Riz Posted September 10, 2005 Report Share Posted September 10, 2005 [ QUOTE ] The new R32, ah yes....a 9 bhp increase over the old one..... I'd keep the old one. [/ QUOTE ] Riz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Big thank you to M3ME for this review its about the exact same thing i thought about the GTI when i had a test drive in one and i agree with just about everything you have said. Unlike everyone else on the GTI section of this forum i agree with M3ME that the MK5 GTI is overpriced and that some interior quality items like the plastics are not upto £20K standard and not even upto mk4 standards. I also think most the options are overpriced. I must say when i first got into the new mk5 GTI i was quite disapointed with the look and feel of the interior, i think i must have expecting more after reading all the press reviews. I also agree about the feel of the leather seats they did not impress me one bit but then again i also have quite a few old classic cars with proper high quality leather interiors, i much prefered the cloth interior but again have douts over long term ware. I did find it nice to drive but again like most new cars i found the steering a bit light and lacks a bit feel and also a bit remote feeling at lower speeds. After an extended test drive and using contacts in the trade to get a couple thou off the price i ordered one in the shaddow blue dark blue colour a colour im glad to hear someone else thinks makes it look a bit classy but i decided not to spec it up as most have for the reason it became an even more expensive car. Im not one for changing my main use cars regular so this car will be used for as long as it lasts this is another reason i went for the standard 17s and not the optional monza 18s as the optional ones are a polished/lac finish that simply will not last the test of time especially the winters in the north east with all the road salt. As for alternatives i looked at the Astra VRX but could not get much off it and i simply could not get use to the looks as i prefer my daily driver to be a bit more discrete. The Focas ST was the main reason i have held off for a year (i have a thing for the sound of a 5pot like audi use to use) and i must say at £17.5K for the basic model its a bargin compared to the expensive golf. The reason i have not gone for the focus was i simply could not wait any longer and i was a bit worried about getting targetted by the boy racers out there so went for the more descrete golf. Also as its going to be my daily driver refinement also comes into play as well as usable power something its rivals were not as good at imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Just got to add that the 6th gear may be "rubbish" on the manual version but really comes into its own on the DSG - The car has excellent torque and so for pootling through urban speed limits the ride and economy is great....Who wants to snap a drive shaft every time they drive down the local high street for a bottle of milk! Back on the open road the GTI may not be the fastest of all cars but has loads of exhilarating get-up-and-go. The DSG is far far more than just a good automatic transmission - It is the very best of both worlds and the ability to paddle in and out of the various transmission modes is awesome. But, best of all, the GTI is very practical and great FUN!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy Posted September 20, 2005 Report Share Posted September 20, 2005 I just reread what i have writen and i must add the focus & astra were not the only cars i compared the golf to. I also compared it to the Alfa 147/156 GTA £22K cars that have a really nice engine and chassis are are not as bad as made out by magazines well not on the back roads of Durham alfa sent us on. A great car let down by fuel consumption and its the only reason i ruled it out as long term ownership like mine would rule out money lost on one. Audi A3 2.0 TFSI basic spec £19K a nice car with a far better interior than the golf IMO but was not stuck on its motorway ride. BMW sorry not for me the image puts me off and also never liked them. Honda civic type R £16K great car but lacks low down power and has silly low gearing at 20mph/1000rpm in top so noisy at speed and on motorways tyre noise ruled this one out. Nissan 350Z £25K was nice but also noisy and only 2 seat practicality ruled it out. Mazda RX-8 £20K was also ruled out for fuel consumption. EVO-IX £27K refinment and interior quality ruled it out as well as max power image. Renault megan 2.0 renault sport £18.5K was a car that impressed me with its refinment but i simply could not get over its huge backside looks. SEAT Leon Cupra R £17K this was a choice i nearly made as i did own one of these when they first came out for a brief time until financial problems ment i had to sell it a good car imo and one that ran the golf very close at far less money. Skoda octavia vRS the old one was a car that some dealers still have in and is a bargin at £14K some were asking for it a car i quite liked again some plastics not as good as i expected but its an older model the new one im sure will be interesting and maybe even better than the golf. Not as fast as the others listed either sort of ruled it out but it was close. Subaru impreza WRX £18.9K so price wise on par with a good discounted golf also seemed better made and built than the golf typical japanise plastics but well screwed together also drove nice a great all rounder too, it was hard to not pick this one i can tell you, great handling, great engine sounding great too, great all weather grip engine not that great at low revs and fuel consumption not great but the rest of the car made up for this again only downside was the maxpower image and boy racer looks which in the end killed it from my list but it was hard to not pick this one especially in 5 door form. Toyota celica t-sport £20K not as fast as i was expecting and the engine really needs to rev before anything at all happened. Vauxhall astra VXR i stated in my