RE: VW Up GTI vs Mini Cooper
Discussion
D.no said:
Dafuq said:
Interesting, the idea of the UP GTi did excite me, but the reality seems a little flat.
I still have a stock UP in the garage, a remnant of the city sprints I needed to around a Sydney prior to moving out to the country. It's virtually unused now bar the odd weekend thrash into the local village down our Nurburgring esk road.
Can't bring myself to sell it, see, every journey is an event in the bog standard, thrash it to the red line in every gear, tyre squeezing corners, cheesy grin at probably very low speeds, by modern ludacris car capability standard.
But that's the thing, it reminds me some much of thrashing a bog standard original mini way back that it has won a place in my heart and I will proabbaly never get rid. More likely to lower it a touch and put a roll cage in it! ??
Nail. Head.I still have a stock UP in the garage, a remnant of the city sprints I needed to around a Sydney prior to moving out to the country. It's virtually unused now bar the odd weekend thrash into the local village down our Nurburgring esk road.
Can't bring myself to sell it, see, every journey is an event in the bog standard, thrash it to the red line in every gear, tyre squeezing corners, cheesy grin at probably very low speeds, by modern ludacris car capability standard.
But that's the thing, it reminds me some much of thrashing a bog standard original mini way back that it has won a place in my heart and I will proabbaly never get rid. More likely to lower it a touch and put a roll cage in it! ??
I bought a 60hp UP a few years ago to run to work (crappy mud-filled car park, where one has to get creative to find a space if arriving any later than 7am) instead of my R35 GT-R. I had more fun on the way home from collecting the UP than I'd had in 8 months of GT-R ownership. Seriously. It reminds me of being 18 again back in the 80's. There are 40k hard miles on the UP now, and it' still great fun and remarkably reliable given the constant larruping it gets (but I wish there was a way of switching the TC off!). The GT-R by contrast didn't stay for long after I got the UP as it seemed like a futile proposition in comparison - it was supposed to be the fun car, but the UP can be driven hard without risking a jail sentence, or upsetting anyone, and is a far more involving tool more of the time as a result.
As an extrapolation to this I really must look into getting a 2CV...
andrewparker said:
I dunno, right? I mean, your link does say Suzuki Swift 2018, right? I, um, guess so. Or maybe there's a different one?andrewparker said:
Oh, and the new Swift is truly a dog. They've ruined what used to be a great looking car.
Isn't it massively subjective, even on that assumption that looks are more important than the driving experience ?I agree the UP! Gti needs to be up against the forthcoming SSS.
Toyoda said:
andrewparker said:
I dunno, right? I mean, your link does say Suzuki Swift 2018, right? I, um, guess so. Or maybe there's a different one?I'm keeping an eye on the Up! GTI during the next few years. I'm guessing there'll be series 2 before long (please no larger and with a 3-door option, VW) and the GTI version of that might be a little more robust in the performance stakes.
The Swift if a definite possibility but it's disappointing that there appears to be no 3-door this time round (last time I looked). I'm quite tall and I find the B-pillar on small 5-doors too far forward for over-the-shoulder visibility, esp. angled junctions.
The Swift if a definite possibility but it's disappointing that there appears to be no 3-door this time round (last time I looked). I'm quite tall and I find the B-pillar on small 5-doors too far forward for over-the-shoulder visibility, esp. angled junctions.
That's the JDM version of the new Swift Sport. IIRC the UK/EU will have a wider track and possibly different suspension tuning.
There are a few reviews popping up in NZ & Australia, but I couldn't tell you which version they get down under. There are also some track videos on Youtube and the handling looks lively enough.
There are a few reviews popping up in NZ & Australia, but I couldn't tell you which version they get down under. There are also some track videos on Youtube and the handling looks lively enough.
gweaver said:
That's the JDM version of the new Swift Sport. IIRC the UK/EU will have a wider track and possibly different suspension tuning.
There are a few reviews popping up in NZ & Australia, but I couldn't tell you which version they get down under. There are also some track videos on Youtube and the handling looks lively enough.
Cool, thanks for the clarification.There are a few reviews popping up in NZ & Australia, but I couldn't tell you which version they get down under. There are also some track videos on Youtube and the handling looks lively enough.
I had a Skoda Citigo as a courtesy car whilst mine was in dock, and have to say it was a great little thing. Just the right size in town, just enough go to make suburban driving safe and fun.
Really looking forward to reading some extended road tests of the Up! GTi, as although it wouldn’t fulfill my needs as a main car, it would certainly sit well as the 2nd car, and that’s not damning with faint praise..l.
Really looking forward to reading some extended road tests of the Up! GTi, as although it wouldn’t fulfill my needs as a main car, it would certainly sit well as the 2nd car, and that’s not damning with faint praise..l.
nickfrog said:
andrewparker said:
Oh, and the new Swift is truly a dog. They've ruined what used to be a great looking car.
Isn't it massively subjective, even on that assumption that looks are more important than the driving experience ?I agree the UP! Gti needs to be up against the forthcoming SSS.
It does look to a be a bit bigger, size wise, but the interior looks fantastic and the motor looks to be a great edition to the driving experience. All IMO, obviously, but it looks set to be a cracker.
Dafuq said:
Lol, a see a kindred spirit, my first car was a 2CV6 which I thoroughly abused. When handed the keys I was told, ' if you can learn how to drive this fast and maintain your momentum, you will be able to drive anything quickly'. I now find myself mooching through collectors and classic websites musing if I could fill a tin snail shaped hole in my stable.
I remember a mate of mine thinking the 2CV6 was a 2C, V6. That would have been quite a curious car!!Edited by GibsonSG on Friday 16th March 11:53
Gandahar said:
The Up should be compared to the Aygo etc which are tiny, the mini is not tiny.
I think the idea behind the comparison was more than both cars are essentially a spiritual successor to a bygone car, the MK1 Golf GTI in the case of the up! and the original Mini Cooper in the case of the Mini.Personally think the link is pretty tenuous in both examples.
Gandahar said:
The Up should be compared to the Aygo etc which are tiny, the mini is not tiny.
Well ideally, yes. However, Toyota does not have any kind of performance version, warm or hot, in their Aygo range.Plus, in the "small" car sector, the comparison has always been with the Mini Cooper as a benchmark
Gandahar said:
The Up should be compared to the Aygo etc which are tiny, the mini is not tiny.
Or you could compare in price and performance, in which case the Swift SZ-T (1.0 turbo) is a close competitor. The Swift SZ-T is probably a bit more practical and a bit less fun though.I think it's a shame Suzuki hasn't made a sharpened up version of the current Ignis. That's a small, fun, feel-good car, despite the lack of torque and body control. The Alto Works looks like a blast too, but probably doesn't meet EU regs.
It's also a shame that there's no:
- warm Panda since the 100HP
- warm C1/107/Aygo
- Ka+ Sport (Ford make a Figo S with a 1.5 for India, but there's no Ka+ version)
Did I leave anything out?
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