Golf R vs Merc 45 AMG vs ?
Discussion
Have a Golf R right now - goes back in july. It's been a really great car tbh. I don't give a s
t about all the "it's a supercar beater" bullst that some people come out with - it isn't that - but overall it has been pretty solid, very chuckable and grippy, quick when you want it to be, few nice toys etc...
Personal situation has changed somewhat: I got married in May, and by July the plan is that we'll have a baby on the way and Mrs 2CV also wants a massive dog! Being a PHer I never want to end up in a people carrier, and I'm not a big fan of SUVs/4x4s. So, I think an estate car of some kind might be an idea.
Had a drive of a Merc 45 AMG today - it was a GLA but I'd be after CLA shooting brake, probably. Only had a brief go really and it was pissing down. On paper it seems great (faster than the Golf, equally frugal, better equipped etc), but in reality it seemed a bit more sluggish if anything. Seemed a lot better equipped than the Golf, but it had a lot of options fitted and also it's a lot more expensive anyway. Also whilst it's more practical than the Golf (R has a tiny boot) it still isn't a 'proper' estate and has a boot barely the same size as a Mondeo hatch. Anyone give me any insight on these cars and what they are like to live with?
I'd also been thinking about the 6.2 V8, maybe an E63 estate a few years old... tell me I'm crazy??
t about all the "it's a supercar beater" bullst that some people come out with - it isn't that - but overall it has been pretty solid, very chuckable and grippy, quick when you want it to be, few nice toys etc... Personal situation has changed somewhat: I got married in May, and by July the plan is that we'll have a baby on the way and Mrs 2CV also wants a massive dog! Being a PHer I never want to end up in a people carrier, and I'm not a big fan of SUVs/4x4s. So, I think an estate car of some kind might be an idea.
Had a drive of a Merc 45 AMG today - it was a GLA but I'd be after CLA shooting brake, probably. Only had a brief go really and it was pissing down. On paper it seems great (faster than the Golf, equally frugal, better equipped etc), but in reality it seemed a bit more sluggish if anything. Seemed a lot better equipped than the Golf, but it had a lot of options fitted and also it's a lot more expensive anyway. Also whilst it's more practical than the Golf (R has a tiny boot) it still isn't a 'proper' estate and has a boot barely the same size as a Mondeo hatch. Anyone give me any insight on these cars and what they are like to live with?
I'd also been thinking about the 6.2 V8, maybe an E63 estate a few years old... tell me I'm crazy??
Jasandjules said:
I have a TVR for "fun" and then the Passat 170 for the dog wagon. Still fast enough to overtake and slow enough be dog safe....
done that... well mondeo not passat + chimaera 500. I just found I ended up hardly using the TVR and nearly all my time was spent in the workhorse, which was a bit of a stpit. Having two cars was pretty good, and the TVR was fantastic, but having 2 cars, particularly including one of those was a lot of hassle!Anyway i've not got a massive issue with the concept of an estate. What I do have an issue with is having a slow rubbish estate!!
Ali_T said:
The A45 is much faster than the Golf R but that bloody awful gearbox tends to make it feel less responsive. If they made a manual version, I'd consider one. I also suspect its about to be made to look very silly by the Focus RS and it's massively lower price tag.
Coming from an rs3 that's the first thing I noticed the 45 is torque limited in the first 2 gears I had my gearbox and haldex updates done at the last service last month and it's a lot better, there's Been a few gearbox updates to address the issues the early cars had
Ali_T said:
The A45 is much faster than the Golf R but that bloody awful gearbox tends to make it feel less responsive. If they made a manual version, I'd consider one. I also suspect its about to be made to look very silly by the Focus RS and it's massively lower price tag.
Coming from an rs3 that's the first thing I noticed the 45 is torque limited in the first 2 gears I had my gearbox and haldex updates done at the last service last month and it's a lot better, there's Been a few gearbox updates to address the issues the early cars had
How about a C63 yes the fuel is bad I averaged 23mpg but the OH loved it, you can't help but smile on start up.
