Thanks for the link to the vid - I'd read about it but now that I've also heard it, I agree with the German - I want one too, lol...

 

It really begs to question why you would come back at me with cars (most of which are in a higher league than a chipped GTI) OTHER than your "boys" car that I challenged. Why is that V?

Its like (for example) my GTO challenging your boys Cobra...then you come back and say "i can set you up against a Z06!" LOL Whats that!!!

 

Yea, the GTI im talking about is the 2007-2008 model, MkV generation, 2.0 FSI turbo. Ive seen youtube videos of GTI's racing STI's, 350Z's, S2K's, etc, and most of the time, the GTI won. All you have to do is put an intake, turboback, chip it and it'll be fast. You can also carry a lot of stuff and it can seat a lot and gets good gas mileage all at the same time...

 

The reason they're pretty much always winning is because drivers of STis, Zs, and S2ks wouldn't waste their time posting a video of themselves losing to a FWD car with 40-100 less HP. I bet you could find videos of Civics beating those same cars. Oh, and a speed 3 will give them all a decent run for their money with no further investment, plus it's great for hauling things too...you can put the mod savings toward gas.

The GTI is realistically in the straight line league with the RX8 and maybe the Civic SI, wins against those other cars were either incredibly lucky or the other driver wasn't trying.

 

heres what i think
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjGPi...elated&search=

 

I know that if you put an intake, upgrade turbo and chip it the GTI will not even have a chance to catch up to STI.

 

I've driven both the R32 (Golf Model above the GTI) and the RX-8 and heres my pointers:

The R32 eats the RX-8 for Brekky when it comes to Take off. The Turbo kicks in around 1800rpm and Straight Line Speed is awesome. The RX-8 has better handling than the R32. Although my Uncle thinks otherwise, I personally think the RX-8 is more comfy than the R32. Although I personally like the RX-8 over the R32, the R32 beats the 8 in many regards:

*Better fuel economy (R32 gets 10.5L while RX-8 gets 12.6L)
*More Boot Space
*More Straight line Power/Torque
*More Gadgets
*Fits 5 people as opposed to 4

But the RX-8 wins when it comes to:
*Driver comfort
*Better handling
*Smooth Power
*RX-8 is considered far classy and dignified than some Volkswagen, lol.

Thats just my opinion.

 

+1

These kids have no clue how fast the Sti/Evo's are. They see a few videos and here couple stories of GTI's beating them and all of the sudden they think they can do the same on bolt ons/ and a friggin chip. In its class the GTI is king in acceleration. Be happy with that. They cannot begin to challenge AWD powerhouses like Evo/Sti with only bolt ons and a chip. Lets get real

 

One of my good friends actually bought a 2007 MkV not that long ago... and he asked if we wanted to trade cars.
I like the feeling of the turbo and acceleration, and it's cool that it has alot of cargo space but one thing that REALLY bugged me was the feel of the shifter.
Maybe I was spoiled by the crisp solid shifter feel of the RX-8, but the MkV's gearbox and shifter felt like slosh. I couldn't tell if I was in first or third in the beginning... and took a little time to get used to it.

Go test drive the car and see for yourself what you like and dislike about the car. Then make your decision. That's probably the best advice anyone can give.

And... I just don't like the way the car looks.

 

Yeah, the shifter is really smooth but it's a little floaty. The clutch is also very light. After I test drove one I got back in my car and thought my clutch pedal was broken and I was having a few issues with the first couple shifts...

 

"Very light" doesn't describe it. The MkV GTI clutch is so light it doesn't feel like it's connected to anything, and is just hanging there under the dash. The shifter was sort of the same way... Steering was soooo freakishly overboosted at parking lot speeds, I started to flip out thinking it would feel the same way at 80. Luckily, it tightened up at speed, but overall, going really fast in that thing felt almost uncomfortable. It could handle fairly well, but it didn't feel like it really wanted to be driven that way.

I guess from all the rave reviews, I need more seat time.

