Golf GTI still best all rounder?
 

I have a Skoda Octavia vRS which I bought to be a different from the crowd. And I flipping love it Essentially it's a Golf GTI (Well GTD in my case.lol)

Just having a nose at the Golf GTI and thought there aren't many cars that do everything. Might be a second or so slower than the RS's Type R's ,little BM 1 series and the Merc AMG

But it looked so good! Classy, no mental spoilers,nothing flash, just bloody smart and quick enough.Think that's the next on my list. Had a Mark 3 that was awful beyond belief. 115 bhp 2.0. Think they have realised their hiccup with Mk 3's and 4's:D

Anonymous and safe.

Could be said of a debadged STI..............:lol1:

I've got a Vrs diesel and a Classic MY00 so have the best of both.

Whilst the Skoda is ok, I can't connect to it due to the remoteness of the driving experience. The steering feel is Zero and there lies the problem.
Mine is chipped and in some circumstances (throttle response/instant pickup) it's better than the Scoob.

Steve

The 'leccy steering is an arse. Most of the VAG platforms have the same steering rack (one of three generations used across all models bar a few) the only thing different is the programming...

They're 'mapped' for want of a better term to give a set assistance and feedback as well as self-centring force. Also the engine/ vehicle model/AWD all plays a part as part of that programming gives correcting forces to counteract torque steer.

Can you re-flash a rack module with say, a R32 map? Pass...it's something I need to fathom as my R32 needs a new rack as the motor is struggling with parallel parking (I can steer faster than the motor can turn, so I get no assistance when I need it most), it also has a gnat's arsehair worth of pinion play which is annoying. I've got a gen2 rack but will most likely end up with a gen3 rack.

Gen1 racks can have assistance adjusted via OBD (VCDS etc.), later ones were fixed.

Tracking (toe-in/toe-out) also screw ups the centering foces; if the tracking is wrong, the steering feedback goes awry, I found that out when the front wishbone bushes went sloppy (affecting dynamic toe) Same goes for dodgy/scrubbed tyres; even on the rear as it affects the thrust force and centering of the steering wheel...

The steering on our Altea went really vague, it also went off centre. 1000 miles later and the one rear tyre ends up like this:


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...52cac7cb0.jpeg

That is steel cord sticking out...tyre holds air, but triggers the TPMS alarm after a motorway stint. Drive the car for some time wondering what the hell was going on..it all started after a 300mile drive at above 160km/h fully laden...oops :o

New rear tyre...feedback restored!

Ouch

Cant see any bad stuff on the golf though ?

Loving my GTI. It does everything I need it to do. Handles pretty well and is nippy enough. Entertainment systems on the new ones are great. Got my Sirius XM, Spotify, Amazon Music etc. google maps navigation combined with Waze works really well when they are literally moving roads around from month to month due to construction it still gets me where I need to be.

Pretty sturdy, too. Last year some guy in a Mercedes SUV didn't stop at a stop sign when I did and slammed into the back of me. Car held up very well, needed $2500 worth of repairs of course but it took the impact well.

Golf R estate is the only Golf model I would say can do everything. Bloody fast at 5.1 seconds 0-60 with 4 wheel drive so great in Winter and can get all the family and dogs in for a lot less money than an RS4/6

I wanted one of those next but they don't do them here :mad:

But it is still in your face and sounds it.

A WRX Wagon with PPP was doing this in the 00's.

Yes I don't disagree but they are outrageously expensive to run now compared to the competition and also very outdated. I loved my scoobs but i'd never have another one, my Fiesta ST3 with Mountune is more powerful than my first UK2000 in standard form and does hell of a lot better mpg, a fraction to insure and tax and service. When a 1.6 Fiesta with Ford's official £500 remap is quicker than the original UK2000 then cars have come along way since scoobs were the car to have. It also puts as much as a smile on my face as the scoob used to and even sounds good although clearly no match for that flat 4 burble.

A Golf R is 300bhp with 40mpg this is the sort of performance you could only dream of back then.

Proportionality more expensive to fix when something goes wrong ...??

I owned a MK7 Golf GTI for less than a year. The car itself was find. It was the performance model and it had passive dampers.


The ride was great. Sporty yet not crashy.


The bad bits:
Horrible fake engine sound if in dynamic mode
Horrible overly heavy steering if in dynamic mode
Traction (went from AWD to FWD) in the damp & wet


I sold mine in less than 1 year due to gearbox issues and 2 dealer taking the p155.


I'd be keen to see what the next GTI will be like, but the price on these now is crazy (just like everything), but I'm really liking the new Fiesta ST.


Considering an ST2 next year in Performance Blue, with a few options. Hopefully by then the Montune upgrades will be out.

I turned the fake engine noise stuff off. Yeah it's dumb.

Never had issues with the steering. I ain't got the sportpack on mine though.

Indeed, it's a bit interesting in the wet, getting off the line.

But it took them 18 years to get there. They have become fleet cars and lack the kudos of the more quirky variants available. Form over function. Image over reality.

Problem with the Golf R, is so many are, as you say, fleet cars, or private lease cars. The second hand market for the Golf R will be saturated. Anyone who bought one of these outright or on standard HP will be hit hard with residuals.

On the plus side you can go to BCA and pick up a great deal on a 2 year old R where private leases have been returned.

The Mk7 Golf R is a superb all-rounder. It does virtually everything exceptionally well.


In the two years that I rented mine there were only two areas where I felt it fell (very slightly) short: 1. boot-size due to AWD components, 2. ultimate thrill factor (but I probably wouldn't have known if it hadn't shared a driveway with my modified Sube wagon).


As for residuals, whoever bought my ex-lease car will have got themselves a real bargain.

To be fair you could add the Prodrive package for more power back then, although was £2500. Only thing i fine difficult is living without 4x4, other cars I've had are pants in the winter. Subaru's don't have that much room in the rear compared to other cars.

Sold Blobeye for this reason. As was a crush with 5 adults.

I actually compared this when we had two side-by-side in the workshop: Most FWD Golf owners keep the floor shelf in place on the high position which makes the difference in depth the same as the AWD with a spare tyre!

Its only when you place the floor shelf on the low level that you'll gain about 11cm in depth, which isn't exactly a lot....Which on the AWD model you could gain back by ditching the polystyrene and spare tyre as its a flat floor (FWD has a well for the spare, AWD doesn't).

What I do find odd is the FWD models have enough space above the rear axle to have a party, especially MK7s with a beam axle...they could make the spare wheel well a good 15cm deeper, if not more. They can lower the boot floor even more if they made the silencers smaller or placed them in what would have been the prop-shaft tunnel. So much wasted space under these cars (mind, same can be said for a lot of modern cars) :cuckoo: