So, have had my '14 MkIII vRS since mid-May. 

 

I previously had a MkII vRS for 7 years - new in Summer '10 through to May '17.

 

We drive to southern France at least once a year, usually two or three times. West Country to Portsmouth or Poole, then Route National & Autoroute down to near Angoulême. 

 

Today was was the first time in the new car & it was really interesting to compare the two:

 

Both petrol vRS estates, both DSG, both with Columbus, one 197 bhp, one 217. 

 

They are both very solid, comfortable cruisers. Both are powerful cars which allow you to easily stay out of trouble with a quick burst of acceleration to find the gap you need, for example, between French / Spanish lorries. Both have huge boots & can take towbar or roofbox loads without unduly affecting performance.   

 

I was / am very happy with both cars. But, differences:

 

I love the fact that both can alter the Xenons for driving on the right - flattening the left-hand-side kick up of the beam, but the new one also allows the speedometer to read in kph - having this displayed in Maxidot right in front of you is hugely helpful, especially when the French cops can now access DVLA data & fine us for speeding. 

 

Next, cruise control. The new car allows an incremental choice of speed set with a quick flick up and down of the rocker switch on the left stalk. The old car did this too, but less accurately & without displaying the cruise speed set in the bottom left corner of Maxidot - very handy. 

 

The new Columbus is amazing. The clarity of display & speed of response is light years ahead of the 2010 FL unit. The auto zoom function (zooms in when you are approaching a junction where you need to change direction, zooms out when on the RN or Autoroute) is very clever & helpful. 

 

Overall, the new car is quieter - and I'm sure the current mixed (front / rear) tyre set up with all four tyres near the end of their lives isn't helping the MkIII much - with much less wind & less tyre noise. 

 

The 2014 car also feels a little quicker, as expected. It is more powerful & lighter (not sure of exact weights). 

 

In summary - I'm sure I'll think of more later - 9 years development has led to significant improvements and I am a very happy boy with my new car! 

 

Just need to get the roof box & bars off in the morning, get the pano roof open & have a proper blast on the quiet French country back roads on the pretext of buying us all croissants & pains au chocolat! 

 

 

Funnily enough I am going on holiday to France next month so looking forward to taking the girl through her paces abroad, how do you change the digital speedo to KMPH? Don't want to get pulled over by the French Police  

9 minutes ago, finnster01 said:

Funnily enough I am going on holiday to France next month so looking forward to taking the girl through her paces abroad, how do you change the digital speedo to KMPH? Don't want to get pulled over by the French Police  

In the 'Car' menu on the infotainment screen. Then click settings & work it from there. I think the next sub-menu is 'Units' or similar. 

 

Once switched the speed is shown in KPH. All other measurements such as distance covered / to go in the Nav settings remain in miles. 

 

Every time I switch the car on now, it reminds me that the lights are set for right hand side driving. 

 

 

Edited 11 July, 20178 yr by dunc69

Brilliant thank you, looking forward to changing the lights as well!! Although most of the driving will be during the daytime - I will be mostly be drinking wine in the evenings!!  

8 hours ago, dunc69 said:

 but the new one also allows the speedometer to read in kph - having this displayed in Maxidot right in front of you is hugely helpful

 

You can display kph in the Maxidot in the MK2 surely? That's how it complies with the law requiring kph being available without a dual scale on the Speedo.

 

Please you are happy with replacing your Mk2 FL however. Remarkable how things have moved on. You couldn't even get Bluetooth as a factory option on a manual VRS back in 2010!

 

Out of curiosity, how did fuel consumption compare? 

1 hour ago, juan27 said:

 

You can display kph in the Maxidot in the MK2 surely? That's how it complies with the law requiring kph being available without a dual scale on the Speedo. 

 

I had forgotten that - fair play.  Not sure if I ever used it though. I just kept it to 80 or 70 ish depending on the limit. 

 

Glad I have discovered it in the new one though, especially now the French police can affect our licences. 

 

Although I didn't option BT with my '10 vRS DSG, I had it retrofitted by Shark in 2012.  Can't believe I didn't think it a must-have in 2010! 

Edited 12 July, 20178 yr by dunc69

1 hour ago, Sarge said:

Out of curiosity, how did fuel consumption compare? 

 

Both cars very similar - c. 33-34 mpg if pressing on, c. 40 if taking it very easy. This is fairly heavily-laden. 

 

In normal use at home, commuting about 12 miles each way & general family use, the '14 car drinks slightly less fuel than the '10, but there's not much in it. Long-term average 35 as against 33. 

 

Slightly disappointed the MkIII isn't better, but I didn't buy it for its fuel sipping skills.  

Edited 12 July, 20178 yr by dunc69

11 hours ago, dunc69 said:

when the French cops can now access DVLA data & fine us for speeding. 

 

 

 

What?!?  when did this change?  Any more info?

 

Obviously i never break the speed limit so it's only for info..  

1 hour ago, rob_e said:

 

 

What?!?  when did this change?  Any more info?

 

Obviously i never break the speed limit so it's only for info..  

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/05/british-motorists-continent-face-640-speeding-fines-saturday/amp/

 

This!

 

I was a tad more sedate than normal on my journey yesterday. 

 

However, I was doing an indicated 118kph in a 110 zone at one point and one of the "Votre Vitesse" signs told me I was travelling at 107. I doubt the speedo over-reads that much! 

Roofbox safely stowed in shed!

 

Octy now ready for a post-lunch blast!

 

Fabulous roads in the Charente valley & very little traffic! Sports mode here we come!! 

Edited 12 July, 20178 yr by dunc69

13 hours ago, dunc69 said:

 

Both cars very similar - c. 33-34 mpg if pressing on, c. 40 if taking it very easy. This is fairly heavily-laden. 

 

In normal use at home, commuting about 12 miles each way & general family use, the '14 car drinks slightly less fuel than the '10, but there's not much in it. Long-term average 35 as against 33. 

 

Slightly disappointed the MkIII isn't better, but I didn't buy it for its fuel sipping skills.  

 

I'd say this is about how I'd describe the difference in fuel economy between my MK2 FL VRS TSI manual and MK3 VRS TSI DSG.

 

I'd say on my commute the MK2 was just about 40mpg whereas the MK3 is about 42mpg - I suspect start/stop has some effect here as I have a few busy traffic lights to get through.

 

Was hoping the newer engine would be slightly better, but overall still happy with it overall. Oil consumption on the other hand, is much better.....

1 minute ago, ahenners said:

 

I'd say this is about how I'd describe the difference in fuel economy between my MK2 FL VRS TSI manual and MK3 VRS TSI DSG.

 

I'd say on my commute the MK2 was just about 40mpg whereas the MK3 is about 42mpg - I suspect start/stop has some effect here as I have a few busy traffic lights to get through.

 

Was hoping the newer engine would be slightly better, but overall still happy with it overall. Oil consumption on the other hand, is much better.....

@ahenners Yes! Good point, the oil consumption, or lack of, is a hugely positive step!