My Daily Driver: @Sumo_Mania's VW GTI Sport DSG

1. How did you come to the decision of buying this car?

At the time I owned a 2002 Jeep Wrangler and 2003 Chevrolet Corvette.  My wife and I had purchased a 2017 Acura RDX in Aug of 2016 for her daily. It is no enthusiast car but it showed me how loud and uncomfortable the Jeep had become.  I found myself using the RDX on the weekends to avoid my Jeep. I also discovered I'm not a Corvette guy. It was my Dad's Vette and I had only put about 5k miles on it in 2 years. I sold the Wrangler and the Corvette went to my brother. He dailies it and has put about 25k miles on it.

I wanted something small and easy to park like my Wrangler. I wanted something that could get up and go if necessary, and my wife asked for no more manuals. We live in VA just outside DC and traffic can be challenging.  I also wanted heated seats and Android Auto. The GTI fit the bill. I chose the Sport model because I didn't need the sunroof or leather.  I also think the Sport model rims look better than the other trim levels.

I purchased it during diesel-gate and got about 7k off MSRP. I thought that was a good deal as a co-worker of mine had a 2015 and had paid a few hundred under MSRP 2 years prior.

2. What has your ownership experience been like?

So far out of the 8 cars I have owned it is my favorite. I have only needed to do regular maintenance.  I have put 26k miles on it (purchased in Feb of 2017). My daily round trip is 30 miles and I get around 28 mpg. On the highway I can get close to 40 but it doesn't do a lot of highway trips.  

I love the look of the car, the handling, the performance, and the interior.  The brakes are a little touchy but awesome when you really need them. Brake dust is a bit more than I'm used to but I will change the pads to something less dusty when they need to be replaced.  The DSG really impressed me. Every car that I had owned since 1999 had been a manual. I don't miss the manual experience at all with this transmission.

3. What is your fondest memory with this car?

My wife was organizing a conference in Philadelphia and I was invited to come with her. I suggested we take the GTI. I put the seat backs down and was able to fit our luggage and all of her conference materials in the GTI.  I understand why people buy SUVs. My wife and I own one. But that reinforced to me that I don't have to have a huge SUV. My small 4 door GTI is just as utilitarian as most SUV's and it's way more fun to drive.  I've since used it for runs to Lowes/Home Depot and to drop things off at the dump.

4. Why do you love cars?

I got that from my dad. My grandfather owned a Chevrolet dealership in Michigan. He would take my dad to the NAIAS to figure out which cars to buy from Chevrolet for the next year.  He was always pointing out cool cars whenever we were out and about. I find myself doing that but my wife isn't as interested as I was.

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If you would like to participate, just answer the above four questions and submit one to three photos of your daily driver to milhousevanh at geemail. Thanks and have fun!