Are VW GTi’s reliable?

[Clint Beastwood]

My first car was a 58 bug, nice and simple. worked on motorcycles so working on VW's was a small step sideways. it got so I could tell what year they were by looking at it. The small things. That's what made it so good ''the peoples car'' to bad that's gone now.

Yeah buddy ol bugs were great. Had a 63, easy to work on (good thing, not the most reliable). Almost burned when I first got it, someone sat on the back seat and it grounded the battery lol

 

[dmb]

Yeah buddy ol bugs were great. Had a 63, easy to work on (good thing, not the most reliable). Almost burned when I first got it, someone sat on the back seat and it grounded the battery lol

ya that will do it. also a rotten fuel hose will spray gas all over the plug wires and dist. and coil. funny the 25/36 hp motors had a hard line to the carb so that would not happen. no fat ass's in the rear seat. wish i kept the 57 ghia low light...

 

[M-Sport fan]

I wish Fast Fords magazine included more Fiestas. Oh well...

It doesn't?!?

Surprising, given just how popular these cars are over there.

I have not seen a copy of that rag since Barnes & Noble stopped carrying it in my general locales.

I used to get it at EWA (Eric Waiter Associates, out of Green Brook, N.J.), who offered subscriptions to that magazine, as well as all of the other Brit/Euro specialty marque rags, and rally and race mags (as well as metal scale models of all sorts of rally, race, and street cars), until they shut down about 10 years ago.

 

[vwturbofam]

I have a 2016 VW GTI w/ Perf Package, full bolt ons, COBB custom tune by Stratified, and Cobb DSG Tune, as well as a 2017 Fiesta ST.

Zero probs with the GTI 49K miles, except a recall or two. Flawless. Tune on the E888 engine is bonkers! Ridiculous power from a simple Tune. Drives super smooth and fast AF! Only problem I have is...getting power to the ground even with the LSD.

With the LSD, springs, big brakes, rear sways, and super light rims, it handles better than the FiST. Drove same roads, back to back to back. Keep in mind though that my FiST is still stock, besides Swift springs and camber bolts.

GTI is faster, handles better, much nicer inside, and gets better gas mileage. I say all of this, BUT I like the FiST better! If I had to choose to keep only one, the FiST would be the lone survivor. Why???? Because of the Rawness of the ST, the way it communicates with me more, and the way it makes me feel more involved with what's going on. Fun factor the FiST wins, but all around fast and fun car, the GTI all the way.

To answer ur original question, GTI is reliable enough, and shouldn't be the determining factor of whether to get it or not. Both cars are awesome for what they are.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[Clint Beastwood]

I have a 2016 VW GTI w/ Perf Package, full bolt ons, COBB custom tune by Stratified, and Cobb DSG Tune, as well as a 2017 Fiesta ST.

Zero probs with the GTI 49K miles, except a recall or two. Flawless. Tune on the E888 engine is bonkers! Ridiculous power from a simple Tune. Drives super smooth and fast AF! Only problem I have is...getting power to the ground even with the LSD.

With the LSD, springs, big brakes, rear sways, and super light rims, it handles better than the FiST. Drove same roads, back to back to back. Keep in mind though that my FiST is still stock, besides Swift springs and camber bolts.

GTI is faster, handles better, much nicer inside, and gets better gas mileage. I say all of this, BUT I like the FiST better! If I had to choose to keep only one, the FiST would be the lone survivor. Why???? Because of the Rawness of the ST, the way it communicates with me more, and the way it makes me feel more involved with what's going on. Fun factor the FiST wins, but all around fast and fun car, the GTI all the way.

To answer ur original question, GTI is reliable enough, and shouldn't be the determining factor of whether to get it or not. Both cars are awesome for what they are.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

I don't think many people ever experienced issues with VW's during the warranty period, it always seems to be juuuuuust after

I think my real issue with modern vw's is they've engineered all the fun out of them, then someone at VW says "lets dial in exactly 6.25% driving enjoyment" and that's exactly what you get. Also, the clutches they use in their manuals are barely enough for stock levels, the FiST clutch really spoils us. It's like a "toyotafication" process. I cross shopped a gti with my FiST and I was just bored. Also driving a DSG in traffic wasn't something I wanted to do not rolling forward was really weird.

 

[karp]

I had a 2012 GTI that I bought new. It was trouble free for a year, then it started randomly "not starting". Like once every couple of months, you'd turn the key (while the engine was warm) and nothing would happen until the engine fully cooled. I could never reproduce the issue at the dealership, so they acted like I was crazy, but it was sure a pain when it happened, especially if you need to be somewhere on time. This behavior was common and well-documented on the internet for the 2012 model, but that was the only gremlin I ever dealt with.

