103TDI or GT Sport?

[poyta]

The seats between the pacific and the GT are very similar, the pattern is different but the seat its self is pretty much the same, they are not buckety at all. So having leather optioned certainly helps as the non leather GT seats are just regular golf seats.

Actually if you optioned for leather in the GT you got the Sport Bucket seats with it and the electronic lumber support.

I didn't notice that the pacific was DSG and the GT manual- That would be deal breaker for me - I'd go the manual everytime. Don't want to start a whole DGS versus manual thread but although the DSG was the best auto I've ever driven it was boring as hell and after hearing about the countless reliability issues with the DSG gearbox ( just search this forum ) I chose the manual. Test drive both and see what you think - the gearbox may be the deciding factor here.

[ian]

Is that the one in QLD? Can't see any others that are lower Kms and similar price. By the time I get it to VIC it's more expensive though and every GT I've seen here seems overpriced! QLD car prices are always cheaper (it ****s me looking for cars down here) and NSW seem better too!

Thanks for the info guys. Keep it coming!

No i bought this in July last year from a private seller from Lidcome NSW, it was first registered in January 2009 with 38,000km and 12 months rego and ive added a RNS510 and a heap of other extras.

[Brendan_A]

I'd go the one with the less kms. If your worried about the DSG having issues take out the extended warranty plan. My wife's DSG Jetta hasn't had any problems.

[VWVIC]

Thanks again guys. The cheaper car might not be a goer as I haven't been able to contact the seller for a few days now - not that I'd be disappointed with either of them, and like I said, budget's not an issue (no I'm not going to drop the cash for a brand spanking R!).

I'll be keeping an eye on the issues mentioned here closely and getting to know my local dealer though!

[benough]

In terms of km's though, it doesn't matter so much with VW's. Mines done 97 and it feels as good as the day I bought it.

The gear ratios in the GT are a touch shorter. 120 in 6th in the GT is about 2100rpm while in the 103 its about 1900rpm.

The GT will also have a full height MFD, allowing much more control of the car's "settings". The seats in the GT are a lot more "sport" than the 103.

I know these are small things, but if you're into cars (having a turbo MR2) I think going that bit extra will make the difference long term. I can say this also from experience as I had a comfortline before my GT (it got written off, poor guy) and it has paid off long term.

[kaanage]

The GT will also have a full height MFD, allowing much more control of the car's "settings". The seats in the GT are a lot more "sport" than the 103.

The seats between the pacific and the GT are very similar, the pattern is different but the seat its self is pretty much the same, they are not buckety at all. .

It's not a Comfortline - the Pacific models get slight upgrades to help clear the models as they approach end of life. This might apply to the MFD too as my mate's Pacific FSI has a full height MFD

[nutttr]

I've got a 103TDI (Comfortline - 2005 model) and it came optioned with leather, sunroof, sat nav and a few other options.

The leather seats in the golf are much better than the standard golf. Full electric lumber and they are some of the most comfortable seats i've ever sat in (I have a bad back!). Only downside is in summer you REALLY need to use a sun shade as the leather seats (which are dark grey) are unbelievably hot.

The full MFD does have some good features - Although without sat nav it has slightly less functions.

Mine was very well looked after, but had done ~90,000k's. It's now done 108,000k's and it still drives and looks brand new. I don't know if I was lucky or what, but the golf, even after 5 years and 108,000k's is still extremely tight and even passengers have commented how 'tight' it still feels.

Not knowing how the car has been driven is the biggest risk, i'd suggest going for a drive with the owner (if possible) and let him drive. Letting it labour at low RPM and flooring it (in the manual) isn't good for it, generally it will wear out the flywheel (it's got springs in it and is called a 'dual mass flywheel') and also causes the turbo to overboost. This isn't as much of an issue in the DSG as it will change automatically if driving it in auto mode!

As mentioned the turbo in the GT is a MUCH stronger turbo, in particular a much stronger 'shaft' on the turbo (which is one of the most common points of failure for the 103TDI).

I wouldn't say either of them are even slightly slow, the 103TDI in stock form feels quite quick and the GT should feel 'faster'. I have mine chipped (with a Bluefin) and it is incredibly fast now. It's fast enough to spin the wheels in 2nd in the dry .

I'd go with what you can afford. If you can afford a GT, then i'd go that. KM's don't matter as there's quite a lot of VERY high milers in the UK and europe that are still going! I'd say the GT is a pretty big risk given the injector failures - Even if replaced under warranty there's still a risk of re-failure! Considering the potential cost of a fix for them, it's a huge risk. The DPF is another huge risk, given that it will only last at max 150,000k's. Quite a few fail before that. Taking them out is illegal and potentially a huge fine if you get caught without it.

Other than that...

[Greg Roles]

Nut ol mate, the turbos are identical except the GT has a revised inlet housing for increased flow. The shaft is the same, the problrm is the 103 can't handle the exhaust heat produced once chipped, whereas the GT has revisions to keep the heat at that power level down. The chipped 103 is more likely to enter surge as it tries to provide the boost the GT version is designed to do.

[VWVIC]

Out of curiosity Greg, why'd you buy yours given you obviously like to tinker and there are plenty of easy petrol cars to tune?

[Greg Roles]

Because so far in my tinkering life I've messed with:

2 stroke dirt bikes,
4 stroke dirt bikes,
rotaries,
jappers,
jap turbo's,
v8's,
outboards,
my mower...

...and the diesel was an amazing test drive and I had never played with one. I've never played with a supercharger as yet either, so once I own the TDI outright and have made it into a mutant, I'll go looking for something to put a blower on.

To me the challenge is to see what's possible, and the more unlikely, the more I'm interested. The end result isn't the fun for me, it's the journey I enjoy!

[stickshift3000]

The seats in the GT are a lot more "sport" than the 103.

I have a 103 Sportline, the seats are very comfortable, sort of inbetween regular seats and the GT's buckets. You can also get the Sportline seats in leather (not a fan personally).

The seats were major reason I went for a Sportline over the Comfortline model. I'm not sure how similar the Pacific seats are to the Sportline (same?).