A3 / Golf Gtd / Scirocco..?

oli356 · 27 Jul 2015 at 22:10

Hi all,

Looking to purchase a "new" used car next month.. Something 1/2 years old, mainly looking at a Vw or Audi due to the discount I can get. Budget is around 20k, few more if needed.

I don't do too many miles at moment, roughly 10k though possibly more with a nicer car.

Got a few cars in mind..

Scirocco.. Got a GT 2.0 TDI 150 for the day in a few weeks time. Think the styling is quite nice and interior I like, however bad functionality and the internals are quite old not sure if this is something should be worried about.

A3 - would have to be the s line for the nicer steering wheel, styling etc.. Probably the 1.4 tfsi with cylinder on demand so 150 ps.. Alright looking car and practical.

Golf GTD.. Think the normal golf looks too boring so the 2.0 TDI 184 ps I think looks nice, practical and performance is best of the 3..

There are things like the Leon that appeal (the price for what you get.. However wasn't a big fan of the interior too much).

Anyone got any comments on either of the 3?

Cheers

muon · 27 Jul 2015 at 22:12

Can get an almost new fully spec'd Mazda 3 150ps with plenty of change to spare.

I'd go for the A3 though. Best looking of the bunch.

gobbo · 27 Jul 2015 at 22:14

If you don't do many miles why are you looking at the diesels when you can get the brilliant 2.0 TSI in all of them?

muon · 27 Jul 2015 at 22:17

The same 1.4 ACT on Golfs are also very good.

[TW]Fox · 27 Jul 2015 at 22:27

oli356 said:
Something 1/2 years old, mainly looking at a Vw or Audi due to the discount I can get.

I doubt any 'discount you can get' on a used car will be sufficient to make it worth picking a certain brand - presumably you know somebody who works at a dealer and the dealer principle is unlikely to allow staff to chuck too much margin in the bin to do friends and family favours. So I wouldn't get too hung up on that and I'd expand the search to include other brands, too.

oli356 · 27 Jul 2015 at 22:41

muon said:
Can get an almost new fully spec'd Mazda 3 150ps with plenty of change to spare.

I'd go for the A3 though. Best looking of the bunch.

Don't think the Mazda is really my cuppa tea. Thanks for suggestion though.

gobbo said:
If you don't do many miles why are you looking at the diesels when you can get the brilliant 2.0 TSI in all of them?

For the a Scirocco you have a point, I was trying to avoid diesels! The Golf off my head would need the GTI, a bit more horsepower so don't think my insurance would be too happy. Also considering my car at the moment is about 12 seconds to 60 I don't want to go too over the top.. Hence looking around 150 PS ish.

[TW]Fox;28366066 said:
I doubt any 'discount you can get' on a used car will be sufficient to make it worth picking a certain brand - presumably you know somebody who works at a dealer and the dealer principle is unlikely to allow staff to chuck too much margin in the bin to do friends and family favours. So I wouldn't get too hung up on that and I'd expand the search to include other brands, too.

Open to suggestions, don't get me wrong. Also know though that some cars are going for cost price some even at a loss just to meet targets... But yup, open to suggestions in case I've overlooked a brand/model.

Pulsedriver · 27 Jul 2015 at 22:51

Having owned a GTD before, I can say it is an incredibly boring car, even though it is completely packed with all the toys you could ever need, and more than quick enough, great mpg, it just is so ...Boring.

That's not really a fault, depending on how you view a car...

I have not driven the new A3's, but did own the older version (2010) of them, a Black Edition 170hp A3 and that was very good.

What about a 120d or it's petrol equivalent ?

[TW]Fox · 27 Jul 2015 at 22:53

Pulsedriver said:
Having owned a GTD before, I can say it is an incredibly boring car, even though it is completely packed with all the toys you could ever need, and more than quick enough, great mpg, it just is so ...Boring.

I have not driven the new A3's, but did own the older version (2010) of them, a Black Edition 170hp A3 and that was very good.

I am struggling to understand why the GTD was 'incredibly boring' yet the A3 2.0 TDI Black Edition was 'very good' when they are fundamentally the same thing?

Pulsedriver · 27 Jul 2015 at 22:57

Subjective of course, but the A3 looked miles better, felt better to drive, and had a nicer interior, so overall just a more pleasant experience, perhaps by the time i owned the GTD I was just fed up of the 2.0TDI engine

Antony101 · 27 Jul 2015 at 22:57

Pulsedriver said:
Having owned a GTD before, I can say it is an incredibly boring car, even though it is completely packed with all the toys you could ever need, and more than quick enough, great mpg, it just is so ...Boring.

That's not really a fault, depending on how you view a car...

