GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk6 => Topic started by: keelaw on 19 July 2009, 22:27
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What else did you consider and what thoughts did you have about them? Not necessarily objective, we're all human and have subjective thoughts!
GTI Mk 5 - great car, very affordable second hand, but interior seems quite plain compared to the Mk6.
R32 - same comments as the GTI
S3 - great interior, old design though and the front end I don't like. servicing and maintenance costs would be a worry
BMW 130i - great engine, good quality, but too similar to other BMWs I had before and I can't get on with the exterior looks. not as practical
Alfa 147 GTA - looks awesome inside and out. some 3 door only though :( seems to be pretty small inside. reliability a worry. handling not supposed to be that good.
Volvo C30 - a rare sight and in R Design mode looks pretty good. Same engine as the Focus ST, so pretty potent. again 3 door only and has had lukewarm reviews for its driving.
Mazda 3 MPS - loads of power, quick, but uninspiring to look at inside and out. not a great image. Quite a bit longer than the Golf - I need something smallish yet practical for the missus to drive.
Mazda RX-8 - the oddball choice, reasonablly practical, 4 door, coupe body. going 2nd hand could get one for the costs of the options on a new Mk6 alone! a massive bargain but high running costs and low on torque. mate of mine has one though and I don't want to copy him!
There are a whole load of other cars I could have considered 2nd hand, M3, Evo X, S4, RS4, 330d, etc etc however size at circa 4200mm and 5 door practicality were very important to me.... don't let that hold you back though... for the price we're paying you can get into a Porsche 911!!
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I need a 5 door but I would think someone who was considering a 3 door would have to seriously look at a Scirocco. Looks definately subjective but you're certainly going to get plenty of attention in one of those.
Late model Edition 30 or Pirelli would be something I would seriously look at but as you say, unless it has the very latest spec radio (which you could retrofit) it does look a tiny bit plain now inside, but really not as different to the mk6 as people make out. Downside of these at the moment is that they are holding their values very strongly and are damn near as expensive from dealers as a base spec mk6 GTI. Not so bad in itself as you are getting a lot of GTI for your money, but you know that in a couple of years time the older shape will very likely start dropping away in value whether it's a very late one or not. Unless in the very unlikely scenario the 30s and Pirellis become very sought after cult cars. Hmmm gamble.
Leon Cupra looks good value against the GTI, especially if you do a lot of trackdays or want to modify. Cheapo interior and hard ride will probably put a lot of GTI buyers off though as they're a more tactile bunch, and that's before we go into badge snobbery!
Golf GTD worth a look if you do a lot of miles and pay for your own fuel. More so if your fleet manager stipulates DERVs as company policy.
Focus ST is good value, especially if you want blue or orange! Bit cheapo inside again like the Leon and image a bit so so. Makes a nice noise though. Talking of which......
.....My local dealer has/had a Passat R36 estate in for £23k the other week, superb family car if you can stand the possible depreciation.
This thread could run and run really when you think about what you can get for £22 - £30k which is the bracket we're looking at.
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I considered a BMW X3 but after reading reports on the hard ride decided against it. The only other car I had looked at was a mark 5 edition 30 but when I knew the mark 6 was on its way it was no contest really.
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scirocco???
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rocco - only 3 drs so not worth the compromise. torque steer!!
130i - cheap as chips now, good specs still really expensive, great build but higher maintenance costs
rx8 - cheap n cheerful, was looked as as a temp stop gap but overall its still jap crap
s3 - great interior, rest just doesnt float the boat
ed30 - came very close but after driving the mk6 it just felt more composed despite less performance
r32 + turbo - OH how i would have loved to!! :evil:
In the end the gti was just too good an option to turn down. the fact is that driving a new car and cars a couple of years old just seem too larger a gap to bridge.
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I started looking at the Focus ST. Needed something that didn't scream "boy racer", had a five-door option, and a boot big enough to take a fold-up wheelchair without folding down the back seat. Needed it to be a very smooth ride for my elderly mother as well as a fun car for me. I intended to look at a wider range of hot hatches, test drive a few, then make up my mind.
But then I saw the Golf GTi, was completely dazzled, and just went baying after it without regard to anything else.
Rolfe.
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I started looking at the Focus ST. Needed something that didn't scream "boy racer", had a five-door option, and a boot big enough to take a fold-up wheelchair without folding down the back seat. Needed it to be a very smooth ride for my elderly mother as well as a fun car for me. I intended to look at a wider range of hot hatches, test drive a few, then make up my mind.
But then I saw the Golf GTi, was completely dazzled, and just went baying after it without regard to anything else.
Rolfe.
Then why did you look at the ST ? :grin:
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I said ST, not RS!!! :grin:
Rolfe.
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I said ST, not RS!!! :grin:
Rolfe.
Do you honestly think the ST is not boy racer-ish ?
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I said ST, not RS!!! :grin:
Rolfe.
Do you honestly think the ST is not boy racer-ish ?
Well, I didn't think it was, but then I've never seen one in the flesh - they didn't have one in the showroom at the dealer I went to.
I thought it looked more or less like a tame Focus. Which would have been OK. The Agent Orange paint job and the go-faster stripes are optional, you know!
Rolfe.
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I said ST, not RS!!! :grin:
Rolfe.
