Golf GTI vs subaru WRX lap times.

groupb

tossy wrote: »

Wellity wellity wellity....

Welcome to 2 years ago and discovering what most already knew.

The golf GTI is a good car,the New impreza is not.

Let me address the R32 issue first(it leads nicely to my next point) i would agree 250bhp from a 3.2 V6 is not that amazing and some would say typical of big heavy overrated VWs,but when alfa do it,its petrol head heaven? hmmmm

As for comparing an R32 to a mazda MP3 please,mazda haven;t made a decent performance car since the RX7,thats where their pedigree lies not with hot hatches.

Now,225bhp from a 2.5L turbo car is not exactly earth shattering performance either is it? considering all newer GTIs are fitted with engines with the BWA engine code (uprated pistons and a few other tweaks due to running problems with poor quality petrol in some countries),the BWA has been consistently proven to be putting out 220 plus BHP,and the manufacturers 0-69 of over 7 seconds is way off,last year during testing on a private track with decent pilots we could regularly get mid 6 sec 0-60 secs on a bog standard BWA engined GTI.

So... taking all of the above in its no surprise to me that the GTI is faster in fact when watching that 5th gear episode months ago live on TV,i called the GTI to win and was greeted by cynical laughter from my peers in the room,its an oft quoted phrase on here that VW is living of its reputation from the late 80s and mid 90s,well its now official that the impreza is living of its reputation from the previous generation imprezas.

Don't under estimate how good a car the GTI is,esp how well it handles for a 220bhp front wheel drive car,it is leagues ahead of its rivals in that stake (even the AWD impreza)

and

Don't under estimate just how much of a disappointment the new impreza is.

Leagues ahead of a megane R26?

tossy

groupb wrote: »

Leagues ahead of a megane R26?

Maybe not leagues ahead but ahead yes,the R26 is too track focused to live with as an everyday car,you couldn't drive the R26 day in and day out on irish roads and not suffer serious spinal injuries! so as a daily driver with as much on tap the GTI wins for me.

Besides at the end of the day its still a megane,so it will eventually break down.the electrics will still go south,you will have superfast dodgy indicators within a month lol.

Graham_B18C

tossy wrote: »

Maybe not leagues ahead but ahead yes,the R26 is too track focused to live with as an everyday car,you couldn't drive the R26 day in and day out on irish roads and not suffer serious spinal injuries! so as a daily driver with as much on tap the GTI wins for me.

Besides at the end of the day its still a megane,so it will eventually break down.the electrics will still go south,you will have superfast dodgy indicators within a month lol.

And Golfs are reliable?

I like the Golf but why someone would spend 35k on a Golf is beyond me, when for the same money you could have something like this...
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Subaru/Impreza/STi-dccd/1235316/

Fair enough its two years old but its still a hell of a lot better performing and better looking than a Golf!!!

whippet

Grahamo999 wrote: »

And Golfs are reliable?

I like the Golf but why someone would spend 35k on a Golf is beyond me, when for the same money you could have something like this...
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Subaru/Impreza/STi-dccd/1235316/

Fair enough its two years old but its still a hell of a lot better performing and better looking than a Golf!!!

because it is a pig ugly yoke and wouldn't be the easiest car to live with day to day .. personally give me my GTi with DSG and have the best of both worlds.

Wouldn't life be so boring if everything was black and white and we all had the same tastes.

Graham_B18C

But the Subaru IS nicer!:p

lightening

Grahamo999 wrote: »

better looking than a Golf!!!

It's HIDEOUS!!! Its a horrible saloon with crappy bits of plastic on it! But whippits right, its all a matter of taste.

Anyway, us GTi owners were getting even smugger with this thread!! Soon you will be able to see our noses from behind!

Reliability is good on the GTi from personal experience.

Biro

lightening wrote: »

It's HIDEOUS!!! Its a horrible saloon with crappy bits of plastic on it! But whippits right, its all a matter of taste.

Anyway, us GTi owners were getting even smugger with this thread!! Soon you will be able to see our noses from behind!

Reliability is good on the GTi from personal experience.

Lets face it - the Golf isn't exactly the car to snap knicker elastic from 100 paces either.

tossy

Are golfs reliable? compared to the megane the golf is a rock of reliability!

That scooby is crass looking,people who tend to go for european styling tend to like it a little less in your face,you couldn't pass through a routine tax and insurance check point in that without a grilling!

Graham_B18C

tossy wrote: »

Are golfs reliable? compared to the megane the golf is a rock of reliability!

That scooby is crass looking,people who tend to go for european styling tend to like it a little less in your face,you couldn't pass through a routine tax and insurance check point in that without a grilling!

Cant argue with that! But if i did have that sort of money i'd be going more towards an evo rather than a sti, only reason i pointed to that sti was because Subaru's were in the firing line. BUT...i don't have that kinda money, hopefully i'll have a nice dc5 in the next few months, personal preference would be Jap over Euro but i do love the look of the GTI Golf.

whippet

for me practicality and comforts are factors in decision making ... buying a 200-250bhp car ..it's not a supercar, it's not a track day car, after a brusing footie match on a sunday morning, legs handing off me, a few fingers bent the wrong way .. slipping the GTi into auto and tipping on home for a bath is more appealing than having to wrestle with a stiff clutch and the need for more revs.

