Looking to buy MK5 Edition 30 and looking to hear from owners

[nick30]

you will love the Ed30. as said try and veiw a few have a go in DSG's and manuals to make sure you make the right choice. Personally i was looking for an R32 nearly 2 years ago wanted manual too but completely changed when i fell for the DSG Ed30. 

you dont really need to worry too much about LSD but its a nice thing to have but over a grand, concentrate on getting some decent tyres first. i had pirellis and thought it was fine but the difference michelin PS3's made was unbelievable.

Do a bit of research into the maps before choosing one because some rate superchips etc but then end up changing to Revo in the end. 

the interior is lovely how dare you!! 

what were the other 2 cars you were considering, so we can bash them down!! 

[James Junior]

Thanks Nick, that is useful to know about the rubber.  Think I will report my other questions in the remap lounge and see what people can tell me.

Other contenders are:-

Alfa 159 2.4 JDM Ti

Remap to 260 bhp including DPF delete and EGR valve bypass.  Ti kit adds 19" wheels, body kit, sports seats, chrome mirrors, brembo brakes and sports suspension.

+ Nice exhaust note, would sound lovely with proper exhaust system.  Mega torque.  Looks stunning.  Lovely interior.  Nice short throw box.  Cheap to tax.  I have a good relationship with the dealer so could get discount and cheap servicing. 

- Why the hell is it soooo heavy?  Front wheel drive.  Bloody thirsty for a diesel.  Camber causes Pirelli P1 Zeros on 19" wheels to wear very quickly on the inner edge and they are shockingly expensive to replace!

BMW Z4 Coupe 3.0 Si

+ 265 bhp out of the box.  It looks amazing.  Rare.  The way it goes.  Build quality.  Proper low slung sports car.  FR set up.  Its a V6 petrol so a sports exhaust would make it sound pornographic.

- Test drove one and everyone on the road scowled at me as if to say 'f*cking yuppie BMW driver'.  A bit thirsty for use as a company vehicle.  A bit beyond what I wanted to spend on my next car.   Suspension very hard.


Do your worst Golf fanboys!  (I am pretty sold on the Golf idea anyway)

[iwilkins]

I bought my Ed30 3 weeks ago.  Sorry I've not done any mods on it at all and likely won't be in the near future.

Few things i would say about them though that i have noticed in the 3 weeks of driving.

1. I work for a huge UK organisation and have to uphold a certain image as you mentioned in your initial post.  The Golf GTi ( any version) pulls this off without being too flash and without looking out of place in teh car park.

2.  You still get many admiring glances as you drive along, again without it being overstated and flashy.

3.  When you do get the chance to get out of the car park and off the motorway onto A-B roads it drives superbly

You've not driven a DSG yet and i would advise you do before you buy ! Here's a little taster what i watched before i went to demo one myself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRwfvnDt7BA

Personally i never ever ever thought i'd like the DSG as i considered there to be an art to good gearshifting and it offers more control.  Whilst manual does offer a little more control it's hard to argue with the DSG from a performance point of view.

One word of warning when buying.  Check things like tyre wear, road noise etc.  I didn't and i'm now having to mess about to get it  sorted

[nick30]

to be fair james, your not making it as easy as i thought you would!  

the alfa sounds good that the kit comes with brembos and a sus set up. but you can easily put far better brakes than that on the GTI if you budget for it too.  GTI comes with "sport suspension" too but id imagine as with both cars you will want to do a little something about that. im sure it has good torque but remember its a diesel! short shifting while hamming round corners/ lanes/ tracks you will get bored of id imagine. 19s do look good but as you say come at a price, ride quality will be reduced and you will be spending lots of wonga on tyres. residuals are a bit poo on the alfas, then theres the build quality! i think the GTI has far more to offer as a fun, lighter more comfortable place to be. and obviously the GTI or ED30 would be far faster and probably not far off on the economy too.

i havent driven either of theses cars but id imagine the Z4 a hoot if you like chopping hair and smoking menthols! Theres a guy S08 on the other forum who decided to trade in his ED30 for a Z4M and regretted it! the GTI or ED30 would obviously be the way forward. dont rule out the standard GTI as there are a couple of really fast ones about, i think bacillus who frequents here has a bit of a speed demon as the dynos have prooved and so does topcat from the results of his 0-60 and quater mile times.

if it was my 15k, i know what i would do get the best ED30 you can then start saving for mods. or you could pick up a very nice GTI and get all the mods done straight away.  

id imagine there will be some movement in the budget so put a bit spare to get yourself a map. as i said do your research, i did mine for months and met lots of people, went out in cars and spoke to tuners then went revo  

stage 1 Revo on an Ed30 or GTI is a revelation. stage 2 was pretty good but then stage 2+ is blooming awesome!!  

edit to add, i agree with what iwilkins has said, obviously! but it is an understated yet beautiful car.

bare inmind if you do want to modify that the standard clutches arent all that strong, so you would have to budget for an uprated clutch if you went for an ED30 with mods/ map. DSG has prooved to be very strong as Hurdy will verify when he gets back from holiday 

[nick30]

theres a cheap ED30 with DSG here, if you can put up with red! the owner is a top bloke whom ive met and im suprised he is selling but he wants a diesel! 

he will be able to leave stage 1 on there for you too 

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,16212.0.html

its relative high mileage but a good car with a stupidly low price 

[iwilkins]

theres a cheap ED30 with DSG here, if you can put up with red! the owner is a top bloke whom ive met and im suprised he is selling but he wants a diesel! 

he will be able to leave stage 1 on there for you too 

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,16212.0.html

its relative high mileage but a good car with a stupidly low price 

OI there's nothing wrong with Red , Top colour for any GTi !

