[quattrogmbh]

I've just traded in a Golf R 3dr... and exchanged it for a 5 door. The golf with its 4WD is one of the most usable daily cars I've ever had.

The rocco is of course the same car minus 4wd and with standard chassis control.

I tested an M135i yesterday but was very disappointed with the suspension compliance. The ride just felt far too fidgety. The adaptive improved it, but not to an extent to do the deal. Real shame as the value from these at the moment is fabulous.

With the VW I was pleasantly surprised with the equity in the car. I have never had such a pleasant surprise across multiple BMW's, Merc's, Audi's. As the R's are niche, they appear to be holding their value very well.

[davyk31]

Golf R was also my thought, 4 wheel drive with that power has to be nice.

[zltm089]

they must be lovely when remapped!!!...

[Gibbo]

I have the manual in my Ed 35 and the gearbox is fine, not the best but I am comparing to Boxster and JCW which are both excellent. I am also a fan of manual cars and never considered a dsg, drove one but just left me cold. As for economy mine does early 30s on a mixed drive 25 mile each way commute, I am sure with hard driving and the R it would drop to mid 20s.

The VW is a good car no question but coming from a JCW it feels a bit grown up and civilised. I would guess the Scirroco is similar and I would say have a good drive in one as it may feel a bit dull after the zed.

[mowflow]

Originally Posted by rogerxp

So is there a facelift to be aware of - date/reg??

Sorry, confusion was my fault. The scirocco was face lifted in 2010 I think. Before the R came out so all R models are facelift models.

[quattrogmbh]

Originally Posted by zltm089

they must be lovely when remapped!!!...

Unfortunately, vw have clamped down, negating warranty if the ecu flash counter is incremented.

[rogerxp]

Originally Posted by Gibbo

I have the manual in my Ed 35 and the gearbox is fine, not the best but I am comparing to Boxster and JCW which are both excellent. I am also a fan of manual cars and never considered a dsg, drove one but just left me cold.

Finally, someone not obsessed with DSG . That's my fear to be honest, no matter how slick it may be, how fast its changes are, how efficient it is, I can't help feel the lack of interaction of my left foot & hand will, as you nicely put it, leave me cold. Thanks for your input (and everyone else of course).

Doesn't seem to be a VW Used Cars app annoyingly.

[Oli]

I was going to say Ed35 as an option. A lot rarer than the Scirrocco R, having been under 400 sold, and in my view prettier. Mine is Revo stage 1 and on JKMs heartbreaker RR made 300hp, on a day when a standard GTI made 197 and Ed30 made 230, so would seem a genuine 300hp.

I was selling it recently to go to a RS3, but after a few spirited drives last weekend, decided the Ed35 would be more rewarding. Not many cars will keep up with it, especially when rolling. If you mapped the R it would probably make a bit more than this, as I'm sure it has a bigger intercooler.

Good luck with your choice

[ian_m]

i can't see past a megane 265 cup tunable to 300bhp

we have a 250 cup, there's a reason it was hot hatch of the year several years in a row, far better than any car mentioned above and more sensibly priced than VAG/bmw and looks better too

new focus ST

new astra VXR

insignia vxr can be had new for £25000 (£7000 discount)

[rogerxp]

Originally Posted by ian_m

i can't see past a megane 265 cup tunable to 300bhp

we have a 250 cup, there's a reason it was hot hatch of the year several years in a row, far better than any car mentioned above and more sensibly priced than VAG/bmw and looks better too

new focus ST

new astra VXR

insignia vxr can be had new for £25000 (£7000 discount)

Interesting, will take a look, but fear I may quickly lose focus on my priorities. Have a slight soft spot of the Astra VXR having had an Astra Coupe Turbo (back in 2001) but that doesn't mean I'd buy one!!

[baz_4]

I own a Scirocco R, this is one of the best cars I've ever had! It somehow manages to tick every box. It's subtle when you want it to be but also gets lots of stares when driving.

The car is very fast and handles well, but its also very comfortable when in comfort mode. (sport mode stiffens the suspension, steering and makes the throttle more responsive!!)

Very cheap to run with regards to insurance, fuel and servicing etc!

[Oli]

Originally Posted by ian_m

i can't see past a megane 265 cup tunable to 300bhp

we have a 250 cup, there's a reason it was hot hatch of the year several years in a row, far better than any car mentioned above and more sensibly priced than VAG/bmw and looks better too

new focus ST

new astra VXR

insignia vxr can be had new for £25000 (£7000 discount)

I agree with the Megane being a great drive, and although its cheaper, as all the cars above are, they all drop like a stone depreciation wise, and none of them have the build quality of a VAG.

Just saying......

[Vaheed1]

Rog, when I returned the the 330d - I was in a bit of a limbo as to what to buy. I considered many many cars, with saving money for a couple of years being the main priority. So another nearly new BMW was out of the question - so to was the smaller engined lease options.

I bought a mk5 Golf GTi when they were about 2 years old. Although it was basic spec, I thought it was a tremendous car. Quick, comfortable, economical, reliable and cheap to maintain. I p/x it after a year of happy ownership - because the deal on the 330d was too good to miss out on - because I knew what a great car it was, having owned 3 E46 330d's previously.

I decided I would go down the smaller car/hatch back route, and for me, there just wasn't any competition to the MK5 GTi in the used car market. It has the best all round ability of all the hatchbacks out there and with mine now having the bigger wheels, leather interior and DSG gearbox - it just feels that much more special than the first one I had. I got the old manual one re-mapped and the mixture of power and handling was absolutely superb. I've got this one booked to get done next week - and with the prospect of more torque and power - coupled with the tremendous DSG 'box, I'm very much looking forward to it!

[rogerxp]

Cheers Vaheed. One question I keep asking myself is why do folk buy a Scoricco over a Golf and visa versa. I've really not had chance yet to compare price/spec/practicality so just thought I'd throw the question out there.

[willhollin]

Boot is tiny on the Scirocco!

[rogerxp]

I'm used to smaller . Should say Im obviously thinking why do people get a 2 door Golf instead of a Scoricco. Is it purely down to practicality & personal preference over looks or are there other dynamic reasons. Hopefully go & have a gander this week sometime.

[Kerr]

I'm warming to the Scirocco looks but I feel they are just too expensive for what they are.

I like the new Astra VXR and reviews are good.

At £28k new it is far too expensive for a Vauxhall though.

Reading the road test on Autocar, the actual straightline performance isn't as good as I would have hoped.

The car actually was slower to 100MPH than the previous Astra VXR recording 0-100mph in 16.5secs which doesn't seem that fast considering it has 276bhp.

I've seen a few delivery mileage cars with huge discounts.

[rogerxp]

I like huge discounts

[davyk31]

Huge discounts normally lead to eye watering depreciation on a new or nearly new car!!

[Kerr]

Originally Posted by davyk31

Huge discounts normally lead to eye watering depreciation on a new or nearly new car!!

You always expect that with Vauxhall though.

You are still paying about £11k for a 3 year old Astra VXR and considering you could get a pre registered one for £17k, £6k over 3 years isn't actually bad at all.

I think the new one will hold value a bit better as it is a better car.

[rogerxp]

Gentleman, prepare yourselves, a spreadsheet has been started .

Going to see a client in Old Trafford tomorrow which happens to be about 60 seconds away from a VW dealer, guess where I'll be ending up!!!

[mjh93sa]

Originally Posted by rogerxp

Gentleman, prepare yourselves, a spreadsheet has been started .

Going to see a client in Old Trafford tomorrow which happens to be about 60 seconds away from a VW dealer, guess where I'll be ending up!!!

at BMW looking longingly at an M?