Upgrade Polo GTI or R32?

[jamesatfish]

(I guess this could be posted in the Polo or Golf forums - I've chosen this one because I'm hoping for some MkV Golf owner's opinions)

As the title says, I'm at a crossroads at the moment and I'm not sure what's the best next step. Sorry for the long post.

I've got a 2007 Polo GTI that gets about 50/50 track and work use. By that I mean I put maybe 500kms per week on the car driving to clients, but it is basically set up for track & motorsport events (chip, brakes, coilovers etc - the usual suspects).

I'm actually using the car a whole lot more than I thought when I bought it (in both guises), so I'm realising that it needs some more money spent to make it more suitable to my needs. For work I need to invest in a bluetooth/sat nav/iPod system, and for the track I'd like to improve the power output as well as improving how that power gets to the ground (so at least an FMIC, K04s upgrade, LSD etc). All of that is going to cost serious coin, though that's not the primary issue.

It dawned on me yesterday that a MkV R32 has pretty much all these bases covered in the one factory-fresh package, and that it might be a better option to sell/trade the Polo and spend the extra money on an R32 instead.

The way I see it:

Pros:
*Massively improved traction courtesy 4WD
*Exhaust note
*Increased power (about 190kW is where I'd like to get the Polo)
*Factory sat nav install (is this a con?)

Cons:
*Downgrade in the brake & suspension department from the setup on my Polo
*Increased weight
*Reduced future potential for upgrades / mods
*About $10K more

I'd be really interested to hear what the experts here think about this one - especially if you've moved to an R32 from a Polo/Golf previously.

Thanks!

[pixl]

Wow ....ahh.... hmm.

From what you've said it looks like either way you go, there's gonna be some disappointment.

Personally, I'd be leaning (almost falling over) to an R32. I love my Polo GTI and my mate who drives an R32 who previously had a GTI, wants his GTI back. But ultimately is still happy with the R32.

The GTI is more fun, without a doubt. But I guess in your situation, you've got to look at the practical side of it too. If I was in your boots, I'd be going with an R32.

And with regards to sat nav. I've been saying this for over two years, but I'll say it here. Sat nav will go the way of the car phone .... I say con.

[balkanac]

Get the R32!!! But dont listen to me, im biased

[Maverick]

And with regards to sat nav. I've been saying this for over two years, but I'll say it here. Sat nav will go the way of the car phone .... I say con.

How do you come to this conclusion?

I suppose fuel injection, stability control and ABS are fads as well that will die off.

[jamesatfish]

Thanks to everyone for their comments!

The GTI is more fun, without a doubt. But I guess in your situation, you've got to look at the practical side of it too. If I was in your boots, I'd be going with an R32.

Can I ask why you think the GTI is more fun? I can imagine it's more 'chuckable' being lighter and smaller than the R32?

And with regards to sat nav. I've been saying this for over two years, but I'll say it here. Sat nav will go the way of the car phone .... I say con.

Are you thinking in terms of Sat Nav as an option built into the car (ie something that might be replaced by features in your mobile phone, just like bluetooth did for car phones)?

I was more thinking about some of the bad comments I've read about the VW navigation systems when compared to after market options (which usually have more features and are more easily kept up to date with maps etc).

[POLARBEAR666]

Satnav is a no brainer... u can get an AVC9000 or equiv chinese copy for $850 bucks.

Mine is fantastic.

As far as track work I think you will find the polo is better because it is lighter and with the right suspension and tyres it will run rings around the 4wd R32 which is much heavier and will wear its tyres/brakes faster on track.

In the dry a 4wd system can make them very slow off the line because they bog down with too much grip. Then when you are fanging it, you tend to go through clutches quite quickly because instead of wheelspin your gearbox takes all the strain.

This is based on my experience tracking subaru's. I was going through a clutch at least every 9 months.

I would just tweak the polo a bit more rather than buying a more expensive car that will just depreciate faster.

