[The Doc]

Anyone interested in a super long term owner's report? I ordered the car 3 weeks after they were released in the UK.

I'm coming up on 4 years and 36,000 miles now, but I see there are still new owners dropping in.

My little red up has some stories to tell

 

[Manc lad]

Anyone interested in a super long term owner's report? I ordered the car 3 weeks after they were released in the UK.

I'm coming up on 4 years and 36,000 miles now, but I see there are still new owners dropping in.

My little red up has some stories to tell

Oh yes definitely interested so I can compare with my red up when it arrives soon 👍👍👍

 

[TEST DRIVER]

Yes, that would be very interesting.

My UP GTI will be three years old in September and has only done 7000 miles so far.

 

[Aitch]

Yes please, always interested to read other's experiences and opinions

 

[Mark.cup]

Definitely interested from a fellow long term owner 😎

 

[Percy247]

As long as it features manly stories that includes some or all of the following;

1. Road trips with an overall economy of less than 20mpg.
2. Getting less than 5,000 miles from a set of tyres.
3. Your track day experiences.
4. When you managed to hit Vmax on your local motorway.
5. The time when you made off from the Po-Po and got away.
6. The number of underwear models (either sex to avoid discrimination) that you have had in your car.
7. The longest period of time you did not wash your car for.
8. How long your first clutch lasted for in time and mileage.
9. Your best lap time on the Nordschleife.
10. Details of your top 5 scalps at the traffic light grand Prix.
11. Biggest accident you have had with associated photos.
12. Worst stain on your upholstery, with associated back story and photos!
13. Memorable incidents involving bird or animal strikes.
14. Any speeding or other motoring offences committed.
15.. Any visits to "dogging" sites, either as participant or as a voyeur.
16.......

Sorry, I am bored but I hope you get my point!

 

[Manc lad]

Well in my 51 years I’ve never had an underwear model in my car or anywhere else for that matter so if having an UP Gti makes that a prospect I definitely need to know this important information so I know what to say to the wife when it happens 😂😂😂

 

[Percy247]

Our 3 years of Seat Mii ownership have been rather boring and uneventful.

My son had an arguement with a kerb and destroyed two tyres and scuffed the alloys.

On another occasion he hit a pheasant at 50 mph and destroyed the front grill. He has also managed to further reduce the local rabbit and pheasant population.

And the best bit; it's only worth £600 less than we paid for it new.

 

[tsi17]

Well in my 51 years I’ve never had an underwear model in my car or anywhere else for that matter so if having an UP Gti makes that a prospect I definitely need to know this important information so I know what to say to the wife when it happens 😂😂😂

The first time your wife gets in the car she will turn into an underwear model. It's that good !

 

[tsi17]

Anyone interested in a super long term owner's report? I ordered the car 3 weeks after they were released in the UK.

I'm coming up on 4 years and 36,000 miles now, but I see there are still new owners dropping in.

My little red up has some stories to tell

Yes please. This is one of the few cars I might keep for > 3 years.

 

[Sean66]

Yes …..go for it !

 

[Despar]

Looking forward to hear your story

 

[The Doc]

I looked at the Up Gti in February 2018 when they were released. And the more I looked at it the more I liked it.
The proposition was to find a fun daily driver for 9,000 miles a year across the Lake District, including a 95 mile once a week A road commute and various other day to day mileage.

I'd been doing this yearly driving for 3 years in a Porsche 911, but 10,000 miles a year in an 8 year old sportscar was becoming needlessly expensive and silly for the residual values.
For an example, the Porsche, a 997.2 Carerra S cost £979 for 4 new tyres, which lasted about 1.5 years, and it did about 26mpg on 99 RON Super. Tax was £500, servicing was 500 or 1000 or multiples of 500, and it was 500 decibels with the sports exhaust.

I still have this car, it is still incredible, I just do 1000 miles a year in it now.
I did a test drive in the up Gti in late Feb 2018 and ordered one the next day. £1500 deposit (my choice), ticked the box for Cruise Control only and sorted the finance for 36 months and 6.4% APR. |Total cost £14,350 from memory.

And waited.
And waited.
And the dealer was zero use, and I put more miles on the Porsche.
And I swapped the Porsche out of Winter Sottozeros (£800) onto PS4s and waited,

And 8 months later, it arrived in the UK.

Nothing nicer than a car with 8 miles on the clock.

I immediately took it shooting, into the forest.
This is my life, I am rural and I have sheep for neighbours.

And then disaster, I came out from the hospital, 18 days after driving it away from the dealer and someone had driven into it.
Front wing, alloy and wing mirror trashed.
But they'd left a number and name and I rang them to sort the insurance job.
The chap at the body shop said to me "I can't find your mileage for the job sheet, all I can see is the trip computer showing 421 miles, what's your total miles?"
I said, that is my total miles, I'm on 421. Someone's trashed it in the first month and I waited 8 months for it.
Anyhow, new wing and parts and back to new condition.

I love the red GTi, I thinkTornado Red is a great colour.
I nearly swapped my order in the 8 months wait for black, but I love red.
My only gripe is that the traditional VW GTi trim strip is lost a little, red on red.
So I tried a blue tape, and actually a silver tape.

Didn't like, Peeled it off immediately, have stuck with red trim ever since.

END OF PART 1

 

[The Doc]

PART 2

Lovely.

I always like tinkering with my cars, little adjustments and things better and the VW owners of the world do not dissapoint with advice, parts and stuff.

