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Been driving a mk4 gt tdi for a while, but looking for something a bit more grrr.
There's a 03 plate R32 at a local garage, 55k on the clock, tidy, just over £8k....but the catch is no service history. should i steer clear on that basis? wheels and tyres are new so i can't really check easily to see how if it has been overly ragged or not.
obviously i'd expect a car of this nature to have been pushed in its life, but i have never bought a car without any service history before....
wotchareckon?
MkIV is one ugly car.
what gearbox?
Surf mat to the forum, faster than a RS6, slower than a Clio Cup. Probably.
The R32s are nice cars, but i'd prob go for a 2.0T as they can be chipped a bit more easily without killing your fuel consumption too much.
Mind you the R32 sounds GRRRRR!
Hmmm no history on a car like that would prob have me steering clear tbh.
I tried one and was really dissapointed. I think it's too much money too.
If you want a V6 then save up for a 4 motion.
If I could find one I'd get a MkII Rallye...
Get the reg number and inquire with your local VW dealer, if its been serviced at a VW franchise it will have been recorded.
They may as well quote 'data protection' as why they can't give you the details, but just say that you are looking to buy it and obviously will need it servicing etc (by them), but really wanted to know some history.
Its also probably been a lease/company car, and none of mine ever had any books 'stamped'.
My memory is that it may be AWESOME.
I think you might be right
b r - thanks for the advice.
manual 6speed gearbox.
from what little i've read, doesn't the r32 have better handling than the other 'hotter' golfs?
zedsded - what was disappointing?
I just expected more from it really. It looked nice enough and was built well but it just didn't go as well as I hoped it would.
Faster than an RS6!! Ha ha!
I used to have a Mk4 V6 4motion (essentially same car as the R32 just with a 2.8L V6 not a 3.2L).
Was really nice motor to drive and returned 28mpg on average. Wasn't fearsomely quick but did everything without any fuss at all. Don't buy if you want something to scare you on the limits (Focus ST or the hot Renault Clios are much more involving to drive)
Only downside is that some of the unique parts weren't up to the usual VAG quality standard. Once they go wrong you have to go to VW as none of the cheaper places stock these parts (GSF, Eurocarparts etc).
Given the choice I'd have another 4motion......
Definately not faster than an RS6 I'm afraid...........not by a long chalk!
especially my 500+bhp RS6 (officially more AWESOME than a 335d)
What about trying to get R32 performance from your Golf?
Got a hybrid turbo, remap, big intercooler & brakes/suspension uprated on my 1.9PD VAG diesel for not a lot over £2k - 240bhp yet keeps its 55mpg economy if driven sensibly.
There's utter cr4p being spouted here by many who have never driven or owned anything more exciting than a Vauxhall Astra - an RS6 struggled to keep up with me and my R32 on a [b]very twisty B road[/b]. Of course it's not "faster" overall just like a standard Elise isn't fast in a straight line but is super nimble. It's simply physics - an RS5 weighs almost two tonnes, an R32 weighs under 1.5 tonnes. The mk4 R32 also got the same Top Gear lap time as an SL55 AMG Merc - does that also mean the R32 is "quicker?" no it isn't to those of you who understand nothing about cornering, weight and agility in a car.
Nor is the R32 "more or less the same as" a V6 4Motion. The mk4 range (V6 included) handled very badly indeed - VW worked some magic on the R32 and made it handle pretty damn well. It "won" a few tests at the time against rivals, the V6 4Motion was always slated.
It's a nippy car but not ballistic, it grips VERY well, handling is nice but very slightly vague, the interior is very special and rivals much more pricey cars, the mpg is heavy and the sound of the engine is utterly glorious. The engine is utterly rock solid - it's very understressed. It MUST have an ECU map done by VW called v4643 (I think) - without this it hesitates horribly at 2.5krpm. The "chip" also releases up to 20 more bhp and is free. I was the first in the UK to have it done after getting overtaken by London buses (almost) when caught in that flat spot.
Big Yinn - at the time it was a 1.8T not a 2.0T and was a pretty horrible engine. The "GTi" came with it and handled so badly, it could be outrun by a well driven milk float.
Best only buy if you have secure parking - we did in London then didn't in Bristol - and I ended up having to sell it because it was such a massive target for crackhead thieves who wanted the wheels.
A good solid motor.
The Mk4 R32 is good, the rest of the mk4 range isn't. It knocks spots of a diesel mk4 (my sister has the 130bhp diesel one)
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Mutant - pics of your RS6 or I assume you are a keyboard warrior pretending he has one. They don't appeal to me to be honest - too heavy. An RS4 is a different matter.
my 1.4dci clio can keep up with amg mercedes if it's twisty enough.
