Bye Bye GTI V- sold after 6 months

[ericablack36]

Hi
bought a new GTI 6 months ago for its performance potential (so says the reviews) as a daily driver and the odd track day vehicle. Around town, it was great little car. Hard to fault.

At track days, I was initially surprised by the absence of GTIs - given their reputation for performance. But when I used the GTI on the track I realised why the GTI is not a popular track car - it runs out of puff after 5k RPMs, brakes are OK, not quite up to it, suspension is too soft and the understeer is a real battle especially in tight corners.

There are of course plenty of upgrade options for improving power, braking, handling, etc - but it all starts to get very expensive, especially for someone like me who is a cheque book mechanic.

I sought the advice of a couple race car driving instructors. The consensus was not to spend extra cash upgrading on the GTI - not worth it, given the limitations of front wheel drive vehicles. Rather, their advice was to sell it put that extra upgrade cash toward buying a secondhand proper performance car for between $40 to 60k.

So bye bye GTI.

There is no doubt the GTI is a sporty number around town and for cruising. Well built etc. If that is all you need, then the GTI is the car for you. It has 'go' without being to 'showy'.

But if you are really interested in enjoying your car at track days - which has become incredibly popular in recent years, and is absoulately great fun - then other makes and models are probably better suited to the purpose.

Lesson learned. But it was fun, nonetheless.

[Guest212]

Sounds about right.

The GTI is not a track day warrior. To me its a car you can drive to the shops, work etc comfortably and even give to your sister or mother to drive without fear they'll not be able to control it. Its just a bonus that it is actually capable of a fun quick sprint around a track if you really want or even to enjoy a spirited drive on a nice road.

Unfortunately because its such a jack of all trades it means its not particularly special in any one particular area....except for how good it is at just about everything of course.

[brad]

So what is a "proper performance car" for between $40k & $60k? (I assume you mean new?)
I'm at a bit of a loss as to what can be bought that is a reasonable trackday car & also pleasant as an everyday driver.


Best fun I ever had a the track was in my '72 Superbug - much more fun than my V8 Commodore or the Capri.

[Swallowtail]

Brad - his words were "a secondhand proper performance car for between $40 to 60k." So no, not new. Lotsa choices for track weapons for that money secondhand.

[brad]

Brad - his words were "a secondhand proper performance car for between $40 to 60k." So no, not new. Lotsa choices for track weapons for that money secondhand.

Reading too fast as usual.

Yeah, stacks of options out there with that type of budget. I'd be thinking $20k for a car & $40k for maintenance, repairs etc. Good track cars don't make good road cars though.

[Maverick]

Hi
bought a new GTI 6 months ago for its performance potential (so says the reviews) as a daily driver and the odd track day vehicle. Around town, it was great little car. Hard to fault.

At track days, I was initially surprised by the absence of GTIs - given their reputation for performance. But when I used the GTI on the track I realised why the GTI is not a popular track car - it runs out of puff after 5k RPMs, brakes are OK, not quite up to it, suspension is too soft and the understeer is a real battle especially in tight corners.

Seems pointless, you lose ~$10K by selling a 6 month old car in this market and that would have paid for ECU upgrade, suspension, brakes etc and addresses all your "issues" with the car.

The GTI has never been marketed as a track car and a little research would have shown this, if you want to track it you'll need to do the usual upgrades like you have to for most cars.

[Tim]

There are plenty of better options out there for the money as far as track cars go. The reason the media go gaga over the GTI is because its the best all round hot hatch.

If you want a nice track car on a budget buy a porsche 944 or 968CS and spend a bit of money fixing her up.

[evorobin]

Buy an E36 M3. Bang for your buck.

[Yevvy]

Buy an E36 M3. Bang for your buck.

i was about to say that

[aristocrat]

Sorry you are departing from the VW clan, nevertheless, if initially you were after a track day car and that was a prerequisite, the GTI wouldn't have been a good choice - so lesson learnt as you said.

Also as mentioned before by another member, the GTI is such a good all rounder that reviewers rave on about it, because its so easy to live with. Day in and Day out, city driving and the occasional sprint, and also its such a stealth machine (like the R32), that it doesn't look too boy howdy.

I guess if you are after a track car of about $40 - $60K, new, you would have to look into the Evo and the STI. Both are VERY hard to live with from a day to day commuter angle with super hard suspension, etc...

However if you don't mind buying second hand, really, you can't look past the E36 M3. Such good value for money and a superb handler.

Good luck.

[Bboy_Sparx]

Ooorrrrrr an s15!!!!

[Zed!]

I see where you're coming from. I'm probably going to be selling my 08 R32 in a few months after owning it for almost a year. Great car, love the awd, & the DSg, but it's not as much fun to drive as say my old 350z. And when I do eventually start having track days I intend to go back to a RWD coupe. Although saying that the new R32, whatever it's galled - GTI-R? With awd and the 2lT S3 engine should be a lot better, lighter up front and less understeer than the current R32, which I've found to be one of the more disappointing aspects of the car. Not much else to fault really.

[tinto]

Sounds like the sale was due to driver error, not any particular shortcoming of the car. I don't think the mkv has ever been represented as a track weapon.

Having said that... I was still able to comfortably eclipse a few RWD and turbo AWD cars in timed events in my GT Sport 1.4... in the wet and the dry.

If you're driving a stock FWD car on the track... you *really* need to learn how to drive it to have fun.
Almost every car intended as a 'sporty' daily driver is as nimble as a lounge suite on the track.

[kaoticice]

I just found it weird that you guys bought vw and focus it on a track at the first place. I mean its a people's car, used on the road. O well i guess its a change of plan.

I think the mk5 is an amazing all rounder car. practical, comfort, fast (i could go on and on). And on a track it can give enough satisfaction too imo. Of course you cant match it to 350z or e36 m3, etc. But i guess it comes down to how much you focus your car for track days. I'm hoping to do some track days a couple of times in a year and will be using the gti on the road 99.99% of the time. I doubt i could find a better car that is up for the job.

good luck in the future.

[decksla]

go jap.

evo or sti

nuff said.