didn't spec it. I wanted a grey 5 door dsg with leather and didn't want to wait 6 months in 2013 so found this one in stock.

Although I've driven both, I've not driven a non pp one enough to notice a difference. I do prefer the bigger brakes though.

Mpg wise, I've seen 47 on a run, though my typical daily drive is 3 miles either way to work and back mostly 30mph roads with lots of lights, I see 27-30mpg.

The grip when moving is very impressive, but even with pp, it struggles for traction from a standing start.

[Juicetin1]

mc72 said:

Juice tin,

Thanks for your info above. I've driven (test with salesman in car) a PP GTi in the last week, and liked the car. I'm coming from a larger capacity Diesel engine so would be interested to hear about your economy with both the PP GTi and also with your golf R. Also, have you found the 4 cylinder engine to be lacking in torque at all?

Also did you notice the difference, if any, that the electronic diff made on the PP GTi?

Finally it's likely that I'd be going automatic so could you confirm if any of your cars had the dsg box?

Would appreciate your feedback.

MC72

Hi, mpg was good in my GTI PP, motorway driving was around 40 or even higher, even round town it was acceptable. The R is a lot thirstier, motorway low 30's or even 20's if you're cracking on.
Both engine tunes have plenty of torque so i wouldn't worry about that.
I found the GTI pretty quick once i'd got past about 5000 miles but one thing I didn't like was the throttle response which I thought was poor. This can be sorted by fitting a pedal box.
Sorry, all the ones I've driven have been manual.
I drove PP and standard GTI and couldn't tell the difference in diffs, but i probably didn't drive the standard car hard enough to notice to be honest. The diff on the PP car does add 5 stone in weight though and I could really feel this, i thought the standard car felt lighter and livelier.
The standard Bridgstone tyres are naff and are a major cause of poor traction.
As I said, if I was buying another GTI I'd buy standard and spend the extra loot on DCC or nav.

Edited by Juicetin1 on Sunday 1st January 22:48

Edited by Juicetin1 on Sunday 1st January 22:50

[Mitch16]

Happy new year all. Having driven a Standard and PP GTI, i ended up purchasing a standard car. In truth i couldn't notice any difference in day to day driving and the PP car still struggled to accelerate cleanly in the damp despite the 'better' diff.

I am thrilled with the new car and find the power more than enough for day to day driving. So impressive is the low down torque it could be a diesel!

My car has the dsg which is great 99% of the time, however occasionally if accelerating hard from a low speed it lurches in to first gear and makes you look like a learner driver.

Economy I average 30 but do a lot of shorter and stop start journeys. Given the performance of the car, I think this is very good.

I am a month into ownership and really love it. I got the pano roof which makes the interior really light and airy.

[Ahbefive]

Surely a remap on the standard car would make for much more noticeable difference.

[stuart_83]

Ahbefive said:

Surely a remap on the standard car would make for much more noticeable difference.

Yep, I believe a "stable" 300bhp is achievable from a remap on these engines.

Will be getting the Octavia remapped once it's covered a few more thousand miles.

[Doofus]

cosworth330 said:

My wife has one without the performance pack. Really nice car and I love driving it but if it was mine I would of ordered the performance pack just for the diff. It wheel spins far too easy in wet/ damp conditions, can't get the power down just pulling out of a junction sharpish. Apart from that it's a great day to day car. She doesn't find it an issue though.

To be fair, my PP spins and judders like a fker when trying to pull away sharply under any conditions. I've not driven a non-PP, but if the diff is actually much cop, then the standard car must be a nightmare.

ETA: Average of 31mpg over 23k. Miles. DSG PP. That compares well enough with my Mercdes and BMW 3.0 diesels.

Edited by Doofus on Monday 2nd January 18:54

[Glosphil]

stuart_83 said:

Have you considered an Octavia VRS 230? Same 230bhp engine, LSD, but a little larger and (usually) better specd.

Just picked one up under 1 year old, fully loaded (I mean FULLY) with DSG, 5k miles, and one previous owner (Skoda UK demo) for under £19k.

I waft about a lot rather than flooring it as I just don't get the opportunity, and does everything I could ever want, its effortless to drive.

Skoda UK demo!!! Probably loaned out to the press and we all know how they treat cars. Driven by Topgear!

[stuart_83]

Glosphil said:

Skoda UK demo!!! Probably loaned out to the press and we all know how they treat cars. Driven by Topgear!

Sorry, Skoda dealership demo ... drives well and has over two years warranty left

[Sir_Dave]

I've not driven either, but would it not be better to buy the normal Gti, then fit a proper LSD i.e. a Quaife, Peloquin or Wavetrac if you are that way inclined?