How about a real R32?
was getting 673BHP at the wheels from this and the pressure could have been turned up!
Proper scary beast!
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No it didn't Thom because it has almost no power. An why are you reading and writing on a thread about R32s when you have a very gutless shopping car for girls?
Stick to bikes.
almost. being key there.
anyway i would have steered clear of a dsg with no sh but a manual makes it more interesting again.
Zeds - yikes! Never liked Skylines but they are flipping quick even untuned. Did you race it? Any drag times? I imagine that was mentally rapid?!
Thom - actually you speak sense about the DSG box - early ones weren't great. Getting better. Mine was a manual - even that wasn't a great 'box to be fair. Bit sloppy, set too far back in the car. Also the Konig seats look great but are uncomfortable on long journeys.
Just for AWESOME Matt
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505bhp bike carrier. Owned for 4 years and very nippy. I'm ex Scoobynet Matt so remember you from there
MM
MM - nice. I wasn't convinced but now I am.
Right colour and one of the nicest engines sounds out there - love the woofly turbo'd eight pot motor.
Prefer that shape to the current one TBH.
an RS6 struggled to keep up with me and my R32 on a very twisty B road
Apologies for the slight deviation from the main topic here but I drive a 3.2 A3, not a million miles away from the performance of an R32. I've also driven a number of 500 plus bhp cars at the limit (around a track, I hasten to add). I know how fast you'd have to be travelling to outgun an RS6 "in the bends". When you say "B road", I take it that you don't mean a public road? I agree with your comment about agility versus outright power, but please tell me you're not driving like that on the same roads that I could be cycling with my kids (or even that you would have the [i]desire[/i] to drive like that on a public road, let alone brag about it on a forum). There's "spirited driving" and there's madness. If you're outsprinting an RS6 on a public road you'd have to be driving at a completely mental speed. Apologies for the rant. This is a great forum with lots of interesting and funny people who offer very useful advice, but this sort of talk lowers the tone to a level that makes me very sad.
Please continue......
Back on topic, I'd stay away from any performance car without a service history.
Tinners - not outsprinting, just out cornering. Not outright grip - an RS6 has way more. But agility - just like an Elise would easily out maneouvre and R32 on back roads.
Can you please also write to every performance car mag, to Top Gear, fifth gear and to anyone else with a performance car that uses it properly with your sanctimonious rant too? What are quick cars for - just for scoring ego points over others? No they are there for people to enjoy. In some cases people are silly. In many case people can enjoy there cars in relative safety always driving defensively whatever the road conditions. I have never crashed and never had a point for speeding. If I drive dangerously, that would be a massive load of good luck and not really fair. Just like to keep things in balance. Thanks.
And of all those who have added to this thread, about two actually give the OP useful information about R32s. The rest are just vague BS spouted by those who haven't a clue.
What happened with the Skyline stays with the Skyline.... 😈
Apologies if I offended with a sanctimonious rant. I'm not generally into sanctimonious rants. It's just that the original description made it sound like you were driving like a complete tw*t. Now I know that you weren't and that you were merely "out cornering" an RS6. You had me worried there for a minute.
The reg on that Audi sex machine makes me think of the Picolax thread...to be honest, I'd rather go for a very fast drive in that to shift my gut than have a dose of the Picolax stuff!!!
Golf...just not interesting in any guise...
Dick - surely [i]slightly[/i] interesting when a VR6 lump is stuck under a mk2s bonnet?!
surf-mat
you know, one of them came up for sale about 5 miles from me not so long ago. I was very tempted to go check it out..... I really liked my mk2 ...
Zeds - I have always been tempted...!
Nope...I'm just not a Golf fan - in any guise...they lack character (in my opinion, but I know sod all - personal ownership of cars has been a Berlingo, Legnum VR4 and now a Bravo Sport so I clearly know sod all); they are common as muck and to be honest, they are far heavier than the competition (which makes me think they should be even faster than they are but due to the extra lard they aren't).
All personal choice...I've driven a few Golfs (not performance ones) and plenty of Audis/Seats and Skodas so I'm very familiar with the VAG drive...but a Golf? No thanks...
That Audi RS6 though - good grief I'd love that...
The one thing that put me off was it's FWD. Then I got thinking about building my own in the workshop and making it either RWD or AWD?
