Chins

The Golf is 22.5k so unless my maths in crap that more like £2,505.

EVO gave the UK STI with PPP 4.5 stars and the R32 5. Yeah baby
You'll notice through the edition that they say the WRX is a better car than the STI.

Jonathan

Boyakasha

iTrader: (2)

Jonathan they don't say that, they say that the WRX is a better all rounder. If the WRX was a better car no body would pay the extra £5k.

I think what they are trying to say is it is cheaper and easier to run etc.

At least I can have the best of both worlds as my STi 8 and my other halfs 03 WRX arrive at the end of the month.

PS your golf looks very tidy

The Saint

The price differential is not so great when you import.....

lucky_strike

The R32 looks a vast improvement on the previous 2.8 4Motion, and it should be. Just got rid of one of those for the Scooby. IMHO (and comparing it to my PPP'd 02 WRX) it seriously lacked character, was incredibly dull to drive, the 4Motion system was unpredicatble, gave me back ache and looked like a 1.4CL shopping trolley.

Granted the R32 looks loads better but I still have a nagging feeling that it will have the usual German over engineering making it just a tad sanitised.

jonny32

That fat polo looks cool.lol

The Saint

The 4WD system on Audis and VW is pretty **** when compared to the Scoob. Having driven 1000's of miles in cars with both systems I can state with authority that the scoob's traction and poise is much greater. Generally VAG products lack steering feedback and precision. Don't know if is its the same with the new Golf, but would not be suprised.

The image of the Golf.....well.....its just a Golf isn't it.
Say "Golf" and what springs to mind? Shopping.Nuf said.It lacks image.

Saint

mrdeli

R32 - probably a very well built car

But IMHO build quality of 9/10 is only beaten by the YAWN factor on 20/10 -- for VW read 'reliable, safe and boring as hell"

I would expect the R32 to be a super depreciator as well. Bad Choice

The Saint

And the name suggests a German WW2 U-Boat, or flying bomb.

I am going down to ze shops in ze R32.....up periscope, silent running Herr Kommander!

paulmon

I would expect the R32 to be a super depreciator as well. Bad Choice

Oh I dont think so. I have just traded a 2 year old 2.0 GTI in for a R32 and was given £11K for it. I only paid £15K when I bought it.

The R32 is a limited run and so I would expect higher returns. They are already being sold at £2K above list.

Also tbh it would cost a fortune to get a WRX to the standard spec of the Golf:

18" Wheels and Tyres: £1500
Recaro Seats: £2000
Xenon Headlams: N/A (but probably £500)
Good Quality Sound System with CD Changer: £500
Teutonic Build Quality: N/A
Iceberg Residuals: N/A

The Saint

It won't help you when the chassis lets you down and you do the palais glide into a tree te he he....

Saint

Chins

Hard to really comment unless youve driven one. My qualifications for comment at least give me some grounding. 7 Scoobies inc UK300 with PPP & without and UK STI. Before I picked up the R32, I had a test drive in the STI 8, plus a WRX. Maybe Ive just grown out of the Scooby, but the STI8 didnt float my boat, couple that to underwritten values if I got shot in 6-9 months that equaled £1k/month and youve got to be superrich to run one. As paul points out the R32 is selling above list - please point out which new shape scooby is doing that.

The real thing though is sod the money how about the car. I keep popping out for a drive - something I never did in the STI 7, or indeed my RS4. EVO quite rightly rate it above the STI 8 and WRX. It has stacks of character as std. You turn the key just to listen to it on start up. The STI sounds like an EVO in comparison. This car holds together as a package. It get more looks than any car Ive owned, the engine noise/exhaust noise is superb, the interior is something a Scooby owner can only dream of. PLUS as EVO says its the most fun of all the cars tested on the track. On the road the handling is fun (dont read perfect). The car is point and squirt.

Downsides are it could really handle another 50bhp. Scoobies could be a thing of the past though soon. The 3.2 will get a power raise to 280 for the new S3 and over 300 for the RS3 (with turbos to boot - still to be confirmed). Plus the new gearbox's being developed put VAG even further ahead.

The futures bright the futures VAG

Jonathan

The Saint

The image the image.....

I suppose you have to grow old sometime though...


Saint

Eldar

Chins, your comments illustrate the problems that subaru, and especially subaru UK face now. They have tended to sit on their laurels, and say 4wd, 220bhp, wins rallys so buy me. Ford, VW, Vauxhall and Mitsubushi have advanced, and have cars that compete directly with scoobs. In the next year, others will come along and raise the stakes. They have already lost their price premium, and are in real danger of becoming followers rather than leaders.

Time for them to think in new ways, or become an interesting part of fast car history...

Colin.

Colin.

The Saint

Colin,

Agree with you. I would predict a 250-300 BHP diesel from VAG with 4WD in the not too distant, if this is delivered with long service intervals, and v.good MPG, it could be bye-bye Subaru, Mitsubishi etc,

Saint

Boyakasha

iTrader: (2)

Jonathan I thnk your a bit off the mark when you said that EVO rated the R32 over the STi 8, maybe just over the WRX and that is debatable but the STi 8 come on!!

If you have read the whole of this months magazine you will know what I am talking about, just turn to the article where they do the track test and you will see what I mean.

Old_Fart

Crikey people who really cares? Evo rated the Golf as a more desireable car and gave it 5 stars. It also said the WRX was a more complete car than the STI..ergo the golf beats both 03's in the overall stakes. However the WRX beat the golf (IIRC?) as a pure point to point road car..so if it's just the driving you care about then feel free to gloat. Me, I've never cared what the reviews say, you pays your money and makes your choice. Jonathon is happy he's made the right one, so am I.
Chuck (STI8(via S3) n 22B)

jeremy

Please note that this evo test was carried out by Mr. Vivian who is not the reviewer that Barker is. His vocabulary of handling characteristics is far smaller and more basic.

Also, the Haldex system in the R32 is still not a patch on full-time systems. And indeed many reviewers still believe that in certain road conditions it can be caught off guard improperly shuffling power back and forth at the wrong time. If the R32 had the torsen diff it might be another story.

The Saint

Agree about the Haldex system. Its pretty crap, a poor man's "4wd".
It cannot be depended on for EVO type driving.


Saint

Nigel H

Yeah I read this - some of the track testing was done in the wet so that's why the WRX was faster.

I'd always kept an open mind about the RS - I was dubious it would be much good on the road when it got wet, and so it proved.

So what's been changed on the MY03 to make it so much better - I just thought it was a mild re-map of the engine. The power change is bu55er all (6bhp). Is this a placebo effect of taking of the bug-eyes, or are the changes really that significant.

Bet Scoob dealers up and down the country are a bit happier

BTW Autocar tests 0-100 as follows

2001MY 16.9 4 dr
2003MY 16.1 5 dr

EVO
2003MY 15.7 4dr

So the 2003MY is a bit quicker


[Edited by Nigel H - 2/7/2003 10:14:38 AM]