I recently replaced my Golf R estate for an Up GTI. Whilst the Golf was a great car I found it pretty boring and started looking for something that offered a purer driving experience and something I could ‘tinker’ with in my spare time.
I expressed my interest in this particular model around a year ago and when the order books opened earlier this year, I was the first in line with my dealer of choice.
I wondered if I would miss the sheer power of the Golf but in reality, the GTI puts a smile on my face pretty much every time I drive it. The low weight of the car combined with a great throttle response and surprising amounts of torque makes it a lot of fun on the right roads. My options were the white paint with black roof, climate control and the Beats Audio system which is better than I expected but not quite as good as my Bose system at home. The car is well equipped as standard and I didn’t see the point in buying parking sensors and a rear view camera for a car of this size.
So far, I’ve had the front windows lightly tinted along with a sunstrip, added wind deflectors and a coule of other bits n bobs. Longer-term, I’ll be getting it remapped when more reputable options become available, a set of springs will be fitted to lower the car a little more and I’m toying with the idea of some sort of wrap. For anyone on the *long* waiting list for one of these, hang on in there, I doubt you’ll be disappointed!