So I totally do not
need a new car, but the itch is there. I've been kind of wanting to drive something smaller, more nimble and more sporty than the string of Japanese / Korean midsize sedans I have owned, but the damnable truth of it is that is exactly the type of car that actually meets my needs best.
Anyway, this thread prompted me to go take a test drive of the GTI to start my long weekend to see if it would prove to be a break-the-mold candidate. It is a pretty damned sweet ride. I drove the fully loaded manual version with performance and tech packages. Just about without real flaws. I still wish it offered a bit more visual excitement (this car is utterly tepid in the darker shades, but better in red or white) but no complaints about driving dynamics. Grips like heck in corners, pulls strong like a torquey turbo motor should and absolutely does NOT beat you up over crap pavement, which is about the only kind there is in my world. It as all the power I need (and clearly more than VW will admit to) and is seriously fun to drive without displaying an overly agitated type-A personality.
Downside: it's basically a 4-seater. There is a seatbelt for the middle rear position, but as I have no legless passengers on my carpool roster, the ginormous hump in the middle of the floor could prove a deal-breaking proposition. Lots more actual space for 3 rear passengers in my wife's Fit than in this thing. Fack.
But that is literally all I could find to fault in terms of the vehicle actually meeting my needs.
Biggest surprise: the sweet engine note. Never heard a 4-pot turbo that sounded as good. I drove the Passat CC 2.0T when I was shopping for my Sonata and it did not sound anything like this.
Second biggest surprise: interior quality. Good, but not anywhere close to supporting all the endless hype of the superior interior quality of VW products. Dash was nice, but the plastic surrounding the center stack was very hard, felt very flimsy, and looked very cheap.
Then I drove the Genesis Sedan again, and damn if that thing isn't going to be hard to push from the pole position in the replacement race.