Golf GTI MK7 - is DCC needed?

[R8VBV]

Anyone worked out if this option is a must have or is the damping on standard shocks good enough?

I'm looking for a 16+ plate GTI with the following options:

Must haves:
- Performance Pack
- 8" Pro SatNav
- Leather
- 19"
- Tornado Red
- DSG
- Dyno Audio

Nice to haves:
- Sunroof
- DCC
- Rear Camera

Anything else I should consider or should move to the "must have" list?

I've spec' up a new car to my spec on CarWow and the best offer is £37k. I've found a 16 plate with all and only my must haves with 2k miles for £24k. But I'm unsure if I should hold out for one with a sunroof and DCC?

[anonymous-user]

37k??
£5k discount is achievable on these cars.

PS I would drop leather and add in DCC and roof. But each to their own. I love the retro tartan cloth.

[Adrian E]

R8VBV said:

Anyone worked out if this option is a must have or is the damping on standard shocks good enough?

I'm looking for a 16+ plate GTI with the following options:

Must haves:
- Performance Pack
- 8" Pro SatNav
- Leather
- 19"
- Tornado Red
- DSG
- Dyno Audio

Nice to haves:
- Sunroof
- DCC
- Rear Camera

Anything else I should consider or should move to the "must have" list?

I've spec' up a new car to my spec on CarWow and the best offer is £37k. I've found a 16 plate with all and only my must haves with 2k miles for £24k. But I'm unsure if I should hold out for one with a sunroof and DCC?

We have the DCC and having test driven it against a standard car I think it's worth having. It means you can soften the car off nicely for plodding down the motorway in 'comfort'.

Of your spec ours has:

- Performance Pack
- 8" Pro SatNav
- Leather
- DSG
- Dyno Audio
- DCC

Note that the big screen nav and dynaudio were available as a 'tech pack' so you may find that mentioned in the adverts without reference to the 2 items it makes up!

I'm retrofitting the rear view camera, once it arrives from TPS. Comes in at about £230 plus about 4 hours to fit (tops)

The sunroof can't be specced with some of the 19" wheels, so be aware you might be looking for a non-existent spec. Personally prefer the ride on 18s and if I want to go 19s in the future I'd probably go aftermarket for wheels. I'm not sure how easy it is to tell if DCC is fitted as I think the mode button is there regardless?

Ours is 65 plate and also came with metallic paint and the factory swiveling towbar and the 1st owner paid just under £31.5k against a list price of £35k - we bought it privately with 11k miles for £10k less than that.

I dislike sunroofs and having a child means I prefer leather trim.

There is VERY little choice at main dealers of anything above poverty spec - if you're looking for leather you're instantly limiting your choices massively. Add in the upgraded nav and I'll be surprised if you're looking at more than a couple of options.

If you are after a 3 door this one has everything you want bar sunroof and leather - worth noting that they removed keyless entry on 3 doors and I think made it optional - it's standard on the 5 door.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Or this one:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Small screen nav, but more or less everything else

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

There are others, but I think you'll need to be prepared to be more flexible on certain elements to find a decent car

[R8VBV]

Thanks, I didn't know that about sunroofs and 19's. what's the reasoning behind that?

I have a young boy so has to be leather.

I was considering this one, but it doesn't have DCC. I just found a great car on Auto Trader:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Is it worth holding out?

I don't finance my cars, so what do you think I'm in for over a 3 year period in depreciation? With the facelift on its way I expect it'll depreciate quicker then before.

[Adrian E]

R8VBV said:

Thanks, I didn't know that about sunroofs and 19's. what's the reasoning behind that?

I have a young boy so has to be leather.

I was considering this one, but it doesn't have DCC. I just found a great car on Auto Trader:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Is it worth holding out?

I don't finance my cars, so what do you think I'm in for over a 3 year period in depreciation? With the facelift on its way I expect it'll depreciate quicker then before.

Hiya

I presume the extra inch on the wheels means the sunroof may end up cracking with the reduced sidewall on the tyres - it mentions the Santiago wheels in the brochure aren't available, but looking at it you can't spec any other 19s from the factory on a GTI!