Ferris

whippet wrote: »

for me practicality and comforts are factors in decision making ... buying a 200-250bhp car ..it's not a supercar, it's not a track day car, after a brusing footie match on a sunday morning, legs handing off me, a few fingers bent the wrong way .. slipping the GTi into auto and tipping on home for a bath is more appealing than having to wrestle with a stiff clutch and the need for more revs.

Says it all really. Also there are few cars (esp sub 40k) can you drive to mondello in the morning - have some fun - and then park outside the Westbury in the evening and not look like a spanner. Cant really do that in a civic/evo/wrx to be fair.

Anan1

Ferris wrote: »

Says it all really. Also there are few cars (esp sub 40k) can you drive to mondello in the morning - have some fun - and then park outside the Westbury in the evening and not look like a spanner. Cant really do that in a civic/evo/wrx to be fair.

There's a strong supposition of insecurity in there, don't you think?

Zube

Anan1 wrote: »

There's a strong supposition of insecurity in there, don't you think?

No, it's not just insecurity. The car you drive says something about you. My car says "Cheap b*stard who doesn't care what you think about his car".

If I had the money, I'd take a GTi which says "I'm just a Golf driver" but goes over an WRX STi that says "Look at me!", even if it goes harder.

That's something I like about the Forester, you can have some of that turbo nutter Impreza engineering in a car that says "School run".

Ferris

Anan1 wrote: »

There's a strong supposition of insecurity in there, don't you think?

Hardly - I drive a 96 Citroen Xantia with tape holding the pass window up.

I just think one of the Golf GTi's strengths is that its classless. It can be driven by a youngfella, a middle aged housewife or a middle aged man. Lets be honest that the last two stereotypes would look a bit silly in a Type R civic. I would put the Forrester in the same bracket as the GTI in this respect actually.

Also at the mo used GTi's represent serious value for money.

Anan1

I fully accept that, if one does care what strangers think, the Golf makes a good impression. It's just that i'd expect places like the Westbury to impress me, not the other way around.;)

Ferris

Anan1 wrote: »

I fully accept that, if one does care what strangers think, the Golf makes a good impression. It's just that i'd expect places like the Westbury to impress me, not the other way around.;)

I only chose the Westbury as is the only Dublin City Centre Hotel that you can 'pull up outside', its not a haunt of mine.

Either way I'd rather a GTi, looked at one at the weekend but it sold before I could get back to it.

Anan1

Ferris wrote: »

I only chose the Westbury as is the only Dublin City Centre Hotel that you can 'pull up outside', its not a haunt of mine.

Either way I'd rather a GTi, looked at one at the weekend but it sold before I could get back to it.

I'd probably be tempted by a GTI DSG myself. I dunno, maybe i'm just not a morning person.;)

lightening

Ferris wrote: »

Hardly - I drive a 96 Citroen Xantia with tape holding the pass window up.

I would hate to think I would judge you on your car dude! A lot of my wealthier friends drive ancient things. Some of them are engineers and nurse along the most decrepit things you have ever seen!

Some people just pour money into their cars, its their thing. Others think that's crazy... That's people for you.

Ferris

lightening wrote: »

I would hate to think I would judge you on your car dude! A lot of my wealthier friends drive ancient things. Some of them are engineers and nurse along the most decrepit things you have ever seen!

Some people just pour money into their cars, its their thing. Others think that's crazy... That's people for you.

Cheers man, I appretiate that. I drive the car deliberatly, bangernomics style, I got a good offer on my old car and needed something to tide me over until I made my mind up about what I wanted to buy. Oh and I am an engineer and have to nurse the Xantia somethin rotten.

i hope to make it till the new year and then thinking of a GTi with DSG and cream leather for as cheap as I can get one.

lightening

Ferris wrote: »

Oh and I am an engineer and have to nurse the Xantia somethin rotten..

HAHA!!! Classic! You should see some of the things friends of mine have. These guys are very well paid engineers and they have ANCIENT hondas and peugeots they bought for about 100 euro!!

Anan1

lightening wrote: »

Some people just pour money into their cars, its their thing. Others think that's crazy... That's people for you.

+1. In my warped world, a Xantia is cooler than either an Impreza WRX or a Mk5 Golf GTI.

Ferris

Anan1 wrote: »

+1. In my warped world, a Xantia is cooler than either an Impreza WRX or a Mk5 Golf GTI.

They're quirky alright:

Soft suspension and brilliant roadholding for a '96 car with 200k+ (speedo broken:o) way better than the mk4 Golf I had. Very strong body too and comfortable seats and a strong engine

The interior is awful however and the amount of ancilliary items that are broken is unreal. Also slow due to wierd gear ratios and the brakes do not work in the wet (no ABS but ABS was problematic in them). Also suspension is a lot of work when it goes wrong.

I wouldn't turn down a 2L Turbo Activa. It stiffened up the suspension on the outside wheels in a corner, it could corner quicker than an e36 and Mercedes copied the basic design for the S-class.