Cheers for the reply looking to steer away from the 30 due to them being priced quite highly and maybe get a lower mileage one and I assume I could always add the bodykit/trim?
It depends what you want to do tuning wise. If you are hoping to increase power significantly by going past Stage 2 then the ED30 is the best place to start, as it has the K04 turbo. A simple stage 1 remap with no other mods will give you around 300 bhp. The same in a standard GTi (K03 turbo) will get to around 240-250 bhp.
If you want to go further than Stage 2 in a standard GTi, as well as other mods you need to change the turbo to a K04 which is really expensive, so if you are planning huge power in the future, the ED30 is the best starting point. However, a lot of people report that this changes the character of the car, and that you'll never get the same incremental increase in pleasure/satisfaction as you go up through the stages as you do from increasing from boggo standard to Stage 1.
I love the way my car feels as standard in terms of steering feel , handling and ride. I don't want to alter this with bigger brake kits, suspension mods etc, but I want abit more power and torque, so I have mine booked in at AMD for Stage 1. It really depends what you want from your car in the future, and make sure you drive both extensively before you buy.
