thoughts on MKVI Golf GTI

I made the "mistake" of test driving manual one and liked it far more than I thought I would. It is a very grown up feeling do it all car.

A do it all car is what I am looking for.--5-8autocrosses a year, daily driving and some fan backroad driving is all I am requiring it to do. The only thing holding me back is reliability. I would like camry like reliability since it will be my DD.

I know that probably won't happen but spending no more than say 250 a year besides regular maintenance and such is about all i am willing to swing. I wouldn't consider cam followers etc to be regular maintenance.

So how reliabile are they? Or should i just find a 8th gen civic si--which I also like--and call it a day. The the VW feels far more "mature" and I like mature I am currently in my late 30s with one 9 year old.

Thoughts GRM family?

By the way, I am thankful for all of you. We are like family even though I have never met the vast majority of you.

Does it have a warranty? How good is the warranty? Can you extend the warranty?

I would go GTI, I like them, I want one. I am a fairly competent mechanic and have the GRM community if I get stumped.

I'd find a Civic Si and roll up the trouble-free miles.

you know it a VW right ? People on here either love them or hate them. Or love to hate them.. That being said..I have a 00 golf tdi. Got it used , beat the snot out of it daily. Fun to drive and autox .50+ mpg .stupid cell light comes and goes. If you can fix things yourself then come on over to the dark side!

DaveEstey wrote: I'd find a Civic Si and roll up the trouble-free miles.

Werd.

No warranty, 87k, but one can be purchased. I am not too concerned about reliability after it is paid off. I just can't bring myself to have a troublesome car that I am making payments on--same goes for rusty cars. If there is rust, I am not making payments. It just makes the futility of some life too painfully obvious. And pardon me for this; like eating while you poop.

I drink while I piss and STILL wouldn't buy a pre-owned GTI.

Di u like orange lights? Do you like broken plastic everything then a vw is for you!

Civic all the way and I hate hondas.

hotchocolate wrote: No warranty, 87k,

Plan on doing a belt/water pump, like NOW

EDIT: they're chains, but anywho... These have the cam follower /hpfp issues?

hotchocolate wrote: I made the "mistake" of test driving manual one and liked it far more than I thought I would. It is a very grown up feeling do it all car. A do it all car is what I am looking for.--5-8autocrosses a year, daily driving and some fan backroad driving is all I am requiring it to do. The only thing holding me back is reliability. I would like camry like reliability since it will be my DD. Thoughts GRM family?

Test drive and buy a Mazda 3 instead

2.3L duratec focus, then get the cosworth intake manifold, cams and Ford limited slip and enjoy 220 troublefree horsepower from something completely unexpected

captdownshift wrote: 2.3L duratec focus, then get the cosworth intake manifold, cams and Ford limited slip and enjoy 220 troublefree horsepower from something completely unexpected

If those numbers are accurate and reliable, that is truly surprising.

Anyway, so far it looks like the si is more reliable. I thought so but this confirms it. I guess i could learn to deal with the less premium interior and less solid feel. I will keep the focus at the back of my mind just in case a great deal pops up.

Have you driven an Si? Yeah the interior is kinda weird, but the speedo placement almost completely makes up for it. Oh and dat shifter feel..

I have driven an si. I did like it, and liked the shifter. The gti shifter is not bad at all. The gti just felt like a nicer si with slightly more interior room and torque. I liked the speedo, it is not a plus or minus to me. We also have a prius in the family so I am kind of used to that sort of placement.

About the mazda3, I like it, but not as much as the others. It is probably emotional and makes jo sense to some, but as a car enthisist, I just feel like it is a badge of honor to have something that was planned from the factory with the enthusist mind. May be the only "elitist" bone I have in my body.

If I am going to have a

focus, it has to be ST or SVT

Ditto the fiesta

Civic=Si

Golf=GTI

3 series=m3 or zhp or at the very least sport package

Mazda3=mazdaspeed3

Impreza=wrx or sti

Lancer=evo.

Makes no sense, but I guess that is me. I am perfectly fine driving an avalon though. Humans...

In reply to hotchocolate:

I 100% feel the same way.

Given the choice between the Honda, Ford or VW I would hands down choose the VW. But I like European cars and hate fords and Hondas. Plus I've always wanted a GTI.

Honda. Accord.

Can you turn off the stability/traction control on the GTI? IIRC you cant. That alone would preclude me from purchasing one (although you may be able to do away with that with a tune).

I like GTIs in idea but idk where these companies get off making turbo fwd cars without a lsd, it just makes no sense to me. I would never buy a Golf aside from an R because of that.

I don't want a car with 200ft/lbs of torque, or more, that's supposed to be sporty and maybe a tuner car without a lsd.

I own an 09 Si with a few mods and a friend owns a Mk VI GTi. We both really like and are considering the Fiesta ST. On the Si side I track mine regularly and it does decently. Needs brakes for track work and probably even autocross. I did shifter bushings and although it is a good shifter I don't think it is great. Power is good and more is easy enough to add while staying reliable. I have TSX front brakes with lnes fluid and HP+ pads all around for good stopping. It fits plenty of tire and I use Evo wheels for cheap lightish and strong track wheels.

The things about it I don't like is the ride. Fairly firm on everything and harsh more often then I like. The electric steering is odd feeling and only gets more notiaible with time. I had a 01 S2K and it was worlds better steering so FWD vs RWD and time have done Honda no favors. Ingress/egress on coupes is not so nice either since the seat only goes so far down due to intrusion beam and low roofline. At 5 10 when I add a helmet I am reclined more then I prefer and have to open the sunroof cover. Not the best. I had 5 Foci including a 05 ST and would trade some power and the LSD for one if I did less track stuff and more daily. Thus my love of the Fiesta ST 5 doors of utility with 6 speed, 200HP and good torque in a light nimble platform with a full warranty.

I believe the fsi engines could have sludge issues. This was solved when the tsi came out I think.

I am actually considering a MK VI in the spring. I was at a local tuner yesterday to ask some questions about MK V vs MK VI GTI issues, reliability etc. They also do general repair and work on all sorts of VWs. I trust them and have done considerable business with them in past years when I was still into the older watercooled stuff. I trust their opinion.

The shop owner said they don't like the MK VI gen cars because they don't sell enough parts to fix the VW design flaws on them. Tongue in cheek of course. But a couple staff members have them, and they have a shop development car that is an early MK V. He said quite sincerely that they just aren't seeing or hearing about many issues with the MK VI cars.

Also, the HPFP cam follower is not an issue with them (it is on the MK V FSI) nor is the engine sludging, nor the timing belt, as they have a chain.

After my discussion with him, I wouldn't be afraid to buy a pre-owned one provided is has good service and maintenance history.

As reliable as a civic si? Likely still not, but much nicer IMO.

Thanks doc_speeder zeigeist et al. It seems like the honda (FA5) will be the better bet for what I am looking for. If I get it I plan on puting konis and profress rear anti-roll on it to help with the ride and handling. Maybe sligtly more agressive brake pads, but that is about it. I am not a betting man so much as I would love to own the gti I will have to pass. for now I just want an easy and fun button. The civic is easy and fun.

Though the gti has non defeatable nannies and no lsd I was prepared to live with it.

Having said that, I am highly interested in the mkvii gti with its fancy lsd. But that is way out of the price range and about a year away.

I absolutely adore the fiesta st, just a little too small for my needs.

About the accord, I would look at it but it is a kittle too large. I have decided interior space of 95ft3 or less and trunk space of 12ft3 or more is about what I need for my purposes.

I am beginning to ramble so off to do some cooking.

I had one of these, clocked over 100k on it. The engine always ran pretty well, but the car had a lot of gremlins. Driver power lock did not work with the key fob, sometimes the sun roof would just open, sometimes the windows would not go down... or back up, or maybe one would work, the wipers were finikie. Im reasonably mechanically inclined and did as much as I could myself to save on maintenance, but sometimes did not have the time to do stuff cause it was my everyday driver. The maintenance was pricey which I had done. But the car was quick for what it was, could pack a bunch of crap in it with the hatch and the seats folded, and when I behaved with the throttle averaged 26 mpg.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers, Nick

Thanks Nick. This is the kind of info that I was looking for. Hopefully someone else looking to purchase can peruse this thread and self educate.

I realize I love predictibilty and lack lots of freetime. Much as enjoy diy car projects, I prefer not to do that on my dd. Throughout my married life we have always had one good car for my wife and one semi project for me to dd and auto cross. The only exceptions have been the time i owned my M3 and now my camry wagon. Much as i enjoy my camry for daily driving, with 224k and being 18+ years old and automatic, i dont think i want to autocross it.

Again, thamks for the info.