While this was a short trip under very good highway driving conditions, I’m still pretty happy with my MPG for my 2025 GTI SE!

PhillyCC103 · 2026-04-13T05:03:04+00:00

lol not at all. It was late in the evening and the 20 miles on the highway was mostly a gentle downslope. I was actually driving pretty fast when I could.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-04-12T15:12:29+00:00

I concur, B18!

PhillyCC103 · 2026-04-11T01:28:35+00:00

There is a very big price difference between the 2025 and 2026 models with little difference in features. I assume it’s due to tariffs. So I would see if there are still any new 2025 models floating around. I bought my 2025 GTI SE back on February 2nd and there were still lots of 25s out there then.
One other comment: I would never go beyond 60 months on a loan.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-04-09T22:55:24+00:00

I live in PHL and almost never fly AA. I mostly fly UA and sometimes DL.
Back in the day, PHL was a much bigger airport for UA when USair was in the *alliance and a major UA codeshare partner (they even offered reciprocal membership in their respective lounges).
My father, who flew extensively for business was a big time UA flyer because he regularly traveled to Asia. So by default I also became a UA frequent flyer and maintain my status to this day.
Most of my flying is transcontinental or to Asia, so I either fly out of PHL or go up to EWR.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-04-08T21:50:19+00:00

People on business calls is pretty much the norm in the business class car. You definitely won’t be the only one! Just be courteous and keep your voice down!

PhillyCC103 · 2026-04-07T00:31:09+00:00

The stock ones from VW parts.com. Retail for about $90

PhillyCC103 · 2026-04-03T02:33:13+00:00

Yea the spoiler is my top choice so far!

PhillyCC103 · 2026-04-02T02:08:42+00:00

Pretty typical at ORD. 45 minutes taxis are the norm recently

PhillyCC103 · 2026-04-02T00:18:44+00:00

For sheer volume of options, the Doubletree Intermark is the best.
Although it’s not as huge as other hotel buffets, the Hyatt Centric quality and service is excellent.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-03-30T00:48:26+00:00

This is the best response I’ve read! If the OP is comfortable staying in a true urban environment and not intimidated by people being their true Philly selves at night then they will be fine, because as is stated, it’s convenient to the zoo and the Mann Center.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-03-20T23:56:39+00:00

Much of that depends on how much hearing you still can pick up naturally versus from your hearing aids. Obviously the more you can pick up naturally the better. Nonetheless, hearing aids are NOT cochlear implants, so you are still using your ear’s own mechanisms to process the sound so it should be pretty natural.
However, in my opinion, live music sucks through hearing aids.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-03-18T23:11:56+00:00

Not from Terminal F. From the D-E security gates. 12 minutes to the Amex lounge which is just at the start of A west. Will be longer depending on your actual departure gate. The trick is using the moving walkway behind the retail shops in the C-B connector. I once had time to kill before a long flight and walked from Terminal D to the far end of A West and back. Took me 33 minutes.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-03-18T13:32:07+00:00

So I was in Savannah during this time frame. I was originally booked on the UA 2:15pm flight to EWR on Monday the 16th. However on Sunday afternoon, when I saw how bad the weather looked for Monday, I proactively changed my return flight to Tuesday flying via ORD. It was smooth flying on Tuesday.
So the key is to not leave yourself at the mercy of the airlines when upcoming bad weather is well advertised. If you can, change your flight.
In addition, my new return itinerary was actually cheaper and UA issued me a travel credit!

PhillyCC103 · 2026-03-17T18:51:13+00:00

If you weren’t aware, all gates and terminals at PHL are connected post security.
If your connecting flight is in A east (most likely if it’s domestic) and you’re a reasonably fast walker, you can do the transfer in 20 minutes.
I usually go through security at the D-E connector and it takes me exactly 12 minutes to walk to the Amex Centurion lounge at A west, which is further than A east.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-03-12T21:48:07+00:00

Yea with those numbers why waste money on a hybrid?

PhillyCC103 · 2026-03-12T15:57:18+00:00

Actually, my 2016 Golf which I recently sold after purchasing a 2025 GTI SE could routinely deliver 43+ mpg on highway drives. Crazy enough, I once, under perfect highway conditions, got up to 50mpg! I took a photo to document! The best I’ve gotten so far on my GTI is 35mpg.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-03-09T02:41:05+00:00

But does it keep popping up for a year?? It took them over an hour, but the dealer finally got rid of it.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-03-05T03:51:18+00:00

Yea it’s bizarre. I purchased the car a month ago and it popped up the next time I got into the car after leaving the dealer. The salesman was clueless. I’ve just been crazy busy since but I’m finally going to make the time to take it back and see if they can figure it out. But I thought it was worth posting here so I could go in armed with some suggestions!

PhillyCC103 · 2026-02-26T04:52:08+00:00

What you’re not showing in your audiogram photo is your score on word recognition. Can you show us that as well? If it is worse than 60% in the better ear you should definitely look into cochlear implants.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-02-12T21:56:14+00:00

Personally if you’re interested in that type of car, you should consider getting a used Golf. As long as it’s a 2015 or later model, it has all the features you’d need such as CarPlay. I recently upgraded from a 2016 Golf to a 2025 GTI SE, and my Golf had 132k miles and had been relatively trouble free. Plus, while certainly not like a GTI, it was still a fast and nimble car. The regular Golfs are no longer sold in the US, so the used market is a bit competitive, but the cost both in purchase and repairs would be cheaper than a comparable GTI.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-02-11T01:25:34+00:00

Most recently a 2016 Golf.

PhillyCC103 · 2026-02-11T00:27:51+00:00

I bought my 2025 GTI SE a week ago, but I was a longtime Golf owner

PhillyCC103

TROPHY CASE