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Am I the only one?


Highlander
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Up until recently I was seriously considering getting a GTI.

I had sorted out the spec & turned up at the dealer for a pre-booked testdrive all ready to sign on the dotted line.

Within a few minutes of taking the car out I realised that it was not the car for me - incredibly noisy & the interior quality leaves a lot to be desired.

I've heard loads of reports about how VW have made the engine sound better - it sounded fine for the first 5 minutes. I don't think I could live with it long term.

The performance was fine - I've got a BMW 330ci & it felt as least as quick as it.

I've always had VW/Audi's before but BMW offered me £3.5k more for my S3 than Audi did!

I thought that the GTI would get me back into the fold but it's not looking promising! frown.gif

About a week after the test drive I got a follow up call from VW asking how I got on with the car. When I remarked on the noise the woman on the other end of the phone didn't see surprised & said that they'd had similar reports from quite a few people.

Anybody else think that the GTI is excessively noisy?

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No not really. This is the first VW I've considered as the previous ones have been so damn ugly but I can't say I found the noise excessive on the test drives with either wheel size. It's never going to be as quiet and refined as a BMW 'cos it's not that sort of car and it's in a different market but it's a decent car for the price and I'm looking forward to mine

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Anybody else think that the GTI is excessively noisy?

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confused.gif First I've heard of it, I took it on an extended test drive and although I had a few small complaints, noise (engine? wind? road?) was not one of them and I ended up buying one. Was this on motorway driving only? That could explain it since there was no motorway on our test route, just single and dual carriageways. I have to say I quite enjoyed the engine note that I did hear in the cabin.

Dan

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I will agree that I do feel they have cheapened the cabin, it doesnt feel as 'high quality' as it could have and some of the plastic looks/feels positively cheap.

Never noticed any noise that was overly intrusive.

Audi dealers are getting increasingly greedy - I have had some shocking px figures recently from Audi dealers for cars.

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Was this on motorway driving only?

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The test drive covered about 50 miles of A roads & single track roads (proper ones - with passing places!) I did about 5 miles on dual carriageway. The nearest motorway to me is about 150 miles away! (I've got to travel 45 miles to find somewhere that sells Optimax!)

The engine note that I could hear sounded good, but after an hour in the car it started to become annoying. Sitting at 70 mph in 6th I had to turn up the CD to try to drown it out.

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I will agree that I do feel they have cheapened the cabin, it doesnt feel as 'high quality' as it could have and some of the plastic looks/feels positively cheap.

mmmm can't agree with that. The Mk 5 Golf is one of the best built cars I've had recently and the interior quality is just fine IMO. And I'm comparing it to Audi S4/BMW M3/X5 etc etc.

It's well up to the std of a £20k - and beyond - car.

Not that noisy either really Flush.gif

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I was also amazed how good the interior quality was, much better than my current Merc. Mind you I haven't seen the interior of any previous Golf so I can't comment on whether it has dropped but it's currently way higher than Merc and around (previous) BMW levels so I have no problem with it.

The Audi interiors I've seen have been higher quality but they, and indeed the whole cars, were bland and soul-less as well as being similar in price, or sometimes more expensive, than BMW, making their purchase pointless

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Find a better fitted and made car for £20k, with the sweet handling and performance of the GTI and I will happily eat my now defunct Audi hat.

I've had a A3 1.8t, a couple of S3's, a TT roadster and a 2004 S4, so I know all about the Audi build quaility which most believe is the best on the general market, but is that build quaility worth the extra £1500-2000 premium over a similar spec VW? I used to think so, until the GTI came along.

I can live with the fact that maybe the plastic isn't as good as a A3 but then again I got the GTI to drive the damn thing, not to spend my time rubbing the plastic all day!

When the A3 2.0 FSI S- Line drives as well as the GTI and costs the same I can see the difficulty in choosing but at the moment Audi's A3's are a good bit behind on the driving dynamics, then add a premium for Quattro which is a poor mans 4 wheel drive system, and the fact that you cannot tick the Quattro and DSG box on the same car and the choice is even more clear.

The main reason for me leaving the Audi marque is I'm sick of their ability to develop a car that has some sort of steering feel, the premium and the fact that they delay their top "sporty" models like the S3 until they have sold their quota of 2.0 FSI or 3.2's. I will miss the dealers who are generally excelent, and maybe when I look down at the steering wheel and the 4 rings are absent, but that is all!

