Golf R32, hmmm...

Heavy, crap on fuel, not particularly fast.

And way too expensive for what they are.

 

Too heavy and 'not particularly fast' are pretty subjective.

I'm a bit of a convert to the idea of having instant torque rather than turbo lag and poor off boost response. Street driving is a lot different to a drag strip.

 

I had a a3 3.2 v6 before the impreza. Got it cheap off the girlfriends dad. Was decent enough to drive but i found it a bit boring plus the dsg just made it a lazy drive. Normally got between 27 and 29 mpg most of the time. Do miss the noise of the v6 tho.

Also if you do go and look at a a3 watch out for rust

 

Are there any reliability issues as with all other VWs? Not much mention of it, which is surprising.

 

What other issues? There aren't many cars which never have issues.

 

You are right, you will always find something with any marque but you get a picture when more faults start to build up with one marque in particular. For me VW is the most over rated marque there is in terms of reliability and personally would not touch one post 2000 - when there quality control took a massive step backwards.

 

....but you can be damn sure that the VW group have way more than most

 

I think a lot of contemporary horror stories relate to common rails diesels and their high pressure pumps.

I haven't heard especially bad stuff about the R32. It's fairly low tech with a Haldex diff and a VR6 which goes back to the 80's in its origins. My main concern is the chain instead of a belt for the cams. It worries me more.

I've got no DSG just manual. I heard the dual mass fly-wheel can act up but we'll see. I'm not brutal on my car really. I have mechanical sympathy.

 

A mate of mine had one a few years ago i think it was on an 07 plate! He kept saying it was too heavy for a hatch and not as fast as people make them out to be considering 3.2 litres! Sold up in less than a year and brought an e46 M3

 

I think you are probably right. The diesel VWs are particularly awful, not heard so much about the R32 causing too many issues. Saying that I have had and seen quite a few ABS faults with 2002-2006 VWs which the R32 may share.

 

I had one. Really liked the car but it was slow. The sound was really nice though.

I know the slow thing is a matter of opinion but my mrs' brother had an Alfa 3l v6 at the same time, similar power but the alfa actually felt quite nippy.

The R32 feels nowhere near its quoted power.

Still one of my favs though! I reckon a supercharged one could be a great car.

 

Yeah it's slower than a classic WRX because it's heavier. At least 1500 kg I believe but then it's a luxo-hatch with AWD and stuff like airbags everywhere.

....and it doesn't have the 'break your neck' on boost umph like a turbo car.

I like it though, quite refined and the VR6 is awesome, it's all torque and holds the torque to redline well 'cos of the variable timing.

Plus it sounds like a mini Maserati.

 

A friend of mine had similar sentiments about his Golf VR6 over a decade ago. It did sound nice I have to admit but was lacking in performance and very heavy on juice. He chopped it in for a Classic Turbo 2000 with some bolt on mods running about 300bhp and never looked back.

 

I'm currently looking to sell my mk4 Golf R32 and looking to get a Blobeye STI.

I have absolutely loved every minute of the Golf, its certainly not slow but then I suppose it depends on what you get used to. If I do manage to sell and get a Scoob I might be looking back in 6months and thinking that it was slow, lol.

I haven't been in a Mk5 R32 so can't really comment, but I love my mk4.

 

I'm still enjoying my Mk5 Golf GTi which has a bluefin remap - really enjoying driving it - over 30mpg (can touch 40mpg on a motorway run by being very careful) but has a decent enough kick when required. Might be worth considering an Edition30 GTi - which with a remap gives around 300bhp.

 

The Scoob will be faster but I think it will feel cheap and unrefined compared to the Golf. The 'comfy' factor is pretty bad with Scoobs, interiors are dire, doors slam like gates.