Bought a GTi yesterday

[JG911]

We had  a little girl a few months ago and despite many attempts, she didn't mix well with my Boxster.  After much deliberation over what car to replace it with one car came up time and time again... Golf GTi.  The Golf is great, DSG box is sooooo muh better than the SMG box on my old M3, handles well, pulls well in any gear.  It doesn't quite have the top end grunt of the Boxster and it's not as communicative but it's much better to live with on the M4 during rush hour!

Yesterday I think I got quite a good end of quarter deal, 450 miles on the clock, Feb 07 car £29.5K brand new all for £24K.  I did the deal over the phone with a main dealer and consequently haven't seen the actual car yet.

Now the questions start:
1. Heated seats setting - is this on/off or variable
2. How do I tell if the sterio has been upgraded, it's got DVD sat/nav and lux pack if that makes any difference?
3. Recaro seats - Do they tilt backwards and forward or are they fixed?
4. How long are tires lasting? I know this depends on driving style
5. Revo or Bluefin, what's the prefered remap?
6. Can you fit a roof rack or can you only fit a tailgate mounted rack?

I'm sure I'll think of a million  other questions over the coming days.

Thanks,

Phil

[Peskarik]

We had  a little girl a few months ago and despite many attempts, she didn't mix well with my Boxster.  After much deliberation over what car to replace it with one car came up time and time again... Golf GTi.  The Golf is great, DSG box is sooooo muh better than the SMG box on my old M3, handles well, pulls well in any gear.  It doesn't quite have the top end grunt of the Boxster and it's not as communicative but it's much better to live with on the M4 during rush hour!

Yesterday I think I got quite a good end of quarter deal, 450 miles on the clock, Feb 07 car £29.5K brand new all for £24K.  I did the deal over the phone with a main dealer and consequently haven't seen the actual car yet.

Now the questions start:
1. Heated seats setting - is this on/off or variable
2. How do I tell if the sterio has been upgraded, it's got DVD sat/nav and lux pack if that makes any difference?
3. Recaro seats - Do they tilt backwards and forward or are they fixed?
4. How long are tires lasting? I know this depends on driving style
5. Revo or Bluefin, what's the prefered remap?
6. Can you fit a roof rack or can you only fit a tailgate mounted rack?

I'm sure I'll think of a million  other questions over the coming days.

Thanks,

Phil

Prefered remap is Oettinger with Mapswitch 

Could you write a few lines, as objectivly as you could, comparing M3 to GTI?

And welcome to zi forum!

[JG911]

Hmmm... M3 vs Gti.  I had an E46 M3 with SMG and really didn't get on well with it.  The SMG was great if you were driving balls out all the time but in traffic or a hungover sunday morning drive to Tesco's it was a too harsh, even though you can change the shift speed settings it was either too slow or too fast.

M3 wins on straight line performance and continues to pull above 115mph, but how often do you get to use it at that speed?  For me the traction control came in early and was too agressive when it did kick in.  With t/c off it was easy to steer on the throttle even though feedback through the steering wheel was non-existant.  Turn in was good and despite the engine being in the front understeer wasn't noticable.  Interior wise, the Golf is about on par with the E46 M3 although I'd say the new E90 models are slightly better inside.  The best piece had to be the SMG launch control it was absolutely amazing, real neck snapping acceleration off the line.

From what I can tell (and I've only driven a GTi for about half an hour) the golf is lighter, stops better, is more responsive lower don

If you are looking at a £20K-£25K M3 (ie similar price to a high spec GTi) then be careful with the engine and make sure you get a warranty.  Although BMW claim to have fixed the VANOS problem it's still a regular occurence and is an engine out/rebuild job.  I had two failures on my older E36 M3 and although covered by warranty it cost £3K each time.

If it's any help, I've owned and raced many cars over the past ten years and whilst the E46 M3 was a great all rounder it was master of none.  I had it for 10 Months and swapped it for a 996 911.

Phil

[Peskarik]

Thanks, Phil! Very informative write-up. 

911 is my dream car. I don't know if I ever get it, though, promissed my mum to buy her 911 as well, so she would be first in line. 

Not looking for M3, though I respect them greatly.

Besides, I am very sure I will be happy with Ed30  once I get it 
With Oettinger 305hp remap it will pull like a locomotive, I reckon. 

Just thought of it: 911 is emergenc number in US, and also 9/11. 

[Peskarik]

I suggest you to talk to RedRobin, he modded his GTI very nicely - chip, exhaust, suspension, body styling. He has lots of info to share!

[MarkA]

Funnily enough, that was my choice this time around....

I was looking at getting an E46 M3 (sub 5 years old) to compliment my '06 E90 BMW 320Si Saloon... drove a few, liked it.. didn't mind cars with the SMG box... but in the end got the GTI. My reasoning was that dynamically the GTI with a remap would be 70-80% of what the M3 is at the limit, but be just as much fun for everyday driving, be easier to live with, be 4 years newer and easier / cheaper to maintain.

[JG911]

You're not wrong about servicing Mark.  M3 was about £600-£700 per service, discs and pads all round were a grand.

Mind you 911 servicing was about the same, never got to service my 987 Boxster but that would have been about £300 which isn't too bad.

Phil

[phil1101]

Crikey, M3 service costs = financial ruin !! Good write up, enjoyed the real world comparison

[Cass]

Now the questions start:
1. Heated seats setting - is this on/off or variable
2. How do I tell if the sterio has been upgraded, it's got DVD sat/nav and lux pack if that makes any difference?
3. Recaro seats - Do they tilt backwards and forward or are they fixed?
4. How long are tires lasting? I know this depends on driving style
5. Revo or Bluefin, what's the prefered remap?
6. Can you fit a roof rack or can you only fit a tailgate mounted rack?

I'm sure I'll think of a million  other questions over the coming days.

Thanks,

Phil

Car sounds a good spec and a good deal.

1. 0-5 variable heat settings either side
2. Given that it's an almost new car it will have the standard DVD SatNav 10 speaker sound set up. Try it and see first
3. Some adjustment/movement but restricted rear access in comparison to standard seats
4. Have always got up to 30k myself on all my previous GTI's My previous Boxster also lasted 25k +. Very much a matter on your driving style
5. Both featured here - do a search and decide which is best for your needs. Not a lot of modders here actually but that ain't a bad thing. Check here:
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=62109.0
6. Both available - even a GTI tow bar

Cass