R32 is just an overweight, overpriced GTI with a worse engine for tuning up and more grip than you need with 180kw.

[GTom]

And with regards to sat nav. I've been saying this for over two years, but I'll say it here. Sat nav will go the way of the car phone .... I say con.

Don't want to get this thread off topic but I don't think that satnav will go that way.... They'll just start packing more and more features into those all-in-one units such as the RNS 510.... and hopefully..... hopefully the price for those things will come down. (3k for a glorified satnav DVD player and storage is a bit overrated, even if its cheap compared to other OEM units from other car makers). If the price was right i would take an inbuilt sat nav in the dash then have a separate GPS unit..... I would probably go even further and say they might actually become standard units in future models...

[Sharkie]

A 160kw+ Polo is quicker than a R32 in a straight line (qtr of 14.1s v 14.4s) and even around a track if setup for it. Not enough power in the R32 to overcome the added traction of 4Motion and not enough power upgrade options unless you are prepared to spend $25K on top of the R32's base price.

If you need extra features, I'd go for the Golf GTI. It is very tuneable and has a lenghty list of options to suit your needs. It also comes in 3 and 5drs.

I have seen APR's Golf GTI Stg 3 in action around Morgan Park Raceway and it is awesome, doing quicker laps than APR's own tuned Cayman S.......


I would have bought a 3dr Golf GTI if it was available in Jan 06 when I bought my car.

[jamesatfish]

Thanks all for your thoughts - very interesting as it seems the general consensus is that the R32 isn't really an 'upgrade' in this case, which goes against everything I was thinking.

Part of my reasoning for the R32 was that it would handle track work better than the Polo - but if there are going to be clutch wear issues etc then that's not really a step in the right direction.

Sharkie - I had considered a Golf GTI but I really can't see how that will keep me happy. I'm already frustrated at putting the 160-odd kW of the Polo down via the front wheels - I can't imagine that the Golf GTI would be any better at handling the 200+ kW generated by an chipped/tuned engine.

Full respect to the lap times though - all of Porsche's mid-engined sports cars make great track weapons, and even more so with some tuning as per the APR car.

It's a shame the GTI-R all wheel drive they are rumoured to be considering as part of the Golf MKVI lineup doesn't exist yet, because the decision would probably be a no-brainer.

[mrx]

I concur with Sharkie. For a track car I would be sticking to my fully sick Polo GTI rather than going for the more expensive to upgrade R32.

[Sharkie]

You have to remember that the Golf can take far wider tyres than a Polo (one of the most limiting factors on the Polo's use as a track car)

I'm pretty sure the APR Golf runs at least 235's (probably 245s) whereas the Polo is limited to 215s with a bit of rubbing. Running fat rubber allows the Golf to put the power down pretty well and the APR Golf runs 230kw+ on the wheels !!!!!

[Guy_H]

Hey James,

I agree - you would love the MKV chassis, but you would hate the power / weight of the R32.

To be honest, in all but the worse conditions (ice & snow & wet roads in Targa Tasmania) - the GTI is going to be quicker everywhere.

And the Golf chassis is so much more capable than the Polo too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEy9L8_rNdU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH1jjn9Mvc8

[Timbo]

Why bother with an R32 when, for not many $ more, you can have an Audi S3

[POLARBEAR666]

Audi ... lol ... might as well call it "Premium VW"

Why bother with a range of cars that are 99% VW, 1% minor body changes and 20%+ price.

[Oneofthegreats]

In my limited experience with all the car's although I have driven all of them a fair bit, I'd be leaning toward's a GTI.

The money you'd save on the R32 could go toward's a remap, exhaust etc., tyre's, suspension etc.

You'd be faster than an R32 & still have a ton of room to move with improvement's.


I've said it before.

Both the old & new R32's are over priced & underpowered.

The current R32 should of had the R36 engine fitted to it full stop.

I hope VW engineer's get it right soon.