Do you honestly think the ST is not boy racer-ish ?
Well, I didn't think it was, but then I've never seen one in the flesh - they didn't have one in the showroom at the dealer I went to.
I thought it looked more or less like a tame Focus. Which would have been OK. The Agent Orange paint job and the go-faster stripes are optional, you know!
Rolfe.
I was just asking, i thought you were joking at first. Each to their own though.
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I was just asking, i thought you were joking at first. Each to their own though.
Well, am I wrong? The roads are crawling with Ford Focuses. How does the ST stand out from that crowd if you don't shell out for day-glo orange or silly white stripes?
What I really liked about the Peugeot was that it looked just the same as any of the squillion other Peugeot 306s on the road. And attracted just as little notice from the boys in blue. It was only when people got close enough to see the little "GTi-6" badge that they started making admiring comments. And only then, if they knew something. Elderly aunties didn't get it at all. That's what I like in a hot hatch.
That reminds me, as the car's going for scrappage, I must get that badge off it before it goes.
Rolfe.
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Hi,
I considered several cars:
Scirocco - was my first choice. But then I decided not to as it was not as practical when my family do come visit. 2 doors, small interior and limited boot space. But one cannot deny the beauty of the car. I really love the sporty shape and all.
BMW 320i - as I had driven one before, it was naturally something I would consider again. But since I am living alone at the moment, it is perhaps a little too large for me. Less economical for my daily commute since I would be driving alone.
BMW 120 - since the 3 series was a little too big, the 1 series seemed a good choice but read the Top Gear review and IIRC they said it was a boring car.
Mini - Nice to look at, but like the Scirocco, would be inpractical for me for all the same reasons.
Mazda 3 Hatchback- Looks nice and all... but for Euro16k for the basic model, hmmm after looking at the GTI and Scirocco, I totally forgot about the Mazda.. ha ha ha
Audi A3 - Looks a little dated IMO. Not as simple and elegant like the current GTI. Nuff said...
HM
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I considered the Focus ST but the chavvy, boy-racer, plasticky feel of the whole package put me off. I also had a quick run around in my old man's mk5 GTI I was blown away with it. Next thing I know, I'm down the local dealer to have a look around the mk6 and it was love at first sight!
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I was just asking, i thought you were joking at first. Each to their own though.
Well, am I wrong? The roads are crawling with Ford Focuses. How does the ST stand out from that crowd if you don't shell out for day-glo orange or silly white stripes?
What I really liked about the Peugeot was that it looked just the same as any of the squillion other Peugeot 306s on the road. And attracted just as little notice from the boys in blue. It was only when people got close enough to see the little "GTi-6" badge that they started making admiring comments. And only then, if they knew something. Elderly aunties didn't get it at all. That's what I like in a hot hatch.
That reminds me, as the car's going for scrappage, I must get that badge off it before it goes.
Rolfe.
Just what I said, each to their own. You have your opinion on it and so do I. Just because I think the ST is boy racer/chavish doesnt make you wrong.
Personally I like my cars to stand out, but with a little bit of class. If I wanted to blend in I'd buy a Ford Fiesta or a Corsa.
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Actually, I've never even seen a Focus ST in real life. I've looked at Focus Zetecs, and I assumed the ST more or less looked like these.
Doesn't it?
As I said, I got a sniff of the Golf before the pathetic Ford dealer got off the starting line, so I just gave up on that line of enquiry. I simply assumed that without the puke-inducing orange or the go-faster stripes, it looked the same as the Zetec or the Titanium.
Rolfe.
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anyone who knows anything about cars can recognize the ST. they got nice fat chubby alloys and a lager lout body kit. from the back it looks a normal focus except it has dual exhausts like the gti, not that discrete but enough so. It is horrendous on fuel economy im told. i was set on getting it but my budget increased. :smiley:
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I wasn't exactly set on getting it, but it was the first suitable car I saw when a friend sat me down in front of the Parkers web site and told me I really had to let go of the Peugeot. The fuel consumption horrified me a bit though. I used to get under 30mpg from the Peugeot but now I'm driving further to work I'm getting 32 or 33 - the idea of getting worse from a new car wasn't something I was too keen on.
Then I widened the search a little and saw the Golf, which was always on the mental shortlist, and when I saw the fuel consumption of that it began to look very very attractive by comparison. Then I looked at a few more features, and an actual car, and the ST was a lost cause. Even though it was cheaper to buy.
Rolfe.
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I just saw a Focus ST this evening on the way home from work. Dark blue with go-faster stripes and "ST" on the side, just to make sure you didn't miss it. (The house usually has a smaller blue car also with the stripes parked in front of it, someone must have a thing for looking cheap.)
Anyway, it's an ugly-looking thing after all. Maybe I've just got too used to looking at the pics of the Golf, and maybe the Focus isn't so similar to the Zetec I saw in the showroom after all, but I've completely changed my mind on looks. Golf wins hands down.
Rolfe.
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The only other car I thought about was the restyled Renault Clio RS Sport.
The Renault salesman gave me a whopping 22% discount, which made it £8000 cheaper than the GTI, but it was really cheap & nasty both inside and out and I needed 5 doors.
Most other competitors are brash & vulgar and are completely devoid of any class. The Golf GTI is just the perfect car for my needs and nothing else comes close.