RE: Volkswagen Golf R32 (Mk5): Spotted
Discussion
Unimpeachably handsome in its proportions and wonderfully grown-up, the car managed to make its brash, knowing burble seem understated, even prudent - as if the presence of a six-cylinder petrol motor in a modest family car was just good sense rather than a statement of sporting intent.
I have several degrees and consider myself fairly literate and frankly that "sentence" is beyond me. Stop it Cackett.
I have several degrees and consider myself fairly literate and frankly that "sentence" is beyond me. Stop it Cackett.
si_xsi said:
Yeah but not everybody wants to scream around at 9000 rpm in 2nd gear just to make (horrible noisy) progress. Vtec Yo...
True there but as an ‘investmet’, what would be worth more, the Mugen, from a reputable brand famed for reliability or the R32, brand shamed for lying and cheating, famed for the engine light?FWDRacer said:
tomcrowther said:
Behave.
Deluded. An R32 wouldn't see which way a Focus ST went (sonorously warbled off to?), unless it was snowing 
I had an R32 for 3.5 years, longest I've ever owned a car. In between I've had a V8 M3, a 700bhp V10 RS6, a Honda'd s1 Elise, a 450bhp p1, an Evo VI and the one car i think i might buy again is the R32.
Tornado red, 5dr, DSG please.
The colour doesn’t help imo.
Buy one in bright red and you’re getting somewhere on looks.
They’re good cars cost aside but not without faults.
Mainly throttle lag, bit soft, and throttle mappings a bit inconsistent.
A good remap (not adding power) could likely improve things a great deal from economy to sharpness and consistency.
No noise inside the car. Awesome outside but too refined inside.
A sound pipe from intake, or just strip some sound proofing would be a good move... to help heel and toe cues.
A bit too refined. Despite people saying they’re not fast, they feel every bit as quick as 250bhp to me.
Ample for a hot hatch/gt hatch. You should be able to get a bit more of the car coming through when pushing on.
The flippy key is annoying. Bulky and pointless. What is the obsession with huge bloody keys?
But they have a lovely ride, they’re nice quality inside, very nice spec list, spacious, practical as a 4dr, etc.
The GTi are clearly awesome if you like fwd traction (or lack of), and a soggy laggy throttle.
Buy one in bright red and you’re getting somewhere on looks.
They’re good cars cost aside but not without faults.
Mainly throttle lag, bit soft, and throttle mappings a bit inconsistent.
A good remap (not adding power) could likely improve things a great deal from economy to sharpness and consistency.
No noise inside the car. Awesome outside but too refined inside.
A sound pipe from intake, or just strip some sound proofing would be a good move... to help heel and toe cues.
A bit too refined. Despite people saying they’re not fast, they feel every bit as quick as 250bhp to me.
Ample for a hot hatch/gt hatch. You should be able to get a bit more of the car coming through when pushing on.
The flippy key is annoying. Bulky and pointless. What is the obsession with huge bloody keys?
But they have a lovely ride, they’re nice quality inside, very nice spec list, spacious, practical as a 4dr, etc.
The GTi are clearly awesome if you like fwd traction (or lack of), and a soggy laggy throttle.
I love them and always have. I tried to buy a deep blue pearl one last year but gave up trying to find a good one.
I did manage to find one but it was too money and had 2 previous owners!
A mate tried a few years to get one too, and gave up after looking at around 15 different ones.
There are a few that live local to me, and even when being driven past at a sedate pace they still sound awesome.
I got the Mrs a Mk6 Gti in the end, that is now for sale and I keep getting tempted by the equally daft and uneconomical R36
I did manage to find one but it was too money and had 2 previous owners!
A mate tried a few years to get one too, and gave up after looking at around 15 different ones.
There are a few that live local to me, and even when being driven past at a sedate pace they still sound awesome.
I got the Mrs a Mk6 Gti in the end, that is now for sale and I keep getting tempted by the equally daft and uneconomical R36
^Good colour choice!
I loved my R32 and searched high and low at the time for a Tornado Red car amongst the sea of blues blacks and silvers!
Tax is horrendous, It wasn't balls-out fast, economy isn't great considering the performance, interior build quality (buttons, carpets) was questionable - but I cant honestly think of another hatchback of the same era or especially now that had so much 'soul'. There was something very special about driving a car that was designed to be a family hatch or a motorway chugger, that instead had a 3.2 6 cylinder shoe horned into it instead.
While many wont say its that fast, I personally think its because the power delivery was so linear - it was often a surprise how fast your going only when looking at the speedo. I did get used to the power and so made the move to a C63. The four wheel drive is something I defo miss!
Glad I bought one because we certainly wont see one again - Golf R's and whatever else are now the norm but that noise alone cant be replaced. I made the mistake of putting a Milltek on mine, that lasted 3 months before it came back off as the standard noise is fantastic as it is... If it aint broke and all that.
Mine was a 2009 car (last of the bunch) which I lowered on H&R -35mm springs, and fitted Anthracite 19'' BBS CH-R's..And Tornado Red is such a fantastic colour to spruce up!
I loved my R32 and searched high and low at the time for a Tornado Red car amongst the sea of blues blacks and silvers!
Tax is horrendous, It wasn't balls-out fast, economy isn't great considering the performance, interior build quality (buttons, carpets) was questionable - but I cant honestly think of another hatchback of the same era or especially now that had so much 'soul'. There was something very special about driving a car that was designed to be a family hatch or a motorway chugger, that instead had a 3.2 6 cylinder shoe horned into it instead.
While many wont say its that fast, I personally think its because the power delivery was so linear - it was often a surprise how fast your going only when looking at the speedo. I did get used to the power and so made the move to a C63. The four wheel drive is something I defo miss!
