martwrxsl

A mate of mine at work bought a golf gti 55reg. Payed £11,500 for it due to the current value of cars. It has sat nav, leather, all the extra's with 26,000 miles on the clock. He got a bargin.

First impression of the car. As soon as I sat in it, it was quality. The seats were extremely supportive and comfortable. The ride quality, handling, steering feeling compared to my scoob wrx 03 was a different world.

It wasn't as fast but when you threw it into corners it gave you positive feedback. It was alot more sure footed than my car has ever felt.

I'm getting coilovers for mine and only hope it handle as well as this golf.

If anybody doubts what I'm saying take one of these cars out for a test drive. You will be shocked.

I love my scoob but was amazed how a golf could be so much better.

Better gearbox, brakes everything. This car was planted.

phil_wrx

iTrader: (2)

u sure ? my scoob handles twice as good as my mates gti

S3TH

iTrader: (2)

They really have nailed the chassis in the mk5 Golf GTi.

Try a thicker rear ARB and some droplinks on your car, will make a noticeable difference.

or go to town with the whiteline catalogue and then report back

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

Seems weird a heavy fwd Golf can seem more planted and give more feedback over a Scoob, but each to their own.

I can happily say though that my 900kg 205 GTI handles just as well as my old Scoobs used too, BUT they were legendary for being brilliant to drive.

hux309

Until the torsion bars drop off.

Or the arb bushes wear

Or the droplinks wear

Or the wishbone bushes wear.....

EAndy

I went from 2 400+bhp Supras, to a Clio V6 to then my current Scoob and to be honest most things felt more planted than my Scoob.

After 6 months of driving it and testing it's limits and building up confidence in it there is no-way on earth anything i've previously owned would match the handling of this car.

I think possibly martwrxsl it's like you say there isn't that much 'positive feedback' perhaps because you haven't fully exploited the cars abilities fully yet. I went out in a few with people at Mocom and Carnetix and let them drive my car and they were putting it through corners like i'd never had before made me suddenly realise alot about the car.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

ARB bushes replaced...
Droplinks replaced for MOT
New wishbones fitted friday prior to laser tracking.

Come drive the car, it drives beautifully now.


BACK ON TOPIC

S3TH

iTrader: (2)

I think to get the most out of an impreza you really have to commit it to a bend, thats when i seem to get the most feedback anyway. Taking a bend any other way it just feels diconnected if that makes any sense.

Guv

iTrader: (8)

The golf is an excellent car i had one before my Scoob, the handling is very balance and you get excellent feedback throught the steering, brakes aren't bad too.......I think comparing it to an WRX it will come out on top in terms of handling compare to a Spec C, no chance.......

ScoobyDoo555

I have to admit that when looking for a replacement for my S4, I've been looking at the S3 and the GTI. The GTI won hands down. Totally agree with the handling and focussed drive.
Sure not as quick as the S3 (circa 60bhp), but SOOO much more fun. The S3 was good in a straight line, but devoid of feel in the bends.

I compared the handling more to that of Wifey's 306 GTi6. GO KART!

In comparison to my 2 Scoobs, close call really, but down to a different driving style. It's all well and good having to be committed in the corner with a Scoob, but if you are unsure mid-bend, lift-off oversteer and a resulting world of grief The Scoob will bite back, and quite nastily.

Fun though!

Dan

Mark'sWRX

The wife's got an 06 GTi with lots of options and while it is a nice car, there is no way it's better than even a WRX. The ride is about the same (although she has got 18s), the gearbox is worse (but 6 speed). The engine is characterless, but is does have satnav, xenons, Cd changer..... which is nice .

I drive hers more than she does, but I still choose mine whenever I can.

Considering hers cost the original owner £26k new, and mine cost £15k (plus about £2k in mods to make it 50% more power than hers), I still say they are too much money unless you really like them (which she does!)

hux309

You know im pulling yer leg.

T1000

I've driven a golf gt tdi sport 170 DSG .... (hopefully that's all the acronyms I need).

Anyway, it was a very smooth drive but I was also very impressed with the handling for a fwd car it felt very planted and not much roll. Wouldn't say it's better than my classic though for handling.

Having owned an E30 BMW before pretty much anything feels grippy to me these days as they handle like a pig on rollerskates in the wet (not the m3 though).

Mark'sWRX

....and another thing.

I'm not knocking the Golf because it is a great car, but one reason for buying one is the rock-solid residuals. The previous owner of the wife's one lost £12k in 2 years, Mart's mate saved around £14k on a 3 year old car. (There were no discounts on them then). My car is 3 years old now and as long as it's worth more than a grand, then I'm not doing too badly.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Spot on, I'd say. Most people never come anywhere close to the limits of these cars on the road -perhaps wisely! They don't really start to deliver feedback until you need it, like FWD cornering speeds are a bit beneath them somehow!

