RE: Tell Me I'm Wrong: VW Golf R32 (Mk4)
Discussion
aka_kerrly said:
Pistonwot said:
The R32 is a dud.
As a sporty car it really is a POS which is why they were never raced by anyone, anywhere ever! Not even by VW. The car is not up to the task.
Heres a thought however,
WHO demands that a "SPORTS" hatch/car has "percieved" value/comfort, rediculous armchairs, 5000kg of useless toys and bushings designed for refinement and not for handling/dynamics?
I would suggest an utter c**t does, we already have execu-barges for all of those things.
In my opinion VWAG designs too many cars aimed at this fast growing "sector".
Still doesnt make them good cars though.
As clearly shown by the R32.
It's rare for me to say anything of this nature but you really do come across as a total tAs a sporty car it really is a POS which is why they were never raced by anyone, anywhere ever! Not even by VW. The car is not up to the task.
Heres a thought however,
WHO demands that a "SPORTS" hatch/car has "percieved" value/comfort, rediculous armchairs, 5000kg of useless toys and bushings designed for refinement and not for handling/dynamics?
I would suggest an utter c**t does, we already have execu-barges for all of those things.
In my opinion VWAG designs too many cars aimed at this fast growing "sector".
Still doesnt make them good cars though.
As clearly shown by the R32.
t and not a petrolhead in the slightest...No one has ever raced a R32 - what a bold claim and completely utterly wrong.
Have a look at the VW racing cup and how AMD technic won the championship in 2003 and 2006 in a R32. Team Superchips also ran a golf R32 and guess what, that won the 2004 season to. Maybe also read up on Tony Gilham racings R32s and how they have also won championships all with Mk4 R32s.
Suffice to say that it is quite easy to demonstrate that you have no idea what you are on about.
and what you think doesnt alter my experiences of driving R32's. I am astounded.
I cannot believe that you attempted to justify your argument using a one make/model race series.
Do you not see how this contradicts your own argument?
I want to make one thing very clear.
I am in no way attempting to detract from the engineering skill, dedication and ingenuity of the people making up the race teams because it is their passion that allows dud boxfresh cars like this to win race series.
That is the difference between us though.
For me it is the people and their skills which are to be applauded NOT THE CAR AND DEFINITELY NOT VW
It does is make me wish these passionate car lovers were the type of people VW had signing off the cars, this would give us an enjoyable final product INSTEAD OF A PROFITABLE FOR VW ONE.
The performance achieved by these small, skilled outfits show us clearly 1 thing, just how very badly VW did engineer their 'showcase' vehicle.
WHICH WAS THE POINT OF THE THREAD,
Thats why he is wrong.
GET IT?
Thats the point of "Tell me Im wrong", we say why we feel theyre wrong, pfffft, not that the initial point of a discussion has any merit here when we need to protect a badge snob and its honour, eh?
I genuinely cant get to grips with just how easily pleased you VW fanboys are when VW and their brown-nosers are supposed to be all about quality, it is a comedy side show.
It really doesnt take much to please you guys does it?
A fruity exhaust note a clunky door and some marketing tosh and the car is a World beater,
course it is petal, wink, wink.I had a look at what the "racing R32" was racing against too, Beetle's, Vento's, Corrado's and Bora's.
Its hardly a list of inspiring petrol in your veins metal is it?
Its funny and ironic though.
An R32 beating a Vento and then being referred to as proof of concept does one thing well, it succinctly describes the lacklustre spectacle that is the whole VW ethos.
Erm, woooooo.
I bought a Mk4 R32 as an ex-demo and ran it for about 50K miles over two years and I think Chris is being overly generous. It was, not to put too fine a point on it, utterly ste. The most disappointing car purchase I have ever made. The overwhelming feeling when driving it home from the supplying dealer (a 200 mile run) was 'What have I done?' and in two years that feeling never really went away. The claimed 240bhp is a good place to start. If these horses were really present - which I seriously doubt - they were the most elusive and unco-operative animals I have ever encountered. The car wasn't quite dog-slow, it just felt that way.
The handling, although somewhat less leaden than my old S2 Audi, was not great, and the Haldex 4WD pretty rubbish compared to the old-tech purely mechanical Audi system. And it stopped working after 9 months, taking my local dealer several attempts to fix! The biggest problem by far though, which Chris doesn't mention, was the truly abysmal ESP system. OK, we are talking early days for ESP electronics, but it HAD to be disabled to make the car even vaguely driveable in any sort of 'press-on' style. As soon as it detected any hint of wheelslip or 'unexpected' suspension movement it slammed the throttle shut, and kept it shut. Seemingly for a count of at least three. I developed a reflex action of stabbing the 'ESP' button every time I got in the car until eventually I found a one-shot pulse timer module that was small enough to hide behind the dash which did the job for me.
