what? a flawed arguement? how? just i don't agree/like the car that had a big sub in, i'm accused of it being crap? all the VW car shows i have been to have been mostly ICE free the only two i can think of was inters this year and some nasty saxo as a show car and volkfest last year with a guy in a mk3, now he did bug the whole crowd by playing bass tunes all the freaking time. it's just something which i feel and see that the VW scene luckily doesn't have. (very much of as most can see the tuning potential of the car rather than t being a mobile disco.) and here we were at a show with a thumping stereo doing peoples heads in. actually the show and shiners would be greatful for the track as it is that money through the gate that pays for the event to take place. FACT! And i never said lupo's were crap, i want one. now to sl*g them off would seem a tad ironic don't you think? i did look at the car it was great other than it was far to loud for mine and others liking-is that too hard to understand? its just a shame it put in a lupo, my arguement would be the same in any car it had turned up in. there was really no need for it to be on all the time. driven a punto wasn't much fun. horses for courses i wouldn't preach that every one should have a VW. luckily the kids on my road can't play football on the road and sensibly use the park-time and place see. and whats Jesus christ got to do with anything? rant over.
First a few points regarding Festival - I'm sorry if the guy with the yellow Lupo upset you, but to be honest, complaining about it on here is a right waste of time, isn't it. If you had a problem, why didn't you use some common sense and come and tell us about it! We're a friendly lot, not about to bite your head off, but moaning 'why didn't they turn the damn thing down' without actually having asked us to turn it down is a bit hypocritical, really. As stated, many people come to Festival for many reasons, and it's not unreasonable for people to want to see (and obviously, hear) a proper ICE install. It's not what I'm there for, but that doesn't stop me realising that other people might be interested in it. I wasn't there for the show and shine, either - big deal. Also got some comments on the Lupo and Polo GTIs. The Lupo is the superior driver's car - the Polo is heavier and wallowier than the Lupo as standard. However, obviously, the Lupo is the less practical car - you'll only get 4 shopping bags in a row in the boot, and if you're tall, you'll not get another adult sitting behind the driver. I find it best to consider it a two-seater, generally - if you need to regularly carry more than two people, get a different (or second) car! Performance is reasonable, although not blistering, but 127bhp/ton and the close-ratio 6-speed gearbox means it can surprise a lot of cars - yes, even a Golf VR6! Having also owned an Ibiza Cupra for a few months, I can say that the Lupo, *in stock form*, is by far the superior car. There's very little in the performance, and the Lupo's handling is in a different league. Sure, the handling of the Ibiza can be improved, as can the performance (almost unlimitedly, as Bill's shown!), but that all costs money and invalidates the warranty. For an 'out of the box' car, the Lupo is a superb package, with very decent levels of grip, and very easily provokable (but very easy to control) power-off oversteer. Bear in mind that a 1.8T-engined car will feel faster, both due to the vastly greater amounts of torque, and the fact that this happens so low in the rev range. The Lupo engine doesn't really come alive till 4000rpm, so it is a car you need to rev quite a bit to get the full performance out of. Having said that, it's perfectly happy to sit in 6th at 35-40mph, and will happily keep up with traffic like this. Motorway-wise, it's quite a high-revver, sitting at around 4000rpm in 6th gear at 85mph, but this means it's always ready to go - don't get the idea that 6th is an 'economy' gear though! Of course, you can drop it down to 4th to really annoy that BMW salesman! It's perfectly capable of keeping up with motorway traffic generally (I and others have had 130mph indicated with no difficulty, on a private track of course - indeed, it's slightly worrying how easily you can end up going 100mph+ in it!) A few other good points with the Lupo include the fantastic Xenon lights as stock (bi-xenons, not just low-beam xenons), the dashboard, the groovy wipers, and of course, the exclusivity. It's also got the best driver feedback of any VW I've driven - no vague steering here! A few downsides include relatively few toys (climate control not even an option on UK-spec cars, whereas it's standard on the Polo GTI), the frankly abysmal tyres that it comes with out of the factory, the relatively high cost compared to, say, a Clio Cup, and, of course, the VW dealer network, which is getting pretty shocking these days. Some of the controls are in slightly annoying places (electric mirror controls being one of the worst), and the seats get a bit uncomfortable on long journeys. As said, it's being replaced by the New Lupo (which looks shocking - only the Bora and Passat to mess up now, then!) sometime soon this year, so if you want a new one, don't hang around!
I really must have driven a dudd then.. 5spd I remember. No zing about the performance and handling which felt like I was goign to fall out of the window. Stock Ibiza also made me feel like it was goign to topple over too tho.. LOL Bang for Buck Ibiza was by far the better buy for me. Bought is new modded and warrantied to a claimed "210bhp" spec which was the icing on the cake for me @ the time. Lupo Gti is ace tho.. I like em, but they so need some decent power and less roly poly ride (based on my sample of one. appologies for that) - Deffo a rare little motor tho. Going to retain its value pretty well I'd have thought compared to Ibiza Cupra and the like.
one i drove kinda changed tone at 4k but i didnt really feel i was getting anything more tbh. revving past 5500 seemed to make more noise and thats about it. they should have put a alloy block 2.0 NA 20v in it, that would do me nicely
The standard Gti handling quite frankly is a bit crap. I've since fitted KW coilovers and its a different car! Recommend them! I'm suprised people found the Gti to be slow as if a standard one can beat a VR6 up the strip then it cant be all bad! I personally have found mine to be as quick/little bit quicker as my friends Corrado G60 which suprised even me! Its possible that the Gti is deseptively quick as PVW measured a standard one with thier GPs system and it did 0-60 in 7.6 which is as quick as most other cars in the VAG group. I would say that they definately need to be revved hard to get the most out of it. Apart from all that, the first mod for anyone should be to ditch the woeful front tyres which considering they are Dunlop SP Sport 2000 (205/45/15) are the worst tyres l've ever driven with in the wet. Oh and another plus point might be that the majority of the panels on the gti are Aluminium so for a long term purchase in mind or if you are considering buying an early Gti then rust is less of a factor than on other cars, although it does make the bonnest sound like crap when you shut it!! Overall l'd give the Lupo Gti a 8 1/2 out of 10 as its quick enough (7.6 to 60 and l personally have had 136mph out of mine) to keep you entertained in such a small car, its got good build quality and reasonable handling oh and funky lights. However no car is perfect for everybody and there are always things l'd change. Oh and congrats Snoopstah on bringing the tension in this thread down and bringing it back on topic. Chris Edited by: Poobah
well the polo suffers from IMO a fatter, heavier body with poor handling - but the same engine. As snoopstah says the polo does have more standard kit (e.g. air con) and seems more comfy, and has lots more room. cant help seeing it and thinking it looks like it should be driven by my mum though