Ns04

martwrxsl

Thanks for your replies. I would really like to go on a track day and find out what my car can do. As said above I haven't pushed it to absolute limit but I can't do it on the road just in case. The scooby is probably better than the golf, it's just the golf doesn't seem to roll and seemed tighter in the bends.

I'm sorry I'm not very good at explaining things. When I throw the scoob into corners it always goes around them but I can't always feel how it's doing it.

RyanSTI

iTrader: (1)

the benifit is, the golfs got no power so you can feel like your going flat out round a bend, plus its front wheel drive so if you loose grip nothing much happens, if you did the same in a scoob youd have to do some corrections lol.

ScoobyDoo555

wow - 200bhp= "no power"

martwrxsl

I know but most of the modded scoobs here are running above 300bhp .

RyanSTI

iTrader: (1)

200hp in a car that weights as much as the world lol

Mikkel

I've been a passenger in a new Golf GTi and have to say it is a nice car. Shouldn't you be comparing the GTi with the STi though and a lower spec model Golf with the WRX?

I'd have the GTi over a WRX I think, but not over an STi. It is worlds away IMHO.

ScoobyDoo555

lol - I know what you're getting at, but to be accurate -

Golf Mk5 GTI - 1328kg (manual) 1347kg (dsg) source

Subaru, well, you might want to take a look at the SIDC website

You might be surprised.

I was one of the sceptics, until I drove it - yes, it's slightly down on power (up to 25bhp on the UK cars, and 95hp on the MY08). The Golf isn't THAT far behind, apart from grip levels associated with AWD.

If you're comparing it to the STis, then well, "apples & pears" springs to mind, as it's not a fair comparison.

Dan

Mikkel

Is it not though? This is my point. It is the Golf "sporty" model is it not. It also costs the same as an STi. Ok, the R32 may be a better comaprison but then are you not getting into special editions in Subaru terms?

The GTi is marketed against cars like the STi, not the WRX, so I think it is a more accurate comparison.

ScoobyDoo555

Price-wise, probably (down to Subaru being "keen" to sell cars )

But I don't think it's fair to compare the cars on performance, as there's nearly 100 bhp difference. Plus the fact the R32 isn't a special edition. The ED30, or GTi Pirelli is...

The issue was more regarding the fact that the Golf is percieved as a slow car, which just isn't the case.

Dan

wiley

iTrader: (63)

if i had to get a golf i would be the mk5 r32
wiley

ScoobyDoo555

The only thing that puts me off about the R32 is that the V6 is a heavy engine (I know, I've got one in my Audi! ), and whilst there's more "power" I would imagine that the gains aren't that much, aside for the 4motion.....

Now a gti with dsg..... much more interesting

Dan

Mark'sWRX

I've driven a few R32s and they do feel manically fast, but they are as thirsty as a Scoob, expensive, in the top road tax band and not as fun as a GTi. I found them quite hard work to drive fast too.

As for which is better an STi or an R32, it would depend on your loyalties. Do you prefer a Jap rally beast or the class of a German autobahn stormer?

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

i drove the new gti and r32 and was pleasantly suprised by the gtis power compared to the r32 . it was a better ride and seemed more useable . the r32 was lovely though but for the money vw can kiss my ***

Mystik Journeyman

I assume by "...if you loose grip nothing much happens...", you're assuming that there's no kerb to destroy the bottom of your car (at best) or launch you into an airborne roll.

When I first bought my lightly modified WRX Wagon I was worried about exploring the limits on the road - cornering at medium speeds, I was not impressed. One day, however, I decided to see what happened on a decent sized, empty roundabout if I went for it—Ah...as New_scooby_04 alluded, it's not until you push the Impreza that it starts to come alive—the front suddenly squatted down and I just went around the bends with no drama, extremely quickly.

I had a couple of hours tuition on a track recently and, as long as you turn, accelerate and brake progressively, cars like Imprezas are easy at high speeds and it's hard to go too wrong.

On a long right-hander, the instructor got me to accelerate to see what happens when you use too much speed. This was at the end of the session and he still wasn't used to the car's ability (he was almost sick earlier when he got me to drive in circles to make the car skid out - it wouldn't without booting the pedal and yanking the wheel).

Anyway, same thing was happening on the high speed corner; went into it at 60-70 mph and gentle acceleration wasn't gonna do it so he got me to floor it. I was concentrating on the bend and the Blob Eye coming the other way (that's right health and safety fans!) but we must have been going somewhere between 80-100 mph when it gave way and guess what: grip loosened a little - no drama - and he explained that when you start to lose grip you just need to ease off of whatever caused it. Problem solved.

To address something martwrxsl said earlier - you're unlikely to be able to find the limits on the road as even stretches that permit such driving are fraught with too many hazards and you won't be able to commit yourself.

Go to a track and get professional instruction if possible (preferably one where they bother to warn you when part of the track is closed without any proper barriers and that, should you venture into that part, a high-speed vehicle may be comin' at ya...like a shark with knees!).

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

Right......................