how many mk5-6 owners wished...

[dom]

Wow, getting it from all angles today Rhyso!

[dragongreengolfgti]

this gets better everyday 

[lemski]

id not go for a mk6, new rocco though id have one of those. would have to be an r though. other than that mk1s and 2s for me. blew my mk3 up and i drove mk4s. dont like them.

[PenguinGTI]

Just noticed this thread. Thought I'd add some Mk6 owner insight into the mix.

Let's look at the OP from two angles.

1) Buying a brand new mk6 GTI with some kit (just a random selection) such as DSG, Bluetooth, Dynaudio and Xenons.

2) Buying a classic such as a MK1 or MK2 GTI which likely will need some work to get it into desired condition (unless you buy one already done).

From the offset, yes the Mk6 is a good bit more expensive. Average spec would be just under £30k - probably £27-28k to be more precise. But the average modern buyer of a GTI is looking for a comfortable, refined, quick and dependable hatchback that can be used every day. The average buyer of a classis GTI on the other hand is generally looking for exactly that... a classic, and doesn't mind (or rather enjoys) restoring the car, enhancing the car and generally caring for the car as to the owner, the vehicle represents an iconic piece of motoring history.

So with this in mind, it is a bit unfair to directly compare the two types of car ownership.

In response to the question "If I had Mk6 money would I buy a Mk6?", the answer is in my sig. I will add however that my GTI cost just over £20k new before all the VW price increases and VAT shenanigans. Would I buy a Mk6 GTI now that the price has increased... probably yes. For me it is still a fantastic car.

There are plenty of folks on here who have the passion, skill and commitment (and also time) to work on their cars and there have been some real masterpieces as a result. A recent example is F17BAD's mk3 which IMO looks fantastic. But there has been a cost to get the car to that level - it has taken plenty of hard work and a number of years since the car was originally purchased (as well as the inevitable £££s).

As for the OP and whether I (a mk6 owner) would love a Mk1 or Mk2, then I'd have to respond that whilst I would enjoy having a classic sitting in my garage and taking it for a drive occasionally, I'm not the type of person who would enjoy having to work on it. It's nothing to do with the cars really... if a Mk6 required the same amount of work (at the moment there is the warranty to fall back on) then I wouldn't choose to work on it either.

[The Doc]

As above plus:

Seems a strange question as, if you you could afford a MK6 you could afford to buy the other Mk's too?

My mk6 is used for mainly for R&D and getting to and from work which is a 72 mile round trip, if I drive captain slow I can get between 67-73 MPG, No other golf can give me what I want from my MK6 in the R&D respect apart from similar engined VAG group cars and combined with the MPG.....

Having said that I'd like a nice MK2 or MK3 with a 2.0 16v motor in it but there's no way on this earth I'd use it as a daily driver, I've been looking at them for a while but keep getting let down by their condition.

FYI I've ran 2 V8 model RS4's among other exotic motors and I've been searching for a resonably priced S/C Atom for some time now to replace my RS4, I'll say this about performance cars: until you own cars like these you'll not understand the pain in the a55 they are, RS4 wise my advice would be if you get one, get one with a warranty.

Tops and bottoms, I have a MK6 and I'm collecting a MK5 GT TDI at the weekend.....

[Jimp]

On a slightly related note, I saw a new Jetta on the road the other day. If they brought the Jetta GLI over here and I had the money, it would be a very very difficult decision between a Rocco and a Jetta 

[DubFan]

Not wanting to stir the can o' worms... but

I've had 4 Golfs (Mk2s and Mk3s) and loved them, some more than others and would happily have another Mk2 for a fun car, but not a daily. In my opinion the Mk2 16v GTI was much better than the Mk3 16v GTI, a much better drivers car.
I have children and need a bigger (and safer) car, so a Golf is just not big enough for me, hence why I sold my last Golf.
I don't have the spare cash to get a brand new car, so I have a second hand Audi A4 Avant. I could have got a Passat (to stick with VW) but I preferred the look and feel of the A4 of the vintage I could afford. The A4 drives quite well for bigger car, ok it's not a GTI, but you have to compromise somewhere.

As to if I had this mythical "Mk6 money" would I have one?
No. Unless it was a Mk6 Golf Estate, but even then I would probably get a larger Passat or Audi A4 Estate that was a few years old.
Buying brand new doesn't make sense financially when you look at how much value cars lose over the first year or two.
If I had £25k ish, I would go for either a 1-2yr old Audi A4 Avant or Passat Estate. I would possibly consider diesel over petrol because of the increased fuel consumption, but as I don't do mega miles, I would probably stick with a petrol and hopefully one of the more powerful 2.0TFSI engines.