Rant now over.

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Well I hope this car is all it's cracked up to be. Have just been to the stealer to hand over cover note etc. 25 hours to go now till pick up. Car was parked outside waiting for tax and some gas, and I have to say it looked really fab! (Red, 18", plus leather). These forums do seem to sow the seeds of doubt during this long long wait…… ordered 4 Dec. I now remain apprehensive about the ICE, which seems to get poor write ups. I am hoping those doomsters that have passed comment on this are used to top end stuff and the ICE will be ok for me as I'm no expert. The last Mk 4 golf I had came with, I think, a Gamma Radio/CD and that seemed ok. Also the interior quality worries, particularly the plastics. Looked fine from my brief squint an hour ago. Seems to get a variable write up tho. Mk 4 was pretty ok on this front and surely VW would not make a backward step. Maybe they would. I guess it all turns on profit margins and budgets. No turning back now!! Still not seen one on the road. Just trying to decide what cd to blast off with. BRMC maybe.

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I can live with the fact that maybe the plastic isn't as good as a A3 but then again I got the GTI to drive the damn thing, not to spend my time rubbing the plastic all day!

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get an impreza then,

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Quattro which is a poor mans 4 wheel drive system.

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err yes, you might have a point there. After all Quattro has a really bad track record, especially in Rally and previous BTCC the_finger.gif enjoy that understeer!

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that they delay their top "sporty" models like the S3 until they have sold their quota of 2.0 FSI or 3.2's.

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I think if you actually study the facts you'll realise that Audi (like all other marques) have release dates for cars, with the top models always being at the back of the queue. (eg: M3, R36, Focus RS). Sales of other cars in the range has little bearing on when these dates are. They might bring forward a launch date of a high end model if sales were poor. Anyway, look how long it took VW to launch the R32! buttcheeks.gif

BTW, i am a GTI follower, i love the marque and it's history, I have owned three of them... and had high hopes for the new one... heck i was even intending to part with my 3.2 for one, for the same price!!!!!

Just couldn't do it for a car that had an interior like a polo GTI IMO! tongue.gif

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Have you considered the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA?

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Are you going to go on every forum extolling the virtues of this car?

Let's be honest, if they were that good more people would have one, and I have seen, erm, none on the roads sice last month, in fact come to think of it, I've only EVER (!!!) seen two on the roads, some car eh??!!

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Let's be honest, if they were that good more people would have one, and I have seen, erm, none on the roads sice last month, in fact come to think of it, I've only EVER (!!!) seen two on the roads, some car eh??!!

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come on man, it's an amazing car that was never gonna do well because of Alfa's appauling residuals. Being rare doesn't make a car dung.gif Who was gonna put down 25k on an Alfa hatch!

A future classic, i promise you!

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Have to agree the Alfa is a difficult one, Alfa's reputation isn't the best, neither is its quality, so its an expensive option.. however IMO the looks knock the socks off of the Golf..and in 10 years time you'll see why.. Ones a classic attractive car, anouther has big wheels and a nice steering wheel....oh and a fairly pucker badge..

All my opinion..

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Trouble is with Alfa, their reputation is poor mainly due to corrosion and the cheap materials that were used in the past, i doubt they are any more problematic than a VW group car. The difference is you expect an alfa to go wrong and assume a VW is bullit proof. Not so, it would seem, after reading this site.

Can you upload pics into these posts???

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Can you upload pics into these posts???

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Check this 123 of how to do it... HERE 169144-ok.gif

Agree what you've said.. Perceptions of Alfa are not good and Perceptions of th eultra reliable VW are probably a little distant now.. What it does mean however is there are some cracking Alfa's going for reasoble prices.. 169144-ok.gif

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The QUATTRO on todays cars is not the same that sowed the rally and BTCC seeds back then!! Come on take off the rose tinted glasses! The sham of the QUATTRO on the A3/TT platform is a insult to the original mechanical or Torsen system name!

Audi are holding their head above water on the strength of badge snobbery,but with cars like the RS4 on the way I hope they are finally going back to building drivers cars further down the line up than at present.

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