Then I thought what's the point? Just get a Lancia Delta! I haven't driven a Delta yet but I always loved them and wanted one. Everything I ever read about them makes me want one more.... one day.... one day...
I might still build the mk2 special too...
chaps (and chapesses) - thanks for, er, some of the replies!
I'd thought about doing things to the golf tdi 130, but it would need a load of work and still wouldn't be what i'm after. i had heard that vw had done good stuff to the r32 that wasn't available on the rest of the range.
what i'm really after is a decently rapid hatch, with lots of grip to have fun in the twisties with. i'm not worried about going mental, but i do like the feel of going along at a fair lick.
interesting the audi has come up - the other car i'd been thinking of was the s3 - seen a couple in the same price bracket (post 2002 with the 225 engine)...and with a FSH.
I'm probably only going to keep the car for a year or so before selling it on, so resale value is an issue - hence the big concern about the one local to me not having service history.
fwiw, the golf we have is really mrs rex's car. i endure an old 1.6 primera estate as a bikewagon....you can all probably empathise why i am after something a little lairier....
If you drive an R32 then it's worth noting that it doesn't feel immediately quick, in the way that something with a turbo will. There is no kick in the backside; the speed builds very unspectacularly, to the point that you assume you're not travelling quickly when in fact you are.
This will be a significant difference if you drive an R32 against an S3.
Your appreciation of an R32 will often build in the same way as the speed - initially you won't rate it, but it will gradually and, almost unnoticeably, really get under your skin - so much so that you'll [i]almost[/i] be able to overlook the pounding your wallet is taking at the pumps 😉
Having said that, I'm not sure I'd commit any significant money on a car with 55K and no evidence of a service history - partly based on condition, and partly resale.
-m- has it pretty much spot on there. An odd but fun thing in the R32 is the super quick throttle response - it's Ferrari-like which is great but do watch speed bumps - easy to end up "donkeying" all over the place!
When I got the R32 I tested a few other cars - one being the S3 (at that time 225bhp 1.8T engine) - lovely to sit in,looked great but the R32 was a lot more fun and sounds heaps better. If you like tuning your cars though it's VERY hard to get more bhp out of an R32 N/A engine. An S3 1.8T is very easy to tune to silly bhp.
Zeds - it is a consideration but then it's light and apparently good conversions handle the power well. There is the Syncro but it's not the most fun handler apparently.
Deltas are lovely but SO much hassle to look after! I think I'd go for a uR Quattro - my dad had three - the last one a full Treser converted one - that was a bit of a beast.
wise words -m-, and the lack of SH is really putting me off.
will keep and eye out on the market as in no rush to buy. i just have got that itch to have a decent car again.........and i've had to drive past that bloody r32 three times today, and each time she calls me like a siren... 8)
there was an absolute BELL END in an R32 on the motorway (M32) this morning
pretty much the stupidest driving i've ever seen
what you need is an RS6 + a stainless exhaust and a remap, then your knocking on 7oo hamsters 😉
how about an Alfa 147 GTA (3.2 V6)?
what you need is an RS6 + a stainless exhaust and a remap, then your knocking on 7oo hamsters
That will get you just over 500 like mine. Big bucks for 700bhp...unless you are talking new shape C6 with the V10!
MM
Beautiful alfas - you get plenty of time to admire them when they're up on the rAmps at the dealers 🙁
My thought was an S3 would be worth a look. I test drove one and found it fast but a bit uninvolving - though I was driving a DC2 Integra Type-R at that time and everything was a bit dull in comparison.
What about a mk5 GTI Edition 30; much livlier chassis than either R32, bigger turbo engine from current S3, DSG gearbox, all the toys. No I'm not selling one, not at all, that wouldn't be the reason I'm posting at all... God I feel like Arthur Daily on these threads sometimes! 😆
what about somehting with a nice ecologically friendly engine..?
Low emissions.. good mpg..
It may not be quite so attractive to other men and ditzy women.. and it may not give you a small buzz.. but you could just take cocaine for that instead..?
cheaper and better for the environment.. and you'll be supporting poor 3rd world farmers..
ace!
Big Yinn - at the time it was a 1.8T not a 2.0T and was a pretty horrible engine. The "GTi" came with it and handled so badly, it could be outrun by a well driven milk float.
Really - must be some damned fast milk floats where you live then 🙄
For 150 BHP mine was pretty damned quick, and it's the same engine uprated to 210 BHP in the Leon Cupra and Audi titty
"Uprated" being the word, the decent Cupra and TT had 225, the mk4 with 150 was far too heavy for the power.
