Need some honest reviews

[chavan969]

Ok here I go with my first post

I am looking to change my current car which is a Mitsubishi Evo VIII MR FQ340, reason being my wife has decided she wants a Lotus Elise S instead of her Mini Cooper S, so basically I was due a change but to have two hard core cars just isn't practical (and I fancy the Lotus as its fantastic, pure drivers car and sooo much fun to drive). 
Anyway I have been looking at a compromise for me and so far have shortlisted the following, all new.
Golf GTI SE30 - Felt nimble, fairly quick, handled well, chipped i know your looking at 300-315bhp which is very appealing. Getting on the expensive side for the performance side by side with its rivals.
Focus ST - Felt nimble, not as nimble as the SE30 but a lot of fun and felt quicker than the SE30, cabin noise was very addictive, again chipped i here makes them pretty rapid.
Focus RS (the new one thats out 2009, so I would have to sit tight for  while) - This is difficult because its not out and there will be a waiting list, the thought of this car excites me though as Ford RS know what they are doing, will it be to hard core though?
Megane R26 - Fantastic handling, felt the fastest, great fun and very good value, i like the look of it as well. Fairly hard core but I could live with it.

Cars I have ruled out
Golf R32 - Too much for what it is, didn't feel nimble or faster than the SE30 and the engine felt lazy, i am a turbo fan though!!
Civic Type R (new shape) - God awful car, zero torque and dont like the way it looks so I dont know why I test drove one to be honest, it is cheap though...
Golf GTI - Haven't test drove one but think it will be too much of a power decrease for me, even chipped. I could be wrong though.
Audi S3 - Again the performance and handling didn't justify the cost over less expensive rivals
Seat Cupra FR thingy, whatever its called - nah its not going to happen
Astra VXR - Great fun if its not yours is the only comment i have about that car

Anyway what are your thoughts ladies and gentlemen?

[Makaveli]

I don't think you will get many on here disagree with me in that out of that little lot the ED30 is the best overall car for the money.

You seem to have mentioned all the pros's and con's yourself!!  I went form the S3 to the ED30 and have not looked back.  If the Audi was the same price as the ED30 I would most probably have gone for the S3 but it isn't.

I have had mine for a few months now and still find it a real joy to drive and still look over my shoulder when I walk away from it as it really is a beautiful car.

Hope this helps you come to the right decision 

[joesgti]

i think you mean ED30, it stands for edition 30 because its the 30th year of the golf, and i think you should get one 

[gazbutmk5gti]

I think u should get 1

[joesgti]

or maybe 2 

[16MPG]

Hi,

I came from a Rx8 (hence forum name) the handling is not as sharp (read as dangerous) but i dont think there is a car on the market in this performance segment which can provide:-

30+ MPG on a cruise
Good handling
Qaulity & image
Insurance friendly
Familty Friendly (3 or 5 door)
Make you want to get up early to go for a blast 

Go for Ed30, as clarkson said "If you buy a ford you end up with a Ford"

Do it.

[RedRobin]

Welcome to the forum, chavan.

The great thing about the GTI/Ed30 is that, if 5-door, it's a great allrounder - Fast but practical. Obviously the final choice will be down to you but I think it would make a great companion to the Elise. I actually know someone who swopped his Elise for a highly modded GTI and has no regrets whatsoever.

I recommend CarLimits at North Weald if you want to explore the limits safely - Andy Walsh is an Elise driver but the course is for your own car whatever it is. 11 mpg and a set of tyres is what my GTI consumed on the day!
 

[djhorace]

I would not just disregard the Leon Cupra.

They are still fairly rare, they have the same engine turbo and 6 speed box (although DSG is not available with the Cupra) and therefore they tune to the same amount, and to cope with this, it has uprated brakes over the Edition 30 as standard. On top, it is cheaper to buy.

Downsides are that the dash is not as nice and it looks very much like the lesser FR.

[Peskarik]

if you wanna tune, I think E30 is the way to go.
It's FWD, though. I don't know how you can cope with that after Evo. And the handling...
So, you'll lose on performance side, but gain on all other sides. 

[Hurdy]

Megane R26 - Hope you mean the F1 version with the trick diff. Goes like stink around corners, but it nearly broke my back when I tried one in pothole city (Sheffield). Doesn't seem to be as much of a quality item and the space in the car isn't good either.

Focus ST - Again it doesn't have the same quality feel and when I test drove one, it also washed out at slower speeds than the GTI and it felt slower than the standard GTI. Likes a drink too!

Focus RS - basically a remapped version of the ST with an LSD and a few irrelevant add-ons and at £25k you may as well buy an ED30, map it and add a Quaife LSD

ED30 - It is the one I chose over the others and I don't regret it one bit. The brakes could be a bit meatier, but that's a small thing with the effects only noticeable at the extreme limit for longer periods.