RE: Volkswagen Golf GTI (Mk6) | PH Used Review

[Dr G]

Boss's wife's MK6 GT TDI went past 200k a couple of weeks ago; will need a pair of dampers soon but as far as we know they're original.

Feels strong and solid. Got every invoice from new and never needed anything expensive replacing (the dampers above will be the first ouch).

[Court_S]

A lad near where I used to live had a Mk6 R that was quite smart with a Miltek exhaust on it. The GTI of this era never quite did it for me.

The Mk7 is a better looking car to my eyes and the Mk5 is more of a bargain.

[jam_up]

My 2011 DSG GTI is still going strong at 103k. Required an intake manifold which was replaced under extended warranty but otherwise faultless. I’ve not read of any issues with cars having the first revision of the tensioner (late 2010 onwards I think) despite VW releasing 2 further updates.

I was planning to get rid of mine as I’ve a new GTD (dictated by mileage!!) but tempted to keep and tinker with; better looking and better interior build quality imo!

[Dr G]

I wouldn't disagree with you; my wife's 11 year old MK5 has fewer rattles than my 3 year old MK7

[AI1694]

For some reason the Mk6 has never done it for me. Much prefer the Mk5 inside and out.

[dgm]

If you’re going to buy a GTi with an early EA888 engine then, in my opinion, at the very least you should be looking for one with the timing chain replaced along with the latest revision of tensioner, revised piston rings to deal with excessive oil usage and carbon build up cleaned from intake valves. None of this is cheap. There are numerous other common faults, hpfp failing, bad injectors, water pump, diverter valve, N80 valve, PCV valve, to name a few. Not VWs finest moment.

That said, if you do get one that’s been looked after and had these issues sorted then it’s a pretty impressive engine. I learned the hard way on a car with 80,000 miles on it but now have a really well running generation 1 EA888 which should go on for another 80k.

[CaptainMorgan]

I took always look past the 6. The 5 seems to be a bit of a bargain and the 7 was a decent improvement in the engine department that I always ended up looking at them for a little more cash. They seem fairly rare on the roads though, see far fewer than the other shapes.

[sideshowfred]

I have always liked the Mk6 however there are several issues with them for me.

Having previously owned a Mk5 i can't imagine a Mk6 being that much better, if anything reviews said it lost some of the spark that the 5 had.

Also price, Mk5's don;t seem to have dropped in price since i got rid of mine 5 years ago (whereas the 2010 Renaultsport Clio that replaced it has probably halved in value).

I always think about getting back into a Golf GTI but i think a Mk5 is too expensive for what it is now age wise This has held Mk6 values up higher, then for a few extra thousand you can get into a Mk7 which is going to be superior.

[Speed Limiter]

On the subject of VW reliability, I was recently thinking about my 50 years of driving, and realised that I have never owned a Japanese car that broke down, and never owned a VW that didn't.

[Triple Six]

sideshowfred said:

I have always liked the Mk6 however there are several issues with them for me.

Having previously owned a Mk5 i can't imagine a Mk6 being that much better, if anything reviews said it lost some of the spark that the 5 had.

Also price, Mk5's don;t seem to have dropped in price since i got rid of mine 5 years ago (whereas the 2010 Renaultsport Clio that replaced it has probably halved in value).

I always think about getting back into a Golf GTI but i think a Mk5 is too expensive for what it is now age wise This has held Mk6 values up higher, then for a few extra thousand you can get into a Mk7 which is going to be superior.

Mk6 R is by far a rarer sight on UK roads. There were only around 800 (I think) brought to the UK.

Regarding values - I bought mine for £20K in 2016, covered 25,000mls, and sold it on 68,000mls for £16.5K last month. I did spend quite a bit tuning it, but aside from lowering it and polishing it within an inch of its life it was very OEM.

For the price at which I sold it, you could easily get an early Golf 7 R with substantially lower miles.

I think the Golf 6R will be a future classic.

[Andy JB]

lee_erm said:

I wouldn't have one of these due to the issues with these early EA888 engines. High oil consumption, sludging, chain tensioner issues due to low quality plastic parts.

https://metropolitan.fi/entry/magazine-uncovers-re...

So when did the EA888 improve as it appears to get decent feedback from press & owners these days?

Personally my 2013/14 example has been okay engine wise which is more than can be said of the other components which are shockingly poor quality & clearly designed to last the life of the warranty.

[IQBAL92]

Ive owned owned a mk5 gti for 2 years a few years back and know Ive owned a mk6 62 plate for a year know. from my experience mk5 was a great solid car and I put 33,000 miles on it. However, the mk6 that I have know is a improvement in every department specially in refinement! Long distance driving is a pleasure and when I get on a B road its just as fun as my mk5 was with much more low down grunt! I have a stage 1 on my mk6. If you are interested in a mk6 try to avoid the earlier cars for e.g 10 reg and get some warranty on it for peace of mind. I PAY £37 a month for and recommend Warrantywise!

[Steve Reigate]

I've just bought an ultra low mileage 2012 mk6 GTI this week. It's my first Golf GTI and I am still smiling every time I drive it, I absolutely love it. Mine has clearly had a very easy pampered life, with main dealer servicing and not a mark on the exterior or interior. I am too old for and really didn't want an overtly 'showy' hot hatch and the Golf GTI ticks every box. Apart from the slightly bigger wheels (18"s on mine) it looks the same as a regular mk 6 Golf. However its the sportier interior, that sublime exhaust note and the feel that makes the difference. The best car I have ever owned....

[aka_kerrly]

sideshowfred said:

I have always liked the Mk6 however there are several issues with them for me.

Having previously owned a Mk5 i can't imagine a Mk6 being that much better, if anything reviews said it lost some of the spark that the 5 had.

