25th Oct 2005, 09:02
These are great value on PCP at the moment. Looking around at 3yr / 60k full maintenance deals and I can have one of these for just UKP 20 per month more than a highish spec Vectra or Mondeo. Who thought the day would come where the latest and greatest VW would be affordable???
I have to say this is the first VW since the Corrado that has got me genuinely excited. Every VW product between the Corrado and the mk5 GTI could go in the crusher for all I care. Dull, comically overpriced, and soulless. This however has some of the old magic back, and unusually for a VW, is half sensibly priced.
Just waiting for a go in a new Focus ST and then it's decision time.
28th Oct 2005, 09:50
Very slow? It has a faster top speed AND a quicker 0-60 time than a Civic Type R so can you explain to me how it wouldn't keep up with a civic? And as for poor build quality? you obviously have never owned a VW, stick to your japanese crap my friend.
28th Oct 2005, 15:23
I own a VAG car and to be honest if I had to choose between a Golf GTI and a Civic Type R I'd rather have the latter. Japanese cars may not be perfect (tell me a car that is!) but VAG build quality isn't as good as you are lead to believe. A lot of people seem to be convinced that VW is the best no matter what and are prepared to pay over inflated prices for "image". I'm not saying it's a bad car, but its your money and your choice. I'm sick of reading comments along the lines of my car can beat your car 0-60 which is completely irrelevant. Fortunately the majority of sensible people can see past all this pointless drivel. Oh and before anybody asks what VAG car I own it's a Skoda Fabia VRS. Its no hot hatch and is far from perfect, but its good value for money and is cheap to run with excellent performance to match. I would never claim it can "beat" other cars as I don't care. As long as I have enough power to overtake safely when required, reliability and reasonable running costs that's all that matters to me.
2nd Nov 2005, 05:36
You may own a VAG car, but it is not a VW. A Skoda does not have the same standard of build quality as a VW/Audi, neither do SEAT. If you have ever owned a VW you would agree and as for going for the cheaper option, this is down to personal choice, but as with anything in life you get what you pay for and I would pay that little bit extra for the GTI all day, any day. You can get 3-yr old CTR's for under 10k now, I highly doubt the new GTI will drop this much in value over 3 years. Okay the GTI is more expensive to buy but it is a much better all round car hence the reason why every motoring magazine has voted it No.1 hot-hatch available in the UK today.
2nd Nov 2005, 07:59
I have thought long and hard about a GTI, but I'm waiting for the Focus ST to come out before I make a decision.
All the mags reckon the new Focus runs the mk5 Golf so close on quality it makes no difference, and in ST trim, assuming the pre-launch figures are correct, the Focus will have more power, less weight, more standard kit, better performance, and probably slightly better handling (based on the standard models), for a whopping £2,500 less! The trade is even predicting strong residual values for the car, along similar lines to the Golf GTI.
As for VW quality, after the two mk4 Golf TDI's and the facelifted Passat in our family, if that's good engineering, you can keep it. One of the Golfs is on its second engine after a (common) failure, and at 40,000 miles, a bearing in the Passat's gearbox ran dry with the car three months out of warranty, wrecking the clutch and flywheel, and landing the owner with a four figure bill. There have also been water leaks and electrical failures on all three. Yes they are classy inside, but that doesn't make a car. Of course, Fords are far from perfect, but the whole VW "engineering" thing is a myth, and has been so since the era of the mk2 Golf.
I will give the GTI due consideration, but it's going to have to be a lot better than the ST to justify the extra outlay. Image is irrelevant.
2nd Nov 2005, 19:56
Top golf. I want one. could be a bit lighter. isn't that quick above accelerating above 60.
5th Nov 2005, 00:03
Wow. I live in the U.S., and none of those cars are those fast over here. We get the lesser versions. Up until the 2006 model year, the Civic Si, our "Type R," got to 60mph in 9.0 according to an unbiased testing firm (Consumer Reports). Auto magazines put it at 7.9, maybe quicker, but they also have a Honda advertising account to maintain. Our Ford Focus gets to 60 in 7.4 with the "SVT" 170hp engine, but about 10 with the normal engine. Hardly impressive. In reality, our fastest cars come from Europe (where else?). Just curious, what's the most popular "hot hatch" there? Ours seems to be the Acura (Honda) RSX, the rough equivalent of your Type R Civic. But our RSX is hardly fast.
5th Nov 2005, 15:56
To the commenter of 4th November, what planet are you living on? The new Focus ST packs 225 bhp, hits 60 mph in 6.5 seconds, does a genuine 150, and at UKP 17,500 is hardly overpriced. However, if you would prefer an equivalently priced 3-series or C-class to either of these cars, please go ahead. I look forward to meeting you at the lights, or on a twisty road in the near future.
Honestly, what rot!
7th Nov 2005, 08:53
Why would you look forward to meeting him at the lights, or on a twisty road in the near future? For 17.5k you could buy a 6-yr old M3 with 325hp and still have change for a 2-year old Fiesta for the wife, who's laughing now? If anyone is willing to pay 17.5k for a Focus really does need there head testing, I don't care if it has 222bhp and does 0-60 in 6.5 seconds at the end of the day it's a run of the mill ford focus that will become a chav mobile in 5 years time. When you buy a German car you are buying more than just another car, anyone who owns one knows what I'm talking about. I would rather own any equivalently priced 3-series BMW, C-class Merc or Golf for that matter than any Ford Focus no matter how good it is, and would still be laughing even if I did get blown away at the lights. And as for image being irrelevant, did you ever see the program where the bloke had a Ford Focus as a company car and was too ashamed to park it on his driveway, says it all really doesn't it.
20th Oct 2005, 07:53
I totally agree with your comment saying that it is worth spending the extra money on a good looking, well built, reliable car such as the new GTI. I have always bought German cars and would not buy any other, Japanese cars are reliable, but are just so ugly! Although the civic type r is quick and cheap to buy, it just looks terrible and doesn't have the quality of a VW! The only other car I would consider would be a Leon Cupra, but its just not a VW! And a Vauxhall? You must be joking!