7.5 GTI doing 20k a year, am I a mug?

[Shakemyhead]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 25 September 2019 at 17:45

[duff]

I have a MK7 Gti and a 90 mile round trip commute, 8 miles A road and the rest motorway. I can get nearly 50 mpg taking it easy and never below 40. I think the economy of these cars is pretty impressive.

[HustleRussell]

The only factor for consideration is that your mileage is going to knock the residual value of whatever you choose to drive so it doesn’t really make much difference. Would I do it? Probably not. I’d buy a cheap disposable beater so that I wasn’t losing too much money (and have a second car for fun)

[malks222]

its not the worst really, i’ve had a mk6 for 5yrs and have had similar commute during that period.

fuel economy- i recon you will prob average 35-40mpg. steady 60 on A roads will get you decent economy, but stop/ start city driving can be pretty rubbish. but a steady foot will give you reasonable average. and be honest, you are commuting your not ragging it to/ from work every day.

consumables- be aware you will spend a bit more on things like tyres/ brakes/ servicing. if you stick to premium tyres it’s a bit more expensive burning thru them quite quickly. my car was running the fixed 10k miles intervals which wasn’t great, but i was using an independent rather than main dealer.

residual- as mentioned your going to end up with pretty high mileage, but that’s gonna happen whatever you buy!

all i will say is the golf gti is not the most comfortable long range cruiser though. road noise can get a bit annoying after a while, not the quietest cabin. seats are supportive, but again not the best for long journeys.

[350zStee]

I owned an MK7.5 for two years and regularly got 35-40MPG with mostly town driving and the odd sprint on the motorway.

[culpz]

HustleRussell said:

The only factor for consideration is that your mileage is going to knock the residual value of whatever you choose to drive so it doesn’t really make much difference.

Residuals on diesels with higher mileage aren't as severely affected when compared to petrol equivalents, as racking up the miles in one of those is kind of the whole point.

Besides that, It isn't as crazy as you think. I've got that same engine in my Scirocco, albeit detuned slightly, and it's fantastically frugal on longer journeys. It's a great all-round unit and modern petrol turbo engines are similar to a diesel's power band anyway, albeit a bit more peaky.

Always bare in mind that doing 20k + miles makes sense with a diesel and warrants a it's use in a financial sense, but it's not essential or mandatory. A guy on here had an FN2 and did about the same mileage as you, as he simply didn't want a dull car to drive as a daily.

[Jamesgt]

I’ve got a mk7 gti on lease going back soon. On a longer run I often see almost 50mpg. Wife uses it mostly and has averaged 35mpg over the last few years with short drives. I do long commutes and when a gti lease deal comes up again I’m getting one.

[anonymous-user]

HustleRussell said:

The only factor for consideration is that your mileage is going to knock the residual value of whatever you choose to drive so it doesn’t really make much difference. Would I do it? Probably not. I’d buy a cheap disposable beater so that I wasn’t losing too much money (and have a second car for fun)

Same here, I would have a cheap diesel for the commute and probably a Boxster for weekends and fun.

However, if you are happy with the depreciation on the GTi then I think it would be a great car.

[AndyXF]

There’s no way anyone is getting 50mpg or above in a MK7 GTI at 70+ mph on the motorway. At 60mph, perhaps...

[jam_up]

I’ve had a mk6 GTI for the past 3 years doing similar mileage and averaged 31-32. You’ll find GTI’s are economical for what they are when cruising, and hence some very good figures reported, but that all changes when you push on which is difficult to avoid when you’re in a hot hatch!

I was recently choosing a lease between a mk7.5 GTI PP and GTD (similar monthlies) and initially couldn’t see myself going back to diesel again due to the clatter. But despite really liking the GTI for short runs and becoming quite addicted to the DSG fart (controversial, I know) its just been a waste 80% of time when commuting to work and back. Obviously personal situation dictates but I’ll rather pocket that £600-£800 saved on fuel p/a for a car that is essentially as nimble on normal roads and as quick when sticking to legal speeds. The sound is the only major drawback but I’m happy to compensate now!

[ZX10R NIN]

I say go for it but I'd be spending my money on a Megane RS with the Cup Chassis, or go for a Trophy:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or two forgotten but good hot hatches:

308 GTI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Astra VXR

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Accelebrate]

I did a 120-mile commute on similar roads and under similar terms (not every day of the week, reimbursed) in a MK7 R. Didn't find it excessively spendy on fuel, but I've never had anything particularly economical.

[Alfa Pete]

Shakemyhead said:

Thanks everyone for the responses, blown away by how active this site is.

Everywhere I’ve looked you don’t find many people that hold a very positive view of the GTD.

I think I’ll go for the GTI as it’s hard to come across anyone with a bad word to say about it. Sure it’ll cost me but there’s not many things in life that come cheap.

Cheers

I love my GTD. I do 30k miles a year in mine.

[Jag_NE]

Infiniti q50

[anonymous-user]

Seat Leon fr tdi 184?

[Jamesgt]

AndyXF said:

There’s no way anyone is getting 50mpg or above in a MK7 GTI at 70+ mph on the motorway. At 60mph, perhaps...

True but I’m not far off. For a 2ltr turbo patrol with a half decent power I’m shocked how economical they are.

[tickedon]

Shakemyhead said:

I get reimbursed for my commute through work which works out around £35 a day.

I think the car point has been answered, but just want to flag - if you’re going 3 days per week, you’ll meet the 40% test and so the place will be deemed a permanent place of work in HMRC tax lingo. That means if work is paying for your commute via expenses, you should be being taxed on that income. I’d guess you aren’t being taxed based on the figures, which might be storing up a big tax bill for you in the future....

[Court_S]

Shakemyhead said:

Thanks all for the responses.

Found a facelifted GTI on VW approved used, being delivered later this week! Will pop a picture or two in here once it’s arrived.

Edited by Shakemyhead on Monday 23 September 10:35

You'll be fine covering those sort of miles in a GTi - I do relatively high miles and have binned of my diesel company car and bought an M140i. It's costing a bit more in fuel, but in terms of monthly costs its a bit less than my company car was.