Was Looking At 2.0TFSI When I Saw This!

[emzino]

Golf GTI's going for around 14k!!! I didn't know they were that cheap! in comparison to a A3 2.0TFSI. The cheapest I found was around 19k.

Why have they lost there value so fast... there lovely cars!

I looked into this inlight of my dilemma whether to keep the TDI and tune it or sell it and get a 2.0TFSI but it was too expensive so I went and had a look at Golfs to find there only around 14k. Wouldn't take me long to save for one of these...

Very interesting find

 

[normski]

Depends on the spec mate I guess, and they have been around a while too, so depends what age you are talking about.

Plus you can buy them from a number of none VW dealers brand new for £17.5k...

 

[Matt]

I'd have one.

They dont have the same sort of feel as an Audi though.

 

[Boydie]

id have an anniversary model!

more bhp, more styling and more character

 

[normski]

id have an anniversary model!

more bhp, more styling and more character

And you certainly pay for it...I think he is genuinely looking at the a used Gti (in lieu of the £14,000worth of mods he has planned...lol), so the Anniversary on a MkV is out the window when he is talking in the region of 14k

 

[benw123]

The GTI is well-respected in the hot hatch sector, and being a VW is desirable which explains why prices have been sky high for ages. But even VW aren't immune to market forces, and now there's an excellent supply of used GTIs around, the prices have slipped a fair bit.

 

[emzino]

(in lieu of the £14,000worth of mods he has planned...lol)

lol you know i'll do it Normski, I don't care if it'll be the end of me i'm gonna work at it! hehe.

The GTi is a seriously contender now actually although looking at some of the interior pictures it doesn't look nowhere on par with the A3 2.0TFSI's or the A3's period!
I do love the exterior though, think it looks sexy! Haven't really seen alot of MK5 GTi's around as well to be honest which i'm surprised about...

But how about this (taken from my Miltek exhaust post):

The only real reason I wanted to go down the TDI Tuning route is because at the end of it I still wanted it to retain it's high MPG figures. Im hoping after all it's mods i'll still be able to get 40-50mpg with very reserved driving which is what I do now.

What kind of MPG figures do you think i'll get after the mods, would it still be diesel terrirtory or am I likely to save more petrol money with the 2.0TFSI? and i'm not gonna kid myself, I don't do motorways at all, it's all town driving...

 

[Beddie]

Hiya mate..

Hopefully i can answer this one for you as i had a 2006 MKV GTI before my current A3 2.0TDI...

Firstly, the GTI is a fantastic drivers car and the 2.0TFSI engine is a cracking bit of kit imo, but once remapped the 2.0TDI is not 'that' far off in performance terms and i have never felt 'short-changed' in the performance stakes since changing cars..

Handling is ultimately better than my 06 S-line but nothing that a vagcom change to the steering boost and a rear ARB wouldnt sort out imo (i'd personally put the A3's handling at 90% of that of the GTI if i had to quantify it with a figure..)

Braking is definately better on the GTI with the use of 312mm front versus 288mm on the TDI, but neither cars have what i would call great brakes and i always lacked confidence in the GTI setup (the A3 brakes just plain scare me lol!)

Where the A3 easily scores points against the GTI imo is in the build quality area, my brand new GTI rattled and squeaked like you would not believe and the stuffing was gradually coming out of the drivers seat and the dash trim and plastics quality is a world apart from the A3, very cheap and grey looking and i never really felt that i was sat in a £21K car if i'm honest..

Looks wise i much prefer the A3 as i always felt the Golf to have too high a roofline and a fat ****, but it's still a great looking car and VW got the GTI styling just right even if you felt like you had to wear a top hat to fill the roofspace lol

Running costs wise the GTI over 10K miles averaged 29Mpg overall and would return 34ish on the motorway and around 25 around town, full tank range of between 300-340 miles and £700 pa insurance..
The A3 over the same mileage has averaged 47Mpg overall, with 55ish on the motorway and 45 around town, full tank range of between 500-550 miles and £390 pa insurance..

In summary my A3 provides 90% of the driving ability of my old GTI but imo is a far nicer car to both look at and sit in and as yet has no rattles or squeaks and it cost £500 less than the GTI...

All the above long ramblings are of course only my opinion and i await the flaming from both the diesel and serial Audi haters on here to start...

 

[Beddie]

Btw, my modification 'wish list' for the A3 is as follows...

Bluefin remap (Done!)

312mm caliper carriers, front discs and Pagid fast road pads (£250)

22mm rear H&R ARB (£170)

Milltek FSB cat-back system - had one on my old Bora PD130 and it sounded and looked great and definately improved low end responsiveness and helped the car rev more freely (£330)

10mm rear spacers - cosmetic mod really to help fill the rear arches (£60)

Remap to steering boost settings via vagcom (£pint of beer lol!)

All the above should swing the balance of driving ability a little bit nearer my old GTI whilst keeping the much nicer looks/ far better quality of the A3 and the 50% running costs...

Granted i could just buy another GTI to get back all of the driving ability without modding my A3, but i end up modding any car i own as it gives me loads of fun buying and adding stuff etc and helps stave off boredom with my car... for a while...

 

[sat1983]

Is the build quality of the MkV that bad Beddie?!

 

[curley]

My GTi was worse than Beddies... I was never out of the dealers with it.

 

[Beddie]

Is the build quality of the MkV that bad Beddie?!

If you've come from a Jap car bar a Lexus or something like a Fiat/Kia etc, then no...
But if like me you had stepped up to a MKV from a nicely specced MK4 you will almost certaintly be dissapointed by the cheap feel of the interior..

Maybe i'm being a little harsh as i've owned/driven cars with far worse build quality (Citroen Saxo anyone ) but the MKV interior/build quality took a definate backward step over that of the MK4 and for me seemed at odds with the high cost/'premium' nature of the car..

The interior quality and look of a car really does make a difference to me as you spend a shoot load of time sat in it in traffic mostly!, maybe i'm just an interior freak lol!

 

[Beddie]

My GTi was worse than Beddies... I was never out of the dealers with it.

Yep, i can vouch for that matey...

 

[emzino]

Beddie, many many thanks for your interesting post. I've read it through and agree with the most important point you made which I agree with, the interior!
I've seen a few in real life (non-GTI's) and seen the pictures on net and it looks poor. Nowhere does it come near to my A3. Infact i'd be hard done by finding a Golf or another A3 for that fact with a spec such as mine (i'm very lucky and very grateful for that).

Now with all that above plus your input noted, the A3 is here to stay and my unlimited amount of modifications (yes Normski, I will work my way to it lol) waiting to be done, it'll hopefully be the fastest going TDI unit around

Many many thanks Beddie for your post as well as everyone else for the input. Do appreciate it and won't be forgotten!