So it was the obvious minor alterations

1. Front indicators from orange to silver
2. New Headlamp bulbs
3. Interior dome bulbs to LED
4. Rear drum brake painted black
5. Auto ON headlamps with sensor.
AND AND AND
6. --- Front and rear silver GTI badges to red. Much nicer.

During the swap, 1 out of 3 bulbs done

After, obvs

The miles passed by and 114 bhp was really loads of fun.
Service #1 all well.

Milometer related geekery, Even managed to get the gear indicator to read "6".
Couldn't get the clock to do 12:34 and the trip to read 123.4, which would have obtained maximum marks.

Service #2 at about 18,000 miles all well and then Disaster.....

...... I got a puncture in a rear tyre.
OEM Goodyear on the rear were in a very good state with 50% of the tread left at 18,000 miles. I think 995 Kg split probably 60:40 front to rear, means you only have 200kg or less over each rear tyre. They just don't wear. At 18,000 mile the fronts looked to be 80% worn.

So I put 2 Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 tyres on the rears and waited for the fronts to wear out.


My 95 mile, once weekly, commute is on a crappy single carriageway A road, with about 5 good overtaking points in 35 miles and lots of farm and dreary retired drivers. It's a dangerous road in the wrong car or wrong decade of your life..

So........... There was only one thing to do........

 

[The Doc]

PART 3

BOOM !!

A lovely 3 hours morning drive to JBS in Derbyshire, £250 to them and a rather more spirited drive back.
114bhp -> 139.8bhp on 95 RON fuel.
a 23% gain

Wow !!
Now we're in business.

END OF PART 3

- more to follow later,.,,

 

[Manc lad]

Brilliant stuff well worth the wait 👍👍👍 Same colour as my lovely almost arrived Gti. Makes me even more excited if that’s possible 😂

Love the red GTi stickers and agree that makes a nice difference. Are they stickers as wondering about the front one being done.

 

[TEST DRIVER]

Brilliant stuff well worth the wait 👍👍👍 Same colour as my lovely almost arrived Gti. Makes me even more excited if that’s possible 😂

Love the red GTi stickers and agree that makes a nice difference. Are they stickers as wondering about the front one being done.

I put the Red stickers on my car. The only mod i have done.

Yes they are stickers. Two different sizes for front and back.

I purchased them from a firm called "EZ MODS"

They post them to you, but say you should not use a jet wash on them. No problem as i wash the car by hand.

 

[Manc lad]

I put the Red stickers on my car. The only mod i have done.

Yes they are stickers. Two different sizes for front and back.

I purchased them from a firm called "EZ MODS"

They post them to you, but say you should not use a jet wash on them. No problem as i wash the car by hand.

Excellent thanks. That will be one of my first mods then 😊

 

[The Doc]

And the miles piled on.
And I moved house to an even more remote gaff.
This is my approach road:

So I bought from this very forum a set of 15" steel wheels with Avon WV7 full winter tyres on them.
And in November 2020 they went on, I washed and stored the Oswalds with the Eagle F1s on them. I am lucky I have a huge 80ft barn.

The 15s fit nicely and the winters aren't too squidgy in the corners.

and sure enough in early January:

My wife has an X3 with all season Michellins on, but I didn't want to be stealing her car, or get stuck at work.
The Avon WV7s come off in March.

What else can I say

Comfort: I've had no problems with this, I didn't mind the Efficent Grip OEM tyres and the Eagle F1s are soft ish too. Its much better than the Porsche!

Rear clunking noise: occasionally, but you have to tie down the jack and wheel brace thingy, it comes loose.

Efficiency: I think the computer said I was on 46.2 mpg for 35,000 miles and I don't do very much motorway. If you drive like a vicar you can get 62mpg at 48mph average.
If you drive it properly you can get 40mpg on A roads. Motorways aren't it's strong point as 70mph is about 3000 revs and the turbo spools up and the mpg suffers.

Broken things: The only thing that broke was the radio which stopped doing Bluetooth after 6 months. Replaced under warranty and the idiotic local dealiership broke 2 other things on it whilst it was in. Not going back there

Options: I only have Cruise and Park, no sunroof, no Beats, no lane assist (wasn't avail) I think I'm OK with just Cruise. Options is weight and Weight is slow.

JBS Remap to 140bhp:
This is a game changer. It is so much more peppy. It launches through the gears, and they are such short ratios it's proper rally style gear snatching, I love it.
You can spin the wheels in 2nd and 3rd coming away from a wet roundabout.
All overtakes are safer and more fun. The turbo lag/burst at 3000 is quite pronounced, but its such a buzz. The other car has 400bhp, so I'm not one to be surprised by a punch of power, but the up is so light and so little sound deadening/stuff around you, that it really flies.

More as I think of it.
I don't do away-weekends in it, sorry about the lack of trips to the NC500 or Spa, my other car is for that.
This is just a solid commute and evening whiz out car. Fun and fun and uncomplicated cheap fun.

After 36 months my PCP deal came to an end.
The equvalent 68 plate 2nd hand ones with 25,000 miles were about £12,500, my ballon payment was £5100.
So I bought it, and why not !

 

[tsi17]

Enjoyed that, thanks

"Fun and fun and uncomplicated cheap fun. "

This is the crux of it.

Will remap mine once I finally decide on a summer 16" wheel set up. The factory power is more than enough for my current very-quiet-and-comfortable-but-not-the-last-word-in-performance all season tyres.