Alco- Yes the Forester sure has gotten larger with each generation. I was a fan of them, I owned a 2000 & a 2005 XT. Nice cars & not too big, a just right size for me. The 2005 started burning huge amounts of oil at 110,000 miles. We didn't get another one due to it becoming larger than we liked & the poor gas mileage they got at the time. It was replaced with a MINI for my wife. Really different cars, but she is very happy with it.

Outbacks have also grown into very large cars. Although Subaru has finally figured out how to get decent gas mileage out of their cars.

GAFIT- I really like the Alltrack. It sits about an inch higher than the Golf Hatch & that along with the heavier weight will adversely the handling. A nice thing is that the automatic is a DSG. Dealers are giving some great deals on them. One of our local dealers is knocking $8,000 off the list price of a SEL.

 

yah, my local vw dealers are knocking off $8k on 17's too. do those alltracks come with the lighting package? the ones ive seen online were all the halogen lamps.

 

It's an available option on the SEL trim level.

 

cool. thats not a bad package. something my wife could enjoy using and me on the weekends.

oh wait, im trying to reduce one car to make room for that brz my kid wants.. meh.. do not want (brz).

 

Looking on cars.com & searching within 250 miles of my location there were exactly zero Alltracks with the LP. The LP for 2018 are LED lights, but only available on the SEL. If I buy an Alltrack it will be an S so I don't have to have a giant sunroof. Who knows when 2018 models will hit the dealers. The GTIs have just started showing up so maybe it won't be that long.

 

Only one showed up local for me so they certainly aren't overly available.

What did turn up that looked a WHOLE lot more exciting was a leftover 2017 GTI S in white with the plaid interior for just over $20k. That's a steal!

2017 Volkswagen Golf GTI S 4-Door For Sale | Buford GA

 

do the GTI S come with LSD? cause you really want that on this car.. open diff just doesnt cut it cause it just has too much power as it is.

 

Just going off memory, I think the S is without LSD, optional on the SE, standard on the Sport and Autobahn.

I agree with you and so does VW apparently as they made the LSD standard on all models of GTI for 2018.

$20k for a GTI is still a bargain. Just not one that I would personally take advantage of.

 

yah, id wait and get the 2018's in that case. i kinda like the new GTI's bumper.. and they now come with that new LED tails. i had to get LED's for my factory tails.. i hate incandescent bulbs on these modern hatches. i swapped them all out.

 

The 2018 GTI S has the same engine as the PP cars, but lacks the big brakes & LSD. You get the faux one that uses the brakes to send power to the wheel with the most grip. That is what my MK6 has & I don't find it a problem.

 

Probably depends on your expectations and how early you get on the throttle.

We find our low power Golf to be a total traction mess. Anything more than 1/2 throttle in first gear results in tire smoke. Throw in wanting to turn to merge into traffic or shoot across traffic from the median and it's a total mess.

VW probably spent more time getting the GTI's to work, but the Electronic Differential Lock (EDL) in our Golf is a complete joke. It just clamps down on the spinning wheel and stops forward momentum. Not a good system in the least. All the wonderful torque that's available at super low rpm's is wasted since you can't access it without tire smoke and the computer cutting throttle.

 

Man, that's a HUGE Dealership. I'll make a note of them.

I just recalled that VW will be moving Golf-family production back to Germany in the next few years, right? I wonder when that will be. I'd rather not buy a German-made GTI at the time they transfer production as it might take the plant a while to iron things out. Or, maybe they've been making European-bound Golfs all along there and things will be fine. I think the Puebla plant has gotten an unfair rap on quality, as both of our VWs were made there and the quality was excellent.

 

my Golf-R is from germany. and it is not well made like my mexican GTI. weird, huh?

 

I'm thinking the traction control may be causing you more problems than the e-diff. I generally have mine turned off. Lots of power & torque going through the front wheels can be interesting.

VW never stopped building GTIs & Golf in Wolfsburg Germany. Shouldn't be any problems getting a GTI built there. I'd guess they are moving Golf production back to Germany to free up production capacity for SUVs in Mexico.

 

i think at one point GAFIT mentioned there is no traction control off button on his golf or something.. i suggested he get the OBD11 and program the traction adaptation to completely turn off when traction button is off but he said he had no button to start with.

yah, germany plant can build the low quality GTI's for us too.. great.

 

Yup, no way to disable even with OBD11. It's on and staying on.

Ash, you are probably right. The T/C is probably a bigger part of the issue. I can drive through tire spin. Grew up with much faster rear drive cars, so no fear of traction loss, but not a fan of decreasing forward momentum.

 

your wife just uses the Golf to go to work and back right? no need for LSD and such?

i mean when i drive rentals i dont even touch the traction control button and i get to A and B and back no problem.

 

We both drive every car we own with spirit.

The Golf wasn't so bad until we visited FL with it and had lots of traffic to shoot across regularly. The Fit has done it and is just fine. The Golf was a mess. The boost and torque come on super early which is awesome until it results in tire spin and then the corresponding throttle cut.

I'm certain that the factory Hankook's aren't helping either. When they wear out we'll upgrade and maybe solve some of the low speed traction issues.

Literally anything more than half throttle results in wheel spin and then throttle cut.

 

huh.. in this case sounds like you got the wrong car. anyway yah, those Junkooks are garbage. its the same model probably that came on my GTI, no? i cant stand them.

maybe get some pilot supersports on your golf next time? :)

 

Wrong car? That might be a little too harsh, but I would say the car has it's faults. Lack of a T/C button is strange to me. I didn't even think to look for that on a test drive. I don't recall ever being in a car with traction control that lacks an off button.

Overall, it's still a great car for the money. It beat out everything on the Ford, Honda, and Subaru lots for our use.

It came down to the Golf, Alltrack, and Golf Sportwagen. That says a LOT about the Golf platform. The Alltrack might be about the best of them for a daily. AWD traction to go with the low rpm shove of the turbo put into the body with the largest cargo capacity.

Yeah, maybe you're right...should have bought the Alltrack :)