Hey Guys
Have had a bit of an upgrade recently and just wanted to share my experience from a casual drivers point of view
apologies in advance if I ramble!
Went from a B6 VW Passat SEL 2.0T
IMG_6354.jpg by cokecan72, on Flickr
To a MK5 VW Golf R32 DSG
IMG_6449.jpg by cokecan72, on Flickr
I owned the Passat for nearly 2 years, really enjoyed driving it during that time. I know they are not everyone's cup of tea but I found it to be comfy and pretty wafty on a long cruise while still having a surprising amount of power considering it's size and weight! The 2.0T engine felt pretty solid and was even reasonably good on the juice, regularly achieving around 32mpg on a mixed run with highs of up to (an indicated) 37mpg and lows of about 18mpg stuck in town traffic. The reason I felt the need to change was that I fancied something a bit smaller and a bit more fun. The Passat has given me confidence in VW in terms of build quality and I quite like the way most of them look inside and out (not so keen on the more recent shapes...too angular!), so started looking at Golfs.
Naturally the GTI was one of the first I looked at because it uses the same engine as my Passat....only in a smaller/lighter car that was more nimble. After a test drive in a manual MK5 the only thing I can say that really sums up that brief experience is that it was pretty epic. Obviously this is only compared to other stuff I've driven in the past but even still. It felt so chuckable compared to my Passat which felt quite numb on A-roads, it felt quicker (it probably was!) and you never get tired of the feeling of the turbo once it's spooled. As vein as it sounds, the only thing that put me off was the look of it externally....I felt it looked a little bit too lairy for my liking with the factory alloys and the front grill.
After the GTI test drive I started looking into R32's....admittedly these do still look a little lairy with 2 massive zorst! but ignoring that part overall I think it looks a little bit more reserved and I think you get a few more toys as standard. Had a test drive in a manual and DSG version and again was blown away, more so with the DSG. It is a noticeably heavier car than the GTI what with the haldex and bigger engine but if I'm honest I think it felt a bit more planted on the road than the GTI IMO. Certainly a hell of a lot more than the Passat ever did.
The DSG is awesome, I wasn't too sure on the idea of an auto/semi auto originally but after trying one I'm sold! I thought I'd miss changing gear and engine breaking etc. Well I'm pleased to announce that I can still change gear manually and engine break to my hearts content using either the flappy paddles or the sequential style gear stick I also genuinely can't believe how fast and smooth it changes gear - though it has to be said it does seem to hesitate at junctions sometimes. I suspect this is something I'll get used to and accommodate for as I get more used to the car and gearbox. Sport mode on the DSG is certainly an interesting option with the car stretching out every single gear to the red line. Very handy for making you and your passangers grin wildly but probably more so for overtaking if you didn't want to wait for the kickdown in D or tap the flappy paddles to drop down a gear or 2.
This is the first time I've ever driven a car with a V6 or indeed an engine bigger than a 4-pot, it doesn't feel harsh like when a turbo kicks in. Instead it's just a nice smooth constant surge of power....and oh the noise! Interestingly it never feels very fast until you look at your speedo to see you're 10+mph over the limit lol I think that's one of the main points where it differs from the GTI as that actually felt like you were going fast and making progress when hammering it down a slip road or on an A-Road, with the R32 and DSG you just kinda start accelerating and then all of a sudden you notice you've already hit the speed limit and passed it!
The GTI felt sharper turning into corners at speed but the R32 grips like crazy even in wet conditions. As I'm not particularly experienced at driving cars like my hair's on fire I was hard pushed to tell the difference a lot of the time in this area.
Anyway to sum up, the R32 won it for me because I thought it felt a bit more planted than the GTI I test drove, it felt very comfy and wafty on a long cruise at 70, I like the look of it more and the sound of that V6 engine is just intoxicating!
Things to note: Wish I had tried a GTI in DSG guise as I suspect that is an awesome combination! Also as expected MPG is a little worse than the Passat but not by anywhere near as much as I was thinking. I can still achieve a good 31mpg on a long run at 70 and still get mid 20's from a mixed run. I expect if I left it in sport and drove spirited everywhere Id see more like 12 but that's not me so no worries there Boot is noticeably smaller than the Passat (obviously) and the GTI, however the larger boot opening and fold down seats makes it feel almost as practical as the Passat.
