RE: Driven: Golf GTI Edition 35
Discussion
I also had a pair of Mk1s, mine a 1.8 and TPH's a 1.6 later replaced by a Scirocco 1.8 GTI. Of the three I marginally preferred the Scirocco, but liked them all. Replaced the 1.8 Golf with a Porsche 944, whose extra go i enjoyed enough to keep it twice as long (5 yrs) as the Golf. This century i have run a couple of TTs, a 1.8 Quattro and a 3.2. These are just tarted up Golf Mk IVs imo, and very safe but unadventurous in feel. So when it came to retirement this year and the purchase of what I expect to be my last ever car, I could go for a brand new Mk VI Golf GTI or what? Well maybe you could guess, maybe not. But when it came down to the wire, I went for driving experience rather than boring predictability, and plumped for a lightly used but well-cared for and well spec'd Porsche Cayman S. I thank you.
I bought a well specced Mk5 GTI two months ago to replace my previous road car for a number of reasons, one of which was the fact it can tow my Caterham.
Not really sure where all these comments are coming from about the Mk5 being boring. It's far from it! Mine's a manual on 18s with standard power, and it's reasonably quick, has good ride, sounds pretty good and most importantly is really entertaining on a B road. It'll lift off oversteer to your hearts content, has a fairly quick rack, has good steering feel and great traction. I think perhaps the issue is that it has high grip levels, and it takes a bit of confidence to explore, but do so and it feels very un VW and very nicely setup. I actually enjoy driving it a great deal.
Not really sure where all these comments are coming from about the Mk5 being boring. It's far from it! Mine's a manual on 18s with standard power, and it's reasonably quick, has good ride, sounds pretty good and most importantly is really entertaining on a B road. It'll lift off oversteer to your hearts content, has a fairly quick rack, has good steering feel and great traction. I think perhaps the issue is that it has high grip levels, and it takes a bit of confidence to explore, but do so and it feels very un VW and very nicely setup. I actually enjoy driving it a great deal.
I stand by my comments on the previous thread when the E35 was first announced. In previous carnation's (MkIV Anniversary and MkV Edition 30), the birthday edition was always a viable option because it gave a decent power hike over the standard GTi, and slotted nicely between to Stock GTi and the R32, and with a simple ECU Remap from someone like VWR, you would pushing if not on par with the R32's power output, a little bit lighter due to the lack of 4WD, and a good £3/4k saved at the same time.
Nowa days with the latest E35, is a detuned version of the R (as found in the S3), Turbo power Vs Turbo Power, rather than Turbo Vs Naturally Aspirated, so you lose any gains you may have had as they are both equally as tunable.
You might as well get a 1yr old R, for the same price as the E35, have more power and get it remaped to 300+ BHP, with a 4WD system which will actually be able to transfer it to the ground.
Not only that you will probably see higher re-sale values with the R compared to the E35, although historically they are normally pretty on par.
I am the biggest fan of the special editions, having owned two 25th Anniversary's, Petrol and Diesel, and currently owning an Edition 30, but the benchmark has now been raised so high with the R edition with almost identical drivetrains now, VW will in the future have to make the Birthday Edition's that bit more special.
Nowa days with the latest E35, is a detuned version of the R (as found in the S3), Turbo power Vs Turbo Power, rather than Turbo Vs Naturally Aspirated, so you lose any gains you may have had as they are both equally as tunable.
You might as well get a 1yr old R, for the same price as the E35, have more power and get it remaped to 300+ BHP, with a 4WD system which will actually be able to transfer it to the ground.
Not only that you will probably see higher re-sale values with the R compared to the E35, although historically they are normally pretty on par.
I am the biggest fan of the special editions, having owned two 25th Anniversary's, Petrol and Diesel, and currently owning an Edition 30, but the benchmark has now been raised so high with the R edition with almost identical drivetrains now, VW will in the future have to make the Birthday Edition's that bit more special.
HorneyMX5 said:
Complete tosh. I'm a regular on a GolfGTI forum and there are plenty of proper petrolheads in modern GTIs. Some drive them standard and others mod them to up to 500bhp and hammer them round the ring in their spare time.
