So we are now a 2 VW vehicle household as we leased an ID4 late last month for wife's car and I traded in my venerable TSX last week for a new GTI Autobahn trim. Full disclosure: I have been employed by VW for a few months now so the generous employee discounts (13% off of MSRP) and other incentives pushed me over the edge. I initially was looking for the base trim as I really like the plaid cloth seats but bumped myself up to the top trim to gain, primarily, the adaptive suspension; being firmly in middle age means I'm no longer willing to accept an overly firm ride. Of course, gaining the sunroof and other niceties somewhat blunted the large price hike. I was also pretty set on Kings Red as the paint color but there were none out there that I could trade for within 500 miles so I went with Slate Blue and I'm really starting to warm up to it.
I actually did a dealer trade for this car from Atlanta and drove it back to TN via the back roads of Alabama. Unfortunately it did rain a good bit of the way but it was a scenic drive even as I drove carefully with the weather and break in miles. One thing that I only realized once I picked the car up was that the Autobahn trim comes standard with summer tires. While some would say I could just "be careful" living in Tennessee I ordered a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 All Seasons that are now sitting in our foyer wainting to be put on at the dealer once I hit 1000 miles in a week or so and do the break in oil change. My wife does not find this as amusing as I do....haha.
I'm really impressed with the build quality on this car so far. My last Euro car was a BMW F30 gen 3series that I leased in 2016 and this seems tighter built/more sturdy than that car. The seats are surprisingly comfortable and the huge infotainment screen is the same as my wife's ID4 so I've had some exposure to it prior to getting this one. Coming from my TSX, the power in incredible as I did push it just a little on my commute the other day once I exceeded 500 miles. Aside from the Michelins going on in the coming days, I'm considering the APR Stage 1 ECU and DSG tune.
I drove straight from the original dealer to my friends detail shop in Huntsville, AL to have paint protection film applied to the front bumper and will eventually do a full paint correction and ceramic coating on the exterior. It's pretty dreary/rainy in Middle Tennessee for the next few days but I will do the ceremonial first hand wash and post better pics.
As for the most important thing around here.....my plan is to Mobil 1 ESP oil/filter changes between the dealer 10K servicing that is free for the first 30K miles. With the oil filter being on top I can't think of an easier way than some sort of oil extractor and refill with ESP. Looking forward to a fun and (hopefully) trouble free life of ownership with this car.
I actually did a dealer trade for this car from Atlanta and drove it back to TN via the back roads of Alabama. Unfortunately it did rain a good bit of the way but it was a scenic drive even as I drove carefully with the weather and break in miles. One thing that I only realized once I picked the car up was that the Autobahn trim comes standard with summer tires. While some would say I could just "be careful" living in Tennessee I ordered a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 All Seasons that are now sitting in our foyer wainting to be put on at the dealer once I hit 1000 miles in a week or so and do the break in oil change. My wife does not find this as amusing as I do....haha.
I'm really impressed with the build quality on this car so far. My last Euro car was a BMW F30 gen 3series that I leased in 2016 and this seems tighter built/more sturdy than that car. The seats are surprisingly comfortable and the huge infotainment screen is the same as my wife's ID4 so I've had some exposure to it prior to getting this one. Coming from my TSX, the power in incredible as I did push it just a little on my commute the other day once I exceeded 500 miles. Aside from the Michelins going on in the coming days, I'm considering the APR Stage 1 ECU and DSG tune.
I drove straight from the original dealer to my friends detail shop in Huntsville, AL to have paint protection film applied to the front bumper and will eventually do a full paint correction and ceramic coating on the exterior. It's pretty dreary/rainy in Middle Tennessee for the next few days but I will do the ceremonial first hand wash and post better pics.
As for the most important thing around here.....my plan is to Mobil 1 ESP oil/filter changes between the dealer 10K servicing that is free for the first 30K miles. With the oil filter being on top I can't think of an easier way than some sort of oil extractor and refill with ESP. Looking forward to a fun and (hopefully) trouble free life of ownership with this car.
