You are right. If it lost power over time; I probably would not notice.

It is a daily drive for me. I do around 20k miles per year in it. Just that these are some big bills. A De-coke plus a front suspension rebuild on the horizon. Big bucks that could go towards something newer.

I still say that a regular inlet manifold solvent clean using Liqui-Moly inlet manifold cleaner, Subaru foaming inlet manifold cleaner or whatever other reputable products are in your market (Carby/Throttle Body cleaner or Brake Cleaner is too strong for this job, you need a dedicated product), is a good preventative maintenance procedure.
Do it at a minimum of every service, even in between services.

EGR coupled with PCV is what strangles inlet manifolds on direct injection cars. No manufacturer is spared, and it's not just the Germans who suffer from it.
Just look at what's happened to diesels since emissions standards necessitated EGR. 50,000 miles and their inlet manifolds are clogged with tar, and they struggle to run severely down on power.
Catch cans work for them, maybe that's another part solution for petrol too (though they're probably illegal for emissions)?

The virtues of FSI far outweigh it's drawback IMHO. High compression ratios and high pressure turbocharging are the immediate benefits, as well as cleaner emissions and lower fuel consumption (aka greater efficiency)
Mazda employ a 14:1 compression ratio on their Skyactiv petrol engines (and rate them for 91 RON).
VAG couple a 10:1 compression ratio with 24psi turbocharging on their TSI engines.
You couldn't achieve either of these without direct injection, and it's why the modern FSI engines are so powerful compared to their immediate predecessors (especially the small stuff) without an appreciable penalty in fuel consumption.

Decided to spend a bit of dosh on the car and get the carbon buildup looked at in the very near future. AMD Essex will do it and come highly recommended and know what they are doing with a before and after dyno run.

Service, MOT, spark plugs and air filters booked in next week, so next on the list will indeed be a de-coke. In two minds whether to get them to check out the inlet flaps while they are at it.

Having had mine de-coked and de-flapped I am in the ‘do it’ camp!
I really noticed a difference, in terms of performance, peace of mind and decreased MPG ....did I mention performance LOL

I have very similar photos of my S6 from its recent (and still ongoing) strip down..... Its amazing how much it numbs the performance....

Or rather, its amazing what a difference it makes once cleaned +++

Mine felt totally different when it came back, but it did also have injectors either cleaned or replaced, a new intake manifold and a stack of other bits done.

1781cc check your pm please :)

Just to add a quick follow-up to my earlier post, one of the reported telltale signs of carbon build-up is a juddering when cold. Mine definitely had it before it went in and, a couple of weeks ago, it came back very slightly.

I used Wurth intake cleaner as an experiment. Although it says a 5.2 litre engine should take two cans, I used half a can to try it out. It took the juddering away straight away.

Considering I've only done 2000 (admittedly gentle) miles since the clean, I think it's an indication of how quickly carbon can form in these engines, so I'm planning on using the cleaner four times a year or so to keep it at bay.

+++

I support that 100%

Follow the directions on the can carefully too, you normally feed the stuff in either through a vacuum port or the throttle body and you spray enough in (depends on product) to soak the inlet valves.
You may need to manually open the manifold flaps (though I think they are sprung in the open position and engine vacuum is actually used to close them) to be sure to spray the cleaner onto the valves.
Then let it soak for the prescribed period.

Wurth is a reputable brand, but I wonder about using two cans on that engine too!

Does the v10 fsi engine have egr ?