Well I done a fair bit of traveling but i managed to achieve what I set out to do and that was to have test drives of the MK7 GTI, MK7 R, S2+ Edition 30 and the M135i. Before the test drives I kind of knew which car I was going to go for but the test drives changed my mind a little.
MK7 GTI
Well the garage had three of these white, grey and black and to be fair the black looked stunning, it took those sharp lines in the front grill away which I don’t really like and it really suited the lines of the car. The test car was a base spec no extras what so ever but I never felt like it needed more spec as it has a fair few toys out the box. The manual box and idle were super smooth compared to the TFSI and VW has really moved the game on in terms of road noise ect making it a much more civilised place to be. With that comes a problem…………the car now doesn’t feel sporty enough for me it just feels a bit numb and uninspiring. I wouldn’t say for a minute unexciting but it really doesn’t make me want to take my credit card out especially when the feeling in the cabin is similar to the eddy but feels nowhere near as special. I really liked the interior in this car although familiar the new styling cues are very nice and certainly exceeded my expectations with regards to quality and quirkiness. I was really impressed by the ride and handling on the GTI, it really feels proper planted and taut, with no dramas the grip on this car was very impressive for a FWD car as well. Conclusion Great car, VW has moved the game on again unfortunately it’s just not quick enough or exciting enough for me
S2+ Eddy
When modded there really isn’t much that comes close to these erm well maybe not…. But they are fantastic especially for the money, the engine is great – be it a little lumpy which was really highlighted to me whist test driving the new metal, and all the other cars really hold the road and grip a bit harder than the eddy ( this can be changed though and will be, as I’m pretty much on a standard chassis at the moment ) but as good as the other cars were none of them give the same experience as the eddy a lot noisier and even though it’s a luxury hot hatch, compared to the new cars it felt like I was driving a stripped out racer that’s 2mm of the deck ! I still love the looks and probably more so than any of the other cars I drove, even the interior is still a nice place to be, apart from wanting a newer car I really can’t convince myself of any reason to get rid of this car especially when you look at the price difference between the newer cars I’m looking at. Conclusion I can’t think of anything id rather be driving about in for 12K and event looking at cars a fair bit more expensive makes me think I’d rather just keep the eddy even if they were the same price…..crazy int.it ? This car really is a gem in the used market if you like tinkering and really does deliver loads of smiles
M135i
Interior space really is pretty tight, the rear door access isn’t the best especially for a three year old and 3 month old and I really struggled to get the buggy in the boot, when I did shoe horn it in there was not much space left. The interior is very good quality but not as quirky as the VW and in all honesty I prefer the MK7s interior, It looks not too bad from the outside there are a lot of 1 series haters but I’m not one of them. Well that’s about as much maybes and badness I can say about the car because the minute you turn that engine over its all good! the noise is absolutely amazing I still prefer the RS noise but this is the second best note I’ve heard and it really gives you a massive smile factor, depressing that loud pedal in to the carpet is done equally for the noise as it is for the feeling of speed, again this is a buttery smooth engine and very torquie low down, it certainly feels quicker than the eddy low down but when you are revving the eddy feels like you are making a lot quicker progress where this seems to tail off a bit at the top end – but still a very very fast car I could happily drive this all my days without any tuning it was a great experience and really feels special –something which the gti lacked. The box was a manual and it felt similar in feel to the e46 M3 but shorter and smoother, however it did not engage as sweetly as any of the VWS – I’m maybe just used to the VW throw though. The handling and grip were superb, I never got all rear end squirmy (I was on a test drive) but the grip was that good I felt like I wasn’t even close to it stepping out of line – very impressive. The one thing I was surprised with was the body roll, it had a fair bit more than the vws, which I wasn’t expecting it wasn’t excessive but it was noticeably more than the VWS. Conclusion – Great car loved it a real driver’s car and under-priced in my opinion, it is a little smaller than I was expecting but I would make that sacrifice for that noise!!
MK7 R
Well I though I’d have a drive in this car anyway, I wasn’t really looking at these seriously to buy, I didn’t really like them visually, and at 30K I though they overpriced. The dealer had one so I thought yep ill drive that too! Well when I arrived (it was the first one id seen) It was a 5 door in candy white and it looked absolutely stunning!!! really loved it in white I’m not a fan of the silver striping against the lapiz blue, but against the white it blends in a lot better, the kit makes it look like it’s almost got a new body it looks completely different to the mk7 for some reason ! So far so good (which I wasn’t expecting). Interior it had the cream and black R sports seats and they looked brilliant again I didn’t really think they looked nice at all in the pictures but in the flesh they look great, the fake carbon design type inlays and the blue needles look very smart while paired with the illuminated door trims and sill inserts really brung a smile factor before setting off in this car I really liked it! The new nav seems pretty good but somehow I don’t think the screen quality is as good as the RNS 510. I switched the lights on and went for another look….. NICE !!!! Test drive time, this would have been my first ever 4WD experience and it was mental of the line. I was expecting it to obviously just go but not to the extent it did away of the line with no dramas. Even in corners accelerate steer it just grips!! Really impressive stuff, I’ve heard a few reports of 4WD feeling numb, boring, not much of a driver’s car etc. etc. but this car just feels so impressive and light on its feet properly impressive. The chassis feels sportier and taut than the GTI this was equipped with the adaptive chassis control this really made this car a great drive. Engine well I was expecting something similar to the gti put with a bit more power, the engine was still ultra-smooth but a lot louder (in a good way) the engine note is certainly one of the best sounding turbo 4s I’ve ever heard from the factory. It’s certainly a long shot away from the 2.0 tfsi tractor engine. But again obviously it’s not got the character of the bmw, power the car pulls very well everywhere surprisingly more so than the GTI and feels stronger than the numbers suggest – again its still not quite at the levels of the m135i of eddy but not far off and again I could live with the performance without tinkering – Conclusion, Ermmm well I think I’ll need to eat my hat, I pretty much dismissed this car at the start but in real terms it offers so much in so many ways and in all honesty it was IMO the best of the bunch. The question for me though is it worth the upgrade from the eddy………..Erm I think so!
