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

[Bill_the_Bear]

My boss used to have a 330d M Sport which he referred to as "the money bucket" as it cost him an arm and a leg when something went wrong at least once a month. Hopefully you have a better experience!

That said I do like the BMW looks (except not the 1 series) and the drive is pretty awesome (3 series at least) but they are overpriced... Which of course helps them to be your "most valuable brand" but says nothing about if the are any good or not.  Apparently they displaced Toyota so by that logic until this year Toyotas were better than all other brands???

Like I say I like BMWs, but they do have thei faults.

[am1w]

It's a given all cars come with faults. BMWs are no exception. In fact F30s (3 Series) and F20s (1 Series) produced before Nov 2012 had rusty front seat bases. Pretty shocking. And there have been problems with faulty steering racks and suspensions. I don't seem to recall that Golfs were this bad.

The other thing is that if the F30 is not specced in M Sport guise, it is a pretty ordinary looking car. It is also very colour sensitive. Plus, the range of available colours is pretty poor.

I have seen a couple of cooking Mk7 Golfs and was very impressed by how attractive they looked especially in Silver. Cooking versions of the Mk6 were not this attractive. I was also very impressed by the very small panel gaps, something BMW F30s don't seem to have. Cooking F30s and F20s are not very attractive IMO. But what I do like about my F30 is the flawless paint finish which has no orange peel. Quite surprised by this.

Yes, the better versions of the Golf Mk7 are Premium Hatchbacks and have to be viewed thus, well at least by those of us in the know.

Cars eh?

[mark@vorny.co.uk]

Interesting to see the bit of inter-brand rivalry.

I moderate on a couple of BMW forums, gained when I went through 10 years of them, all I would say is that we should get along as car enthusiasts, but mild mannered banter is fun.

I moved out of the brand due to costs. I had two E46's which were ultra reliable into 3 figure mileages. I then bought one of the first E93 335i's. Ouch. All this in 65k miles ....

Two turbo's
Gearbox sump
Differential
Steering Column
Roof Seals
4x cracked wheels

But, all done under warranty, and I loved the car. However, a month after I bought the BMW the wife bought her Mk5 GTi. All that needed was a Hydro unit and an air con seal. That was all in a similar mileage. I had more passion for the Golf, but it brings out the hooligan in you.

I moved out of the BMW brand due to the costs. I privately lease as I fund it outside of the family budget. I fancied an M3, despite feeling that they only add real sparkle in that final 10%, but the lease costs on a 6 month old one were just plain wacky. I ended up with a 911 C2S, cheaper to lease than a 335i and M3, and 40k miles on 100% reliable.

...and the wife has a Mk6 now, and I still love it. It has to be one of the best all round cars out there. But that doesn't stop me looking at any car with an enthusiasts view of appreciation. How else could I still love my 5 year old 500 and be tempted constantly by an Abarth   

[master_hayabusa]

Just to spice this debate up lol

http://www.worldcarfans.com/113051057529/forbes-ranks-bmw-as-the-worlds-most-powerful-car-brand

[Squit]

Just to spice this debate up a little more:

I've just placed an order for an M135i. My choice was between that and the mk7 GTI. I have seen most of the reviews of both cars, but these didn't really help, because all of them are favourable.

However, the thing that really swayed me was the shambles that is the golf gti launch. VW, or maybe just VW UK, don't seem to be able to organise a piss up in a brewery, let alone the release of a 'hot hatch' in a very competitive market. I'm amazed that they command the loyalty they seem to.

The two hour test drive I took today made the decision easy - I recommend even the most die hard BMW haters to at least try it.......you might like it!

It's an amazing machine, massively fast, great sound, but still very refined.

I'm sure the GTI will be a great car and I doubt anybody would regret choosing it, but the things that swayed me were:

• I wanted auto, and I think that the 8 speed ZF is superior to the DSG in the golf. If I wanted manual, the golf might have won out.
• The performance of these cars is not comparable. To be honest, before I tried it, I thought the BMW was over the top, but a few minutes in it changed my mind. It is amazingly good fun, even accelerating for just a split second at legal speeds!
• Price. In less than half an hour I haggled a 10 % discount and if I'd persevered I possibly could have got a bit more. A comparable spec GTI would have only been a couple of thousand cheaper - VW prices for things such as leather take the piss! I actually would have preferred alcantara, but for some strange reason, neither manufacturer offers this in the UK market.
• Lack of the option of a GTI test drive (I don't just believe what I read) and also the apparently lengthy, but as yet unknown, lead times also counted significantly against the gti.
• A small thing, but not entirely insignificant, is brand perception (ready to get plenty of abuse for this one). I do feel that BMW is a more premium brand, whatever that really means, but I suppose that VAG group demonstrate this perfectly by the relative costs between the Skoda, Seat, VW and Audi marques - very similar cars, but massive differences in price. Maybe I'm just a victim of BMW's ad campaigns, but the BMW dealership is a much nicer place to be than the VW one.
• Lastly, the CD player in the glovebox, what were VW thinking?

Things that were in the golf's favour were:

• Economy
• Price
• Automatic distance cruise control or whatever it's called (VW can't even seem to agree on the most suitable acronym)

That's about it for me.

I know the majority of people prefer the look of the golf, but I don't. It's a somewhat dull design that is too similar to all the other recent somewhat dull gti designs. Also, I dislike the alloys. Although the axe blade design does look a bit less chavy than those horrible telephone dial ones on the mk 6.

Obviously, the preceding comments are entirely my own opinion, and I'm prepared for the abuse that may follow, but as Chris Harris makes reference to in his review, there is a better car out there for similar money....

[CraigW]

I can fully understand your decision to go with 135 as it has breathtaking performance considering how much it costs but for me I would be too worried about RWD usability in this country considering the weather we get. However, even more problematic for me is its looks. I don't think I could ever truly love a car that looks so odd-there is something just not right about the front end. I think the old one series was a far better looking car.

Anyway it's only my opinion and I like I said, performance wise, it's one awesome piece of kit. I'm sure you will get great pleasure from it 

[Squit]

You're right, should have put that down in the pros section of the golf.

Planning to invest in a full set of winter wheels and tyres, which negates the comparable price argument quite a bit! I think they will set me back about £1600.

[mark@vorny.co.uk]

You will enjoy the 135i. A mate has one coming on the 20th May.

You will enjoy it even more with a nice map on it, the mid range becomes really addictive with it. Snow is your only issue, I just used to leave mine at home for a couple of days a year. Getting a taxi on those occasions was cheaper than winter wheels for me.

Enjoy.

The other beauty is the condition based service. Get yourself a dealer that lets you take your own oil in rather than pay the £14.99/litre (they take 6.5ltrs). An oil change becomes a £65 affair 

[Running Man]

m135i, yes its quick, nice inside, premimum brand etc............BUT its just so ugly and if a car looks sh!t no matter how good it is to drive I don't see the point.

if there were plastic surgeons for cars the m135i would would keep them very busy indeed   

[ROO1]

My boss used to have a 330d M Sport which he referred to as "the money bucket" as it cost him an arm and a leg when something went wrong at least once a month. Hopefully you have a better experience!

That said I do like the BMW looks (except not the 1 series) and the drive is pretty awesome (3 series at least) but they are overpriced... Which of course helps them to be your "most valuable brand" but says nothing about if the are any good or not.  Apparently they displaced Toyota so by that logic until this year Toyotas were better than all other brands???

Like I say I like BMWs, but they do have thei faults.

I remember the pixels went on my E90's CD player....warranty £750 lol