 

My wife currently drives a MKV and up until recently I drove an RX8. Many of the mature comments regarding the differences of the two are accurate. While the handling feels differently between the two, the VW does handle well and has loads of grip particularly in high speed turns with concrete buckles or big bumps. I always found that the RX8 became easily unsettled in sweeping corners that were anything but smooth. The VW feels way more poised in that situation, plus it seems to like tight high speed corners better than the RX8 due to the shorter wheel base. The RX8 feels like it is working harder to attain the same corner speeds as the VW. I too much prefer the RWD, the smooth 9K RPM, the steering feel, and the shifter to the VW, but the VW is a very good car, that handles well, gets great gas mileage, and has a great engine. It is just a great engine that is very different from the rotary.

 

That would be the nature of a sporty RWD car. Try driving a 911 at the limits. It is called the tendency to kick the tail out. You won't experience this with a front-heavy FWD car which bias towards understeer = feeling of safety. The limit of the 8 at the corners is higher than most owners here dare to explore.

 

The 8 just looks way better, esp the interior... I still remember, all my friends in UK used to drive VW in the 90's (they hated Japanese cars, they called them jap-crap), I was quite shock as to how ugly the VW interiors looked...

I believe the newer VW have imrpoved their looks a great deal, but still... the 8 is just a better looking sports car.

 

for those who want a motorsports analogy; Per SCCA Solo II classification:

RX8: B Stock (and dominant at that, check out the talk over in the Comp board)

and five classes down the line...

GTI: G Stock (and not very competitive w/ the dominant Mini Cooper S in that class)

yes I realize racing isn't everything, but it should give you at least another data point on the relative nature of these two cars.

 

The biggest problem with the MkV GTI is that it doesn't drive like a sport hatch. Overboosted steering with zero feel, wallowy OEM suspension with no road feel, heavy, understeery, isolated-feeling chassis. I really can't fathom why anyone would buy a GTI over a MINI Cooper S. But then most people choose cars purely based on emotions and how it looks on the outside, so I'm not surprised that the world is full of VW fanboys.

I was much more impressed with the Rabbit 2.5, mainly because it doesn't pretend to be what it isn't, and the bar is a lot lower in the econo-box segment.

My impression of the Jetta is the same. It is a good car, but drives like garbage compared to the entry-level sport sedans it pretends to compete against.

 

dude go with ur heart take the ford PROBE!!!! oops wrong forum!!!! LOL

 

Because going fast on a straightline does not require any steering feel and proper suspension. It's Honk 3 times and Mesh the pedal.

 

Why would you want a torque steering front driver when you can have a perfectly balanced rear wheeler?

 

The GTI5 is a very nice only car. It carries a lot of stuff, has room for 4 or 5, goes decently quick, handles decently well, and gets decent mpg. If I were to have ONLY ONE car in my garage, I'd pick this over my RX-8.

 

The GTI doesn't have torque steer.

 

So, why is this thread still open but any other comparison thread gets locked??

 

Really? Then it defies every law in the known universe, unless it's farfegnugen. My 1.8T Passat wasn't supposed to have torque steer either

Again, really? What's your reasoning? On most tests I've seen the GTI consistently runs the 1/4 slower with slightly slower traps...differences that would have you screaming it's "much faster" if times were reversed.

Give it a chance, Ike's trying...

 

It has electromechanical steering that is designed to prevent torque steer, and it works. The two I've driven had no noticable torque steer and every review of the car known to man confirms this. No laws being violated here, just good ole engineering.

The two most recent tests of the GTI in C&D had the GTI running 14.5 and 14.6 at 95mph, if that's not "damn close" to the mag times of the RX-8 I don't know what is. Considering the GTI always has a slower 0-60 time than RX-8s that run the same times it's not exactly a stretch to think the GTI is a touch faster from a roll. I don't know, maybe it is maybe it isn't, but it's close. If you'd open your eyes you'd see my response was aimed at someone with an RX-8 that gets walked by his friends MKV GTI. If the times were reversed you wouldn't know which car was which

No, clearly you're trying to get it closed by starting **** as usual.

 

^ selective reasoning again eh? You found the two fastest GTI tests and ignored atleast 4 others that all showed high 14's (14.7,14.8,14.9,14.9) and 94mph traps. MOST tests of the 8 show 14.4-14.6 96 mph traps. Oh, and with the benefit of launch control, the GTI actually has very similar 0-60 times (6-6.2), negating your argument.

If you're as balanced as you claim to be, why not mention that the 8 was way faster (like 8 seconds a lap if I remember correctly) when both were compared on the C&D lightening lap.