Mk5 Golf GTI Pirelli Edition
Discussion
I have just let go of my Mondeo ST220 after 3 years of ownership. I've loved this car, but it's just time for a change! I bought the mondeo as I am a strength coach and PT, ad have to carry a lot of kit around with me and needed the big estate car. On one of the more recent day spa's for the mondeo (a.k.a, snapped throttle cable) I borrowed my GFs little Mazda 2, and managed to fit 95% of what I need in, and I have sorted the other 5% in order to accomadate having more flexibility with car buying - as large, quirky, interesting etsate cars aren't all that common, and they tend to be out of budget.
After flirting with a few different cars, I settled on a Golf GTI Edition 30. I spent a couple of weeks viewing several cars, but not finding anything that really stood out. I wanted a 5dr, DSG and a red one. Two cars in derby were scruffy, and over priced. One in Bradford was very scuffy, and either broken or modded (very noisy turbo, and a dump on gear change), and another bradford car was lovely, but scruffy, top money (£11k) abd was a parellel import, which put me off.
When discussing the import issues on mk5golfgti.co.uk, a memeber posted up a link to a pirelli edition, about 1hr 20 minutes from me. It looked too good to be true... 10,000 miles less, 18 months newer, apparently much better condition and advertised at £2k less than my previous favourite ED30, at £9000. I called the guy up, and went to take a look about 2 hours later. We shook hands at £8750 - which for a 58 plate, 49,000 miles, excellent condition Pirelli GTI I think is a very very good price!
The car was in Yarm (really pretty little town!) and when I pulled up, the car looked lovely. I met the seller, and instantly got an idea of how much he cared about the car. We had a good look around together and the car was in really excellent condition. There is a tiny door ding or the FL wing, and a tiny light scuff on one alloy. Apart from that, the car is perfect (although I found one more ding when I got home, on the skirt under the car - you can only see it if your eyes are at ground level). The inside was perfect too, really clean and very well looked after. Not a spec of dust in the door hinges - like I said really well looked after!
The test drive was great. It was silver, not red and manual, not DSG but I much prefered driving it to the DSG ED30s I'd tested. This might have just been because manual is what I am used to, but either way I'mm happy I went for a manual and not DSG in the end. Whilst the Silver isn't as striking as the red, it looks great. I originally preferred the ED30 wheels, but now I think I prefer the pirelli's, and they'll be easier to clean! They are not the standard colour, they're maybe a shade or two darker which I think looks great; but if I ever get them refurbed I'll go back to OEM i expect. The seats. Those Seats. For those who don't know them, maybe google a photo - they have Pzero treadmarks in them. Before I saw the car it was stopping me looking at Pirelli editions, but in the flesh they're not so garish, and now I'm used to them I quite like them. The seats are very snug for me (5ft8 and just over 15 stone) but are very comfortable half alcantara/half leather and heated. Not electrically adjustable, except for the lumbar though (the Recaros in the 220 are hard to beat!)
Spec wise it's fairly low. It was the only GTI I saw that didn't have the multi function stearing wheel. It has Dual Zone climate, which I think is standard but a very nice feature. It doesn't have cruise or nav which I would have liked, but there's a guy on mk5golfgti that will fit cruiser for £30, and he'll fit the nav too but units aren't cheap - I am definitely going to invest in cruise, and I expect NAV (upgraded head unit with DAB too) as well in the not too distant future. No Xenons or parking sensors, but I've never had either so they won't be missed.
Driving wise I've spent about 3 hours in it since I got it, but only covered about 70 miles. Lots of traffic! It drives really nicely. Much more nimble and more planted than the ST, and feels loads faster too, although on paper it's not that different the turbo makes the power/acceleration much more usable day to day. It's firm but more compliant than the ST. I'm really enjoying driving it but scared of putting any scuffs on it, so being very picky about where I park it! Fuel economy wise I'm touching 30mpg, which was a wet dream in the ST
Oh and I forgot to mention, a really nice touch, he sold it with a 2008 copy of VW driver, with the Pirelli as the main feautre. A really nice touch I think.
Anyway, a couple of photos...
After flirting with a few different cars, I settled on a Golf GTI Edition 30. I spent a couple of weeks viewing several cars, but not finding anything that really stood out. I wanted a 5dr, DSG and a red one. Two cars in derby were scruffy, and over priced. One in Bradford was very scuffy, and either broken or modded (very noisy turbo, and a dump on gear change), and another bradford car was lovely, but scruffy, top money (£11k) abd was a parellel import, which put me off.
