What's Like A MK5 R32 - But Not A MK5 R32?

[SiT]

Ok so it's an odd title I know, but in these days of hyper hat he's all with in excess of 300+ bhp from (mostly) 4 cylinder engines, I long for the days of the growl of the 3.2 VW fitted to the Golf.

I owed two, well the same one, by twice and it was epic - it was an event every time you turned the key, the blue needles, grippy Recaro buckets, growl from the exhaust as it warmed up the engine shoehorned in the front and yet still it was more than capable of loosing me my licence with 'only' 250bhp.

So I am close to being in the market for a semi daily car and my mind wanders to the R32 section and they represent great value for money now.

However I just wondered if anyone has owned anything comparable to the Golf? I would happily own one for a third time but didn't know if I should consider anything else?

A bit more space wouldn't go a miss - 6 year old plus dog these days, AWD isn't a necessity but nice and I loved the linear delivery of the 3.2 and of course the noise.

Open to any suggestions from people, have upto £10k to spend on this one I reckon. Did consider a B7 S4 but people seemed on the whole underwhelmed with it considering a 4.2 V8 derived from RS4 was snuck in under the bonnet.

Any thoughts?

Si

[Defconluke]

Passat R36, V70R, Subaru Legacy 3.0/3.6 or Alfa 156 GTA Sportwagen. Granted the Alfa on Autotrader is £13K but it does look lovely

[ZX10R NIN]

Passat R36 Estate 300bhp DSG etc

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or if the saloon's okay then there's this one:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Insignia VXR 4x4 320bhp (these are an underrated 6 cylinder)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[SiT]

I considered an R36 but Estate would have been preferred and the only one available was ex-police!?!

Looked at V70R but don't really know enough about them, Subaru was considered but it's not going to win any beauty pageants. The Insignia is very left field suggestion so will be off to browse those in a mo.

Estate/hatch/saloon makes not a lot of odds, obviously the estate makes a great load lugged especially with dog but it's not the be all and end all.

Si

[egor110]

How about a BMW with the straight 6 noise?

[ZX10R NIN]

SiT said:

I considered an R36 but Estate would have been preferred and the only one available was ex-police!?!

Looked at V70R but don't really know enough about them, Subaru was considered but it's not going to win any beauty pageants. The Insignia is very left field suggestion so will be off to browse those in a mo.

Estate/hatch/saloon makes not a lot of odds, obviously the estate makes a great load lugged especially with dog but it's not the be all and end all.

Si

The VXR is a decent steer but they feel a bit flat I think it's to do with the mapping because a simple remap brings these to life with a fat mid range they pull very hard & have a nice engine note.

[Colonial]

One of the last of the Saab 9-3 Aero with the 2.8V6?

[SiT]

Considered one of the 9-3 Turbo X models which I think is essentially a VXR underneath, still demanding strongish money given Saab is dead and buried.

I can't see anything to light my world on fire so it's either another R32 or save for longer and get a C63.

Si

[ZX10R NIN]

Get the C63 you'll never look back as someone who's owned a C63 & currently owner of a CLK63 I can honestly say the cars are intoxicating but they're not as good at the limit as the V8 M3 (my brother has one) on the flipside on the other 362 day of the year you'll be in the right car, if you did want the M3 I'd suggest you hunt for a saloon.

[SiT]

The more and more I watch YouTube videos on C63's, their owners experiences with the cars and the sheer presence of the things I think I will be stockpiling some extra cash and looking for one.

Likely be a wagon as I like the quirkiness of a 6.3(2) V8 in an estate that I can put the dog in the boot off and bikes on the roof!!!!!!

Si

[Resolutionary]

SiT said:

Ok so it's an odd title I know, but in these days of hyper hat he's all with in excess of 300+ bhp from (mostly) 4 cylinder engines, I long for the days of the growl of the 3.2 VW fitted to the Golf.

Open to any suggestions from people, have upto £10k to spend on this one I reckon. Did consider a B7 S4 but people seemed on the whole underwhelmed with it considering a 4.2 V8 derived from RS4 was snuck in under the bonnet.

Any thoughts?

Si

Sorry I'm late to this one - just a thought; I had a B7 A4 Avant fitted with a 3.2 V6. Sounds the same as an R32, same power as an R32, more practical (arguably) and is effectively everything the R32 is, but in a longer body shape.

if you' like the B7 look, but long for the howl of the 3.2, do what I did and have the best of both worlds!

[SiT]

That's a very good suggestion, although a quick look on AT suggests they are quite rare beast? I think I am going to hold on a bit longer and save up for a C63.

Si