Also price, Mk5's don't seem to have dropped in price since i got rid of mine 5 years ago (whereas the 2010 Renaultsport Clio that replaced it has probably halved in value).

I always think about getting back into a Golf GTI but i think a Mk5 is too expensive for what it is now age wise This has held Mk6 values up higher, then for a few extra thousand you can get into a Mk7 which is going to be superior.

This post from 2019 is in my opinion still bang on the money.

I picked up a mk5 GTI 2 years ago for £2k when I think prices were at their lowest.

Realistically now you need around £3500-4500 to get into a mk5 that isn't a ongoing project. The earliest/worse 2009 mk6s are £4000-6000 and an average one nearer £6-9k for a 2010-12model. This makes the average mk6 nearly double the price to be barely 3 years newer on a over 10 year old car that has already done a chunk of depreciating.

The worst MK7s are now hanging around at £7-8k for a 2013/14 so barely anymore budget creep from a mk6 yet double what people are prepared to pay for a circa 2006 model mk5 gets you a significantly newer car. As a result I see the MK6 GTI ending up in a bit of a no mans land where it doesn't appear to have enough benefits over a MK5 nor the newer chassis of the MK7. The same can be said of the MK3 when being compared to a Mk2 or MK4, the mk2 has cult status as a classic, the mk4 still a useable modern era car, the mk3 just hangs in the middle and as a result is the least valuable golf. A crown which will eventually pass to the MK6.

I'd still consider a MK6 GTI Edition 35 but realistically a MK7 GTI Performance is better for not a lot more.

[Krikkit]

aka_kerrly said:

sideshowfred said:

I have always liked the Mk6 however there are several issues with them for me.

Having previously owned a Mk5 i can't imagine a Mk6 being that much better, if anything reviews said it lost some of the spark that the 5 had.

Also price, Mk5's don't seem to have dropped in price since i got rid of mine 5 years ago (whereas the 2010 Renaultsport Clio that replaced it has probably halved in value).

I always think about getting back into a Golf GTI but i think a Mk5 is too expensive for what it is now age wise This has held Mk6 values up higher, then for a few extra thousand you can get into a Mk7 which is going to be superior.

This post from 2019 is in my opinion still bang on the money.

I picked up a mk5 GTI 2 years ago for £2k when I think prices were at their lowest.

Realistically now you need around £3500-4500 to get into a mk5 that isn't a ongoing project. The earliest/worse 2009 mk6s are £4000-6000 and an average one nearer £6-9k for a 2010-12model. This makes the average mk6 nearly double the price to be barely 3 years newer on a over 10 year old car that has already done a chunk of depreciating.

The worst MK7s are now hanging around at £7-8k for a 2013/14 so barely anymore budget creep from a mk6 yet double what people are prepared to pay for a circa 2006 model mk5 gets you a significantly newer car. As a result I see the MK6 GTI ending up in a bit of a no mans land where it doesn't appear to have enough benefits over a MK5 nor the newer chassis of the MK7. The same can be said of the MK3 when being compared to a Mk2 or MK4, the mk2 has cult status as a classic, the mk4 still a useable modern era car, the mk3 just hangs in the middle and as a result is the least valuable golf. A crown which will eventually pass to the MK6.

I'd still consider a MK6 GTI Edition 35 but realistically a MK7 GTI Performance is better for not a lot more.

There must be a reason that Mk.6 prices are still firm, when the Mk.5 has definitely entered the absolute bargain-basement level.

The Mk.5 is a much more old-school, lively-feeling car - lots of NVH (comparatively of course!), simpler tech etc. The Mk.6 is the product that updated it into the "modern" VW era. You sit in a Mk.6 and it feels almost identical to everything up to 2015, the NVH is very much reduced (making it a great everyday car).

My friend bought a late 2009 car as his first "proper" fun car and loves it for exactly these reasons - it's a grown up car that happens to be a fun GTI as well. We drove a Mk5, 6 and 7 at the time, and the 6 was the pick of the litter.

[rottenegg]

Wow, an impressive thread exhumation!

The issues the first poster mentioned was only on the early Audi A4 longitudinal EA888 because if its experimental low tension piston rings. That was never an issue on the transverse Golf engines.

The only significant problem with the 2009-2010 engines was timing chains, quelle surprise, the plague of a lot of German engines. By late 2010 that issue was resolved with revised parts. The pick of the crop cars were the run out 2012s with the DynAudio pack and other goodies.

If the EA888 is a concern, get the MK6 R or ED35 as they both used the cambelt EA113 engine. S3 and Edition 30 level of tune respectively. Not as torquey low down as the EA888 but pretty solid engines if looked after and not over tuned.

The MK6 is what the MK5 should have been, build quality wise. MK5s rust to buggery. Front wings rot out. Sills rot out behind the plastic sill covers. Rear subframes rot out. The interior quality of the 6 is also leagues ahead of the 5.

The MK6 didn't lose it's edge over the 5. They are exactly the same platform but the 6 got slightly softer dampers for improved low speed ride quality. That and the improved interior refinement probably led journalists to believe the MK6 wasn't as sharp.

The 5 was a hard act to follow dynamically for VW. The MK7 and MK8 are pretty much the same underneath, just different motion ratios on the rear axle for a bit more neutrality on the limit. There wasn't much they could improve over the MK5's basic recipe without completely redesigning the rear end to lose the now quite antiquated trailing arms.

Arguably the 7 cheaped out compared to 5 and 6 by ditching the alloy front subframe in favour of stamped steel, plastic sumps, stamped steel control arms with inferior MK4 style bushings.

7 and 8 are objectively better due to newer infotainment technologies, variable ratio steering, improved materials and improved spring/damper tuning, but the familiarity with dear old Johnny 5 is still there when you drive them.