Have had a bit of an upgrade recently and just wanted to share my experience from a casual drivers point of view
apologies in advance if I ramble!Went from a B6 VW Passat SEL 2.0T
IMG_6354.jpg by cokecan72, on Flickr
To a MK5 VW Golf R32 DSG
IMG_6449.jpg by cokecan72, on Flickr
I owned the Passat for nearly 2 years, really enjoyed driving it during that time. I know they are not everyone's cup of tea but I found it to be comfy and pretty wafty on a long cruise while still having a surprising amount of power considering it's size and weight! The 2.0T engine felt pretty solid and was even reasonably good on the juice, regularly achieving around 32mpg on a mixed run with highs of up to (an indicated) 37mpg and lows of about 18mpg stuck in town traffic. The reason I felt the need to change was that I fancied something a bit smaller and a bit more fun. The Passat has given me confidence in VW in terms of build quality and I quite like the way most of them look inside and out (not so keen on the more recent shapes...too angular!), so started looking at Golfs.
Naturally the GTI was one of the first I looked at because it uses the same engine as my Passat....only in a smaller/lighter car that was more nimble. After a test drive in a manual MK5 the only thing I can say that really sums up that brief experience is that it was pretty epic. Obviously this is only compared to other stuff I've driven in the past but even still. It felt so chuckable compared to my Passat which felt quite numb on A-roads, it felt quicker (it probably was!) and you never get tired of the feeling of the turbo once it's spooled. As vein as it sounds, the only thing that put me off was the look of it externally....I felt it looked a little bit too lairy for my liking with the factory alloys and the front grill.
After the GTI test drive I started looking into R32's....admittedly these do still look a little lairy with 2 massive zorst! but ignoring that part overall I think it looks a little bit more reserved and I think you get a few more toys as standard. Had a test drive in a manual and DSG version and again was blown away, more so with the DSG. It is a noticeably heavier car than the GTI what with the haldex and bigger engine but if I'm honest I think it felt a bit more planted on the road than the GTI IMO. Certainly a hell of a lot more than the Passat ever did.
The DSG is awesome, I wasn't too sure on the idea of an auto/semi auto originally but after trying one I'm sold! I thought I'd miss changing gear and engine breaking etc. Well I'm pleased to announce that I can still change gear manually and engine break to my hearts content using either the flappy paddles or the sequential style gear stick
I also genuinely can't believe how fast and smooth it changes gear - though it has to be said it does seem to hesitate at junctions sometimes. I suspect this is something I'll get used to and accommodate for as I get more used to the car and gearbox. Sport mode on the DSG is certainly an interesting option with the car stretching out every single gear to the red line. Very handy for making you and your passangers grin wildly but probably more so for overtaking if you didn't want to wait for the kickdown in D or tap the flappy paddles to drop down a gear or 2. This is the first time I've ever driven a car with a V6 or indeed an engine bigger than a 4-pot, it doesn't feel harsh like when a turbo kicks in. Instead it's just a nice smooth constant surge of power....and oh the noise! Interestingly it never feels very fast until you look at your speedo to see you're 10+mph over the limit lol I think that's one of the main points where it differs from the GTI as that actually felt like you were going fast and making progress when hammering it down a slip road or on an A-Road, with the R32 and DSG you just kinda start accelerating and then all of a sudden you notice you've already hit the speed limit and passed it!
The GTI felt sharper turning into corners at speed but the R32 grips like crazy even in wet conditions. As I'm not particularly experienced at driving cars like my hair's on fire I was hard pushed to tell the difference a lot of the time in this area.
Anyway to sum up, the R32 won it for me because I thought it felt a bit more planted than the GTI I test drove, it felt very comfy and wafty on a long cruise at 70, I like the look of it more and the sound of that V6 engine is just intoxicating!
Things to note: Wish I had tried a GTI in DSG guise as I suspect that is an awesome combination! Also as expected MPG is a little worse than the Passat but not by anywhere near as much as I was thinking. I can still achieve a good 31mpg on a long run at 70 and still get mid 20's from a mixed run. I expect if I left it in sport and drove spirited everywhere Id see more like 12 but that's not me so no worries there
Boot is noticeably smaller than the Passat (obviously) and the GTI, however the larger boot opening and fold down seats makes it feel almost as practical as the Passat.
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