Seeing as I spent hours pouring over photos in this forum whilst I was waiting for my car to arrive it only seemed fair to return the favour!
Before I get to the photos, some quick thoughts on the car after my first few days and 250 odd miles with it, just in case you haven't got yours yet and you want a bit more stuff to read! I've reviewed each of the options I ticked.
It's just a fantastic little car, I am absolutely delighted in every respect. I was worried about getting the diesel over the TSI, but whilst the noise is unmistakably that of a diesel it's actually quite pleasant. On the odd occassion I find myself sitting in traffic listening to it tick over and wish it was a nice refined petrol purr, but for the rest of the time the diesel's power, relative quietness at motorway speeds, and economy reminds me I made the right decision. So far the computer says I'm averaging 45mpg.
I didn't test drive the 140 BMT so can't compare but this 170 feels extremely nippy and powerful. I haven't given it full beans just yet but it's extremely tempting. As many have said, this engine is perfect for overtaking and "making good progress" as the car review jargon goes.
The DSG transmission is superb - I just forget it's there. The paddle shifters are fun but can't imagine using them a lot. DCC - I've mostly kept it in comfort which really does make a big difference but it's great to be able to flip it to sport when you get a bit bored on long journeys.
Navigation - I didn't bother with the bigger screen as I usually use TomTom on my iPhone for nav as the live traffic is so so good. However since my Brodit ProClip stuff hasn't arrived yet I've been using the VW nav and it's actually great - having the directions also appear in the dashboard MFD is such a great feature it's almost enough to keep me using it instead of the phone. The voice directions are a little weird though - she trips over her words a lot in a slightly annoying way. Routing seems okay (not as good as TomTom) but I wish more navigation systems showed your next TWO turns instead of one as it's a lot easier judging lanes for roundabouts etc. Did make laugh the first motorway I turned on to - the nav voice just says "Continue on M40 for... a long time."
Bluetooth / MDI - all works exceptional well with my iPhone 5S. I thought there would be a noticeable improvement in audio quality listening over the MDI rather than bluetooth but I'm not certain I can hear one. I'm hoping I can find a lightning extension lead so I can keep the phone connected to the MDI but have it mounted up on one of the air vents. Everyone I've called over the car bluetooth says I sound very clear - important to me as I've had previous systems where I've sounded like I was down a well.
Sunroof - really glad I got it. My car has the black headlining (which I think is a result of ordering the black leather on a GT trim car) and whilst I love that, the sunroof lets in a huge amount of nice ambient light and makes the interior a much more pleasant place to be. Okay, it doesn't open much, but it's enough to let you taste fresh air in this beautiful weather we're having.
Xenons - look great, very bright. I'd forgotten about the static cornering lights until I came back the other night and they are genuinely really useful. The lamp next to the xenons is what acts as your daylight running light; unfortunately they've fitted it with a standard yellowish bulb which clashes a bit with the blueish xenons. I've turned off the DRLs for now (this was a option in the dashboard MFD for me - I know some older cars had weird hoops to jump through to do this) but might replace the bulbs with a blue tinted version.
Dynaudio - a tiny bit disappointed actually; it doesn't really blow me away. It definitely does loud with little distortion but it's not particularly an engaging listen. I prefer it with the midrange down slightly. I'm sure it's an improvement on the stock system and it's not a very expensive option so probably unfair to expect miracles. However years ago I had a Pioneer head unit installed in a Passat with stock audio and for some reason I've never had better sound. That had a DSP mode called dynamic theatre or something that just sounded amazing.
Reversing camera & sensors - yep, extremely useful on this car. The camera is very wide angle and works great in low light. I had hoped the little guide lines you get would curve left and right as you turn the wheel as they do on some cars - sadly they're static. There is a handy horizontal line that I've discovered leaves you the perfect amount of space to access the boot if you line it up on the back line of the parking space.
Color MFD - I felt guilty ticking this box as seemed particularly unnecessary but actually it looks really nice, particularly when navigating. Ties the dashboard together well as all same graphical style as the head unit. When you don't have a route planned there's a 3D compass on the navigation screen which is badly designed though - it has the direction you're driving at the bottom of the compass. If it was at the top instead the compass would line up with the world outside - i.e. the compass direction at 3 o' clock on the graphics would actually be the direction at your 3 o' clock.
Cruise control - would be silly not to order it. Same system I used to have on my Passat although the on-off switch on the top of the stalk now has a "cancel" position when you just hold it. That's an improvement as previous versions you had to click it over completely to cancel, or tap your brakes which I always thought seemed inelegant
Anyway enough waffle, time for some photos! I didn't want to spend the £299 on the dealer Autoglym so the lovely Stuart from http://www.thecleancarcompany.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; gave it a treatment of Liquid Element Shield paint sealant instead, along with a thorough clean and polish for £150. Looks great and hopefully will help me keep it clean.
