Golf Mk5 R32 - Experiences?
Discussion
Until recently I had my heart set on a E46 M3 but these have popped up on my radar at a similar budget but newer and a more plentiful supple to choose from.
Love the deep blue purple, would be DSG, Recaros and Miltek as an absolute minimum. Remap would be a bonus.
I'm worried it's won't feel quick though? Clearly I need to test drive one.
Any opinions from owners?
Love the deep blue purple, would be DSG, Recaros and Miltek as an absolute minimum. Remap would be a bonus.
I'm worried it's won't feel quick though? Clearly I need to test drive one.
Any opinions from owners?
I had a Mk5 R32 for 18 months. I would describe its performance as 'breathless'. It makes all the right noises and can get a lick on, but it's not a high performance car and runs out of puff as you rev it out. It's designed more as a grown up cruiser vs the GTIs hot hatch personality. I really liked mine as it was a nice car to drive about in, very comfortable and a great engine note to listen to, but if you're after a lot of power or good handling you'll want to look elsewhere.
As a guideline I found it was as quick as my friend's first gen Astra VXR. The grip from the Haldex system was offset by the extra weight 4WD brings, as well as the enormous engine sitting on the front axle.
You absolutely need to drive one as some love them and some hate them with a passion.
As a guideline I found it was as quick as my friend's first gen Astra VXR. The grip from the Haldex system was offset by the extra weight 4WD brings, as well as the enormous engine sitting on the front axle.
You absolutely need to drive one as some love them and some hate them with a passion.
As described nice sound but not much else apart from quite smooth.
Get yourself a nice Edition 30 or Pierelli Golf with the well documented and tuneable S3 / TTS / Cupra lump sat under the bonnet.
Quick decent map and your 300-310 and a nice handling proper car
Very tuneable and entertaining and will surprise many especially tuned
You can easily get to 360-370 on a stage 2+ or 400+ on stage 3 using a Loba turbo
Stage 1 is cheap HP and your options for diff and brake kits are immense
A real hidden gem!
Get yourself a nice Edition 30 or Pierelli Golf with the well documented and tuneable S3 / TTS / Cupra lump sat under the bonnet.
Quick decent map and your 300-310 and a nice handling proper car
Very tuneable and entertaining and will surprise many especially tuned
You can easily get to 360-370 on a stage 2+ or 400+ on stage 3 using a Loba turbo
Stage 1 is cheap HP and your options for diff and brake kits are immense
A real hidden gem!
They are a quick, characterful and very capable cross country machine. The engine makes lovely noises all the way across the rev band, the chassis will not bite you unless you do something stupid and it's as quick on a cold slushy February morning as it is a Sunny afternoon in August. Being a Golf it's practical too.
We won't get cars like it again.
We won't get cars like it again.
Ruskie said:
Until recently I had my heart set on a E46 M3 but these have popped up on my radar at a similar budget but newer and a more plentiful supple to choose from.
Love the deep blue purple, would be DSG, Recaros and Miltek as an absolute minimum. Remap would be a bonus.
I'm worried it's won't feel quick though? Clearly I need to test drive one.
Any opinions from owners?
They don't feel anywhere near as quick as an e46 M3 (260ish bhp vs 340ish) and nor are they anywhere near as engaging to drive. Perfectly capable car, and a truly great sound, but I wouldn't buy one instead of an e46 M3.Love the deep blue purple, would be DSG, Recaros and Miltek as an absolute minimum. Remap would be a bonus.
I'm worried it's won't feel quick though? Clearly I need to test drive one.
Any opinions from owners?
I doubt there's much at all to be gained from a remap.
I have had mine for over 6 years and 100k miles, and I love it.
There are those who prefer the GTIs and fair enough the engines are more tuneable, but I sold a mk4 R32 for a mk5 Edition 30 and didnt get on with it at all. Dull engine, under powered brakes and the annoyance of front wheel drive. To me the R feels planted and what power it has is usable all the time. Full throttle out a T junction in the wet, no problem. The four pot turbos may have more poke in a straight line on a dry road, but wheel spin and non linear turbo assisted acceleration did not make it exciting to me.
I have DSG and Recaros. DSG can be troublesome with failing Mechatronics units, but overall are pretty good. The Recaros are very nice although the leather is a bit plasticy, but does wear well. Miltek was an absolute essential on the mk4 as the standard system was heavy and boomy. The mk5 OEM system is actually fine and I have not been tempted to change it.
I fear the day something fails in a big way, but I honestly hope I never have to sell it. But yes probably is a Marmite car.
PS it is Deep Blue Pearl
There are those who prefer the GTIs and fair enough the engines are more tuneable, but I sold a mk4 R32 for a mk5 Edition 30 and didnt get on with it at all. Dull engine, under powered brakes and the annoyance of front wheel drive. To me the R feels planted and what power it has is usable all the time. Full throttle out a T junction in the wet, no problem. The four pot turbos may have more poke in a straight line on a dry road, but wheel spin and non linear turbo assisted acceleration did not make it exciting to me.
