Autocar - First for car news and reviews

The original Golf GTi was born from a secret project among a group of Volkswagen engineers in the early 1970s. VW management originally settled on a production run of 5000 cars, but the GTi became an enormous success. Right-hand-drive models arrived in the UK in 1977 and were replaced by the bigger Mk2 in 1984.

But then the magic started to fade. The Mk3 of 1992 was stodgier and heavier, and the larger, lardier Mk4 of 1998 was even further removed from the original GTi ethos.
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I bought my 3 door DSG with the following options, Metallic Black paint, Bi-Zenon lights, leather interior, central armrest, multi-function steering wheel, 18" alloys and climate control. I have had the car three months now and put 9,000 kilometers on the clock. Overall the car has been fantastic to own. Ok so it wasn't cheap to buy at €44,700 but if you look at other cars for the same money and offering similar performance, fuel economy, reliability, comfort, practicality and resale value, there are little or no equivalents. The BMW 123d is one but you either love or hate the look of it and in my opinion is a bit boring looking albeit with better fuel economy. Everything in the Autocar review is true about this car however i disagree with their opinion on the brakes. Mine has super responsive brakes with decent feel when pushed hard. Ok so I have never brought my car on a track day so can't comment on them when pushed to the limit but in everyday life they are brilliant. They are better than any of my previous cars which include a Peugoet 106 GTI and new Mini Cooper. I use my car for work and can honestly say my only bad comment on the car is the 18" wheels. They look fantastic and some would say you can't buy a GTI without them but they are a bit hard over badly surfaced roads and we have plenty of them here in Ireland! Don't get me wrong, I have owned several cars worse in terms of comfort, in particular my BMW 318 m-pack but I can't help but thinking I should have stuck with the standard 17" ones. In saying that, the car does look great on them and they first struck me as being nearly as comfortable as my last car, a Lexus IS200 Sport but as time has gone on, I have started to get a bit more irritated with them.

In summary, if you are thinking of buying a GTI just go for it. I took three months to decide and have never looked back. Overall it is a brilliant all round car and the only decision you should have is 3 door or 5. Happy motoring.

davinade:

if you are thinking of buying a GTI just go for it

 

It sounds like you change your car quite often but arent you bothered about the mk6 Golf which is due out at the end of the year? Id advise people to wait for that, if only for residual values.

Interesting point on the 18" alloys. Im planning on a TT for my next car but dont think i could do without the 18" alloys. The 17" alloys just dont do it justice. 

Quattro369:

arent you bothered about the mk6 Golf which is due out at the end of the year?

The latest is that the new Golf has been delayed until early 2009 with the GTI at least another year off that so I couldn't really wait until then that's why I took the plunge. All Golfs and especially the GTI hold their value well so resale won't take a huge nose dive unless the new GTI is much better than the current one which is unlikely I reckon. I do change my cars often mainly because I love cars and get bored with them quickly, also reading too many car magazines doesn't help either! I get a mileage allowance from work so it doesn't really cost me anything to own my cars and whilst I could spend the money on something else, life is too short! Regarding the alloys, I'd agree with you on the TT, 17" alloys now a days are fitted to standard enough cars and performance or sports cars need something bigger to do them justice. If I were you I'd go for the 18" ones and see about getting Audi's magnetic dampers fitted to the TT if you are worried about comfort. The new diesel TT looks an interesting car if you do any sort of mileage.