AlanH Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Clarkson reviews the Golf R32 in today's Sunday Times here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 .... Nice one, Alan JC at his best! Last night I dreamt I had a Mk5 R32 - Very worrying!! Shouldn't this post be in the R32 forum? - The Mods obviously had a debauched night out and are still snoring it off. Edit: Hmm....I'm getting close to that 2,500 posts threshold where I get another weird title. I must say that I don't much like the titles which TSN 'award' the higher numbers of posts with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungle Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 For an R32 review, I thought he said surprisingly lttle about the R32. Also described it as economical. I suppose if your other car is a GT40, (10-15 mpg) then the R32 (20-30 mpg) would seem like a supermini. !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbor32 Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Clarkson does not have a ford gt - he got rid of it after it broke down and the alarm kept on going off. I think the write up is ok but the real story will be left for tv as the report was too short Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 ....Agreed. JC would be stealing his own thunder if he said it all in the Sunday Times before he featured it on Top Gear. Although there was very little useful content about the Mk5 R32, I very much enjoyed his word craft - as always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotw Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Good to see a very positive review of the R32. I'm still not a fan of the looks, but its def a bit stealth in that it looks mostly like any other Golf, whereas the GTi has its own "nose" (which I like very much). Not long now..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentandy Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 The thing with the silver nose is that it's obviously the new corporate VW look as seen on the new Passat too. This means at some point when the Golf gets refreshed the rest of the range will have it too, and the R32 will stand out even less then! At least the GTI's front end is more unique and aggressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mu71rd Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 is it being reviewed on this week's top gear? I would like to see a lap race between the R32 and the GTI by the stig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentandy Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 No but they do have the Audi RS4 and Porsche Cayman on tonight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbor32 Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 That would have been great the GTI against the R32 - Unfortunately like all other journos they have pitched the new BMW 130 against it - I have seen a few pictures on other websites of JC at the airfield testtrack with the Silver R32 and the BMW - I have mentioned this before but the BMW is a stupid car and is not comparible with the R32 - The following would be great: gti, new Impreza, New type R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTI_Boi Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 I like the idea of the GTI v R32 - much more an original test than against the beemer. Also, I though that Clarkson does have a GT - he wrote a few weeks back that he'd taken it back from Ford after they took the alarm and tracker out (if I remember correctly). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Surely the GTI isn't going to keep up on a lap with a 4WD R32. The new R32 would be very disappointing if it didn't win a lap race against the GTI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mu71rd Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 oh I'm quite sure it would beat the GTI hands down, but it would still be fun to see how the two handled differently. Various reviews I've read have talked of how much more 'pointy' the GTI is into turns etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotw Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 I guess the r32 would win, but what would be interesting would be by how much! I suppose that we can work it out, I've got the original GTi lap at 1:33.7, but I seem to remember that it managed a 1:29 in a later show. Anyway, I hope they use a DSG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 The difference in handling is def what would interest me. Less slowing down for roundabouts in the R32! Trouble is that I surprise some other cars taking roundabouts fast even in the GTI - DSG Sports mode at its best! Best to keep the quick stuff for when you can see all around. What do you mean by the GTI being more "pointy", mu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentandy Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 I think he means the r32 is more nose heavy than the GTI is. Which it's bound to be with the bigger engine. A lot of reviews say because of this the steering feels less direct or I suppose you could say less "sporty" than the GTI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotw Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 yeah JC said the power felt different than the GTi, less sporty, more refined. Not sure I'd prefer that ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 The GTI looks more sporty too unless you can mod the body of a R32. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Clarkson does not have a ford gt - he got rid of it after it broke down and the alarm kept on going off. I think the write up is ok but the real story will be left for tv as the report was too short [/ QUOTE ] I think Clarkson does have a Ford GT - during the show at MPH05 he said he currently had one, then joked about how he liked them so much he had bought one twice ! Also during MPH05 he described the new R32 as "all the car you will ever need" ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSheds Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Clarkson does not have a ford gt - he got rid of it after it broke down and the alarm kept on going off. I think the write up is ok but the real story will be left for tv as the report was too short [/ QUOTE ] I remember reading recently he's got the ford Gt back again after Ford sorted it & the others out. I thought at the time it was a brave PR move on their part after all the trouble he had originally... ( only just seen your post bazza q ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aswall Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 It would be an interesting test as the R32 may suffer a bit in power-to-weight ratio as well as slower handling due to the upset balance. I guess it would win as it has been (just) given enough power to overcome those disadvantages but the 4WD would be of very little benefit on the tarmac track - unless it was wet. Agree with the comments regarding the nose, once all the dull VAG boxes have a chrome moustache the R32 will not stand out at all. Don't like the wheels either, they look like they've got spokes missing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonl Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 [ QUOTE ] It would be an interesting test as the R32 may suffer a bit in power-to-weight ratio as well as slower handling due to the upset balance. I guess it would win as it has been (just) given enough power to overcome those disadvantages but the 4WD would be of very little benefit on the tarmac track - unless it was wet. [/ QUOTE ] totally agree I'd be surprised if the difference was more than a few tenths of a second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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