When discussing the import issues on mk5golfgti.co.uk, a memeber posted up a link to a pirelli edition, about 1hr 20 minutes from me. It looked too good to be true... 10,000 miles less, 18 months newer, apparently much better condition and advertised at £2k less than my previous favourite ED30, at £9000. I called the guy up, and went to take a look about 2 hours later. We shook hands at £8750 - which for a 58 plate, 49,000 miles, excellent condition Pirelli GTI I think is a very very good price!
The car was in Yarm (really pretty little town!) and when I pulled up, the car looked lovely. I met the seller, and instantly got an idea of how much he cared about the car. We had a good look around together and the car was in really excellent condition. There is a tiny door ding or the FL wing, and a tiny light scuff on one alloy. Apart from that, the car is perfect (although I found one more ding when I got home, on the skirt under the car - you can only see it if your eyes are at ground level). The inside was perfect too, really clean and very well looked after. Not a spec of dust in the door hinges - like I said really well looked after!
The test drive was great. It was silver, not red and manual, not DSG but I much prefered driving it to the DSG ED30s I'd tested. This might have just been because manual is what I am used to, but either way I'mm happy I went for a manual and not DSG in the end. Whilst the Silver isn't as striking as the red, it looks great. I originally preferred the ED30 wheels, but now I think I prefer the pirelli's, and they'll be easier to clean! They are not the standard colour, they're maybe a shade or two darker which I think looks great; but if I ever get them refurbed I'll go back to OEM i expect. The seats. Those Seats. For those who don't know them, maybe google a photo - they have Pzero treadmarks in them. Before I saw the car it was stopping me looking at Pirelli editions, but in the flesh they're not so garish, and now I'm used to them I quite like them. The seats are very snug for me (5ft8 and just over 15 stone) but are very comfortable half alcantara/half leather and heated. Not electrically adjustable, except for the lumbar though (the Recaros in the 220 are hard to beat!)
Spec wise it's fairly low. It was the only GTI I saw that didn't have the multi function stearing wheel. It has Dual Zone climate, which I think is standard but a very nice feature. It doesn't have cruise or nav which I would have liked, but there's a guy on mk5golfgti that will fit cruiser for £30, and he'll fit the nav too but units aren't cheap - I am definitely going to invest in cruise, and I expect NAV (upgraded head unit with DAB too) as well in the not too distant future. No Xenons or parking sensors, but I've never had either so they won't be missed.
Driving wise I've spent about 3 hours in it since I got it, but only covered about 70 miles. Lots of traffic! It drives really nicely. Much more nimble and more planted than the ST, and feels loads faster too, although on paper it's not that different the turbo makes the power/acceleration much more usable day to day. It's firm but more compliant than the ST. I'm really enjoying driving it but scared of putting any scuffs on it, so being very picky about where I park it! Fuel economy wise I'm touching 30mpg, which was a wet dream in the ST
Oh and I forgot to mention, a really nice touch, he sold it with a 2008 copy of VW driver, with the Pirelli as the main feautre. A really nice touch I think.
Anyway, a couple of photos...
Edited by TheBALDpuma on Sunday 31st July 09:42
xu5 said:
Not heard of mk 5 Pirelli before. That interior looks great.
Could they of not done a modern interpretation of the P wheels though?
They did! There is a P shaped into the spoke of the wheel. Much more subtle than the mk1, and part of the spoke rather than the hole. I think they look great.Could they of not done a modern interpretation of the P wheels though?
Podie said:
Interesting car, and never seen a P-edition in the metal.
For £30 cruise is a no brainer, and I'd be tempted to do the nav if it's something you would use.
Just sold my ST220 Podie - for the princely sum of £1k. I feel like I'm letting the side down letting it go that cheap, bit I needed a quick sale and the body work was shabby at best
I have just spent the last 20 mins doing a readers car for my GTI, until I realised I'd already written one! Balls!
By way of an update I'm 4500 miles in and really enjoying it. The ride is very firm and is on the line for what I'd call statisfactory for everyday use around a pot holed Leeds.
It's been trouble free up until this weekend, when a bunch of warning lights have all come on together and the rear LH door won't unlock - It's all come at once so I'm assumimg the warnings lights (Traction Control, Tyre Pressure, ECP and EML) are linked, and possibly the rear door or possibly a coincidence - anyway I think it's something electrical causing some problems as the car runs fine, it's booked in on Thursday to have it looked at.
I've been up to scotland in it, and I'm heading over to the lakes next weekend. It's also done a lot of motorway work to conferences and family down south as well as all the about town work - which is how I've put 4.5k miles in just over 2 months. It's averaged 30mpg since, and I'm pretty happy with that.