Compared to the frustration of the driving experience, the remaining gripes seem trivial, but they all helped to ensure that I was not sad to see the back of the thing. In no particular order these included rubbish headlights, useless self-sensing wipers that scoured the screen to death if a drop of rain fell two miles away, an annoyingly over-sensitive lcd dimming mirror which deleted all rearward vision if a pair of headlamps appeared to miles behind you (I disabled that too) and less than wonderful reliability. The car ate its coil packs one by one over a six month period, the air-con failed twice, and as previously mentioned the 4WD stopped working for some obscure electrical reason. A final annoyance was the fact that the car wasn't homologated for a towbar, so no hideway kit existed for it. My old car will be instantly identifiable by the fact that it has the towbar hardware fitted, and a rear numberplate held in place by Dzus fasteners providing access to an American-style tow hitch socket!
I still think it's the best-looking Golf ever (give or take the overly tarty embroidered seat backs) and I still half want one to polish and use at weekends, as most of its faults can be overcome given time and a little money. However, 'as built' these cars missed the mark by a country mile.
te. The most disappointing car purchase I have ever made. The overwhelming feeling when driving it home from the supplying dealer (a 200 mile run) was 'What have I done?' and in two years that feeling never really went away. The claimed 240bhp is a good place to start. If these horses were really present - which I seriously doubt - they were the most elusive and unco-operative animals I have ever encountered. The car wasn't quite dog-slow, it just felt that way. The handling, although somewhat less leaden than my old S2 Audi, was not great, and the Haldex 4WD pretty rubbish compared to the old-tech purely mechanical Audi system. And it stopped working after 9 months, taking my local dealer several attempts to fix! The biggest problem by far though, which Chris doesn't mention, was the truly abysmal ESP system. OK, we are talking early days for ESP electronics, but it HAD to be disabled to make the car even vaguely driveable in any sort of 'press-on' style. As soon as it detected any hint of wheelslip or 'unexpected' suspension movement it slammed the throttle shut, and kept it shut. Seemingly for a count of at least three. I developed a reflex action of stabbing the 'ESP' button every time I got in the car until eventually I found a one-shot pulse timer module that was small enough to hide behind the dash which did the job for me.
Compared to the frustration of the driving experience, the remaining gripes seem trivial, but they all helped to ensure that I was not sad to see the back of the thing. In no particular order these included rubbish headlights, useless self-sensing wipers that scoured the screen to death if a drop of rain fell two miles away, an annoyingly over-sensitive lcd dimming mirror which deleted all rearward vision if a pair of headlamps appeared to miles behind you (I disabled that too) and less than wonderful reliability. The car ate its coil packs one by one over a six month period, the air-con failed twice, and as previously mentioned the 4WD stopped working for some obscure electrical reason. A final annoyance was the fact that the car wasn't homologated for a towbar, so no hideway kit existed for it. My old car will be instantly identifiable by the fact that it has the towbar hardware fitted, and a rear numberplate held in place by Dzus fasteners providing access to an American-style tow hitch socket!
I still think it's the best-looking Golf ever (give or take the overly tarty embroidered seat backs) and I still half want one to polish and use at weekends, as most of its faults can be overcome given time and a little money. However, 'as built' these cars missed the mark by a country mile.
NGK210 said:
R32 feels as lardy as it looks. Agree that the S3 was/is a better choice.
Then again, the S3's more nimble cousin, the Leon Cupra R, is even sweeter to drive - and looks infinitely cooler than the VW and the Audi
God I miss mine. Then again, the S3's more nimble cousin, the Leon Cupra R, is even sweeter to drive - and looks infinitely cooler than the VW and the Audi
Could I explain buying another to Mrs. Gecko...
I had a R32 for a year in 2009 it was a Red 06 Auto
It cost me £18k & after about 11 months i sold it for £12500
You would have thought that would have put me off for life
but the truth is i loved that car it had bags & bags of character
So what if they aint as quick as an EVO or SUBARU they are horrible imo
I've had ur quattro a Integrale a Escort Cosworth & plenty others but
the truth is i liked the r32 just as much.
The R32 is brilliant at cruising down the motorway at 100mph its quiet
discreet classy sounds brill what more do you want
I'd have another one tomorrow..