Glad I bought one because we certainly wont see one again - Golf R's and whatever else are now the norm but that noise alone cant be replaced. I made the mistake of putting a Milltek on mine, that lasted 3 months before it came back off as the standard noise is fantastic as it is... If it aint broke and all that.
Mine was a 2009 car (last of the bunch) which I lowered on H&R -35mm springs, and fitted Anthracite 19'' BBS CH-R's..And Tornado Red is such a fantastic colour to spruce up!
Edited by irfan1712 on Thursday 17th May 15:51
I was offered a blue, 3dr manual one with wingbacks and 75k on it for £8k last year.
That red one above with the BBS CH (?) wheels would be my ideal choice! Looks great, good job.
Somehow they offer much more than the sum of their parts. Hugely appealing car. FWIW my wife had a mk v gti and it was crap, I really didn't get along with it.
That red one above with the BBS CH (?) wheels would be my ideal choice! Looks great, good job.
Somehow they offer much more than the sum of their parts. Hugely appealing car. FWIW my wife had a mk v gti and it was crap, I really didn't get along with it.
Yes they have a few floors but so do most cars when you want to pick holes in them.
I have addressed most of the glaring ones on mine, VWR/Racinlgine springs and shocks, H&R Anti Roll Bars and SuperPro Anti Lift kit have sharpened up the handling without killing the ride, a Custom Remap from Vince at Stealth Racing sorted the throttle lag and flat spots in the rev range (not to mention added a peak gain of 32lb/ft) and a Lucifer Exhaust (Miltek copy) off the R32OC makes it sound amazing without droning away like a 4 pot would.
Oh and my favourite mod of all which was a lower engine mount insert (poly bush to fill the holes) which massively reduces the engine movement making the car far nicer to drive in traffic and th shift much better.
OK the MPG is still pretty bad at 26.8, the haldex a little clumsy and yes it isn't the fastest thing you can get for the money but who cares about MPG when it sounds this good, has no turbo lag and is still a comfortable mile muncher when needed.
I Love mine, had it 3 years (longest car ownership in 19 years) and don't plan on selling it, only reason it may go is for a B7 avant as we need a bigger boot for the pram.
I have addressed most of the glaring ones on mine, VWR/Racinlgine springs and shocks, H&R Anti Roll Bars and SuperPro Anti Lift kit have sharpened up the handling without killing the ride, a Custom Remap from Vince at Stealth Racing sorted the throttle lag and flat spots in the rev range (not to mention added a peak gain of 32lb/ft) and a Lucifer Exhaust (Miltek copy) off the R32OC makes it sound amazing without droning away like a 4 pot would.
Oh and my favourite mod of all which was a lower engine mount insert (poly bush to fill the holes) which massively reduces the engine movement making the car far nicer to drive in traffic and th shift much better.
OK the MPG is still pretty bad at 26.8, the haldex a little clumsy and yes it isn't the fastest thing you can get for the money but who cares about MPG when it sounds this good, has no turbo lag and is still a comfortable mile muncher when needed.
I Love mine, had it 3 years (longest car ownership in 19 years) and don't plan on selling it, only reason it may go is for a B7 avant as we need a bigger boot for the pram.
I wanted one of these, really wanted one of these then I drove one and didn't want one anymore. They make a great noise, look great but that noise doesn't translate into much forward movement and it wasn't the most engaging of cars imo. Felt almost too planted, like there was no drama when pressing on, it just did it's thing without too much involvement from me. So I ended up buying a 5 pot ST instead, which makes just as good a noise but also translates into movement as well as some involvement. 14 months on, still think I made the right decision, still giggly down a country lane.
zedx19 said:
I wanted one of these, really wanted one of these then I drove one and didn't want one anymore. They make a great noise, look great but that noise doesn't translate into much forward movement and it wasn't the most engaging of cars imo. Felt almost too planted, like there was no drama when pressing on, it just did it's thing without too much involvement from me. So I ended up buying a 5 pot ST instead, which makes just as good a noise but also translates into movement as well as some involvement. 14 months on, still think I made the right decision, still giggly down a country lane.
Love mine to bits but I can understand where you’re coming from. For such a large engine you would have thought they would have made more power. TurboHatchback said:
The VR6, DSG and Haldex is a great drivetrain but you can also get it in the Mk2 Audi TT which is lighter, sharper, faster and much prettier. The TT is also curiously cheaper than the R32, that's where my money would go (we have one in the household and it's tremendous).
Or even an A3 3.2 quattro. The same car with a better interior (minus the fancy seats) and the same practicality which starts from about £2.5k. culpz said:
I'll have one ideally in Deep Blue with the DSG, thankyouplease 
I was lucky enough to own such a car. The pearl effect colour was fantastic. It was so well made and appointed with four wheel drive and a lovely noise.Sadly, it was heavy and underpowered thus felt quite tame in the real world. Boot was small too due to the underpinnings.
Loved it though, but in the end it had to go due to lack of grunt.
Gez79 said:
And don't forget about BMW 130i.
That's what my money went on. More power, lighter, faster and much better fuel economy plus rear wheel drive.
Not a looker but you can't see it when you're in it and to be fair i thought it looked quite good from some angles and the optional xenons improved the front end.
Never mind a 130i, into 135i territory at 15 k That's what my money went on. More power, lighter, faster and much better fuel economy plus rear wheel drive.
Not a looker but you can't see it when you're in it and to be fair i thought it looked quite good from some angles and the optional xenons improved the front end.
Which also makes a quite nice noise and goes well.
Or various other much newer stuff like a 370Z, Golf R, its a nice enough thing, but 15 grand seems like a hell of a lot of money for something that a Fiesta ST wouldnt struggle to keep up with, they werent all that quick when new, just look slow now, I know that isnt the whole picture but 15 grand gets you into some pretty nice stuff.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff