Pistonheads article on why the Golf GTI just isn't 'great' anymore. Good read http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=98&i=6147 The author drives a mk1 GTI BTW Edited by: G_V_K
Not a bad article with some valid points, I think in some peoples minds a standard car will always be hum-drum!! And you can imagine the modifiers getting ready to unleash a torrent of mods for the Mk5!! All in all I think the Golf GTI has just grown up a bit, its todays market i'm affraid!! The looks of the Mk5 are actually growing on me its just a bit of a shame the car grows ever bigger too!!
That article was written over a year ago! I think we can all see that the New GTI will not be some hum-drum copy of all the other versions of the MK5. VW are out to put the GTI back on its own platform and distinguish it from the MK5 range. However, there are some valid points in there. But all in all, I think VW are doing their best to rectify the GTI's lost identity - which is one of the reasons it wasnt launched with the rest of the MK5 range
I didn't say it was a *new* article I can't see the new GTI being a match for the Civic Type R/Focus RS/Clio Cup, It might well be a *new* GTI but will it be a HOT HATCH?
2.0 Turbocharged FSI engine pushing 200bhp, sharp handling on a brand new chassis (which is critically aclaimed as being as good as the Focus) and individual styling to make it standout from the normal Golf range. I cant see it failing
well, the thing is that the GTI badge is now put on undeserving models. for example, the mkI and mkII gti's really are gti's...but then it started going wrong with mkIII's, the gti 8v shouldn't have been called a gti, the 16v just gets away with it...then mkIV's and the R32 was king, the gti 1.8t deserves the badge, but the 2.0 gti again shouldn't be a gti. if they'd just put the gti badge on the top end one only it would mean a lot more, and no one would care about the lower models being dull as the gti's are mental. then we'd have the mkIII gti (but actually what we know as a vr6) and the mkIV gti (which would be what we know as the R32) which would both totally deserve it.
incidently, what did the press say about the vr6 when it was introduced? (i was too young to be into cars)
Nope, the early 1.8T has 150bhp, the 2 litre is the 8v crossflow (115bhp) and the 1800 20 valve (NA 125bhp)
Remember reading in Autocar at the time that it was a long distance cruiser aimed at the BMW 3 series market.
I remember when the first VR6s came onto the market. The press originally said it was a great step forward, a hot hatch with a V6 engine. Then they noticed a number things. 1. The quality on the early mk3s was terrible. I remember a 'What Car' with a picture of a lemon on the front, with a small vw badge on it [:^(] They sorted it after a couple of years fortunately, but my p-reg mk3 16v dashboard fell apart inside 7 months... 2. Autocar pointed out to VW that the Mazda MX3 was a V6 hot hatch before the Golf VR6 came out. 3. The handling was not set up for a hot hatch and VW quickly made put out the story that the car was aimed at the BMW/Mercedes market and wasn't a hot hatch after all, which was a bit of a change of plan, VW hid this very quickly and rather well. Lost the plot? Erm... Still, thumbs up for the mk5, lets hope that the finished GTI looks as good as the concept did. Cheers, Drew. Edited by: drew
Mazda MX3 V6 Hot Hatch???????? No chance!! Nice noise no torque...Only 1800cc. Not very quick at all IMO. (A friend has just got rid of his for an Alhambra TDi & the prefers the barge!!) Certainly not in the same league as a VR6 with 1000cc less
Little 2 dr coupe thing...a bit like a Nissan 100NX. Im shocked that Autocar could even call it a Hot Hatch
Mazda MX3 V6 1.8 130 bhp, 118 lbft, 0-62 in 8.5 secs (so 0-60 should be around 8 dead, not too shabby for 1991!) VW got away with less, a lot less! [:^(] It would be quicker than a mk2 8v, Mk3 8v (maybe even the mk3 16v), Mk4 20v(NA) and the 2.0. Quite tunable too apparently, 200 bhp not uncommon in the aftermarket. Admittedly, the Mazda wasn't that hot, but it was hot enough, and it was the first v6 hot hatchback. Respect due to Mazda for its occasional stabs at greatness. Cheers, Drew. Edited by: drew
That was 'CAR' magazine... I've got it here somewhere. They had all kinds of trouble with it, to the point where they wrote a letter to the head of VW Germany (can't remember his name) and he replied saying that, yes, build quality wasn't good enough. Then a couple of years later there was a follow-up article where one of the staff saw it advertised for sale and bought it for himself. He thought it was a superb car and had no trouble with it because by that point all the faults had been sorted!
