[DaveSTi]

More driving impressions after 8,000 miles (yeah, they're racking up quick)

Things that need to be fixed:

-Rattling in the driver side dash/a-pillar upon acceleration. Could be the soundaktor but not sure. Warranty claim.

-Paint quality. Orange peel all over the car. Bugs and rocks from the highway have taken the paint off in some spots. Needs to be corrected.

-Drivers side door window slightly off-track. Upper portion of the drivers door will pop a little when you raise the window from being completely open. Warranty claim.

Things I want to improve:

- Braking. Its just not good enough. The ZL1 brakes have ruined me. I want more response and quicker. Going to try the Clubsport S pads and rotors to see if that helps. Otherwise, the TTS caliper upgrade will be considered. This is my biggest issue with the car so far.

- DSG. It's set to fuel economy by default, and will upshift to 6th gear then 7th as quickly as it can in normal driving situations. This often means a lack of response when trying to complete a left turn across traffic (for example). I'm frequently downshifting for passing power too. Frustrating.

- Handling. Definitely a FWD biased platform, but the traction is there, just requires me to use the gas pedal more to balance it out a little bit. Otherwise, it will feel front end heavy like the GTI (in a heavier feeling car)

Things I'm enjoying:

- Fuel economy. I'm in the upper 20's with mostly city commuting to work and highway runs get me 32-33 mpg easily.

- Comfort. With the DCC, unless the road is torn up, the ride is extremely smooth and comfortable which I prefer when going to work.

- Interior. The fit and finish is excellent, and it's a very comfortable place to be for hours at a time. The stereo is also pretty good at drowning out road noise and voices are audible without needing volume jacked up like in the Camaro.

- Looks. I really love how low-key this car looks unless you know what you're looking at. Then you notice the finer details that hint at aggression. Love it.

- Storage. VW has all sorts of tricks up their sleeve with area to store things in the front cabin as well as the hatch. I've been able to move around things without them sliding all over or rattling like crazy due to all the pockets, nets, cubbies and felt lined areas. Very easy to live with this car.

More thoughts:

A huge step back in performance in every aspect except wet weather traction. I'm still getting used to how unexciting the car is to drive, but that's also made it much more livable for the day to day slog. I'm currently stuck on the 6 year/72k mile bumper to bumper warranty for why I'm not modifying the car where it needs help....I don't expect that to change for awhile as more VW motors are windowing on the forums from tunes. I'll probably tune around 30k, but who knows...I don't find the power to be lacking for driving situations, it's just the boost threshold and DSG tuning that drive me the maddest.

Otherwise the motor is setup very nicely. It's smooth and responsive in the right RPM range/gear, while being efficient on gas. Hard to argue with it.

The chassis definitely could use some stiffening. There is noticeable feel of flex from the back half when going over uneven roads, which causes the hatch tray to bounce around. I think VW is using this portion of the chassis as part of the suspension for better ride quality.

Very tempted to get a rear swaybar and chassis brace to address this when I do the brakes.

Also, as crazy as the price tag is, I will be buying the Akrapovic catback from the UK to complete the performance package. Warranty friendly and sounds great.

Finally:

It's apparent that I need a sports car in my life again. I'm looking at 997-era 911's and a couple other cars that go against my earlier promises. Going to be awhile on this point, so while not 100% satisfied with the R, it's what I got for awhile...and that's a good "problem" to have.