I don't see DCC on the one you've linked either. Only way to really check is to see what's listed under the 'individual' mode in settings. The later cars don't have masses of options available and you've pretty much hit the lot with that one

I don't think the mk7 facelift will knock values particularly - it's basically a bigger infotainment screen (which isn't much bigger/better equipped than the big option one) and the TFT instrument cluster, and a tiny bit more power. The fundamentals of the car are the same.

I do notice the softer ride in Comfort with DCC - seems to just smooth out the imperfections on the motorway and in town. In 'normal' it's a bit fidgety and we're on 18s.

Ref values, we don't finance either and plan to keep this one for many years so not really bothered about depreciation and haven't looked at it particularly.

[johnwilliams77]

I don't think it's needed on the basis of the ride being very good out of the box

[cheshire_cat]

I have a Mk7 GTI without DCC. Can't say i've ever wished I had it - standard ride seems fine to me.

[Alfa Pete]

I have a standard GTD. Standard sat nav is more than adequate, do you really need the Pro version? I'm also quite happy with tartan seats. Standard sound system is actually quite reasonable, certainly better than the standard audio in my previous 320d and Merc a200 sport but i do like my music so that's about the only option is have really wanted.

I've never tried DCC but the standard set up is a really good compromise.

Standard spec is so good I certainly don't feel short changed

[Adrian E]

It does depend what you're used to - the ride with standard suspension is better than a Focus ST, for example, but if you drive on brittle broken up roads the DCC offers advantages.

I was coming out of an Audi S8 so for me the Golf needed to be well specced so it didn't feel too much of a climb down from every toy going, and the previous owner took most of the depreciation hit on the options.

[R8VBV]

I'm coming down from an F10 M5 which was silky smooth. Maybe DCC is worth holding out for the.

I can't believe a sunroof would crack on 19's but not on 18's. surely that wouldn't pass safety tests. There must be another reason.

[Adrian E]

Cracking would be an extreme but could just be worse NVH if the sunroof isn't terribly rigid?

Edited by Adrian E on Sunday 2nd April 22:21

[the-photographer]

I think the sunroof and 19" wheels is a front weight problem

[GloriaGTI]

R8VBV said:

Thanks, I didn't know that about sunroofs and 19's. what's the reasoning behind that?

I have a young boy so has to be leather.

I was considering this one, but it doesn't have DCC. I just found a great car on Auto Trader:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Is it worth holding out?

I don't finance my cars, so what do you think I'm in for over a 3 year period in depreciation? With the facelift on its way I expect it'll depreciate quicker then before.

I bought my 2013 Mk7 GTI in December with the following:

DSG - obviously great in traffic and WOT shifting is fun with the paddles. Needs a few seconds when engaging 1st from R, sometimes surges forwards.
Performance pack - a must, simply for the diff and additional stopping power
Pano roof - makes the interior feel brighter and it's great when you slide it open, you can hear the dsg farts and turbo spooling more
Leather - very comfortable
Reversing cam - a nice luxury

I paid £16k for it and new it was £33k. 1 previous owner, she had 59k on her with a FVWSH and is now out of warranty, but that's still over 50% depreciation in 3 years.

I don't wish it had the DCC, definitely doesn't need slacking off at any point but I am running the 18s.

It's a great daily car, especially for munching up A and M road miles in comfort but it's not the most exciting car to drive on an early Sunday morning blast.

If I could afford two cars, I'd keep the GTI and buy an Elise/Caterham/RS Clio, but I'm looking to sell and replace it with something more lively/noisy

[johnwilliams77]

I haven't tried the upgraded brakes as I have only driven my own, but they are very very strong indeed and more than enough for road hooning. Car wont be used on track.

[R8VBV]

Thanks for the help guys!

I'm looking for something that's practical, pleasent to drive in London, cheap to run and a bit fun when the wife and child aren't in the car. I've narrowed it down to a GTI, so it's now just getting the right spec.

As I live in London mid level performance is all I need. My last car was an M5 which was wasted around here!

[johnwilliams77]

R8VBV said:

Thanks for the help guys!