If I had that budget and had space (and reason) for 2 cars, then I would be tempted with a slightly older estate daily and then something for GTI driving fun.

At the end of the day, everyone has the right to their own opinion about the best car to own, but often your circumstances take control of your car choice, so you can't always have the car you dream of. You get the best compromise car you can. If that happens to be your perfect car, then you're very lucky.

[Snoopy]

They owned a really nice mk1-2-3 ? only out of interest. Do you own a mk5-6 because you can simply afford it and you think there the best model? or have you put yourselves into debt buying one and now you wish you had a really nice sorted mk1,2 or even 3 for the fraction of the price?

I have a mk6 GTI but i also have a campaign mk1 GTI and have had it for over 20 years and also have a mk2 GTI. I have also been looking at buying a mk3 GTI for the winter months use to replace my current Daihatsu winter car whos engine just self destructed.
The Mk6 is my daily. A car i bought to run i don't have to touch so i can spend more time on my other cars, it also does everything well. Motorway trips, family trips, and is good to drive. I actually like the mk6 more than i expected too, its a better allrounder imo than any of my other ones could ever be.
The mk1 is light on its feet and darty and lots of fun at legal speeds, but no good on motorways for refinment. The Mk2 is not as much fun as the mk1 but slightly better with suspension crashes on modern potholed roads so is better refined but still unrefined by modern standards and low geared for motorway use. The mk6 is much faster than them both but very refined so less fun at legal speeds but i found it much more fun than i expected it ever be, it can still make me smile.
I currently have an Armstrong siddley 346, a Riley RMA and Riley elf in peaces restoring them so my spare time is spent on them, that was the idea of the mk6 less time on the daily, more time on the other cars, as the dailys seemed to always take up my free time in the past and the other cars just sat there in peaces untouched.

If you had the money to buy a mk6 gti what would you do?

wouldn't buy a mk6 golf thats for sure i'd happily have the new rocco though  over that i'd have an old rs4-6! im a person who loves older cars and also im massive ferrari fan so i'd probably have a nice 355 on the drive  other cars theres alot more for the money evo 8-9 spend 4k tuning will see any golf off. For the 30k+ price tag new golfs are going for i wouldn't want rusty arches in 3 years and going to the garage because my rn-510 or watever stupid system they have breaks is not good. i had a mk5 gt tdi 170 for 1 month which i sold to my sister which she still has brilliant car but not for me i bought a mk3 gti after and i find it more of a drivers car albeit i got myself into debt for it but thought it was a good thing at the time. i just find vw unreliable from my experience so im thinking of moving on 

I didn't pay 30K+ for it as i bought before the multiple VAT rises, price rises and demand rises so also got a good discount. It was ~£21K brand new. I had the spare cash and more so i bought it. It also will probably still be with me in 10 years+ time as i have a habbit of running GTI's for very long periods.
If you had actually owned an old Ferrari you may be suprised how fragile and costly they are to own/run. The same with the RS4 its very expensive to own/run.
EVO8-9 i could not run one daily just too compromised. I tried years ago with similar cars just did not work for me. Maybe in my teens but not now.
Rusty arches you own a mk3 you should be use to them    Mk5 rusting arches its 5 years not 3  . The arch liner rubbing causing the issue with the mk5s is different on the mk6. Mine has also got about 10 gallon of waxoyl on it so unlikly to suffer.
The mk3 GTI a drivers car! I was a die hard VW GTI fan until they came out and i switched to the SEAT brand for there Ibiza GTIs as i found the mk3 to me felt like a floppy, wollowing, no steering feel barge when new but each to there own.

If you had the money to buy a mk6 gti what would you do?

I'd buy an escort cosworth.

Now we are talking..

You know i always wanted one until i drove one a friend had, then i seemed to spend half my life helping him fix it.
The mk6 GTI performance check the figures compared to a standard Cosworth 

[dragongreengolfgti]

great replys starting to understand peoples views and how they came about to own gti's etc i do like the whole gti range apart from mk4's but thats just me 

[snifferdog]

great replys starting to understand peoples views and how they came about to own gti's etc i do like the whole gti range apart from mk4's but thats just me 

Im with ya mate.

The mk3's were the best I ever owned for all round ability, I never understand why they got such poor reviews, it was probably just that the expectation was so high after the mk2 (which is the best handling golf that I owned).

Would I buy a mk6 if I had the cash?! Yes. (but Id test drive the MG6 first).