Just had a quick run around in a 60-plate vRS. Only for about 15 mins but I didn't really have time for much more. Anyway.

I kept the gearbox in D mode for most of the time. It did seem to be a little bit "sticky" unless I treated it with a rather heavy foot. I did manage to plant the pedal on one stretch of dual carriageway and it dropped down about 3 gears and lunged forward. It was pretty cool (some very noticeable torque steer though) but there did seem to be a very slight delay which, from what I've read here, isn't really an issue in other gear modes. Speaking of which I tried the paddles - interesting. They worked fine and dandy, very quick to respond but for some reason went back in to full auto mode after a couple of seconds without any insistence from myself. Tiptronic seemed a bit keener to stay in manual mode... presumably because the stick is physically moved into position for it?

The ride was very smooth, I was expecting it to be much firmer. This isn't a complaint though, I'm getting old now so it's good that it's comfy.

The stereo was a Swing one - are they the standard? Any good?

Is the Auto Glym paint protection thing worth it? I'm terrible when it comes to washing my cars so anything which can go some way to compensate my laziness might be worth investing in!

If in 'D' and you up or downshift using the paddles it will revert back to 'D' mode automatically - after 10 secs or so if not using a paddle.

If in '-/+' it will not up or downshift until it revs too high or low - ie you can shift when you like.

If in 'S' it will shift up at the redline and you can over-ride this as in 'D'

Not noticed any lag in gear changes on mine - got used to it now anyway so I guess there was never a lag

Swing is a good unit, enough to fiddle with. The Sat nav unit just looks better and of course has sat nav! Same goes for the climate - looks is about all it covers for the extra £££.

Swing Stereo- sound quality is good, 8 speakers as standard. you can plug in your 3.5mm aux audio cable or MDI (with USB for flash drive/hdd or an ipod connector) to play mp3's using the intergrated audio controls.

If you specify rear parking sensors, you will also get sensor diagram of the back of your car like you would if you spec the satnav (but in monochrome).

I have the autoglym lifeshine on mine and it is pretty good, exceptionaly water repellant when clean. very easy to clean off dirt as the paint surface is so smooth after the treatment. Is recormended for paint colours sensetive to aging as it blocks UV radiation.

Lifeshine is the only paint protection system I'd consider, much better than the other well known brands and no restriction as to what can be put on top. I have it on the Passat and two Fabia's.

Don't pay dealer prices though. A local Autoglym Approved Valeter will charge much less, I paid £120 from these guys.

http://www.howclean.net/car-valeting/mansfield/autoglym-lifeshine.htm

Cheers

Lee

Cheers guys.

Just to reiterate then, if the stick is in the +/- position then the gearbox is less inclined to make it's own decisions, leaving the driver free to play with the paddles/ tiptronic?

Not sure if I'll bother with the Lifeshine - for £300 I could get the car cleaned for many years to come!

One other thing - there's a preparation form to fill in before collection which you can put down how you want the radio stations configuring/ how you want the central locking fob to work... there's a section on there which asks if I want the DRLs enabling. Wouldn't having them NOT enabled just mean there was a useless cluster of lights in the front bumper?

Just over a week to go now until build week. Please let nothing go wrong.

If the drl's are of then nothing will work unless you put side lights on and then they work - the drl's in on position mean they are on from when you start the car and dim each time you put side and main lights on.

+/- means you get more control, yes.

I didn't bother with life shine, just spend a few quid on a decent polish or wax!

1) When in D-Auto, you can temporarily override the automatic function at will, by just clicking the paddles. That is, if something unexpected happens and you would need to hurry shifting up or down, without losing time moving your hand to the stick. But this is meant to be temporary since you are leaving the stick to the Auto position. So, normally after some seconds, it comes back to Auto. Nothing wrong with this.

2) In D-Manual (+/- position) you are the one who chooses when to shift up. The DSG will not shift up unless you reach the rev limit. On the contrary, it will drop to the previous gear when your revs are low, but it will do this earlier compared to Auto. One example: In D-Auto, DSG never switches to 1st gear unless I stop the car completely. However in +/- Mode, it will shift down to 1st gear even if I am still moving, when my speed drops at ~ 8km/h. My experience after 2 months of driving it every day is that I don't need to bother shifting down, either in Auto or in Manual mode because it does the job very well. If it is Manual it will shift down a little earlier than in Auto.

3) S-Mode is a little useless. Its only advantage is shifting down very early keeping the revs high at all situations which is not desirable in most cases of even a "sporty" ride. As I've said in another thread, If I want a spirited drive I do the job perfectly in Manual Mode. I guess its meant for somebody who wants to drive quickly yet he has not the slightest idea how a gearbox works and what does "gear" mean.

4) Swing system is ok but then again this depends on your audio expectations generally. I suppose for most people is good or even impressive. It packs a total of 280 Watts I think which surely sound loud. Personally, I've always been demanding with my audio systems and I find the bass is over-amplified and generally, not the most crystal sound I've heard. But I think most people won't notice.