[James Junior]

Thanks buddy, some interesting points, especially the DSG vid! I had always discounted semi autos as I thought they were less economical and slower, but evidently not.  You have seriously changed my train of thought with that video.  Will definitely drive a flappy paddle one now.

I bought my Ed30 3 weeks ago.  Sorry I've not done any mods on it at all and likely won't be in the near future.

Few things i would say about them though that i have noticed in the 3 weeks of driving.

1. I work for a huge UK organisation and have to uphold a certain image as you mentioned in your initial post.  The Golf GTi ( any version) pulls this off without being too flash and without looking out of place in teh car park.

2.  You still get many admiring glances as you drive along, again without it being overstated and flashy.

3.  When you do get the chance to get out of the car park and off the motorway onto A-B roads it drives superbly

You've not driven a DSG yet and i would advise you do before you buy ! Here's a little taster what i watched before i went to demo one myself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRwfvnDt7BA

Personally i never ever ever thought i'd like the DSG as i considered there to be an art to good gearshifting and it offers more control.  Whilst manual does offer a little more control it's hard to argue with the DSG from a performance point of view.

One word of warning when buying.  Check things like tyre wear, road noise etc.  I didn't and i'm now having to mess about to get it  sorted

[Saint Steve]

theres a cheap ED30 with DSG here, if you can put up with red! the owner is a top bloke whom ive met and im suprised he is selling but he wants a diesel! 

he will be able to leave stage 1 on there for you too 

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,16212.0.html

its relative high mileage but a good car with a stupidly low price 

OI there's nothing wrong with Red , Top colour for any GTi !

x2, was the shinest car on mk5gti's stand this weekend. not bad for red 

[James Junior]

Yeah I agree with many of your points re the 159 - its weight is inhibitive to the fun factor, 19" wheels are great until you have to change the tyres plus torque is great but there is no substitue for a nice high revving petrol.

But then DISASTER:  Nick did you just try to dismiss a 265 bhp proper wheel drive sports car that you haven't driven as a hairdressers car?    Mate, and to think I respected you...  :embarassed:      Yeah I hear the Z4M is a bit too uncompromising, but the standard Z4 coupe is a work of art man, both the aesthetics and the driving experience.  0-60 in 5.7 and a 14 second quarter mile straight out of the box.  Now if I had said Citreon Pluriel...  

I think the standard Golf GTi is out - too boring and ten a penny.  I am always attracted to things that are a bit leftfield so I quite like the rarity of the ED30 and think the extra lip spoiler and bigger multispokes do a good job of toughening it up.

to be fair james, your not making it as easy as i thought you would!  

the alfa sounds good that the kit comes with brembos and a sus set up. but you can easily put far better brakes than that on the GTI if you budget for it too.  GTI comes with "sport suspension" too but id imagine as with both cars you will want to do a little something about that. im sure it has good torque but remember its a diesel! short shifting while hamming round corners/ lanes/ tracks you will get bored of id imagine. 19s do look good but as you say come at a price, ride quality will be reduced and you will be spending lots of wonga on tyres. residuals are a bit poo on the alfas, then theres the build quality! i think the GTI has far more to offer as a fun, lighter more comfortable place to be. and obviously the GTI or ED30 would be far faster and probably not far off on the economy too.

i havent driven either of theses cars but id imagine the Z4 a hoot if you like chopping hair and smoking menthols! Theres a guy S08 on the other forum who decided to trade in his ED30 for a Z4M and regretted it! the GTI or ED30 would obviously be the way forward. dont rule out the standard GTI as there are a couple of really fast ones about, i think bacillus who frequents here has a bit of a speed demon as the dynos have prooved and so does topcat from the results of his 0-60 and quater mile times.

if it was my 15k, i know what i would do get the best ED30 you can then start saving for mods. or you could pick up a very nice GTI and get all the mods done straight away.  

id imagine there will be some movement in the budget so put a bit spare to get yourself a map. as i said do your research, i did mine for months and met lots of people, went out in cars and spoke to tuners then went revo  

stage 1 Revo on an Ed30 or GTI is a revelation. stage 2 was pretty good but then stage 2+ is blooming awesome!!  

edit to add, i agree with what iwilkins has said, obviously! but it is an understated yet beautiful car.

bare inmind if you do want to modify that the standard clutches arent all that strong, so you would have to budget for an uprated clutch if you went for an ED30 with mods/ map. DSG has prooved to be very strong as Hurdy will verify when he gets back from holiday 

[James Junior]

P.S Thanks for the pointer re the red DSG, but I am looking for a car with no more than 30k on the clock...  Looks a nice one though.