Out of curiosity, what do you drive currently and why do want the ED30 back?
I totally get why you might have missed it, I'm just interested in peoples perspectives after moving onto bigger and better things, and why they'd go back.
I sold the ed30 in 2013 and bought a new mk7 3dr GTI PP. The mk7 was a better car in most ways but I still preferred the mk5. The ed30 was stage one and it was way faster than the mk7. The ed30 was more raw too. The mk7 gripped better, rode better, had a much nicer interior and burned way less fuel.
In early 2017 my circumstances changed and I needed a bigger diesel car. I really wanted to stay in the VAG group. The passat tdi 240bhp was very underwhelming. It handled like a boat, the engine was rattly and not very economical. The A4/A5 sportback were better, but the handling still felt terrible after the GTI. I then test drove a rwd 430d Gran coupe. Now that was a car! I got the factory approved, dealer fitted, M Performance Power Kit (MPPK). This is a bigger intercooler and a new ECU. This raised the power to 286bhp officially. This low number is to keep insurance companies happy. The car dyno'd 313bhp and 479lb ft on a tough dyno. (stock mk5 GTI's were making 190's on the same day). It was a very fast car. I raced my buddy in a 2019 Leon Cupra 300bhp 4wd on the straight at the 'ring. I was faster under 100mph, 100-120 we were even, after 120mph he started pulling away. The 430d handled better than the mk7. My only criticism is that the steering was numb on the 430d, but that's way less important than on a Golf because the car doesnt understeer. The 3.0d was a peach too. The 8 speed ZF isnt as sharp as a DSG, but it's very close, and it doesnt do any of that slow speed jerking when the dsg is caught napping. It was very cheap to run too. I never saw less than 35mpg on the road, even on a hoon. It would do 60mpg with sensible driving. Even around the ring, it averaged 18mpg, and I was doing sun 10-minute BTG's. The BMW service packs are great value, and put VW's to shame. The €425 pack covers all servicing (excluding brakes, tyres and wipers) for 5 years or 100k kms.
Then in December I bought an 8 month old M340i. I wanted back in a petrol and the new B58 engine is know to be frugal. This car makes a mk7 R feel slow. 374bhp officially, but they all make much much closer to 400bhp. I havnt had it dyno'd yet. The 4wd is rear-biased with a lsd. The car never feels 4wd. Throttle mid-corner always rotates the rear. It never pushes the front. Its very economical considering too. I havnt done much long driving with Covid. The only long drive was about 3 hours with the cruise set at 85mph and she returned 35mpg. The ed30 would have been 26-28mpg at those speeds. The M340i will do high 40's mpg at B road speeds. I'm bringing it to the 'ring in August so will get a better feel for it then.
The ed30 would be a weekend car, I can see most new cars being electric soon and I want to be able to get my petrol fix when I'm old and grey. I'm also looking for a DC2 type R, but they are gone out of budget, I should have bought one 5 years ago!
Unfortunately 728 has not been well cared for and its condition is not what I'm looking for. It's had at least 4 keepers since I sold it. When I sold the car, it had 36k miles and bar a few stone chips the bodywork was immaculate. Even the prets were unmarked. It has 118k miles now and is in poor condition. The prets are long gone, with some aftermarket wheels on it now. If anybody is selling a mint 3 door DSG ed30, let me know.
Thanks for the detailed response
You've had some great cars over the years
I remember way, way back, my mate bought a brand new E60 535d with all the M Sport goodness, which he then fitted uprated fuel pumps to, and remapped it, and that thing was bonkers. Until that engine came along, diesels performed and sounded like clunky old tractors. VAG's 1.9 PD engines were the best at the time until BMW joined the party, punchy and frugal, but nothing like as smooth and grunty as BMW's TDIs. Even the original 2.0d was class leading (except when it swallowed it's tumble flaps!). BMW totally pulled a blinder out of the bag with their diesels, from seemingly nowhere!
It's funny how times change. Both BMW and Honda vowed never to fit turbos to their engines, back in the E46 M3/Civic Type R days, proudly proclaiming their high specific outputs were purely down to solid engineering and naturally aspirated goodness. They both use turbos now
And to good effect!
Yes electric is the way forward. The sheer grunt from electric motors is insane, but the world is nowhere near ready for them yet, en mass. They are a novelty at the moment but the signs are there fossil fuels are on the way out. Let's just hope battery technology gets to where it needs to be, because Lithium supplies are finite and extremely polluting to mine and process.
Anyway, I hope you find a decent ED30 to scratch your reminiscent itch with. There's just something about them, either GTI or ED30. It's not often a basic and humble car is greater than the sum of it's parts, but the MK5 is definitely an example of one that is. I agree the MK7 is a far superior car in terms of build quality, but for my tastes, the MK5's steering feedback is way, way more chatty. It's raw like you say, a bit fidgety and intolerant of sloppy driver inputs, but the way it feels on the road when you string a section of B road corners together, is hard to beat, certainly in it's price range
Funny you mention Integras. I keep looking at DC5s. My favourite Honda of all time.
