R32 or GTI Pirelli?

[JVLR32]

Stronger and longer lasting engine?

The R32 engine is old technology which is why VW are dropping it. The 2.0l GTI engine has one international engine of the year 4 times in a row!



That's the one the good aspect but as it rarely rains in Brisbane doesn't really matter plus AWD saps the power and takes a lot of the fun away.



It doesn't have to spin the wheels in second gear, it depends on how you drive it and what the surface is like.



Every comparo I've seen shows the GTI to handle better because it's lighter and not really nose heavy like the R32.



The R32 is a fine car if you don't want any more power. A $2K flash and the GTI is a faster car with many more upgrade opportunities.

Different cars for different people.

hahaha R32 is old techput a turbo on it and see how old tech it is no offence

[JVLR32]

Pirelli. No wait. R32. No wait. Pirelli. No wait. etc etc etc...
Thinking about it it's such a hard choice.

The R32, well it has that engine and the sound that goes with it. It has the Haldex AWD system. On the flip side it doesn't look anywhere near as good as the Pirelli or a normal GTI (my opinion of course). It also has that cushy grand tourer suspension which is not as precise and direct as the GTIs and Pirellis.

The Pirelli, well it has a nice little sound as well, just not as good as the R32. It's a much better looking vehicle than the R mainly due to not having the silver nose and the not quite rightly placed exhaust (my opinion of course). It also has all those nice special edition shiny bits and pieces attached. On the down side even though it's got a sportier suspension setup after driving a normal GTI and my R, AWD has it all over FWD.

At the end of the day and it still stands for me, I'd keep my MkIV over pretty much anything short of an M3, AMG63 or RS4.

But if I had to choose between the two I think I'd go the...

Pirelli. No wait. A three door R32 (with Recaros)...
For the moment anyway (flip a coin)...

Cheers,
Trent

love your style...R for me no matter ,wat 2wd eeekk

[Treza360]

The R32 engine is old technology which is why VW are dropping it. The 2.0l GTI engine has one international engine of the year 4 times in a row!

As we know they're dropping it due to not being able to make the latest EU emissions regs.
I'm sure they could update the engine and make it meet requirements but with the amount of money and R&D they'd have to sink their bean counters will have hit it on the head right away with it being a niche engine and all. As we're seeing with the latest trends, small engines with differing combinations of forced induction seems to be the way of the future.
A sad reality.
Cheers,
Trent

[JVLR32]

thats very true Trent..$$$$$

[Zed!]

I guess it depends on what you want to get out of the car, how are you going to be driving it, are you going to be tracking it etc. The GTi/Pirelli has more potential, in that in can be easily modified to go faster than the R32, whereas to get similar power gains for the R32 you would have to spend big bucks. The interiors are fairly similar, so not much to choose there, but the biggest difference, obviously, is the AWD. If the R32 was a FWD, they probably wouldn't be able to sell a single one! Take an R32 for a spin, take a corner at an outrageous speed and then try and do the same thing in a GTI! Sure the R32 isn't the quickest car in a straight line, but the incredible handling more than makes up for it's lack of pure acceleration. Doesn't mean the R32 is a better car overall, it's just better at certain things.

[balkanac]

If the R32 was a FWD, they probably wouldn't be able to sell a single one!

Very true. I tried driving my R in the FWD mode (if you can call it that ) and its no fun. Low rev torque is a killer for FWD.

MHO is: get an MK4 R32 and enjoy it!

[JVLR32]

I guess it depends on what you want to get out of the car, how are you going to be driving it, are you going to be tracking it etc. The GTi/Pirelli has more potential, in that in can be easily modified to go faster than the R32, whereas to get similar power gains for the R32 you would have to spend big bucks. The interiors are fairly similar, so not much to choose there, but the biggest difference, obviously, is the AWD. If the R32 was a FWD, they probably wouldn't be able to sell a single one! Take an R32 for a spin, take a corner at an outrageous speed and then try and do the same thing in a GTI! Sure the R32 isn't the quickest car in a straight line, but the incredible handling more than makes up for it's lack of pure acceleration. Doesn't mean the R32 is a better car overall, it's just better at certain things.

Ive never driven a GTI and if its a fwd i would not like it sorry!...If you remember show room production racing the R32 which was the 04 model was a track weapon....
Even ive tracked my car and i can tell you....****in absolute weapon around a track.

[Zed!]

Very true. I tried driving my R in the FWD mode

What's FWD mode??

i wonder how the R32 would have faired if it had the same engine as the S3/TTS? i.e the tuned Gti engine. I suppose it would have been a similar drive to the S3.

[Big Yellow]

What's FWD mode??

i wonder how the R32 would have faired if it had the same engine as the S3/TTS? i.e the tuned Gti engine. I suppose it would have been a similar drive to the S3.

it would have been pretty similar to the S3 if it had the same engine. I think there are some differences between the Haldex of the golf and quattro of the audi. quattro is a permament all-wheel drive where as haldex adjusts drive to the wheels depending on condition.

There are also hardware differences between the S3 and GTI engines - larger turbo in S3 to start with.

[Maverick]

it would have been pretty similar to the S3 if it had the same engine. I think there are some differences between the Haldex of the golf and quattro of the audi. quattro is a permament all-wheel drive where as haldex adjusts drive to the wheels depending on condition.

The S3 uses the haldex system which is what the R32 uses.

There are also hardware differences between the S3 and GTI engines - larger turbo in S3 to start with.

Pirelli/Edition 30 has a lot of the S3 parts including the bottom end.

[Treza360]

What's FWD mode??
i wonder how the R32 would have faired if it had the same engine as the S3/TTS? i.e the tuned Gti engine. I suppose it would have been a similar drive to the S3.

Basically you disable the Haldex controller. You can do this with VAG-Com I think or you can just pull one particular fuse. Most the USA guys do this for their dyno runs. Bit misleading if you ask me, but I think they also have a shortage of AWD dynos.
Cheers,
Trent