Newbie from East Mids!

[Dubs]

Hi guys, been looking at this forum for a while now so it made sense to get signed up as it looks friendly with good banter and some stunning cars!
Personally, I have been into VW's since I could say the word 'car' after my Mum and Dad owned plenty of dubs, especially Mk2 Golf GTI's and Polo's, attending dozens of shows and knowing all about 'the scene' before even leaving primary school! I currently have a Black mk4 V5 on BBS CH's but I've been surfing Auto trader for a while searching for a good looking MKV GTI/R32 to hopefully own in the relatively near future so felt the need to have a look on here to see what all the fuss is about! 

[Wooosh]

Welcome mate, make the right choice GTI.

[Gazza747]

Welcome  I used to have a mk5 gti, now I've seen this locally and i would love to have it!

http://www.nick-thorpe.co.uk/used-cars/volkswagen-golf-3-2-v6-r32-4motion-5dr-dsg-honiton-201402061603429

[Dubs]

Thanks guys, that looks a superb R32, great colour with low mileage - you can't not have it! Personally I'm looking for one with a manual 'box and 3 doors.

[Andy]

welcome to the forum..

[jbenekeorr]

Welcome!

I also had a black mk4 V5 before moving to the mk5. I hope you didn't buy mine though as it was pants!

What a sensational sounding engine! The MK5 GTI isn't a patch on it in terms of noise! Is yours the 20v?

[George10]

Welcome on board

[Dubs]

Wow, thanks for welcoming me guys! 

Welcome!

I also had a black mk4 V5 before moving to the mk5. I hope you didn't buy mine though as it was pants!

What a sensational sounding engine! The MK5 GTI isn't a patch on it in terms of noise! Is yours the 20v?

Yeah, mines the 170 bhp one - sooo smooth with a gorgeous purr! Its defo not yours as the car has been in the family since new: My uncle, then my dad and now me!

[Bennybear]

I was in your position a few weeks ago, pondering the R32 vs GTI conundrum. I've been in 6 and 8 cylinder ///M cars for the last 8yrs so a move to a 4 pot was hard for me to swallow.

I went for the GTI for a few reasons.

1. Its a Turbo - I'd agree with people saying that 4 pots are sh*te (apart from Honda's mental Vtec -I had a CTR in my younger years) i'm an 80's kid, so anything with a Turbo is cool, end of. Personally I dont even mind a bit of lag, as long as when it does kick in it was worth the wait. 

2. Its cheaper to insure, and run. Therefore better value, after paying to insure a 5.0 M5 while living in Zone 1 London, in a  postcode usually on fire, its a welcome change to pay a reasonable insurance premium and to see double digit fuel consmption is a joy!

3. Evo Magazine (whom personally I value the opinion of) rate the GTI as a 5 star car and the R32 as a 4 star car. other than the noise, there is no real advantage over a GTI

4. Tuneability - the Mk5 GTI is easy to tune with endless possibilities. I bought mine already tinkered with and i have to say its hilarious to drive. Only yesterday i found myself in a big rush to get home for an Ocado delivery, so i took a very "spirited" drive home down some country lanes and found myself actually laughing out loud at the darty front wheel drive characterists and all or nothing boost of the turbo. took me back to my days of Renault 5 GTTs and Uno Turbos with bleed valves. i might even buy a non re circ Dump Valve for the comedic Wooopsht! sound on upshifts.

Yeah, OK sometimes I'm still a little underwhelmed when the TFSI engine chunters into life in the morning and sits there sounding like a sowing machine on tic over, and yeah i miss the totally ridiculous, thunderous, sound of my old stainless steel muffler deleted V8 M5 on a cold start.

But i can say in all honesty, that yesterday, i had the most fun i've had in a car for years.

Sorry to go on, just thought i'd stick my 2p's worth in.

[Dubs]

I was in your position a few weeks ago, pondering the R32 vs GTI conundrum. I've been in 6 and 8 cylinder ///M cars for the last 8yrs so a move to a 4 pot was hard for me to swallow.

I went for the GTI for a few reasons.