Nick
Yep. Same here. Nick
A guy one a forum I'm on has an insanely nodded gti. Anti lag bigger turbo etc etc. Standard from the outside but super quick. It's a blast to drive and he is a true petrol head.
thewheelman said:
I'd take the mk1 GTi, it's a legend. As for modern Golfs, quite possibly the most overrated car i can think of. Dull as a puddle & still living off a reputation of reliability that has long gone. That could also be said about the entire VW range, they are the automotive equivalent of Apple. Great advertising, but nowhere near the best product on the market. It makes me laugh when people pay a premium for a certain badge on a product.....the fools!
I used to own a mk1 GTI. I now own a MK5 GTI with a DSG gearbox. The mk1 was a brilliant car. The mk5 is also a brilliant car 
*- please remember that this is real world experience that has no place on this forum
St John Smythe said:
thewheelman said:
I'd take the mk1 GTi, it's a legend. As for modern Golfs, quite possibly the most overrated car i can think of. Dull as a puddle & still living off a reputation of reliability that has long gone. That could also be said about the entire VW range, they are the automotive equivalent of Apple. Great advertising, but nowhere near the best product on the market. It makes me laugh when people pay a premium for a certain badge on a product.....the fools!
I used to own a mk1 GTI. I now own a MK5 GTI with a DSG gearbox. The mk1 was a brilliant car. The mk5 is also a brilliant car *- please remember that this is real world experience that has no place on this forum
ArosaMike said:
I bought a well specced Mk5 GTI two months ago to replace my previous road car for a number of reasons, one of which was the fact it can tow my Caterham.
Not really sure where all these comments are coming from about the Mk5 being boring. It's far from it! Mine's a manual on 18s with standard power, and it's reasonably quick, has good ride, sounds pretty good and most importantly is really entertaining on a B road. It'll lift off oversteer to your hearts content, has a fairly quick rack, has good steering feel and great traction. I think perhaps the issue is that it has high grip levels, and it takes a bit of confidence to explore, but do so and it feels very un VW and very nicely setup. I actually enjoy driving it a great deal.
I'd second that...Not really sure where all these comments are coming from about the Mk5 being boring. It's far from it! Mine's a manual on 18s with standard power, and it's reasonably quick, has good ride, sounds pretty good and most importantly is really entertaining on a B road. It'll lift off oversteer to your hearts content, has a fairly quick rack, has good steering feel and great traction. I think perhaps the issue is that it has high grip levels, and it takes a bit of confidence to explore, but do so and it feels very un VW and very nicely setup. I actually enjoy driving it a great deal.
drewbagz said:
I am the biggest fan of the special editions, having owned two 25th Anniversary's, Petrol and Diesel, and currently owning an Edition 30, but the benchmark has now been raised so high with the R edition with almost identical drivetrains now, VW will in the future have to make the Birthday Edition's that bit more special.
I'm not convinced that 4WD in a hatch (particularly when done 'the VAG way') is good though. They just never seem to be as entertaining and it's fundamentally just a traction thing. The Haldex diff just isn't designed to be a performance orientated 4WD system. It's there for getting the power down. So it's no more adjustable than the FWD GTI, has more weight and is frankly less fun for it all. I'd choose the GTI every time. Acceleration is fun the first time you drive a car, but you get used to even 500bhp after a while. If what lies beneath is boring, it'll be a short lived romance!I'd choose a 400bhp M3 over a 600bhp RS6 any day of the week.
ArosaMike said:
I bought a well specced Mk5 GTI two months ago to replace my previous road car for a number of reasons, one of which was the fact it can tow my Caterham.
Not really sure where all these comments are coming from about the Mk5 being boring. It's far from it! Mine's a manual on 18s with standard power, and it's reasonably quick, has good ride, sounds pretty good and most importantly is really entertaining on a B road. It'll lift off oversteer to your hearts content, has a fairly quick rack, has good steering feel and great traction. I think perhaps the issue is that it has high grip levels, and it takes a bit of confidence to explore, but do so and it feels very un VW and very nicely setup. I actually enjoy driving it a great deal.
