Seriously considering buying one, fancy a couple of years with a fun car after years of Diesel Estate, looked at Type R’s and Focus ST but the Golf looks gets the better reviews. My Brain knows I should get a Mondeo Titanium but I’m drawn to something more nippy.
Am I mad to even look at one? Will it fall to bits because it’s been ragged to pieces?

Buy wisely & you’ll be fine.

I had a DSG model, which was fantastic, but I feared for maintenance costs for it. I miss it daily.

Depends on the car and, in turn, the owner.

I had a Mk5 GTi with 98k miles briefly, after taking it in part payment for my old supercharged R32. Apart from some stone chips, it was in great nick (owned from 25-98k by its owner).

Make sure you check the front wings for rust

I had one from 59k miles to 89k miles. Was brilliant!!!!! #

In the time i owned it i changed a battery and the rear brake calipers(i work away 3 weeks at a time and car was left during those times on a drive on a slope with the hand brake on) so that’s not really a fault of the car.

Now have a mark 7 GTD which is really good on fuel and still fun to drive but not nearly as exciting as the GTI the Mark 7 is also ever so slightly smaller than the mark 5. So its about to get changed for a mondeo.
Boring but loads of room

I had one from new. It was ok but not amazing. 0-60 was pretty slow (7.1) and the interior was badly made/cheap as they spent all the r&d budget on the chassis and engine. Fuel economy wasn’t great either I used to get about 200 miles from a tank. It was a good car though overall and I miss the leather recaro bucket seats(optional) and The xenon headlights but the 320 BMW I traded it for was a much better car. I had the choice of the r32 or gti and chose the gti because it felt lighter and more nimble/fun but I wish I had gone for the r32 just for the sound. The gti always sounded a bit flat.

Make sure you don’t drive a contemporary 130i 😉

I have one. It’s got quite a bit more poke than a standard one at 260bhp & 280 lbs torque. It’s pretty quick and I find it makes a great noise, though I suspect the exhaust is non standard. It’s nearly 9 years old and interior has no squeaks or rattles. Dsg is brilliant. It’s bloody thirsty though.

Wife is looking at buying/ leasing a new car in the new year and at the moment the favourite is a 330d touring. If the golf was a little cheaper to run I’d have considered keeping it as a second car but economy, tax and insurance mean it’s just a bit too expensive to keep for something that would barely get used and I’m no longer comfortable with having two cars on the drive.

I still enjoy driving the Golf though even if I spend too much time looking at the fuel gauge falling.

R32

(Jus’ sayin’)

Having driven neither, I agree with Nick.

My wife has one with 70k miles on it. She mostly does round town journeys so I have to take it out for an italian tune up every now and again.

It’s a good drive but uses enough oil that you need to keep a careful eye on the level.

What’s your budget, annual mileage and intended use? i.e. do you need to lug 3 kids and stuff for 20k miles a year or will it only be used by you at the weekends?

Do it.
I love mine, currently having new lowering springs fitted 🙂

They are pretty thirsty (30mpg is a good return on one it will mostly be high 20’s). Timing uses a belt rather than a chain so check its been done. But they didn’t suffer the reliability issue that mark VI 2.0TSI engines suffered from slipping timing chains and broken inlet manifolds.

I drove a friends the other day that had about 90k miles and it was still nice and tight and fun to drive. Good Mark V’s shouldn’t lose a lot of money now if looked after so if the fuel economy (and car tax) doesn’t worry you then go for it.

We have one. Its done about 117k miles but has full VW service history and apart from the odd cosmetic thing to be expected from a car with that mileage, it really does feel great to drive. Had a mk2 Octavia vRS about 5/6 years back with the same engine and the Golf feels like its a LOT quicker. DSG gearbox etc is great. Decent sized boot as well – 4 of us went on holiday in February in it with no shortage of space.

looked at Type R’s and Focus ST but the Golf looks gets the better reviews

Ignore the reviews and drive them. I found the Golf pretty numb and didn’t like the interior. I would never have a Focus ST and friends have a Type R. I ended up with a 130i as I wanted more than 4 cylinders and no Turbo. Its very nimble and the soundtrack is quite addictive! It is a small car though, slightly bigger than a Fiesta, I can just get my 29er LT FS in the rear with seats down and wheels out.

I have one and think they’re great cars. Mine is on 107k and still feels nice and tight. Performance is pretty decent and you can get 40mpg if you’re sensible (whoever said they managed 200miles to a tank must’ve been redlining it everywhere, or they’re lying). The R32 is a bit quicker and sounds a lot nicer but I don’t think the difference in performance is worth the extra money, standard GTI is probably better handling/more fun due to a lighter front end. All in all, its a great all-rounder.

As other have said, check for rusty wings, also any rough idling (could be clogged injectors)

Mk5 R32 owner.

10 years old with only 60k and it feels like new. Bought 2nd hand 4 years ago at 35k and I’ve maybe lost 500/1k in value, tops.

I liked driving a friends mk5 gti but the grip, low level torque and the sound track from the r32 wins hands down.

Down sides are it’s heavy. 30mpg when driven sensibly (300 miles from a tank). I don’t rag it but tyres need replaced more often and I hate the ipod interface.

I’ll be using it to commuter, sometimes. Only time I have my short 14 mile round trip is when I’m on earlies or lates so never in traffic as I can get free train when I’m working when they’re running. So not a lot of mileage, Only time I’ll drive more than this is to go home which is a 50 mile round trip and days out Biking/Walking and with Mrs JTL. She drives a Fiat 500 so nips to the shops will still be done in that.
Budget is about 5k, just want some fun for a couple of years.

Is the Mk5 one still dull as dishwater to drive or when they are starting to improve?

I reckon £5k will get you the best of what’s out there (or £4k and £1k to fix any niggles).

In two years a lot can deteriorate on a car at age/mileage you will be looking at. If you are handy with a spanner and willing to keep on top of the little things like worn bushes and small fluid leaks, then go for it. Of course, it may not need any work at all, but I think you’d be kidding yourself to think that running an 8-10 year old hot hatch will be maintenance free.

You’re thinking of the MK4 Funkydunc!

I set myself a budget and it started off as a Mk5 GTI, then I thought sod it get an R32 but in the end totally blew my budget and got a Mk6 R and I absolutely love it. One owner, 28k miles and it’s just ace. Even economical on long runs and put it in Sports mode and it flies. It’s got a 12 month warranty and when that runs out I’ll get it re-mapped to Stage 1 for a bit more “economy”