Thursday Thirteen | Thirteen Things I Love About My GTI

Published on: March 2, 2017February 28, 2017Author: LaceyComment: 0

Back in January, I finally took the plunge and moved away from being an SUV momma. I’ve owned an SUV since 2005 but traded in my 2015 Ford Edge Titanium for a 2016 Volkswagen GTI Autobahn Edition with Performance and Lighting Package. New me, fun new car. I was going to do a traditional car review since I have had people ask me how I like it, but I thought this would work better with my ever moving, unable to focus brain.

Thirteen Things I Love About My GTI

1. First and foremost, gas mileage. This was a HUGE reason to trade my SUV in. Living where Uncle Sam has dumped us for the time being, I drive a MINIMUM of 65 miles 6+ days a week. That adds up fast. I now get 29-31 mpg with my daily mixed driving, 6-10 mpg more than I was getting.

2. Of course, I’d probably get even better gas mileage if it didn’t have 220hp, lots of torque, a turbo and a super smooth DSG transmission. I have a heavy foot, anyone care to take bets on when I get my first speeding ticket?

3. The lighting package. Not only are the headlights super, see anything miles away bright, but the turn lighting is awesome. When you turn on your blinkers, the lights on that side shift, so you can see into your turn/the corner more clearly. Pretty cool.

4. Keyless/proximity entry and start. We’ve had this in Bryan’s SX4 for years and I had this on my Explorer then Edge and as funny as it may sound, it was one of my favorite features and one I wasn’t willing to live without. I love not having to dig my keys out to get in the vehicle and go.

5. The steering wheel. Not only is it comfy, I love the flat bottom. Looks good and is perfect for my hand position where I like to drive. No, I am not a “proper” 10 and 2 driver.

6. Rain-sensing wipers. I love not having to adjust the wiper speed constantly when mother nature can’t make up her mind.

7. Apple Carplay. Ford Sync on my last 3 vehicles, can’t even begin to touch the smoothness of Apple Carplay. This system actually understands what I want to do and doesn’t constantly restart itself.

8. Fender Audio System, enough said.

9. The rear view/backup camera is hidden and only pops out from under the VW logo in the back when you put the car in reverse. This means the camera is always clean and not covered in dust and/or mud.

10. The color combo. Black/charcoal gray and red are two of my top four favorite colors. I also love all the red accents; brake calipers, stitching, interior lighting, badging, etc. It looks sharp and sporty.

11. It is a MUCH smaller car than what I am used to driving, but two adults can still fit in the back seat with front seats adjusted for Bryan (Mr. 6’2″) and there is cargo room to tote swim and running gear.

12. It is just plain fun to drive and…

13. It has a really cool name. ;-)