The R32 has the same suspension geometry & arms as an S3 or TT 4WD. The Leon Cupra R got the front half of it.
Basically you get better suspension geometry on an R32 (longer front suspension arms, different front hub carrier, independent rear suspension rather than torsion beam), so you can go round corners faster.
4motions might get the rear half of the setup, or something derived from the old Golf Syncro semi trailing arm system. Netherless, ultimately it's the front suspension that provides the lion's share of cornering grip in a Golf.
"Alfa 147 GTA (3.2 V6)?"
I nearly got one but then realised it would cost me a small fortune to keep it running. A shame as it's lovely looking. Not nearly as much fun as the likes of the old 75 V6 though.
Just coming onto the back end of this topic.
When you say there is no service history, is that because they have lost it, or that they have never had it serviced?
Sorry if it's been covered and I've missed it 😳
If they have just lost the service history, you could always back track through the garages and gather it, or if it has never been serviced; I'd have to wonder who'd been driving / owning it.
Would it be normal to have the money to buy such a lovely car and not have it serviced or at least keep receipts for oil etc?
When I was looking around last year for my new car it was between the newer shape R32, scirocco 2.0t and GTI.
I chose the GTI, VW wanted £27k for the scirocco with the spec we wanted, the R32 did around 18MPG in the realworld so we got a MK5 golf with 10k miles for 12k less than the scirocco.
DSG is fantastic and the mid range torque of the 2.0t GTI is brilliant. I can't imagine you would want anything more in the UK.
The mk5 golf is faster around the fith gear track than a WRX 4wd, the reason being it has good usable power for a FWD (without the need of LSD).
I imagine you would pick up a MK5 GTi for around the same money?
Lancia Delta and a large donation from the saudi royal family to fund the repair bills would be nice 😈
That thing would be brutal.
I almost got a TVR S2, slight problem, id have to chop my legs off to fit in...
I got the best MPG ever last night in the RS6!
Mostly thanks to this bringing me home!
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New Alternator please.
MM
There's a 03 plate R32 at a local garage, 55k on the clock
If it was Cat C/D pricing I'd be interested in this one. You can also get print outs of servicing etc if you do a bit of homework..i.e. where the last owner(s) lived and contact their nearest garages for service print outs.
You'd have to do the normal checks of course.
For 6weeks I had the pleasure of driving a mkIV V6 4motion. Utterly shit in bends (but then when has a mkIV been a swoopy-drivers car?) but lovely sounding and a nice experience.
Why not just buy a Subaru if you want something special?
[url= http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201037368196384/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/9000/model/lancer/make/mitsubishi/page/3/keywords/evo/radius/1501/postcode/pa49pn?logcode=p ]EVO VIII[/url] is waaaaaay better than scoobydoo. I've driven lots of versions of both and the Mitsubishi has always been the best. Yes, they cost more to keep running but it drives better, is more invloving, handles a lot better, goes like stink and is pretty well built unlike the scooby which always feel like the cheap interior is about to fall apart...
I don't mind scooby's too much but they're no where near as good as an evo.
Subarus had their heyday 10 or more years ago. Mitsubishi have since been kicking their butts. Sit inside a Subaru after an R32 and it will feel like a Kia.
When you say there is no service history, is that because they have lost it, or that they have never had it serviced?
local garage said they had just got it in, and had written to the previous owner to see if he/she had any records....so I assumed it had been autioned or a px from another dealer.
in the intervening 36hours since i started this thread i've managed to talk myself out of the r32...would be a lovely car if i worked less than 75miles from home....i reckon it would be hard to get a characterful engine without completely bankrupting myself at the pumps.
subaru's have never done it for me, and i was put off alfa's long ago but a run of alfasuds (well, i say 'run', i mean 'faltering stagger'!). newer alfas seem to be lovely cars though, but i can't quite get my head around owning one...
S3 might still be a goer. i did look at the mk5 golf gti's, and it would probably be all the car i ever need, it's just that every other punter down my road already seems to own one. curses.
IF you have to travel so far for work then buy something old, but reliable and cheap for the commute and something nice for the weekends?....
i.e. grandads old nissan/honda with hardly any miles on it but it's worth nowt due to age for work.