But for me the Golf etc don't get a look in unless you have to buy new.
4WD C63 not the one I'd choose.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
RWD C63
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
But for me the Golf etc don't get a look in unless you have to buy new.
4WD C63 not the one I'd choose.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
RWD C63
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
CLA shooting brake isn't really big enough. I looked at changing the M135i for one, but just found it too small. We even took the car seat and base along to the dealer and had a go! With the car seat in the back the passenger seat had to be so far forward that the passengers knees were up against the dash! If you happened to have another child and needed to have both front seats forward, It would be extremely uncomfortable.
Also whilst the boot would fit a pram it really wouldn't fit much else...whilst we travel quite the light with our child it's surprising how much you have to take if you go away. I didn't want to spend £40k on a car and then struggle with it half the time!
We found the other cars in their range too boring or ugly...
- A, too small.
- GLA, ugly
- C class, hate interior, not a fan of the rear.
- E class. I'm 27, not 67.
- CLS. Now this is more like it, I wanted one but Mrs said no based on the length being similar to HMS Ark Royal.
We ended up with a Range Rover.
Also whilst the boot would fit a pram it really wouldn't fit much else...whilst we travel quite the light with our child it's surprising how much you have to take if you go away. I didn't want to spend £40k on a car and then struggle with it half the time!
We found the other cars in their range too boring or ugly...
- A, too small.
- GLA, ugly
- C class, hate interior, not a fan of the rear.
- E class. I'm 27, not 67.
- CLS. Now this is more like it, I wanted one but Mrs said no based on the length being similar to HMS Ark Royal.
We ended up with a Range Rover.
Ali_T said:
The A45 is much faster than the Golf R but that bloody awful gearbox tends to make it feel less responsive. If they made a manual version, I'd consider one. I also suspect its about to be made to look very silly by the Focus RS and it's massively lower price tag.
yea it seems very, very expensive. The Golf felt far more responsive when i got back into it... even Mrs 2CV noticed the difference from the passenger seat. Focus RS is prob out of the picture for me, but understand why you mentioned it as most people would want a 45 AMG for its 'hot hatch' type creds (on paper)Billyray911 said:
Presume you've tried a Golf R estate for size (what type /size of dog,by the way?).Or how about a BMW 340/335d/535.All depends on how big you want to go...
I'm not really the kind of person to buy the same car twice. The dog is hypothetical currently, but with Bernese Mountain Dogs being mentioned... well they are quite big!russy01 said:
CLA shooting brake isn't really big enough. I looked at changing the M135i for one, but just found it too small. We even took the car seat and base along to the dealer and had a go! With the car seat in the back the passenger seat had to be so far forward that the passengers knees were up against the dash! If you happened to have another child and needed to have both front seats forward, It would be extremely uncomfortable.
Also whilst the boot would fit a pram it really wouldn't fit much else...whilst we travel quite the light with our child it's surprising how much you have to take if you go away. I didn't want to spend £40k on a car and then struggle with it half the time!
We found the other cars in their range too boring or ugly...
- A, too small.
- GLA, ugly
- C class, hate interior, not a fan of the rear.
- E class. I'm 27, not 67.
- CLS. Now this is more like it, I wanted one but Mrs said no based on the length being similar to HMS Ark Royal.
We ended up with a Range Rover.
i fear we may be on the same path!Also whilst the boot would fit a pram it really wouldn't fit much else...whilst we travel quite the light with our child it's surprising how much you have to take if you go away. I didn't want to spend £40k on a car and then struggle with it half the time!
We found the other cars in their range too boring or ugly...
- A, too small.
- GLA, ugly
- C class, hate interior, not a fan of the rear.
- E class. I'm 27, not 67.
- CLS. Now this is more like it, I wanted one but Mrs said no based on the length being similar to HMS Ark Royal.
We ended up with a Range Rover.
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