GTI vs Cooper S vs Ralliart vs MX-5???

[Pauly]

As the title says:

GTI vs Cooper S vs Ralliart vs MX-5

3 of these cars compete in the same market space (GTI, Cooper S, Ralliart), and the MX-5 is a completly different car, however its priced in the same category.

I was looking at getting a hot hatch as my next car, and it needs to have an auto tranny as an option, which helps rule out the Civic Type R, XR5 and MPS. However it leaves the Mini Cooper S (6 speed auto), Ralliart and GTI (6 speed double clutch).

The MX-5 I just threw in there for the hell of it, as it has a cult following, is priced in the same category as the other hot hatches, and by far in large, is a great car.

http://www.carsales.com.au/car-research/compare-search.aspx?ncclist=553996,538349,538473,539263

so what would you buy if you had about 50 - 55K to spend? Less is obviously preferable.

[mattyf83]

As the title says:

GTI vs Cooper S vs Ralliart vs MX-5

3 of these cars compete in the same market space (GTI, Cooper S, Ralliart), and the MX-5 is a completly different car, however its priced in the same category.

I was looking at getting a hot hatch as my next car, and it needs to have an auto tranny as an option, which helps rule out the Civic Type R, XR5 and MPS. However it leaves the Mini Cooper S (6 speed auto), Ralliart and GTI (6 speed double clutch).

The MX-5 I just threw in there for the hell of it, as it has a cult following, is priced in the same category as the other hot hatches, and by far in large, is a great car.

http://www.carsales.com.au/car-research/compare-search.aspx?ncclist=553996,538349,538473,539263

so what would you buy if you had about 50 - 55K to spend? Less is obviously preferable.

Thats probably the stupidest question i have heard asked on here. You come on to a Volkswagen Forum, into the MK6 section, put forward a selection of similarly specced and priced cars and ask which people would prefer?

Hmmmm.... i wonder what the responses will be

[philthy]

Second hand S3 or evo X

[goodfella]

Second hand S3 or evo X

or an R32

[Golf Houso]

Push 5-10k more and get an E46 M3...

[Pauly]

Second hand S3 or evo X

Do the EVO's have good history for reliablity? and would that be the EVO X or EVO X MR?

[Pauly]

Thats probably the stupidest question i have heard asked on here. You come on to a Volkswagen Forum, into the MK6 section, put forward a selection of similarly specced and priced cars and ask which people would prefer?

Hmmmm.... i wonder what the responses will be

Not really, the GTI is still a very viable option. But being on a car forum, the people on here do have a soft spot for VW's obviously, but there is credit where credit is due to other car companys and their cars too.

[iBoost]

The answers you get on here will obviously be biased towards the GTI, as most of us are waiting on ours to arrive.

However in saying that, I did look at the above cars and was also in the situation of needing an "auto", all be it I hate regular autos and the GTI is not an auto in the normal sense of the word.

I disliked the Ralliart as I found the interior cheap, and if I wanted a car with performance and a cheap interior I'd buy the WRX over it.

The Mini doesn't interest me as I don't like the way it looks, it's not tough in a performance car way, more cutesy in my opinion. I'm not sure what the auto box is like in them either, if it's a regular auto, then it doesn't compare to the DSG.

The MX5 is also a great car, but an auto would dull the experience I think, plus you need to decide whether you need to be able to carry more than one passenger.

For me the GTI ticked all the boxes, and the DSG is not a normal boring auto box so will satisfy my desire for a manual with my wife's need for an auto.

[philthy]

Do the EVO's have good history for reliablity? and would that be the EVO X or EVO X MR?

I'm not aware of it having a reputation for poor reliability, but have never personally owned one.

The MR is the auto I think.

[KWICKS]

More info:

What are you coming from and what did you like/dislike about that?

Your mix has 2 FWD, 1 AWD and 1 RWD car, which of these drivetrain layouts tickles you the most?

You also have 3 forced induction and 1 NA car, again, will this influence your decision? If tuning for gains is a consideration the NA will offer less - but then that's not what the MX-5 is about - its about being lightweight and achieveing a raw balance in its drive.

Do you value the interior as much as the exterior? Golf is classier.

Is warranty important - Mitsubishi warrants their cars well for performance vehicles.

Is number of seats or space a consideration? MX-5 falls down in comparison here.

Give us a hand here and we'll give one back.

[Swallowtail]

Out of the box suggestion - BMW123d coupe... 150KW, 400NM twin turbo diesel, mid to late $50Ks, and 5.2L per 100km. Goes hard, not so much off the line (I think 7 sec 0-100) but in gear acceleration is nuts. They handle pretty well too, but have a hard ride.

[Beaker]

Drive the Ralliart - you'll walk away shaking your head at how bad it is. I know I did.

I've owned a number of fast Mitsus and have always been a fan - the ralliart Lancer is an absolute dog that should never have gone on sale.

can't comment on the mini

[Corey_R]

I personally LOVE the Mini Cooper S. They're a great little funky car which are immensely fun to drive and just make me feel great to be in. I've seriously almost bought one on two separate occassions, but have either time simply because there is no way I could possibly fit my friends in the back seat or get any of my equipment in there on the occassions where I move it around.

The Mitsubishi - seriously... such a cheap, cheap car, with admittedly a good engine and handling, but ewww, such a cheap, cheap car. I couldn't wait to get out of it.

The MX-5... I have to admit, that although I hate most of Mazda's cars, I really like the MX-5. A close friend of mine has 'car swapped' with me a few times when she's had her nephews staying with her and needed a car with 4 seats and I've enjoyed driving it a lot. It's obviously a big 'live-style-choice' car, being strickly 2 seat only.


When it came time for me to hand over my $50k to buy a car, the MX-5 wasn't an option (2 seats only) and the Mitsubishi wasn't even a consideration, cause I wanted a car which felt/looked like a $50k car , but the Cooper S and GTI (and BMW 120d for that matter Swallowtail!... 123d wasn't available at the time). I ended up going with the GTI (obviously). Basically the GTI is just as solidly built as the Cooper S, it's performance just as good, and although it doesn't quite have that 'planted go-kart type' feel to it, I can fit myself and 3 other 6ft friends (plus a skinny chick in the middle rear seat) and my guitar amps and a few guitars in the boot), and not need to adjust my seat to provide added leg room etc in the back.

In the end it comes down to what YOU think and what YOU need, but to me and a lot of car reviewers out there, the GTI is just the best 'all rounder' out there.

[Frankenstrat]

Thats probably the stupidest question i have heard asked on here. You come on to a Volkswagen Forum, into the MK6 section, put forward a selection of similarly specced and priced cars and ask which people would prefer?

I use software for recording music on my PC, it's called Sonar and it's by a company called Cakewalk. Occasionally people will post on the official Cakewalk Sonar forum and ask, "which is better, Sonar, Cubase or ProTools?". Usually, the response is similar to yours Matty.

[240z]

The GTi for me and its not because I'm a VW person in fact I've never owned one before, I just found the quality of the gti to be superior of any of the other cars we looked at, the cooper s we had as a company car and its too small and had a lot of torque steer and who needs a speedo that big? The mx5 is a good car but not practical for the missus(although I've had a couple of NA mx5's, beautiful car)and the lancer just looks cheap too me, but I'd love a evo for a track car.