Agree with all of the above. The motoring press raved about it at the time and it got awarded Top Gear car of the year. Still, they must all be wrong as people on the internet say so Not really sure where all these comments are coming from about the Mk5 being boring. It's far from it! Mine's a manual on 18s with standard power, and it's reasonably quick, has good ride, sounds pretty good and most importantly is really entertaining on a B road. It'll lift off oversteer to your hearts content, has a fairly quick rack, has good steering feel and great traction. I think perhaps the issue is that it has high grip levels, and it takes a bit of confidence to explore, but do so and it feels very un VW and very nicely setup. I actually enjoy driving it a great deal.
It's nice... The edition models always are, but at that money, I think VW are just trying to see how high they can actually push the price of a Golf, before people stop buying them
I'd rather have a Mazda3 MPS, which despite the power upgrade to the Ed35, still has more power, more torque, is 0.5 seconds quicker to 62mph, and would leave me at least 5k in my pocket, as I stand a better chance of getting a deal on the MPS than I do from daring to ask for deal from a VW dealer....
I'd rather have a Mazda3 MPS, which despite the power upgrade to the Ed35, still has more power, more torque, is 0.5 seconds quicker to 62mph, and would leave me at least 5k in my pocket, as I stand a better chance of getting a deal on the MPS than I do from daring to ask for deal from a VW dealer....
MrTappets said:
I've always had a soft spot for the Mk4 R32. I know it's not technically a gti, but there was something about the 4wd and awesome soundtrack that did a good job of offsetting the standard car's sensibleness.
Yep me too! I like the slightly mad styling of the MK4 too, the MK5 R32 is back to being all sensible and VW-ish. The MK4 R32 was a bit of a beast!St John Smythe said:
Agree with all of the above. The motoring press raved about it at the time and it got awarded Top Gear car of the year. Still, they must all be wrong as people on the internet say so
Haha. Of course :PI should have mentioned actually that the Caterham towing bit was key. It's quite literally THE ONLY hot hatch that can tow. Obviously a Civic Type R was a complete no go even if you could, but surprisingly the Golf R32, Focus ST, Seat Leon Cupra R etc etc are towbar less cars. I'm genuinely amazed with the breadth of ability the Mk5 offers. One minute I'm on lock stops round a damp roundabout, and the next cruising at 60 on the M1 with 800kg of car and trailer behind listening to my iPod enjoying heated seats. All things to all men.
Superhoop said:
It's nice... The edition models always are, but at that money, I think VW are just trying to see how high they can actually push the price of a Golf, before people stop buying them
I'd rather have a Mazda3 MPS, which despite the power upgrade to the Ed35, still has more power, more torque, is 0.5 seconds quicker to 62mph, and would leave me at least 5k in my pocket, as I stand a better chance of getting a deal on the MPS than I do from daring to ask for deal from a VW dealer....
I test drove one and wasn't all that impressed to be honest but it comes down to the individual and the car in question.I'd rather have a Mazda3 MPS, which despite the power upgrade to the Ed35, still has more power, more torque, is 0.5 seconds quicker to 62mph, and would leave me at least 5k in my pocket, as I stand a better chance of getting a deal on the MPS than I do from daring to ask for deal from a VW dealer....
Superhoop said:
I'd rather have a Mazda3 MPS, which despite the power upgrade to the Ed35, still has more power, more torque, is 0.5 seconds quicker to 62mph, and would leave me at least 5k in my pocket, as I stand a better chance of getting a deal on the MPS than I do from daring to ask for deal from a VW dealer....
I just can't understand why people get so obsessed with power! The MPS is a nice-ish car, but it's cheap as anything inside, sounds like an appliance and really isn't that entertaining to drive.And 0.5s quicker to 60? I think you'd be struggling to notice the difference if I'm honest!
Cassius81 said:
Do I care about the badge? Yes, not because of its image (does it have one?), but because it means my cash is safe (or far safer than in a Ford, Seat etc at least)
It has a pretty strong image - a classless one, and this is important to me! They are the hot hatch it is ok to be seen in, compared to some others which are far more brash, showy, or dare I say it 'chavvy' in many people's eyes. I'd rather remain more inconspicuous!VWs always get bashed on this site, perhaps unfairly, because although the Mk5/6 aren't the rawest out there, they are the best all rounder while still being a pretty involving steer.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff