Gti Reviews

[Powerman80]

The interesting thing in this review was that he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the i30n. In the last round of reviews it was usually picked ahead of the mk7 as a more entertaining golf gti rival.
It was wet, and perhaps on the wrong tyres- but his main criticism was the firm ride.
I’ll be interested to see how other reviews compare the two cars

Take a look at how much the camera is shaking during the lap of the i30N. And it's probably a stabilized camera. It's a hard, hard ride.

It would be a poor car to negotiate the cobbles and tram lines of central milan! Actually, thinking about it, that’s somewhere you probably could appreciate DCC!

I'm too poor for that area

I think it the I30N has active dampers just not changing much in terms of comfort. Maybe the 250-hp version is more civilized?

[fredgroves]

I don't think the ride is any softer in the non performance one, but it's hard to tell because they don't sell that one in the UK.

[Snoopy]

My thoughts too ^^^

Unless you track the car there’s very little between a mk5/6/7/8 GTI dynamically other than personal preference of driver involvement through to UI. The best one is the one you prefer.

As above, I’ve been right through from mk1 to mk8 and at no point in that time was the GTI the fastest or best handling at any stage that I can remember. VW’s brief was always the best blend, and with speeding seen as massively antisocial these days on our badly surfaced congested roads, it’s all academic.

GTI enthusiast decades. Owned GTIs over 30yrs (1,2,5,6) So of cause i would never say the GTI was the fastest or best handling. Dont think you lot understood were i was coming from. Never mind. Anyway. I sort of agree with your first coment about the Mks. I took my low ~20k mile mk6 manual GTI and went and test drove the standard mk8 GTI. Your mates on here will probably get all upset and stamp their feet now but it sort of left me cold sadly after the test drive. I so so wanted to like it as the only manual option, quicker less linear steering with less feel, sharper more assisted brakes, the constant talked about UI. I left thinking whats the point of changing apart from having a newer car.

[Snoopy]

Agree too that in this segment, a BMW or Audi holds no more brand appeal than the VW. Arguably less imo, as the GTI does have a very established "Brand" whereas if you bought that 128ti you'd spend the next 3 years explaining to people what "Ti" is, that its "ti" not "GTI" and no, someone didn't steal the "G" off the boot badge and no, its not a 116d.

ti has a history with BMW, a car enthusiast would know its significants to BMWs. Why even speak to ignorant non car people about it. All they would see is the BMW badge anyway.

[ar899]

Agree too that in this segment, a BMW or Audi holds no more brand appeal than the VW. Arguably less imo, as the GTI does have a very established "Brand" whereas if you bought that 128ti you'd spend the next 3 years explaining to people what "Ti" is, that its "ti" not "GTI" and no, someone didn't steal the "G" off the boot badge and no, its not a 116d.

ti has a history with BMW, a car enthusiast would know its significants to BMWs. Why even speak to ignorant non car people about it. All they would see is the BMW badge anyway.

And what a fine looking car the 2002tii was. Just looked briefly on line - found a restored 1975 one on sale for £28k - not far off a 128ti!

[Ubique]

New GTI comparison review on top gear.

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/hot-hatch/bmw-128ti-vs-vw-golf-gti-vs-ford-focus-st

[fredgroves]

New GTI comparison review on top gear.

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/hot-hatch/bmw-128ti-vs-vw-golf-gti-vs-ford-focus-st

First proper head to head test... interesting. So...

The Golf is a Golf - hardly headline news really, except for the digital interface.

The BMW is a BMW - except its FWD and its pretending to be a Golf, who'd have guessed?

The Ford is a Ford - no exceptions?

What did I gain from the review?

My takeaways are:

BMW suspension is OK and they don't mind the gearbox (I disagree). They say don't have the leather - I'd agree from a styling point of view.

On the Golf, DCC is too much because it offers you too much choice - no real mention of whether it gives you a better ride - a question I don't think this forum has answered yet either.

The Ford is too expensive to lease and too thirsty to own (my opinion too but have never driven one because it was always too expensive)

I'd really like to see a review where someone takes these and drives at road legal speeds for a few hundred miles for 5 hours, doing nothing more than just using the car. That's where you'd see the real world limitations. I guess road warrior reviews you don't expect from Top Gear.

Maybe I do need to start my own YouTube channel for Road Warriors.

[fredgroves]

I'll add something else about their comments about the BMW....

it’s BMW’s engineers driving the more complex, 4WD M135i hot hatch and finding a way to make it notably more fun.

and then:

There’s a chirrup from the front wheels if you go looking for it but – with the help of its polite front diff – power is broadly put down extremely well. It’s as if BMW has been sending 250-ish horsepower forwards for generations (well, via quick Minis, it has). The ti is a smoothie, so you won’t go barrelling into every roundabout like you’re on a rally stage, but the rear follows the front neatly and you’ve loads of faith in what’s going on beneath. It always behaves with utmost composure.

And that I think is quite significant and aligns with my thoughts.... its supposed to be more of a "fun car" than the M135i. I'm not sure that it actually is. Its cheaper yes, it can suffer from the FWD vs AWD issues every OEM has but I don't think its any more fun. Unless the "fun" is the harsher ride that definitely isn't in the M135i.

Conversly, is there actually any more fun in a GTI vs an R? We talk about that comparison endlessly... do you have to "drive" a GTI more than an R? If you do, do any of us actually ever do that?

Maybe less understeer is the thing (AWD nearly always causes more understeer) and maybe larger turning circle (although the 128ti has a larger turning circle than the Mk8 GTI - I didn't mention that before but it does).

[Ubique]

An interesting mechanics view of the GTI hosted by the lead singer of ZZ Top!

https://youtu.be/WtYqNd4Jad4

[ar899]

New GTI comparison review on top gear.

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/hot-hatch/bmw-128ti-vs-vw-golf-gti-vs-ford-focus-st

Maybe I do need to start my own YouTube channel for Road Warriors.

I think you're gonna have to now Fred