All-in-all, it was comfortable, handled well, and was reasonably fast. I'd buy another to replace the FiST someday. The racecar ride quality of the ST is super fun, but I'm getting pretty old and I can see a day when I'll want to swing back toward a more compliant ride.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^I'm 63, and the FiST's factory suspension 'ride' is too cushy for my liking.

 

[dmb]

I had a 2012 GTI that I bought new. It was trouble free for a year, then it started randomly "not starting". Like once every couple of months, you'd turn the key (while the engine was warm) and nothing would happen until the engine fully cooled. I could never reproduce the issue at the dealership, so they acted like I was crazy, but it was sure a pain when it happened, especially if you need to be somewhere on time. This behavior was common and well-documented on the internet for the 2012 model, but that was the only gremlin I ever dealt with.

All-in-all, it was comfortable, handled well, and was reasonably fast. I'd buy another to replace the FiST someday. The racecar ride quality of the ST is super fun, but I'm getting pretty old and I can see a day when I'll want to swing back toward a more compliant ride.

when you said ''swing back toward'' I thought you were going to say seats like a 74 monte carlo. but being 66 and having no fluid in any of my disks in my back, i'm putting springs and b-8's on my FiST just waiting for the rears to arrive. all I need is my cell phone to call my son to lift me out of the car

 

[karp]

when you said ''swing back toward'' I thought you were going to say seats like a 74 monte carlo. but being 66 and having no fluid in any of my disks in my back, i'm putting springs and b-8's on my FiST just waiting for the rears to arrive. all I need is my cell phone to call my son to lift me out of the car

LOL, yeah, I had back surgery about 17 years ago and the positive effects are just about gone now. Are the Bilstein B8s a bit more "absorbent" than the stock struts? I have been considering installing the Mountune springs, because I read they add a bit of compliance to the suspension set up.

 

[dmb]

They look real nice sitting here with the H&R sport springs but i'm waiting for bilstien to make the rear B-8's again. So I haven't installed them yet. they are taking their sweet time about it too.

 

[JSWhaler]

I currently drive a Gti and am looking into purchasing a Fiesta ST. They are nice overall great build quality but they have their quirks. The newest are quite reliable as long as you don't go over the top with mods. However, they will have a higher upkeep than a Ford. I have found it fun, but not as fun to drive as a ST.

 

[Zombie]

thanks for the feedback guys!

I do love my FiST, just wish the interior was nicer quality and ride more compliant.

I also like the fact i don't see Fiestas everyday like the GTi. In fact, I rarely see the FiSTs around.

 

[D1JL]

Are VW GTi’s reliable?

Not if they are going to be partnered with Ford.




Dave

 

[Intuit]

Take Consumer Reports with a grain of salt.

TO sum up every car report since the 1980s...
Japanese brands = faultless and flawless
Domestic brands = knit-pick over even the most unusual and rarest complaint

They were still swearing by Sony even when they were putting out the junk Trinitron televisions that would consistently crap-out in 6 to 24 months.

You can pick a brand name and automatically predict what CR will say. Even the best companies sometimes get it wrong, and the worst manage to get one right.

 

[TheSixtyFive]

^^^I'm 63, and the FiST's factory suspension 'ride' is too cushy for my liking.

Agreed!..The very first day I brought my FiST home and drove it for some km, I've noticed its...coziness...tooooo much
Now with Eibach Kit, things run better...but I'm not satisfied yet..Next work, a professional race trim ..

….Ah, and my first Golf was this

 

[FLORIDAST]

I had a MKIV GTI with the VR6 and it was a great car but too heavy and too slow. Sounded nice though. The new GTIs are also really nice but there are better cars for the money IMO, especially used.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Agreed!..The very first day I brought my FiST home and drove it for some km, I've noticed its...coziness...tooooo much
Now with Eibach Kit, things run better...but I'm not satisfied yet..Next work, a professional race trim ..

….Ah, and my first Golf was this

I had a first year offered here (1983) A1/Mk1 Golf (Rabbit here) GTI, bought brand new.

 

[TheSixtyFive]

I had a first year offered here (1983) A1/Mk1 Golf (Rabbit here) GTI, bought brand new.

The first GTI is the best!..So light and powerful and free from any kind of electronic restriction I like it!

 

[Mikey456]

I prefer the mk2. Must be biased, since I had one with the swapped 2L 16v

 

[M-Sport fan]

I prefer the mk2. Must be biased, since I had one with the swapped 2L 16v

I also had an '89 GTI, bought new, with the 1.8 16V right from the factory, as well.