what a noise! awesome. Fast revving, solid handling, 4 wheel drive gem of a motor. Spent the entire afternoon hooning round the borders south of edinburgh, best fun I have had in a long time. It does have awesome handling, feels very stable, solid turn in and great grip. much better than the Mk4 version All great ....but. I wouldn't buy one. 28k? not worth it. apart from the seats the interior looks like an entry level golf, poor quality and lots of squeaks and rattles that you just don't expect. Mk 5 has been out a couple of years now and the interior was identical (if not a bit worse) than my 18 month old GTTDi. Disappointing. Wheels look like Halfords specials IMO and the brake discs and calipers, whilst an attractive blue should be cross drilled/grooved and have better quality to them on a car of this value Whilst it is quick, 250-270 or whatever it claims to get from 3.2l is not enough to set this apart from its peers on perfomance. It does have phenomenal grunt mid range in high gears, you can get very lazy overtaking in 5th. or just cane it up and down the gears up to the 6800 rev limit. my biggest beef is that it is unbearable at low speeds. The clutch has about as much modulation as an on/off switch. doesn't matter how slowly you try to engage it, there is a snap like a mousetrap at the biting point that is not controlled by your foot. fine at speed. but with 3.2l behind it at 5-10mph you will feel like you have whiplash by the end of the school run. very poor. I don't know whether it is a by product of trying to make the clutch pedal lighter, (which it is, had a job trying to get used to my A4 on the drive back from the dealer) but it just doesn't work. save your pennies and get an M3. faster, better build quality just unfortuantely not a VW.
The R32 doesnt even compete with the M3. Totally different markets. The R32 competes with the BMW 130 which is has beaten the pants off. The M3 is about 20k more!!
I'm not too keen myself, I'd go with a GTI every time I agree on the looks, 1.4 with twin exhausts & a chrome grill surround! in it's defense it handles better than a mk 4, and goes about the same, but slightly better MPG, but when you sit in it theres nothing screaming special, unlike the mk 4 IMO
school run? should be far more literal tbh. If I had my way I'd be chasing the blighters down the road with a rottweiler. Seriously, I WALKED to school. When I was being driven to school before I was old enough to walk, it wasnt in an R32 or its 80s equivalent, it was in a 1.3 polo. Horses for courses really, if you want a car as capable as an R32, you've got to expect small compromises like clutch pedal bite. Its amazing that you dont have to compromise on more IMO. in days gone by youd be compromising on noise, practicality and cost far more to get performance like that. I just dont think its a school run / shopping car, more of a performance car that can be used for those things far better than most others with similar performance. Why cross drilled and grooved discs? I do believe discs without cross drilling and grooving are good enough for porsche, ferrari etc etc. AFAIK cross drilled / grooved discs make a marginal difference to your brakes.
looks alone on the discs thing I am afraid, they just look cheap (just a comparison with other 30+k cars). 2005 M3 - 30-35k fully loaded OK it was 40k new, but for 28k in an R32 you get nothing, fill it with leather and satnav and you will soon be in the mid 30's http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2005-BMW-M3-C...4640387136QQcategoryZ9837QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem As far as performance car, I don't know onyone who would by this car predominately for performance (i.e. spirited driving down A roads, track days, trips to the continent etc) and not as a daily driver that involved negotiating towns, schools and traffic cameras. If you live near me the school run is occupied by SL AMG's, 6 series, Cayenne's and M class Mercs!! an R32 would look out of place! We do have to live with compromises but I have driven cheaper and more powerful cars that did not have the clutch problems that this VW has inherited. Even the Mk5 GTI doesn't have this issue and I would be very surprised if they have created an entirely new gearbox/clutch assembly for the R32. Unacceptable Point being that VW are trying to compete in a 30+k coupe market (350z, civic type R, impreza) and have failed. I am as disappointed as any other VW-phile, thought this could have been a belting car. Flagship it aint.
jc Not driven the Mk5; our Mk4 suffered similar clutch issues when new .... seemed to me that the gearchange / gear ratios / clutch action were not aligned. Improved with use and familiarity .... starting off in second gear helps a great deal though. After ~ 12 months we had the `map` upgraded by the dealer (common `cure` for hesitation I believe) and it did improve the issue - smoother take offs. After 17k miles we`re well used to it, always puts a smile on my face on the rare occasions I use it. Grip on snow and ice is very impressive, the drive transfer front to rear really does work well however, not sure it`s required for `normal` motoring as it tends to understeer more than I would have thought. Apart from this I do believe it`s an excellent all round performer ! Interesting values at our local dealer: - R32 53 plate with 20k @ 20k - MkV GTI 55 plate miles ? @ 20k I`ve not driven the GTI but outwardly it`s quality looks disappointing.
