theres one hell of a surcharge for the Ed30 IMO. however when you consider to take a GTI upto 280Hp you would require an exhaust/intake/ intercooler/ discharge pipes/HPFP and stage 2 + remap (probably >£3000)where as you could surpass that power in an Ed30 for only a £500 remap. SO in terms of tuning, youare saving yourself £2500. That doesnt mean anything though, becuase you will then go stage2 etc. basically your p!ssing in the wind either way
std GTI engine can handle a k04 turbo conversion but not much more else.You can k04 convert the engine though. it does require injectors, relocated DV and you should essentially be able to make stage 1 Ed30 power. But to be fair if your going to do that then why not spend extra on the downpipe/intake and HPFP
the pipe that goes from your MAF sensor to your turbo differs. the k03 is just a straight through pipe. the k04 has a DV take off in it.This image is a k04 with the DV take offthis is the k03 intakeexpect 320-350Hp with all the supporting mods and a nice dyno. Even the k04 ed30/GTI dont get over 360Hp and more often than not get around 320-350 there are guys who have bent rods with the GT2871 which was only getting 390Hp with water meht.
Well the extra money gets you an Edition 30.... for me that was enough of a reason!
theres always a cupra. they depreicate much more than the ed30, they have the same k04 engine, bigger better brakes. the only downside is the interior, although adding the multifunction stereo top the dash makes it look alot better.