I'd happily buy an American car, but probably not a Ford. I'm not in love with any of their cars, and they seem to be priced very, umm, optimistically.

OTOH, the American cars I am interested in, and would pay a premium for, I can't afford (Corvette, Caddy CTS, Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland, ATS-V, etc)

 

It's funny to see how worked up people get for generalizations that matter to the OP. The OP thinks Chinese owned company will not have good quality control. There are Chinese companies that have good QC. but the overall generalization is not something blatantly outrageous. If it matters to the OP, it matters to the OP. why are people trying to correct him? Although..

That is a pretty harsh statement...

I originally was insisting on Mk6 GTI because it's of course cheaper to buy used than new. Also because I wanted a German car to be made in Germany. But after test driving one, I fell in love with its interior and could not keep it off my mind. I've reached out to VW owners and VW forums to hear their opinions on the mexico-made sticker, and they've all concluded that the mexico plant is fabulous. They did have some problems with old jettas though, but i heard it's fixed for the most part. What really sold me was talking to independent VW mechanics who repair and tune GTI, as well as all other VW's. THESE GUYS would know what's up. they've told me to go ahead and pull the trigger, as he plans to buy the mk7 Golf R as well.

I'm just waiting for the Performance package to arrive, because I want the electronic LSD. (It's not mechanical, as someone suggested earlier)
White, SE, DSG (fiance's only requirement), with PP. Life will be good...

 

I have an order in on a Night Blue MK7 with the Performance Pack. I agree with what was said in the OP - there is really nothing at close to the price of the GTI that offers the same feeling of sportiness mixed with a premium, practical, and grown-up feel.

 

It is mechanical, my friend! It's an electronically-controlled mechanical LSD able to shuffle 100% of the power to either front wheel.

 

Golf R or bust. It's easy to pass on the FWD regardless of how refined it may be.

 

+1, people get confused about electronic LSDs because so many cars have systems that attempt to replicate an LSD through selective wheel braking and for a while that was considered an "electronic" LSD but now there are a few systems out there that have electronically actuated mechanical LSDs. In theory these E-LSDs should be ideal but I haven't seen any thing conclusive. Either way it beats an open diff especially in a front driver.

 

+1, people get confused about electronic LSDs because so many cars have systems that attempt to replicate an LSD through selective wheel braking and for a while that was considered an "electronic" LSD but now there are a few systems out there that have electronically actuated mechanical LSDs. In theory these E-LSDs should be ideal but I haven't seen any thing conclusive. Either way it beats an open diff especially in a front driver.
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A lot of reviewers have said this particular system makes the car feel almost AWD because of its ability to put the power to the outside wheel during cornering and cancel out the power-on understeer. Doesn't get much better than that in FWD.

 

I'm not sure I would buy a Mk7 GTI right now. It's a new model with a new head design. In the new design there is no manifold for the turbo. The turbocharger bolts straight to the head. Tuners such as APR are getting crazy power out of them with nothing more than a software tune. APR Stage 1 GTI's are dynoing 316hp/381tq at the crank. However, the cars, even stock, are blowing turbos like crazy. VW has already provided some 5-6 revisions of the turbo and the latest ones are still blowing up and sending metal fragments into the intake tract and motor with bad results.

I have a Mk6 GTI (2010 model). Overall, I've been very happy with it. I'm running an APR Stage 1 Tune and intake which gets the power to 265hp/300tq. Even with this amount of power there is zero torque steer. I have had a few issues with my car as follows:

1. Slipping clutch at 13k miles. Probably because of the increased power. VW would not warranty.
2. Broken windshield wiper. The metal shaft sheered off while I was driving down the road.
3. Broken passenger window switch.
4. Failed ECU. APR Tuner did a bad job of resealing the ECU and it filled with water and shorted out. APR paid for the repair.
5. Two bent Detroit wheels. I've never even hit a hard bump in the thing. True story. I just ordered some aftermarket wheels for it this week.
6. Windshield wiper rack failed. Not sure why, but the rack seized and the wipers quit working. The VW dealer initially gave me a $1,400 estimate. They ended up fixing my old rack for free.
7. Electric Lock on passenger door has started to not work intermittently in the last two weeks.
8. Coilpack failure left me broken down. VW would only replace the failed pack so I purchased all new and replaced them all myself.

That's about it. I've got 55k miles on it as of this morning. My warranty expires at the end of December.

-s

 

I wish VW would bring this grocery getter to our shores: http://www.autoblog.com/2014/11/18/v...iant-official/