1. Its a Turbo - I'd agree with people saying that 4 pots are sh*te (apart from Honda's mental Vtec -I had a CTR in my younger years) i'm an 80's kid, so anything with a Turbo is cool, end of. Personally I dont even mind a bit of lag, as long as when it does kick in it was worth the wait.  

2. Its cheaper to insure, and run. Therefore better value, after paying to insure a 5.0 M5 while living in Zone 1 London, in a  postcode usually on fire, its a welcome change to pay a reasonable insurance premium and to see double digit fuel consmption is a joy!

3. Evo Magazine (whom personally I value the opinion of) rate the GTI as a 5 star car and the R32 as a 4 star car. other than the noise, there is no real advantage over a GTI

4. Tuneability - the Mk5 GTI is easy to tune with endless possibilities. I bought mine already tinkered with and i have to say its hilarious to drive. Only yesterday i found myself in a big rush to get home for an Ocado delivery, so i took a very "spirited" drive home down some country lanes and found myself actually laughing out loud at the darty front wheel drive characterists and all or nothing boost of the turbo. took me back to my days of Renault 5 GTTs and Uno Turbos with bleed valves. i might even buy a non re circ Dump Valve for the comedic Wooopsht! sound on upshifts.

Yeah, OK sometimes I'm still a little underwhelmed when the TFSI engine chunters into life in the morning and sits there sounding like a sowing machine on tic over, and yeah i miss the totally ridiculous, thunderous, sound of my old stainless steel muffler deleted V8 M5 on a cold start.

But i can say in all honesty, that yesterday, i had the most fun i've had in a car for years.

Sorry to go on, just thought i'd stick my 2p's worth in.

I agree with all of that - thanks for posting!   I've seen a few people talk about them getting the GTI over the R32 because of the 'fun to drive' excited puppy-dog style enthusiasm to go faster- much like the mk1 GTI. Therefore, you could say that the R32 is more grown up and maybe even feel like a higher-class car due to the V6, 4WD, sound etc...  Also, people say that they love the 'soul' of the R32 (hard to describe) which makes you feel so proud to rev and to be seen in it (Although thats down to what you want from a car - do you see it as just a clever machine? Or a living, breathing thing and really love it?) But then again, is that 'soul' really worth that extra money to buy, run and insure? Or if you were at the lights in a GTI and an R32 pulled up alongside you, and roared away with that juicy V6, superb sound and 4WD, would you always regret it? These are the questions I keep asking myself and I'm just searching for one that I will just fall in love with for the right price, spec and (mint!) condition although I'm not rushing as it has to be just right!

Sorry to ramble on, Tom.  

[Bennybear]

I dunno, I think that the "soul" of a car is in how much you love it, and to love it you have to love driving it, so the more fun the more love, the more love the more soul?

Only other thing is don't underestimate the capability of a remapped and felted GTI, there are plenty out there that would tear an R32 up.

Anyway, let us know when you find "the one"

All the best.

[Dubs]

Yeah cheers mate  Btw that 'soul' thing was only what I had read on the R32OC forum.
The only thing was that while the TFSI does re-map well, the 4WD is great. My uncle had an 11 reg Skoda Octavia VRS (same engine as a mk6 GTI) that he got remapped the day he picked it up new from the dealers. It felt stupidly quick for a car like an Octavia but he got bored of trying to put 250 + bhp through the two front wheels even though it felt superb everywhere else. So, when a cheap (ish!!) 10 reg Golf R came up for sale a couple of years ago, he bought it. The Octavia was still only slightly quicker from 4th / 5th gear onwards with a higher power to weight ratio than the R but the Golf was still a lot quicker off the line and through the 'early' gears with a better sound (not as good as the R32 though). He loves it and says it feels quick enough but with a map could be potentially pushing out 310 BHP  He reckons it's ultimately more fun than the Octy especially in the corners,  the wet and the snow!     However, it isnt cheap to run and the Octy certainly made a smaller hole in his pocket. He doesnt regret it but I'm not sure if I'd feel the same - So now we're back at square one again!!!
I know they are both different cars from what I'm looking at but just food for thought for me personally. I'll make my mind up some day but I'll be delighted with either tbh!

Thanks again for the advice anyway!