Golf GTI: the good, the bad, the weird...and appreciation thread

[Johnson4]

Hi all,

I've had my GTI for just over a month now. Brilliant "little" car, and a lot of fun. In the past I've owned a Hilux, an MR2, an MX5 and a *cough* Lancer... so here's a few things that surprised me compared to those cars:

The Good

• The footwell light -- neat!
• The silky smoothness of... well, everything! That engine is as smooth as butter... not sure I've ever experienced anything like it.
• The fuel warning reminder... it says please!
• The hi-fi -- it was only by accident that I discovered I had a 6-disc changer!
• The auto-lights, just brilliant (the auto-wipers, not so much).
• The cruise control -- still works a treat with manual transmission.
• The steering wheel. That leather is just so delicious I could eat it with a spoon.

The Not-So-Good

• The footrest to the right of the accelerator pedal -- handy, but often my foot gets caught on it. Has made for some interesting hill starts.
• The MDI interface with my iPhone -- always says it's "not optimised for this device" and will often confuse track titles or not play the first few seconds of the track.
• The 18" rims -- gutter magnets. Everytime I park I get the sweats.

And the Weird...

• It could be my imagination, but when accelerating it feels like there's a noticable drop in torque around 2.5-3k... passengers notice it too, like I've taken my foot off the accelerator. Any ideas?
• I asked the dealer to disable the day-time lights, but for some reason they're now back on. I'm pretty sure I haven't reset any factory settings...

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts...