Well, former VW owner here. I had a 2011 2DR base GTI untill December of last year when I sold it and bought the BRZ.

Mechanical Mods:

CAI
APR Stage I ECU Flash (@ 7k miles)
S3 Short Shifter (OEM part, comes from said S3 in europe)
Replica HID projectors

Here is a list of things that I had to get addressed on the car in the 27k I owned it (1.5 years):

1. Water Pump Failure replaced under warranty at 11k. Revised parts known to fail as well, similar to crickets in the 86 they just don't seem to get it right.
2. Broken wire in the MAF bundle I removed my CAI in prep for a sale and a wire in the harness broke somewhere between the harness and the ECU. Blamed on me since they knew I had modded the car, paid $350 to have it diagnosed and repaired.
3. Random hard idle/blinking CEL Had it towed to the dealer with 5 codes being thrown, one cam timing code (caused the blinking) and one for each cylinder's misfire. Dealer cleared codes, found no issue. They chalked it up to not being warmed up before it was driven :iono:
   

I tuned the car and did tinker a little so I can't say any of that was the cars fault with the exception of the water pump. Otherwise it was a blast to drive and so versatile. I autocrossed, moved, hauled everything I could imagine, and also got a decent 0-60 time.

Had held on to it I'm certain I would have had to do something somewhat major, even if it was as predictable as the carbon cleaning of the valves due to the DI engine. That was something owners saw at 50k or as late as 75k but would be something every owner would have to deal with eventually.

If the Golf R wasn't so damned expensive I could see us getting one as our next car. The interiors really are amazingly nice and quite comfortable.

Oh and back on topic ...

I think the Mk7 will be a great car, really it comes down to what the small pain in the ass things are that they inevitable overlooked. We all have them of course, just depends on if you can live with them.

Comparing these two cars is very hard to do - they are so very different experiences. That being said I haven't driven a Mk7 and from what i understand the dynamics are quite different if you get the power pack and diff. package.

People will cross shop them with the 86 but I personally don't think they will have too many buyers in common. I bought the BRZ because my fiance got a civic so I could have a car that wasn't as practical; otherwise I would have been a one car guy and the BRZ wouldn't have been a possibility.

The Mk7 Golf GTI for the US is not the same as the one for RoW.

The car is being made in Mexico, the engine will not come with multi-port injection only direct injection (10hp less and carbon build-up?), no fancy rotary valve thermo mgmt unit but a simple thermostat, smaller LCD on the headunit, no LED taillights, no sliding cover over the cupholders, it does come with a manual handbrake and not an electronic one but then the center console looks really cheap as a result.

Typical VWoA last minute cost cutting.

The new Mk7 Golf also comes with a plastic oil pan and steel lower control arms and no longer aluminum. But the MQB does have aluminum on its structure to keep the weight down. Performance Pack coming by the end of the year.

After owning a Mk5 Golf GTI which was a total disaster (DV rubber diaphragm rip, PCV keep going bad almost blew off the valve cover with pressure build up, HPFP cam follower wear, DSG skipping gears, weak subframe bolts causing it to shift to the point the bolts can be loosen by hand, broken power lumber and power door locks, MFD2 GPS and iPod interface constantly freezing, DVD drive motor grinding noise, etc), no thanks I will stick with Subaru / Toyota.

FRS/BRZ vs 2015 Golf GTI
 

Had two CRX Si's so done the FWD thing and not going back! Have a Corvette and FRS now and my other rides are rear wheel drive. Coworker awhile back had to get the dealer to take his VW back under the Lemon Law so don't think I would buy one...


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Went AWD turbo and never went back to FWD. Gonna go RWD now for some change.

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Ordered a new Golf R for my wife as our "family car". Can't wait to get it but October delivery as we wanted a Oryx paint and leather - damn it. Might also be an issue that I need a RHD car too.

Yep. With all the "CATASTROPHIC CAM TENSIONER FAILED ZOMG" threads you'd think the Mk6 was a doomed platform as well.

Message boards can be a great source of data ... but in most cases there is a lot more smoke than real fire.

LOL you gotta love German Engineering.

Most of the local forum peeps used to pull the EA113 2.0T HPFP out to check for cam follower wear after 40,000km and the amount of wear was insane (mine included) especially on chipped cars. After the class action lawsuit, it became a 10 year / 191000km warranty item. My local dealer even stocks a spare BPY engine just in case.

There was also a time when the first EA888 2.0T came out on the 2009 MkV GTI and engines were blowing up prior to or just after delivery. VW instructed the dealers to break in the engine at high speeds on a good 20 mins highway run as part of PDI. :D

Except that when reliability studies year after year back up those anecdotes and issues blown out of proportion, then its not really an apples to apples comparison. I would rather have crickets and leaky taillights (common problems with the FRS) than repeated and mysterious electrical and sensor issues that leave me stranded or without headlights...(see several Audi/VW issues over the years)

x3! I remember coming across this article not too long ago and it was pretty spot on:

http://dougdemuro.kinja.com/german-r...mer-1572026115

As sophisticated looking and sturdy as those V-dubs might be, I'll stick with my FR-S :happyanim:

GTI > BRZ.

I just bought my GTI a few days ago and love it! I test drove the BRZ at 3 Subaru dealerships and it only took one shot at the Volkswagen dealership to get me hooked to the Turbocharged GTI. The BRZ doesn't give me the wow factor like the GTI does. The interior reminds me of a luxury Audi. The overall quality was better build. I also feel like the metal used to build the fenders and frame for the GTI is stronger than the BRZ.

But does it pass emissions...? Haha I'm kidding man. I had the same dilemma but I ended up going with the brz. I liked the power from the gti but the handling on the brz is what took me. Congrats on your purchase. Now your name should be iwantanfrsdroveabrzbutboughtagti

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Nice feelz man. Feelz.