I have DSG and Recaros. DSG can be troublesome with failing Mechatronics units, but overall are pretty good. The Recaros are very nice although the leather is a bit plasticy, but does wear well. Miltek was an absolute essential on the mk4 as the standard system was heavy and boomy. The mk5 OEM system is actually fine and I have not been tempted to change it.
I fear the day something fails in a big way, but I honestly hope I never have to sell it. But yes probably is a Marmite car.
PS it is Deep Blue Pearl
Edited by dogbucket on Saturday 24th October 15:55
Great posts!
This will have the edge on your 330 easy, especially on handling. If you're going from a 330 to R32 I doubt you will feel that appreciative, handling and performance are no way near the M3!
I would say the R32 should be cheaper on running costs and is an all round great car, that noise, the planted feel and the racing set up of the car feels great and good condition ones look so modern, hard to believe their age!
As for performance upgrades, aside from supercharging (costly!) you won't derive much power from it.
As mentioned the Ed 30/Pirelli edition could be the way to go, if you can live with the constant wheel spin/FWD. A good LSD would help with that.
Dr G said:
They are a quick, characterful and very capable cross country machine. The engine makes lovely noises all the way across the rev band, the chassis will not bite you unless you do something stupid and it's as quick on a cold slushy February morning as it is a Sunny afternoon in August. Being a Golf it's practical too.
We won't get cars like it again.
A perfect summary.We won't get cars like it again.
Just sold mine and yes I'll prob come to Feb and cry for an R32.
I had one for about a year. For me, I think they are more than the sum of their parts. Or to quote this thread:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=119...
"R32 not the fastest car but its dripping in soul"
There is often talk of modern cars having too much power to exploit legally - for example a Cayman which will get to licence losing territory in 2nd gear (slight exaggeration) or the 300 BHP Golf R.
With the R32, yes it's underpowered for a V6 and is lugging around a lot of heavy Haldex kit and a heavy lump at the front but for me it had a wonderfully planted quality. I loved it, but a year was enough time and had to move on to a V8 :-)
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=119...
"R32 not the fastest car but its dripping in soul"
There is often talk of modern cars having too much power to exploit legally - for example a Cayman which will get to licence losing territory in 2nd gear (slight exaggeration) or the 300 BHP Golf R.
With the R32, yes it's underpowered for a V6 and is lugging around a lot of heavy Haldex kit and a heavy lump at the front but for me it had a wonderfully planted quality. I loved it, but a year was enough time and had to move on to a V8 :-)
I adored my R32, whereas i hated my Ed30.
A golf is never going to set your pants on fire, its just a great all round car, so if you're going to have one, you might as well get one that sounds fantastic & delivers the same performance all year round.
If you just want a 4 cylinder turbo'd hot hatch, buy a Megane.
I fitted AP coilovers, whiteline wishbone bushes & a haldex controller, went rather well.
Oh and Recaros
It also got me 120 miles home in the snow
A golf is never going to set your pants on fire, its just a great all round car, so if you're going to have one, you might as well get one that sounds fantastic & delivers the same performance all year round.
If you just want a 4 cylinder turbo'd hot hatch, buy a Megane.
I fitted AP coilovers, whiteline wishbone bushes & a haldex controller, went rather well.
Oh and Recaros
It also got me 120 miles home in the snow
pbg2770 said:
With the R32, yes it's underpowered for a V6 and is lugging around a lot of heavy Haldex kit and a heavy lump at the front but for me it had a wonderfully planted quality. I loved it, but a year was enough time and had to move on to a V8 :-)
I wouldn't say it's under powered but rather the power delivery is horrible. The power band is too narrow which makes it feel flat at the top end and not worth revving out. It's certainly not creamy and crisp all the way through the range like BMW's later 3.0 six. I never bonded with my R32, even after some mods, so moved over to an Edition 30 and it's just as capable in 90% of real world driving scenarios, and it feels more energetic and nimble with it. It's certainly the more 'fun' of the two, imo.
The low rev snappiness of the R32 engine suits DSG perfectly though. Manual R32s are nowhere near as nice to drive.
aka_kerrly said:
To compare a R32 with an M3 you really need to try a supercharged R32 - completely changes them. There are off the shelf kits with proven reliability to which helps.
But tgen surely in the interests of fairness it would be supercharged r32 vs supercharged m3. Same sized engibe, one gives much more power.rb5er said:
aka_kerrly said:
To compare a R32 with an M3 you really need to try a supercharged R32 - completely changes them. There are off the shelf kits with proven reliability to which helps.
But tgen surely in the interests of fairness it would be supercharged r32 vs supercharged m3. Same sized engibe, one gives much more power.Depending on the owners I've heard mixed reviews about both cars when it comes to running costs, both have some horrifically expensive unique parts & expensive servicing options eg timing chains & vanos...but some owners report nothing more than routine servicing + tyres - lots.
rb5er said:
aka_kerrly said:
To compare a R32 with an M3 you really need to try a supercharged R32 - completely changes them. There are off the shelf kits with proven reliability to which helps.
But tgen surely in the interests of fairness it would be supercharged r32 vs supercharged m3. Same sized engibe, one gives much more power.If you really want to get an R32 into the big league, turbo it. That, DSG & 4WD..... the M3 won't see which way it went....in a straight line at least. You'll need £15K to do a proper job of it though.
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