And spend the rest on something rapid.... huge choice...
yeah, that's what we sort of have - a grufty old primera estate and a golf tdi130 for the commute...the nissan is crap for the commute though as it is gutless on the hills, and i live in north devon, commuting to plymouth - hilly. would be nice to chop in the golf, but that is really mrs rex's car, so it would be the nissan i'd be looking at changing.
if i could get 30mpg or so out of a sportier car it would be worth paying the extra to enjoy the commute though.
the sensible thing to do is what snaps said - chip and coil-over the golf all round. but i do too much sensible for my job, it would be nice to just be lairy for the sake of it once in a while...
I'd never buy a 'evo'. Subaru offer more in their range than just a straight forward 'evo'. The R32 interior is basically in a lumpy shopping car body. You can't escape the fact that its a million miles away from a MkV GTI etc as a car/drivers car. Depends what you want from a car. I'm assuming that if someone wants a bit of poke/the 'look' that a car is capable then they wouldn't spend their time looking at the dashboard infront of their nose but out of the windscreen 😉
I had the option on buying the V64motion I had cheap (borrowed from bro in law). I weighed everything up but at the end the only thing I actually liked was the sound of the engine.
That's because the V6 4 Motion was pretty average too - you've never driven a mk4/mk5 R32 I suspect. I HAVE driven an Impreza, a Legacy and a Forester (2.0XT) - yes they are rapid, yes they grip well but all have cr4p interiors, look dreadful (some Legacy's look okay), are dismal on fuel and emissions and in the Imprezas case, are completely outclassed by an Evo - I tested the Evo IX FQ360 and it knocked spots off any Impreza apart from maybe the super trick Litchfield models which cost a zillion quid. It handled better, was much nicer inside and quicker than any production Impreza by miles. The only point the Impreza scores is on engine sound.
As an aside, Evo rated the mk4 R32 way above the Hawkeye Impreza in a group test (it also beat an S3 and some other cars) so ner.
So once again Hora, you are speaking not from experience but from second hand information.
Are you the one that drives the 3 series?
Yes - and compared to an Impreza or Legacy, it's a joy to drive.
Your Legacy may have a fair wad of bhp but it's got sod all torque, a grim interior and is duller than a Mondeo. Still, farmers like them I guess.
Didn't we have a conversation not so long back when you said I was talking out of my ass about mini's and that you'd had a go in one whereas I've driven about 6variants, learnt to drive in one and owned one? 😆
Don't get me started on MKIV VAG variants. You'll lose.
so... bit of a highjack, I've been following this as I'm looking to get a V6 Golf but not the 3.2RL as it's waay more pricey. Which is the best of the bunch ?
Kev
Keva another option - look at the 3.2 Audi A3.
The A3 3.2 is much less "sporty" than the R32. Softer, less responsive throttle, etc.
Okay then, check this test - not my words, someone elses:
[i]That's right: Golf beats Scooby in evo group test. And they said it could never happen. But as you must have gathered by now, the R32 isn't any old Golf. 'It would be easy to scoff and say that all-wheel drive and a 3.2-litre V6 is utterly ridiculous in a hatchback,' says Dickie. 'But the R32 is such a convincing package, all the ingredients seem perfectly justified. It has the presence of an RS Audi and the honed, detailed dynamic polish and behaviour of an original quattro. And all for a measly ?£22K, something I find amazing. The best hot hatch in ages, not to mention the best VW for ages, perhaps ever.'
For the time being, it really doesn't get any better than this.[/i]
Only just caught up with this thread. Some comments from direct experience.
The VR6 4motion is NOT close to being an R32 - much lower power, standard suspension etc. Forget it
Had an S3 for 2 years. Very quick, huge amounts of grip, totally dull and uninvolving to drive and was bored with it after a year.
The only MKIV quick Golf worth having is is 25th Anniversary special which had 200bhp and signficant suspension mods, plus a tasteful bodykit. Had mine for 2 years and loved it. Worth looking out for
Had a couple of drives in a MKIV R32 and was very impressed. Much quicker than a GTi, very direct responses, huge amount of grip and feel. Basically a bit of an animal, a bit crashy, but fantastic B road blaster.
I currently have a MKV R32, bought new 2 years ago. Apart from my 993 it's the only car I've had that I haven't got bored with after a year or so. Very quick, amazing grip, real fun to drive, best car I've owned for wet weather capability. I get 28mpg when driving "briskly" and 31ish mpg on long motorway journeys, so don't let people tell you they have ridiculous thirst
The R32 is a different league to any other car you can buy at that sort of money, including the S3, it's practical, well screwed together and will hold it's value well, but avoid anything without a decent service history. For me for that sort of money it would be a MKIV R32 or a MKV GTi - R32 more hooligan, GTi more civilised
Edit - and do not confuse the 3.2 A3 as being in the mix. It is a cruiser not a sports car, same as the Golf 2.8 4motion
Aye but you could have mod-revisions to the suspension on the Audi 3.2- just opens up the choices abit as I bet there arent many on autotrader? (question as I don't know)
I'd love a MKV R32. Cap'n will you take bumsex as 'payment'? 8)
Well said Captain!
