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!

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?

EVO VIII 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:

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/cargrouptests/34173/alfa_romeo_147_v_vw_golf_r32_v_audi_s3_v_seat_cupra_r_v_ford_focus_rs_v_schnitzer_cooper_s.html

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.

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 believing 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