last post. Volvo S40 T5 £22K always had a thing for T5 volvos but this one was not what i expected after driving a mates 850 just lacked sparkle and i felt numb after i got out of it. There all the cars in the past year i went too see and in the end picked the Golf GTI as it ticked the boxes for most my requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avus_Bub Posted September 20, 2005 Report Share Posted September 20, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Subaru impreza WRX £18.9K so price wise on par with a good discounted golf also seemed better made and built than the golf typical japanise plastics but well screwed together also drove nice a great all rounder too, it was hard to not pick this one i can tell you, great handling, great engine sounding great too, great all weather grip engine not that great at low revs and fuel consumption not great but the rest of the car made up for this again only downside was the maxpower image and boy racer looks which in the end killed it from my list but it was hard to not pick this one especially in 5 door form. [/ QUOTE ] Got to agree with your comments there about the 'Scoob' I nearly went for a 5dr WRX myself but the Max Power thing killed it for me too. But a lot of car for 20k BUB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neimad Posted October 2, 2005 Report Share Posted October 2, 2005 Personally I have to agree with the Max Power image of the Impreza, but the Legacy is a fantastic car, and one that seems too easily dismissed. I was seriously tempted by it, but the size, fuel consumption and price ruled it out for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted October 2, 2005 Report Share Posted October 2, 2005 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Anyway I hope you enjoy spotting all the other Golf Gti's you're gonna see this year THE DRUGDEALERS CAR OF THE YEAR 2005 [/ QUOTE ] Actually I don't think it will be the Golf GTI, far too small.... [/ QUOTE ] ....Now that Audi Avant really is a peach of a car! I love it but it's far too big for my purposes. Interesting that someone suggested that the GTI is a drug dealers' car - Do you know that in some areas the Drug Squad use mk5 GTIs!! I know this from a very reliable source. Who cares how common GTIs are or may become, especially red ones! I'm VERY happy with mine as everyone in the GTI forum here already knows too well, and I don't care two poos what anyone thinks of the car I drive....I'm the one enjoying it! My ultimate car is the Cayenne - Totally unashamedly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy Posted October 2, 2005 Report Share Posted October 2, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Personally I have to agree with the Max Power image of the Impreza, but the Legacy is a fantastic car, and one that seems too easily dismissed. I was seriously tempted by it, but the size, fuel consumption and price ruled it out for me. [/ QUOTE ] Quite like that new legacy but a bit big for what i want now. Very nice car though and still imo subaru take some beeting on build quality they may not use the best materials but they know how to screw a car together. I had a legacy turbo back in the day before they were really that known about Was quite a q-car back then before they turned into max flower machines when the impreza was lanched. It did help me my uncle had a subaru dealership at the time. one of only a few cars i have ever missed the legacy turbo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted October 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2005 Wow!!!! Just noticed....over 9,000 views on this now!!! It certainly shows how much interest there was in the new GTI!!! In fact it's the second highest viewed review (and a lot newer than the highest one yet very close to it) and has double the number of replies than it's next closest! I guess a lot of people had a lot of opinions on the car - and still seem to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazdot Posted October 22, 2005 Report Share Posted October 22, 2005 [ QUOTE ] a lot of people had a lot of opinions on the car - and still seem to have. [/ QUOTE ] Not just the above, i think you did a very good (unbiased) review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted October 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2005 Thanks for that dazdot. The more I cast my mind back to the actual testing of the car the more I think it represents better value than I actually first gave it credit for. I'm still not of the same opinion as Ari (not 100% anyway) but in light of the competition that seems t be out there I can see why Golf buyers have made the decision they have. I still think the White GTi's look absolutely fantastic and the red would be my next choice. I'm surprised that a good few owners seem to have either changed the GTi or be considering doing so though - and maybe that relates to its multi-tasking ability rather than raw-performance style. Not sure really and I guess only an owner can answer it (and indeed I asked the GTi forum this question some time ago). I do think that the fact I had the M3 at the time gave a somewhat unfair slant to the review too. As much as I tried to distance it's performance from that of the GTi I accept the fact it was probably very unlikely to show through 100% in my thoughts. I still think Clarkson needed a bit of a slap for promoting the vastness of space he said it had and the pulling power in 6th....but all-in-all, it's a cracking car and when compared to the VXR, Civic, A3 etc...it'd be my choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted October 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 Hi guys – sorry to interrupt here but if you haven’t already seen the thread that is trying to organise TSN’s largest ever meet….please have a look….. HERE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyR Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 Is there a difference in the shape of the 2003 R32 and a MkIV Golf GTI? I want to use a MkIV GTI model as a base to turn it into a model of an R32 on a 1/24 scale for an R32 owner as a gift, I cannot find an actual R32 Model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuntimeFrankie Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 Is the scale important? 