By way of an update I'm 4500 miles in and really enjoying it. The ride is very firm and is on the line for what I'd call statisfactory for everyday use around a pot holed Leeds.
It's been trouble free up until this weekend, when a bunch of warning lights have all come on together and the rear LH door won't unlock - It's all come at once so I'm assumimg the warnings lights (Traction Control, Tyre Pressure, ECP and EML) are linked, and possibly the rear door or possibly a coincidence - anyway I think it's something electrical causing some problems as the car runs fine, it's booked in on Thursday to have it looked at.
I've been up to scotland in it, and I'm heading over to the lakes next weekend. It's also done a lot of motorway work to conferences and family down south as well as all the about town work - which is how I've put 4.5k miles in just over 2 months. It's averaged 30mpg since, and I'm pretty happy with that.
I was just thinking to myself how long have I had this car, so I thought I'd look for when I wrote the readers car!
It's been just over a year (and 20,000 miles). Overall it has been a good one, and I've really enjoyed the car. It's quick enough and good fun on regular trips over to the lakes, and comfortable enough on motorway hauls down south to visit family - although the seats are a little snug for me!
What's gone wrong:
Both passenger door locks failed and needed replacing.
The throttle body failed, and when replaced it wouldn't pair with the ECU, so that got sent off to be refreshed/refurbed (or something).
Other than that routine stuff like servicing, all new pads and discs, 4 new tyres (p zero's of course!) etc; so I've actually had to spend a fair wedge on it, but apart from the locks and the TB, nothing that wouldn't come up on every car at some point anyway, it just so happened it was all within a few months.
I still love the fact it's not just a normal GTI; it's a great all rounder with a but of a special twist.
It's been just over a year (and 20,000 miles). Overall it has been a good one, and I've really enjoyed the car. It's quick enough and good fun on regular trips over to the lakes, and comfortable enough on motorway hauls down south to visit family - although the seats are a little snug for me!
What's gone wrong:
Both passenger door locks failed and needed replacing.
The throttle body failed, and when replaced it wouldn't pair with the ECU, so that got sent off to be refreshed/refurbed (or something).
Other than that routine stuff like servicing, all new pads and discs, 4 new tyres (p zero's of course!) etc; so I've actually had to spend a fair wedge on it, but apart from the locks and the TB, nothing that wouldn't come up on every car at some point anyway, it just so happened it was all within a few months.
I still love the fact it's not just a normal GTI; it's a great all rounder with a but of a special twist.
culpz said:
They look really smart these. Any mods done or planned for the future?
Thanks 
No mods done, and probably none planned. I like it being totally standard really. An easy 300hp from stage 1 remap is so so tempting though! Also a deadset kit which should stiffen it up a bit, and hopefully resolve a knock from the subframe might be on the cards.
A good few years since I last posted, and plenty of miles. It's just ticked over 132,000 miles on the clock (bought it at 49,000) and I'm still really enjoying ownership. I'm not the kind of guy who gets bored and needs a chanhge, in fact I'm the total opposite - the longer I have something and the older it gets the more attached I become.
It's still totally standard.
I had some rust bubbling on the front arches so I have replaced the wings with rust free ones from a breakers, and had them rust proofed for future longevity. I also had all the wheels refurbed and I was very pleases with how they came out. Kept them anthracite after nearly going gold, then silver.
Other than that it's just been a ton of wear and tear stuff, a few cambelt changes, shocks, springs, brakes etc. Not been the cheapest but also not too bad, especially conisdering the fairly high mileage I've done.
It's done a few long trips like Spa for the GP, Scottish highlands, welsh coast and to the lakes a lot. I've got a kid now and it's been big enough so far, although it is pretty tight going on holiday with child and a dog.
Recent ish photo...
It's still totally standard.
I had some rust bubbling on the front arches so I have replaced the wings with rust free ones from a breakers, and had them rust proofed for future longevity. I also had all the wheels refurbed and I was very pleases with how they came out. Kept them anthracite after nearly going gold, then silver.
Other than that it's just been a ton of wear and tear stuff, a few cambelt changes, shocks, springs, brakes etc. Not been the cheapest but also not too bad, especially conisdering the fairly high mileage I've done.
It's done a few long trips like Spa for the GP, Scottish highlands, welsh coast and to the lakes a lot. I've got a kid now and it's been big enough so far, although it is pretty tight going on holiday with child and a dog.
Recent ish photo...