I'm looking for something that's practical, pleasent to drive in London, cheap to run and a bit fun when the wife and child aren't in the car. I've narrowed it down to a GTI, so it's now just getting the right spec.

As I live in London mid level performance is all I need. My last car was an M5 which was wasted around here!

Except the odd quiet slip road!

[GloriaGTI]

R8VBV said:

Thanks for the help guys!

I'm looking for something that's practical, pleasent to drive in London, cheap to run and a bit fun when the wife and child aren't in the car. I've narrowed it down to a GTI, so it's now just getting the right spec.

As I live in London mid level performance is all I need. My last car was an M5 which was wasted around here!

DSG is absolutely perfect around town/in traffic, as is the adaptive cruise although it can be quite sensitive at times.

I'd definitely consider the pano roof, as it does make the car seem brighter inside of what is quite a dark interior.

[Outsidelane]

I'm on an Audi A3 at the minute, but had a loner with the equivalent ride control (magnetic ride?) a while back.

My answer is I think it depends where you live and how you drive.

I live where there are a right mix of roads/surfaces. My previous A4Q Black Edition handled like a razor but shook your fillings out of your teeth on most of the roads round here. Lovely on French motorways and around Nice Monaco on holiday though!

Current A3Q Sport is much better around our country roads, but I do miss the sharper handling when pushing harder. Mine's almost fully loaded, and I reckon it must be the only thing the previous owner didn't spec. It's also one I'd swap in for almost any other spec on the car. But if you live where roads are all decent, probably not worth it!

[AK0086]

I got the following options on my mk7 GTI:

• DSG
• Performance Pack
• DCC
• Tech pack (Pro nav & dynaudio)
• Climate windscreen (& phone box thing you have to get with it for no good reason)
• Parking pack (I only wanted the reversing camera but the pack also threw in the parking assist stuff for almost nothing more)

Only thing that has caused me problems is the phone box I didn't want in the first place! It wasn't wired correctly from the factory which meant Apple CarPlay didn't work (you have to use the USB in the phone box if you have it, not the one in front console area) and it caused other random electrical issues (radio occasionally losing all the presets, etc). Whilst that was being sorted out I was given the salesman's GTI, which had 19" wheels, leather and no DCC. The ride was awful in comparison, and it also caused various bits of trim to rattle to compound the misery. Two days was enough for me - I couldn't live with 19s and no DCC on a daily basis.

The other weird difference was the heated seats took ages to warm through with leather! A couple of minutes rather than a couple of seconds with the cloth seats.

So to answer the original question, I'd say if you stick with the standard 18" wheels then DCC is nice to have but you don't need it. If you really want 19s then you probably also want DCC, but as others have pointed out, you compromise on the pano roof too, and I'd take that over the wheels every time.

[Tipp Ex]

Mine is a very similar spec to what you are looking at:

Performance Pack
DSG
Pro Nav
Dynaudio
Leather
Sunroof

Had mine new since November when £7K+ discounts were available (2K of which was due to taking out finance). I believe that the discounts available now are nearer to 5K including any finance incentives. I've read a few places on here that you can take out the finance to get the discount and clear it within 14 days at no penalties if finance isn't your thing.

I wouldn't say the ride is harsh at all on 18s having done over 9000 miles since picking it up although if caught off guard by the occasional pot hole it can be a bit rough, can't vouch for ride on 19s though.

The sunroof and 19s combo not being available is I believe down to the weight of the car. I read somewhere that it pushes the car to a higher tax band. The R was available with 19s and sunroof as is the Mk7.5 facelift GTI so don't think it is down to roof damage due to hard ride as the car hasn't fundamentally changed. If you were looking to go new the 19s are an absolute must as the facelift model's standard 18s look absolutely terrible. It's almost like VW have designed them to force you hand into a wheel upgrade. Another option would be to buy a used sunroof car on 18s and fit some 19 Satiago reps or maybe a nice set of BBS afterwards I suppose.

One thing I have noticed when trying to spec a new model on the VW configurator is that the performance pack no longer seems to be available. Something to take into consideration if looking to order new. If the DCC becomes a must it will likely make your search harder in the used market.