It cost me £18k & after about 11 months i sold it for £12500
You would have thought that would have put me off for life
but the truth is i loved that car it had bags & bags of character
So what if they aint as quick as an EVO or SUBARU they are horrible imo
I've had ur quattro a Integrale a Escort Cosworth & plenty others but
the truth is i liked the r32 just as much.
The R32 is brilliant at cruising down the motorway at 100mph its quiet
discreet classy sounds brill what more do you want
I'd have another one tomorrow..
I think all this debate has highlighted there is no one car which does it all perfectly for this budget. If you want sheer pace buy an Evo. If you want reasonable grunt with a decent interior and hatch practicality buy an R32 or S3. If you don't care about numbers and want the best fun in the corners buy a 106 GTI. What matters most to you? None of them are anything like perfect, just choose your compromises.
If the budget allows an M3 or RS4 would be vastly superior of course. But then you are talking completely different purchase and running costs...
If the budget allows an M3 or RS4 would be vastly superior of course. But then you are talking completely different purchase and running costs...
You are SOOOOOOO wrong its unbelievable! I have driven an r32 around the ring and what a car. Planted handling, bags of torque and the brakes truly confidence inspiring. This is an awesome car with an awesome engine that is easy to live with day to day, great for family days out and comes alive on the track with awesome build quality to boot.
And I know what your thinking and no I don't own one I borrowed a friends and loved it..... A truly great vw
And I know what your thinking and no I don't own one I borrowed a friends and loved it..... A truly great vw
i've got a 4motion so as well as all of the poor handling and reliablity comments it also gets spanked by nearly everything with vauge hint of power.
Case in point: my other half's 140bhp civic CTDI thrashed it, and that was in a straight line. Corners are a no go.
On the plus side it sounded awesome while i was losing and it was brilliant in the snow
Case in point: my other half's 140bhp civic CTDI thrashed it, and that was in a straight line. Corners are a no go.
On the plus side it sounded awesome while i was losing and it was brilliant in the snow
aka_kerrly said:
Interesting view, I assume you are talking about a mk3 golf?
I really do not understand the reference to multi link suspension. With the exception of the Honda Civic I cannot think of another hatchback of the 80s/90s until the Ford Focus in 1998.
Whilst a complex multi link suspension can have advantages the fact remains that the majority of the best handling FWD cars all use a beam/torsion bar rear suspension link.
None of which is relevant to the mk4 golf R32 which DOES have independent rear suspension with multi links.
The DC2 is billed as one of the best handling FWD cars of all time. Have a look at the rear suspension on the DC2. http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/cargrouptests/2055...I really do not understand the reference to multi link suspension. With the exception of the Honda Civic I cannot think of another hatchback of the 80s/90s until the Ford Focus in 1998.
Whilst a complex multi link suspension can have advantages the fact remains that the majority of the best handling FWD cars all use a beam/torsion bar rear suspension link.
None of which is relevant to the mk4 golf R32 which DOES have independent rear suspension with multi links.
Edited by jakeycrx on Wednesday 17th July 21:13
Hudson said:
i've got a 4motion so as well as all of the poor handling and reliablity comments it also gets spanked by nearly everything with vauge hint of power.
Case in point: my other half's 140bhp civic CTDI thrashed it, and that was in a straight line. Corners are a no go
Really? Surely not that slow are they?Case in point: my other half's 140bhp civic CTDI thrashed it, and that was in a straight line. Corners are a no go
I think you jest with us, sir.
Options were when new and initially a limited run
Colours Blue, Black or Silver
Interior options Half Leather/Cloth, Full Leather or Half Leather/Alcantara, the latter also brought with it the grey only trim which I was not a fan of
Sunroof, Cruise Control and the head unit could be upgraded to a Delta or MFD Sat Nav, which also brought with it full FIS display on the instrument cluster
Once the R32 became a production model there were more options
Body style 3 or 5 door
Colour Blue, Black, Silver, Indigo Blue, Tornado Red, Anthracite Grey
Colours Blue, Black or Silver
Interior options Half Leather/Cloth, Full Leather or Half Leather/Alcantara, the latter also brought with it the grey only trim which I was not a fan of
Sunroof, Cruise Control and the head unit could be upgraded to a Delta or MFD Sat Nav, which also brought with it full FIS display on the instrument cluster
Once the R32 became a production model there were more options
Body style 3 or 5 door
Colour Blue, Black, Silver, Indigo Blue, Tornado Red, Anthracite Grey
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