New Yorker

Hi everyone! I'm driving a nice VW GTI (337 edition) with the 1.8 Turbo. Fun! Previously I owned 2 Miatas over 11 years. Now I'm thinking of trading up to an RX-8. If any of you once drove a GTI, how do they compare? Would the RX-8 be significantly more "fun-to-drive" than my GTI? Thanks!

Jag

I owned a 2000 GTi VR6, it was a fun car but you can't even compare it to the 8, take one for a test drive and you'll know what I mean.

SikRedRX-8

Here is a pic for all you VW guys. This has to suck seriously.

http://www.lba.hu/poenoskepkockak/bi...ep=00013nk.jpg

Ike

Well I've only test driven both... But the RX-8 is much more fun in the handling department. If you're into modding you may miss the 1.8T, but I doubt you would miss the traction issues that go along with upping the HP in the GTI. Really the only way to find out for sure if it's "significantly" more fun to you is to go testdrive one.

megauo

SikRedRX-8:

arghhh, that really sucks ! But just a bunch of VW and Skoda-s as I see, no RX8

Rotary Nut

Well No GTI but I am coming down from an agittated hover due to a bad experience in a 2002 Passat W8!

I finally won a bid to get that POS repurchased under the VA lemon law!

The following links chronical my tribulations with VW premier sedan (untill the intro of the Phaeton)!

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=725295

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=916694

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=907714

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=869873

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=942240

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=839434

Those pics must be of all the flooding they had up north!

Ike

Yeah, the W8 didn't go over very well... The Phaeton is going to flop even more miserably, I don't know what the hell VW was thinking with that one.

I think the pics are from a Czech lot, or somewhere near there in Europe.

XCENTRIC

I just got rid of a 2000 VW GTI VR6. The car ran well except the suspension was just so sloppy. I felt like I was driving a big boat Caddy from the '70's everytime I went over bump. IMO, the car was top heavy and didn't handle corners as well as other hathbacks in it's class. Definitley a fun car nonetheless, but the VR6 could have put out more oommph back then.

zoom44

Quote:

Any VW GTI drivers?

i don't think so. they keep running those "drivers wanted" ads so i dont think they've found any yet. at least no long term ones anyway. turnover is really high.

offdaheeze

I still own a 95 GTI VR6, it was the fastest car I have owned till I got the 8. I sat in the 4wd GTi R32 at the car show in DC recently and fell in love with the seats. The R32 was my 2nd choice behind the 8, but I did not feel like waiting for it.

Ike

What's with all this issy VR6 stuff, everyone knows the only real GTI is a 1.8T :p J/K By the way, aren't they going to be 2.0Ts this coming model year?

syntrix

Been there with two gti 1.8t's.

Original 2000: http://www.swankmonkey.com

Second 2003: http://gti.swankmonkey.com

I'm so glad to be back into a RWD car

syntrix

And look up the stories of sales being way down for the MKIV platform this year. It's been out since 99.5 MY, and it's 2004. the MKV better come out soon, but reports are saying it will be a 2005 model. At least the suspension pics on vwvortex LOOK like there MIGHT be equal length driveshafts.

jerij

I owned a '02 GTI. Absolutely LOVED the car.

But it was a piece of ****....

After having it only 1.5 years, 35K miles (yes, I drive a lot), and having it spew radiator fluid all over my garage and strand me in my own home (which I guess is better than some bad part of town), I traded it in (of course, I couldn't sell it).

I was looking at 2 cars only: The RX8 and the Mini Cooper.

Bought the Cooper, see other thread.

jerij

syntrix

jerij, I'm sure you know andy at ross-tech, then Ex 1.8T owner, now a mini S freak!

MrFatbooty

My dad has an Audi TT Roadster, basically a GTI underneath. I can't stand the thing. The electronic throttle programming is sloppy; the shifter sucks; the throw of the clutch pedal is way too long; the brake pedal is neither firm enough to threshold brake nor close enough to the gas pedal for heel-n-toe downshifting; and it's developed a nasty couple of rattles that are more than a little annoying. But um yeah the top goes down and it's got a nice stereo...

Moral of the story: I'm never going to buy a VW product.

M-ster

And I thought only the rotaries are prone to flooding:D