So, why did we go go for the GTI over the 135i?

[Squit]

Edit
Sorry Squit. This is purely my opinion as the looks just don't do anything for me although I accept it's a fantastic machine

No apology necessary. Not everyone has good taste!!

[monkeyhanger]

Edit
Sorry Squit. This is purely my opinion as the looks just don't do anything for me although I accept it's a fantastic machine

No apology necessary. Not everyone has good taste!!

I suppose the 135i is fast enough for no-one to get a good enough look at it to dislike it's visuals.

[Gung-Ho]

Some healthy banter going on over on the PH forum... 

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=86&t=1282318&mid=0&nmt=New+Golf+GTi%2C+anyone+done+the+maths+%3F

[am1w]

On my drive home today, I saw a number of Golf Mk7s and F20 1 Series 5 door M Sports and non-M Sports. You know what? I found myself preferring the BMW's shape and design as I found its looks much more interesting especially in M Sport guise. And it then dawned on me that: (1) I prefer the Mk6 Golf's design which IMO has a better face and backside than the Mk7, (2) maybe I'm more used to a Mk6's looks and (3) I've been brainwashed by BMW's design language. (Steve Cropley of Autocar also prefers the shape of the Mk6 Golf, so I'm not alone).

Then I also saw a few non-M Sport BMW F30 3 Series and they looked pretty ordinary and shoddy, especially in white (more like a dirty cream). They really did look like cheap repmobiles.

Maybe I was in a very critical mood today, as I did not really like the look of most of the cars I gazed on.

But it's also quite strange how one's tastes can suddenly change overnight. Why I suddenly felt like this about the Mk7 Golf really surprised and worried me. I did so want to love this car. Maybe when I see a Mk7 GTI, I might think differently, though I still won't like the red lipstick in the headlights.

But what is abundantly clear is the importance of properly applied design addenda which can make or break a car's looks.

[CraigW]

On my drive home today, I saw a number of Golf Mk7s and F20 1 Series 5 door M Sports and non-M Sports. You know what? I found myself preferring the BMW's shape and design as I found its looks much more interesting especially in M Sport guise. And it then dawned on me that: (1) I prefer the Mk6 Golf's design which IMO has a better face and backside than the Mk7, and (2) I've been brainwashed by BMW's design language. (Steve Cropley of Autocar also prefers the shape of the Mk6 Golf, so I'm not alone).

Then I also saw a few non-M Sport BMW F30 3 Series and they looked pretty ordinary and shoddy, especially in white (more like a dirty cream). They really did look like cheap repmobiles.

Maybe I was in a very critical mood today, as I did not really like the look of most of the cars I gazed on.

But it's also quite strange how one's tastes can suddenly change overnight. Why I suddenly felt like this about the Mk 7 Golf really surprised and worried me. I did so want to love this car. Maybe when I see a Mk7 GTI, I might think differently, though I still won't like the red lipstick in the headlights.

But what is abundantly clear is the importance of properly applied design addenda which can make or break a car's looks.

It tends to be the same with most cars. The base spec is always quite bland but add on bigger intakes at the front, some side skirts, a rear diffuser, some tail pipes and a spoiler and a car can take on a completely different appearance. I think when you see a GTI in the flesh it will definitely catch your attention as a true M sport Beemer does when you see one.

[Bill_the_Bear]

So far, every time I've seen a new Golf I've thought it didn't look as good as the old version.  I think it started when I saw a Mk5 and thought nah, the Mk4 looks better.

However, the other thing that always happens is a few months later I completely change my mind and think the new version looks better than the old one.  Dunno why.

[AAddict]

So far, every time I've seen a new Golf I've thought it didn't look as good as the old version.  I think it started when I saw a Mk5 and thought nah, the Mk4 looks better.

However, the other thing that always happens is a few months later I completely change my mind and think the new version looks better than the old one.  Dunno why.

I started loving the MK7 from the moment I parked my MK6 next to one (both lower models). It looks much lower, wider and meaner than my rounded MK6.

[JoeGTI]

I also think the MK7 looks pretty bland in non GTi spec. I've seen a few and they are as invisible as kia's and hyundais!
However the standard mk5 and mk6 are pretty dreary too really but look completely different animals altogether in GTI trim!

[mark@vorny.co.uk]

Don't they say that you appreciate art in time ?

I personally think the Mk5 has come of age and is now a great looking car,a classic design, and here we are talking of the Mk7, so surely it will happen to that ?

Who ever thought that Chris Bangle's design language at BMW would gain public acceptance? The E60 5 series with the Dame Edna headlights was slagged off at launch, and it doesn't look half bad now, and the new model looks a lot better. Same with the 1 series, the second generation looks so much better resolved, but I do think the front is a bit wrong. The headlamp shape needs some work ....

[monkeyhanger]

The only Golf I have truly disliked was the MK3. VW's worst one, and also the one most prone to rust - I see far more well kept MK2s than MK3s. I felt the MK6 was a step backwards from the MK5. Softer and more rounded, the oversized lighting clusters, and the GTI and GTD MK6 don't stand out from the rest of the MK6 crowd as the MK5 GTI and GT Sport TDI170 stood out from the normal MK5 with it's quite prominent black nosing. The MK6 definitely pushed me to a Scirocco.

The new MK7 looks a lot sharper in the lines, a bit lower and a bit meaner (My Scirocco looks pretty mean at the front - I like that look).

I do wonder why BMW seem to have gone out of their way to make hideous standard cars lately and then make a (comparatively) lovely coupe version in most cases (I don't consider the 1 series coupe nice, the proportions of that car are so wrong in Coupe and hatch - those ridiculously chunky sills seem to make those disproportions worse).