1:43 scale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon_evo Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 As has been said 25k for a reasonably specified Golf Gti is ridiculous. I think VW are taking the mickey with cars like the Gti and R32 price wise. Your in Evo land the best AWD system on the planet not this mickey mouse haldex rubbish that VAG use and crap low output 197 bhp 2.0 turbo engines !!!!!!!!!!!! At 20k with all the whistles and bells the Gti is a good buy but 25k lol absolutley ridiculous for a slow FWD car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted May 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 True, but a Golf buyer wants quality build, ride comfort and an all round package. As good as an Evo is, it can't touch a Golf on build or all round package - the Golf is simply a far superior car. You're also comparing new with old, which as much as I'd agree and would tend to buy something second hand and a little more special, it's not really a fair comparison (we had this discussion about a year ago too and couldn't conclude it properly then either!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon_evo Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 Given the low performance that VW achieve in most reliabilty and customer satisfaction surveys I dont see how anyone could say they offered good build quality and reliabilty. Overpriced tat maybe I have just bought an Audi and am dreading the reliabilty issues having come from Jap mobiles. (CTR and Evo) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonb Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 O/T sorry - Simon_Evo - do you also drive a bright orange supercar??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonb Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 [ QUOTE ] O/T sorry - Simon_Evo - do you also drive a bright orange supercar??? [/ QUOTE ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Given the low performance that VW achieve in most reliabilty and customer satisfaction surveys I dont see how anyone could say they offered good build quality and reliabilty. Overpriced tat maybe I have just bought an Audi and am dreading the reliabilty issues having come from Jap mobiles. (CTR and Evo) [/ QUOTE ] Welcome to the sometimes blinkered world of TSN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_d Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 [ QUOTE ] As has been said 25k for a reasonably specified Golf Gti is ridiculous. I think VW are taking the mickey with cars like the Gti and R32 price wise. Your in Evo land the best AWD system on the planet not this mickey mouse haldex rubbish that VAG use and crap low output 197 bhp 2.0 turbo engines !!!!!!!!!!!! At 20k with all the whistles and bells the Gti is a good buy but 25k lol absolutley ridiculous for a slow FWD car. [/ QUOTE ] As MrMe said, they're totally different cars. Yes the Evo/Scooby will be quicker, but have you seen the interior? Plus teh GTI doesn't have to be serviced every time you go to the shops and doesn't eat tyres quicker than a fat person eats cake How you think the GTI is a slow car is beyond me, certainly it's not the quickest car on the road (by a long way), but it's hardly slow. Oh, not all of us want to drive through a city centre with a "LOOK AT ME" car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 The GTI is a more direct competitor (price-wise) with the Impreza WRX. The WRX STi and Mitsu Evos are an entirely different proposition (I guess a standard STi is similar on price to a spec'd R32...) Looking at the GTI vs the Impreza WRX, then (seeing as this is a GTI thread). The GTI has a better quality, more refined cabin and is almost certainly cheaper to run (good residuals, better fuel economy). The WRX is alot (and I mean alot) quicker, and on average much more reliable, but the cabin quality and refinement is not as good. The WRX will go through tyres quicker (it's 4wd), but I'd guess they're pretty similar for servicing costs. If you want a genuine all rounder with some refinement and a bit of class about it, you'd probably pick the Golf. If you want bulletproof reliability and the best possible bang for your buck you should go for the WRX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_d Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 [ QUOTE ] If you want a genuine all rounder with some refinement and a bit of class about it, you'd probably pick the Golf. If you want bulletproof reliability and the best possible bang for your buck you should go for the WRX. [/ QUOTE ] Best summing up evAr My thoughts exactly mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon_evo Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 [ QUOTE ] The GTI is a more direct competitor (price-wise) with the Impreza WRX. The WRX STi and Mitsu Evos are an entirely different proposition (I guess a standard STi is similar on price to a spec'd R32...) [/ QUOTE ] Given that you can buy a brand new full UK spec Sti for 22k otr then I would say it is about the same as a golf gti with a few extras. I agree Jap interiors are rubbish but the mechanicals are second to none, they are superb. My R32 interior was rubbish it rattled the seat belt stalks squeeked and bits generally fell off of it . Anyway as I said for 20k with leather and 18" wheels the Gti is a great buy and I would have bought one but it doesnt cost 20k at the moment thats my problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted May 9, 2006 Report Share Posted May 9, 2006 Not sure where you get £22k from. To compare like with like, Subaru UK list price for an Impreza WRX STi is £27k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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