.
When the Mk5 R32 came out my VW dealer lent me one for the day and I road-tested it back-to-back with my GTI (which was less modified back then) on a 40-mile lap consisting of a roller-coaster B-road, some very fast A-roads and some country road twisties plus a couple of roundabouts. It's the lap route I use for all my local road tests - Mk6 GTI, Scirocco, S4 Avant, etc and always back-to-back with my beloved throbbin' red one.
My conclusion was that I absolutely loved the V6 sound (and it wasn't even a Milltek) but that although it was fast it just didn't feel as tactile. That feeling of being taut and tactile is what I seek in my ride. Also the R32 was thirsty!
I've also driven a friend's modified Mk4 R32 (sounds better than the Mk5) and a Mk5 R32 modded for trackdays which had the Haldex switch - Essential in my opinion and Race-mode being the permanent one for me! Great fun.
But modding a normally aspirated R32 gets more than just expensive if you want to achieve substantial gains.
Dom, you need to drive one back-to-back with your Ed30 on the same route - It's the best way to decide. I was serious about possibly switching.