I have not driven the new A3's, but did own the older version (2010) of them, a Black Edition 170hp A3 and that was very good.

What about a 120d or it's petrol equivalent ?

The A3 is a really boring car to drive too, that's why I chose mine. It just wafts around and that's it.

[TW]Fox · 27 Jul 2015 at 22:58

Pulsedriver said:
Subjective of course, but the A3 looked miles better, felt better to drive, and had a nicer interior, so overall just a more pleasant experience, perhaps by the time i owned the GTD I was just fed up of the 2.0TDI engine

The interior of the A3 was always hobbled by the fact Audi introduced it about 100 years ago - unless your Golf was a Mk5 I'm genuinely amazed you thought the interior of the Audi was better. I'm convinced that if you looked hard enough in the footwell you'd find fossils

oli356 · 27 Jul 2015 at 23:03

The A3 interior is extremely simplistic I would say compared to the Golf.. I wasn't too keen on it, though after driving an S3 for a few hours I had changed my mind.. I'm told that I'm rather "old" in the sense that I prefer more basic and simple but elegant compared to like an inside of a Ford or something with 1000 buttons etc.

Pulsedriver said:
What about a 120d or it's petrol equivalent ?

I went to the new Reading BMW garage over the weekend (wow! what an imp repressive showroom!) and determined that the 1 series is too small.

Have to sit so far back that no one can get in behind me. Also £££

xs2man · 27 Jul 2015 at 23:15

Skoda Octavia VRS 2.0T? You say you can stretch your budget a little, and you can pick one up, new, for £21,420. Great looking car nowadays too.

If you can stetch a little more, the SEAT Leon Cupra comes in at £23,551 and has a whopping 280 BHP.

Prices are for new cars from broadspeed, so doable for sure. I'd be looking at new cars with your budget personally.

chanjy · 28 Jul 2015 at 07:23

Definitely not the Scirocco, that's sooo old tech. The A3 and Golf are essentially the same but Golf always comes out of reviews as better to drive. Would definitely recommend GTI rather than GTD though, you'll not crash and die with 200hp compared to 150

Kemik · 28 Jul 2015 at 09:05

Are your preferences leaning more to driving down a motorway on your daily commute and being comfortable or throwing it round country lanes for a bit of fun?

I got rid of my Fiesta ST for the Golf GTD after changing jobs and motorway commuting. I really miss how much fun the Fiesta ST was but the Golf has so many features that makes the commute so much easier (e.g. adaptive cruise control, DSG, etc).

oli356 · 28 Jul 2015 at 10:40

chanjy said:
Definitely not the Scirocco, that's sooo old tech. The A3 and Golf are essentially the same but Golf always comes out of reviews as better to drive. Would definitely recommend GTI rather than GTD though, you'll not crash and die with 200hp compared to 150

Are they that much difference? Hopefully the insurance wouldn't be drastically different... only got a couple of years no claims at the moment.

Kemik said:
Are your preferences leaning more to driving down a motorway on your daily commute and being comfortable or throwing it round country lanes for a bit of fun?

I got rid of my Fiesta ST for the Golf GTD after changing jobs and motorway commuting. I really miss how much fun the Fiesta ST was but the Golf has so many features that makes the commute so much easier (e.g. adaptive cruise control, DSG, etc).

More towards comfortable commuting over country lanes. The Golf GTD looks to have a good standard feature set too compared to the A3 at least.. think prefer the styling also.

EdGey · 28 Jul 2015 at 10:45

Out of those, I'd get the GTD. Though of course, I'd be sensible and buy a GTI

(do they cost much more?)

chanjy · 28 Jul 2015 at 10:59

Go and test drive the GTD against the GTI on your typical commute if you need to weigh this up properly. Us telling you is never going to be the same.

Some people love the diesel torque but the GTI engine should be more fun to drive plus it is lighter making the car less nose heavy.

3dcandy · 28 Jul 2015 at 11:08

Mrs has a 2014 Scirocco and she loves it. Basically a coupe Golf so I can't see why people are worried about the interior. She has the DSG box as she's disabled but it's quick enough and she gets 50+ mpg. Know someone with an A3 and it instantly turns you into a **** when you drive it

Stringy · 28 Jul 2015 at 11:39

The GTD irks me somewhat as a tarted up TDI that isn't as quick as a GTI, and not significantly faster than the higher powered 1.4 TSI (and in the Mk6 not faster at all, despite its party frock styling vs the TSI GT) furthermore, the TSI engine is more fun to drive due to being a forced-induction petrol (subjective I know, but I'm sure the majority is with me).

I'd go for any kind of TSI/TFSI over the TDI. This is further fuelled by your mileage, unless there's a chronic shortage of candidates to buy second hand I'd steer clear of the TDI.