To test out the 1.8t v's r32 argument above i got my mate out in his 240hp ibiza mk4 and we had a blast down a dual carriageway, nothing in it in the end. I was as shocked as him i think, thought i was going to get wasted. If we went any further round the clock i think i may have edged it even. This is in a smaller car than the mk4 golf so i just dont believe the story above about a stage 1 mapped gti wasting r32's. In all honesty I always had it in my head they were slow until i drove one, the power is so linear that they dont feel quick but if you watch the speedo they zip round it, whereas my old cupra and mates ibiza are aggressive in their delivery with a wall of torque, some 270ftlbs, at 2800rpm. The linear delivery, independent rear suspension and the haldex system of the 32 make them absolute animals when you're talking of driving hard point to point round some proper roads.
I think many of the 1.8t owners need to have a good drive of the 4mo's and r32's to get rid of the blinkers. Day to day you cant argue with the all round performance/economy of the 1.8t's but its still just a mk4 golf, the 32's are abit more special all round. The other thing to mention is that i was always worrying about boost leaks, about my turbo going bang and about my clutch with the mk4 cupra whereas the 32 is just a simple n/a engine. If your only doing 250 miles a week go for a 32, im doing 4-500 at the mo and love it haha
I'm somewhere in the middle of the 1.8t and 32 argument as i've had both, albeit i wouldnt get a mk4 golf with a 1.8t, as mentioned previously if you want a 1.8t go for a leon cupra r, or s3 etc the ko3s is good in smaller cars but for golf size cars i think you need the ko4 personally.
