My drive in a ED30

[R32UK]

Ok guys its been on the cards for a while and I just couldnt resist the temptation to see what all the fuss is about these ed30 thingys you guys keep going on about

So when popping down to Wakey VW to get my own car changed to longlife service intervals (apparently they forgot to do this the first time), I happend to spot a silver 5dr ed30 on demonstrator on their court (heard a rumour somewhere that these are the quick ones ) Anyway after a quick chat to one of the salesmen i asked a few questions about their residuals and when the pirelli version is out. He said that there has been a sudden surge in demand for the Ed30's with the pirelli planned for release in september. New cars are very hard to come by I was told, and used are also fetching good money too. So good news for you guys on that front!!

After a breif chat I decided that i would have to be quite persuasive to get him to hand over the keys whilst my car was in (something about R32's and Gti's getting stolen from dealers once the keys are handed over). New policy is to book a test drive well in advance so this sort of thing doesnt happen. So after giving a few details he handed me the keys... Now this is not meant to be a comparison with an R32 but you will have to appreciate that i drive one everyday so the tbh I would probably not notice the difference between the GTi and ED30. Start up was probably the biggest anti climax for me... I dont what I was expecting but I reckon I would struggle to tell the difference between my bro's Tdi and the petrol version, but its all irrelevant once your up and running i guess. Now the idea wasnt to thrash the car but to just spot the difference in power delivery and ride if any.

The first difference i noticed when pulling out of the junction was that it doesnt have the low down pull i am used to in mine. So this makes it quite easy to drive at low speeds, something that I really struggle to do in the R32. I found myself having to rev quite high before getting off the mark, but again this is probably just down to the way I normally drive. As this was quite a short test, the roads I drove on were fairly decent and therfore it was quite difficult to spot the difference in ride quiality although when on our short blast on the M1 a few bumps were a little more noticeable, and the ride seemed a little.... lighter?? or it might just be that the R32 feels more planted at high speeds.. but we are talking about 12.0mph ish here.

The interior is only very slightly different from what I am used to... have to say I loved the seats! not keen on the black ash style cig lighter surround if thats what its called but each to their own i guess. Didnt know all Gti's came with dark coloured interior roof either which I guess would be good if you like your cabin dark (which i do in winter).

Now when I first spoke to the salesman about swapping my R32 for the Ed30, he obviously asked why? The quickest answer i could come up with was that its just too thirsty. He quickly pointed out that the Ed30 would be just as bad if driven at the same speeds as the R32. I didnt pay much attention to this.... until I pulled up at the end of the test to find I had averaged 21.0mpg. And tbh I didnt really press on until we got out of speed camera areas which took up most of the test.

SPEED TEST

Did try a 0-60 sprint tho and found myself spinning in 1st and 2nd (dry) but once I was going and the turbo was able to give out its full kick you can see how the Ed30 would close in on almost anything. For me the kick just came a little bit too far up the rev range... but this is probably just down to my inexperience of driving turbos. I would say that over a longer distance there wouldnt be much in it between the R32 and Ed30 but once over the 120 the R32 does take some catching.


So drawing to a conclusion I would say that they are very different cars. The Ed30 needs to be driven hard to get a good level of performance, where as the R32 doesnt. I am not going to start a debate about which is quicker because we have been down that route before and not come to any conclusion... they are both very very capable tools in the right hands!! The Ed30 does have to be driven harder to get the same kind of speed you find yourself easily doing in the R32... but I guess this boils down to your prefered driving style.

So asking if I would swap my R32 for an Ed30?? i would have to say that the answer is no! especially now that i know there isnt much in it when it comes to economy. Call me lazy but driving the R32 is just a breeze. I think I would find myself dropping a cog too often to get some speed. Although i am guessing this is where I could call on the dsg to do the hard work for me. The deciding factor for me was probably the same thing that sold me on the R32 when I first went to experience one, and that was the simple sales technique used by the salesman.... Starting her up and giving her some throttle! The sound of the R32 adds a different dimension to the whole driving experience... its only a sound.... but what a sound it is!!

But dont get me wrong I wouldnt rule out a Ed30 or Pirelli in the future as i will be kissing the R32 goodbye come next september.. but I will definately be shedding a tear or two for the ol beast

All imo of course

[182_blue]

Sound about right, the standard ED30 is a little slow imo, i wasnt overly impressed with the performance to start with TBH, but with the remap its alot more capable a beast

oh and the ED30 sounds god awful 

[Phil mcavity]

interesting read, i came to the opposite conclusion when i drove the R recently!. I found it lethargic at slower normal driving speeds over the GTi.

At 21 mpg , i would have to say, your test drive must of only been either sat in alot of traffic or it was no longer then 10 minutes which will not give you a conclusive mpg figure.

[illyun]

Have to agree with almost everything you say there R32 - I still miss mine  and that V6 ROAR          I do however think that the R32 is a lot more thirsty - no matter what you saw on the mpg reading.

I am planning to buy one next year when the price is lower and I am building my way up to a Nissan GT-R via the following route R32 - Porsche 911 - Ferrari F355... I don't think i'll lose much if anything if I buy and sell each car after 4 months. 

[R32UK]

I like that idea Illyun

I am actually now keeping an eye on used R32 prices which are very reasonable even at the moment. i just couldnt imagine a car without the grip, noise, and comfort of the R. I dont think it really needs to be any faster either... i reckon I am already pushing my luck with how fast i drive anyway. Although a supercharger bolted on for good measure could just see me buy a car i keep for a long(ish) time.

[hotrod]

Hi R32UK,

I do agree with you 100%.

I came from a V6 4-Motion (6yrs) and that sounded great + it would pull in 3rd from standstill. Very, very easy to drive using all the instant torque and a good 140+ was achievable on my private driveway! MPG between 18-26.

ED30 getting around 24-30 MPG so a little better, I do notice it at the pumps.

My ED30 looks awesome in 3-door, Candy White with privacy glass... however it sounds like a diesel... rubbish. I like the turbo rush... in about 3 stages, the subtle whistling when on boost and the nimble handling. Also like the fact that it’s a detuned S3, so remapping can release loads more power.

I’m glad I changed as the 4-Mo was getting a little tired, however it’s taking some time to warm to the ED.

Shame the road tax is so high (& the MPG so low) on the R32 as it did affect my choice towards the ED.

Both however excellent motors...

Hotrod

[R32UK]

interesting read, i came to the opposite conclusion when i drove the R recently!. I found it lethargic at slower normal driving speeds over the GTi.

At 21 mpg , i would have to say, your test drive must of only been either sat in alot of traffic or it was no longer then 10 minutes which will not give you a conclusive mpg figure.

I just found that the pull from the r32 at 2k rev mean your never really have to give it alot. where as I just seemed to waiting for an age for the turbo to kick in. I think its about 4k when it starts up, but as I found in the R32 you can easily leave other traffic in your wake without ever going over 4k revs. It doesnt make any of the two better than the other it just makes the Ed30 give you a nice punch after 4k and the R32 gets you going off the line alot more comfotably i found.

[neg]

Maybe you should have been in a lower gear in the Ed30 ?  It hard to test and compare 2 very different engines in such a short time but looks like you gave it a good shot.

I wouldn't turn down an R32 myself - just when you look at the bigger picture the GTI made more sense to me (well as much sense as there is when buying a car  )

[telboy]

interesting read, i came to the opposite conclusion when i drove the R recently!. I found it lethargic at slower normal driving speeds over the GTi.

At 21 mpg , i would have to say, your test drive must of only been either sat in alot of traffic or it was no longer then 10 minutes which will not give you a conclusive mpg figure.

I just found that the pull from the r32 at 2k rev mean your never really have to give it alot. where as I just seemed to waiting for an age for the turbo to kick in. I think its about 4k when it starts up, but as I found in the R32 you can easily leave other traffic in your wake without ever going over 4k revs. It doesnt make any of the two better than the other it just makes the Ed30 give you a nice punch after 4k and the R32 gets you going off the line alot more comfotably i found.

Nice write up although have to disagree with you for similar reasons that Phil did. Set your R32 trip computer to zero and go and have a good blitz in that for 20 mins and I'll bet you it'll read below 21mpg. Just the way the system calculates I guess.

As for the turbo not kicking in until 4k revs, you must have had a duff one as mine kicks in around 2-2.5k revs and to be honest I've found it very easy to access the power, if you're ever in Bournemouth, give me a shout, I'll show you what the car can really do!!! Plus once you have the ed30 remapped then it really is a very different beast, some 232bhp/tonne compared to 150 bhp/tonne in the R32.

Must admit though, R36/R32 with supercharger, very tempting indeed

[Hurdy]

R32, I agree with most of what you say, although you did test the SLOW version of the fastest car - a manual

The ED30 is never going to compete with the V6 howl of an R32, but a nice induction roar and Milltek exhaust roar closes the gap a little

I think you hit the mail on the head about the accelleration off the spot for the R32, it is a very agressive engine and in combination with a manual I found it hard to drive in a relaxed and smooth manner (DSG  is a lot better).

I sometimes feel I have 2 engines in my car - one when it is in drive mode and another more manic evil version when I switch to either manual or sport mode.