Anniversay model mk4 GTi had 180bhp though 😉
Hora, was editing my post during your last post.
It's easy to tune the VAG engines, but what you don't get is the very different suspension, interior etc. Not worth doing on any Audi as they are sooo dull - RS4 excepted.
And sorry, but your offer is strangely unappealing.
Hora, take off your rose tinted spectacles. The only reason you say that is because you own a scooby tractor.
I knew it was only a matter of time before you turned up here... you still make me laugh though. 😆
Surf-mat - I stand corrected - you're right it was 180bhp. Somehow felt quicker than that though.
Ive never tried a golf r32 but when folk say that they dont feel quick off the mark to begin with.. is that not the point where you should call it a day and get something that IS quick off the mark and keeps on pulling if you are buying a car that has to have performance in it? what else is so special about a golf R32 for you to buy one and sacrifice the instand grunt and pull that other cars have lots of? it looks nice, but why not get a diesel version instead of wasting money on something that dissapoints in other areas? because it looks and sounds nice?
Ive had a shot of an RS4 2008? model and its unreal but like ive said before.. enjoyed the drive of my pug 106 on the way home over the backroads better. its a diffrent class (if any class at all lol) but what is the aim in buying a car? you buy a car for a reason.it might be for the size of it to carry stuff,the mpg,the handling,how easy and cheap it is to repair,how involving it is,the power..
The R32 might have some of those in its favour but for a car with a performance badge,why would someone choose an r32 for this so called performance when the performance (as described by the owners themselves as not too quick off the mark)isnt that great? Do people buy cars for the sound? surely you could alter a diesel version for a lot less money to make it look as nice as an R32 and save a lot of money? for less money you could have an evo 8. as roomy as the golf and 4 door.
I must admit that I am a Scooby 'ho
Martin - you are talking total bo77ocks.
The mk4 R32 matched the SL55 AMG lap time around the top gear track. It does 0-60 in just over 6 seconds - quicker than almost any hot hatch even today. It gets to 30 in the same time as a Jag XJ220 (little known fact). It comes with 240bhp stock but most kick out over 260. It has a decent wad of torque. It'll do 153mph.
What's not "performance" about that?
As for Evos - different car altogether. Horrible interior, horrible engine, comedy service intervals, sick thirst, nasty noise but yes - very quick. MUCH harder car to live with day to day and very chavvy.
Hang on - you prefer a 106 to an RS4... that kind of explains things... 😆
I get 28mpg when driving "briskly" and 31ish mpg on long motorway journeys, so don't let people tell you they have ridiculous thirst...well screwed together and will hold it's value well
Our MkV never managed over 30mpg. I once did a 100 mile motorway journey in it late on a (cool, but not cold) Friday evening. Virtually no traffic, so ideal conditions; did a steady 65-70mph with nothing beyond a very light throttle application with the deliberate intention of trying to max the mpg. It averaged 30mpg exactly according to the trip computer. There is no way that it would achieve 28mpg if driven 'briskly'. I wouldn't class its thirst as ridiculous, but you need to be prepared for the amount of petrol you'll be putting in it.
In terms of build quality it's nothing special. Remember that VW rushed out the MkVI Golf because they couldn't sort the niggling build quality issues in the MkV; ours had numerous dash creaks and rattles from new.
However, it is still a great car. It would be on my list of ownership experiences that I am glad to have had.
why would someone choose an r32 for this so called performance when the performance (as described by the owners themselves as not too quick off the mark)isnt that great
It's a different type of performance to that you may be used to - particularly a petrol or diesel with a turbo. It is quick off the mark, but it's delivered in a very understated way - you can easily come away [i]believing[/i] that it's not quick. This can also be a bonus. If you want it to be then it's very easy to drive in a very relaxed/laid back manner.
martinxyz, you are not getting the point at all. Being quick from zero is largely irrelevant. What is important is 30-50 or 50-70 acceleration for overtaking and powering out of bends. That is where the R32 excells. Then there's the different suspension, interior, etc.
If you don't drive or "get" performance cars you won't get it
Edit - surf-mat. got interrupted in the middle of posting. Damn you and your quick responses