Edited by TheBALDpuma on Thursday 11th November 10:45
I needed a new exhuast to get it through the MOT this week - so I figured why not go for a stainless cat-back!
I really like it - It's a scorpion cat-back, although I think I would have prefered a thicker/flanged tip but I found it next to impossible to find representative photos with google, so thought I'd drop some here to give people an idea of what it looks and sounds like. I think the Milltek *might* have been more of the look I was after but I couldn't find anything to make sure, and it was £100 odd more expensive and the garage I was using who stocked both said they prefer to Scorpion for quality and fit, which is ultimately what swayed me. Anyway, here it is - I went for a resonated system as I'm old and grown up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTsIg6HwJ4Y - sound link
I really like it - It's a scorpion cat-back, although I think I would have prefered a thicker/flanged tip but I found it next to impossible to find representative photos with google, so thought I'd drop some here to give people an idea of what it looks and sounds like. I think the Milltek *might* have been more of the look I was after but I couldn't find anything to make sure, and it was £100 odd more expensive and the garage I was using who stocked both said they prefer to Scorpion for quality and fit, which is ultimately what swayed me. Anyway, here it is - I went for a resonated system as I'm old and grown up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTsIg6HwJ4Y - sound link
Edited by TheBALDpuma on Wednesday 12th January 15:06
Thanks That's what I was going for.
When it rains it pours though. It developed a misfire basically the day I got it back from having the exhuast fitted, or maybe it started the day before tbh. Either way it's gotton a bit worse the last few days - my money is on an injector which sucks because they aren't cheap
That's what I was going for.When it rains it pours though. It developed a misfire basically the day I got it back from having the exhuast fitted, or maybe it started the day before tbh. Either way it's gotton a bit worse the last few days - my money is on an injector which sucks because they aren't cheap
phumy said:
Just found this thread, i also have a Pirelli, ive had it for about 6 months now i bought it when it had about 70k miles on it, it now has around 75k miles. Its a great little car too, i really enjoy it. When i bought it it had a set of OEM BBS Edition 30s on it in stunning condition and the origonal Pirelli wheel were in the boot but had been kerbed on three of them, so i get them refurbed and put a new set of Pirelli P zero neos on it at the same time and managed to sell the BBS wheels. Whilst the wheels were off i decided to give each of the inner arches a real good clean up and surprisingly theyre all in very good condition. It also has full VW service history. Both fron upper and lower grills did their usual thing of going white/grey from UV light, so i bought a new upper and lower front grill from VW (not cheap) and looks good now.
Anyway ive put a few pictures up and here it is.
With the BBS
Great to see another Pirelli owner on here, there aren't many about. I think I've seen 2 or 3 others in the wild i the 5 and half years I have owned mine!Anyway ive put a few pictures up and here it is.
With the BBS
phumy said:
Did you get the misfire sorted, what was the issue?
Yeah I did, it was a nakered injector. That's two I've had replaced separately now. If I'd had the cash I'd have done the last three at once, but it was already a £450 bill one week after a £700 exhaust bill - the injectors were £220 a pop and I just didn't have an extra £440!Today is a momentous day.
Just ticked over the 150,000 mile mark. This was the youngest, lowest mileage car I'd bought when I got it, and it's now the longest car ownership I've had, and has the highest miles.
My mileage has dropped considerably after moving house a few weeks ago to the town I work in, and I'm commuting on my bike. Hopefully this means my outlay on maintenance is going to drop a little.
Since my last post the family and I drove to Chamonix via Reims. The golf was faultless, and we visited Switzerland and Italy on day trips from our base in Chamonix, and went back via Annecy and Chalons en Champagne on the way back. Was a great trip and it didn't miss a beat.
Just ticked over the 150,000 mile mark. This was the youngest, lowest mileage car I'd bought when I got it, and it's now the longest car ownership I've had, and has the highest miles.
My mileage has dropped considerably after moving house a few weeks ago to the town I work in, and I'm commuting on my bike. Hopefully this means my outlay on maintenance is going to drop a little.
Since my last post the family and I drove to Chamonix via Reims. The golf was faultless, and we visited Switzerland and Italy on day trips from our base in Chamonix, and went back via Annecy and Chalons en Champagne on the way back. Was a great trip and it didn't miss a beat.
phumy said:
And what was the £700 exhaust issue, I have noticed a small pinprick hole appear at the rear of my centre box, not sure if to get it welded or go for a new one.
It was a hole in the centre box - I'd wanted to put a full stainless on for a while but couldn't justify binning the okay standard exhaust. So it was the perfect excuse!Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff