Focus or Golf?

Unbeliever · 18 Jun 2007 at 23:26

Test drive both and decide what suits you best. I have a golf, and I like it. Its all down to personal preference at the end of the day.

Pants · 19 Jun 2007 at 00:16

The Focus will be a better drivers car, but the Golf will be a nicer place to be, in my uneducated opinion. The Focus interior is so dire it put me off getting one.

(I went for the golf in skoda form, over my other consideration, the focus)

MrSix · 19 Jun 2007 at 07:40

[TW]Fox said:
For going in a straightline, post remap, sure.

Have you actually ever driven a mk4 1.8T?

It seems as though you think they're bloated, wallowly, underpowered cars when actually, they handle nicely, are reasonably well powered and good fun to drive.

[TW]Fox · 19 Jun 2007 at 08:35

MrSix said:
Have you actually ever driven a mk4 1.8T?

It seems as though you think they're bloated, wallowly, underpowered cars when actually, they handle nicely, are reasonably well powered and good fun to drive.

Nope, only a 2.0 8v GTI. Which has exactly the same suspension setup, is wallowy, bloated and doesn't 'handle nicely'. The 1.8T is for badge snobs as the Octavia vRS is a better car in every way.

Goody_GTI · 19 Jun 2007 at 08:44

[TW]Fox said:
Nope, only a 2.0 8v GTI. Which has exactly the same suspension setup, is wallowy, bloated and doesn't 'handle nicely'. The 1.8T is for badge snobs as the Octavia vRS is a better car in every way.

Well thats the biggest load of rubbish i have ever heard and how can you comment on the 1.8ts if you have never even driven one. If the only golf you have ever driven is the 2.0 gti then no wonder you don't like them; but please, don't even think about putting the 2.0 and the 1.8t in the same league

matt100 · 19 Jun 2007 at 08:46

[TW]Fox said:
Nope, only a 2.0 8v GTI. Which has exactly the same suspension setup, is wallowy, bloated and doesn't 'handle nicely'. The 1.8T is for badge snobs as the Octavia vRS is a better car in every way.

thats very true, I had an Octavia vRS and it was fantastic, the only thing I could ever fault it for was the crazy idea to have white seats. If you held a bottle/can between your legs ever or got in from the rain with wet jeans or anything they stained like hell and made you look like you had incontinence issues.

Other than that, well built, refined, suprisingly fast, cavernous boot and now very cheap.

=win!

Skii · 19 Jun 2007 at 09:00

Focus left me cold , I much preferred the golf, even though I was only kidding myself.

[TW]Fox · 19 Jun 2007 at 09:38

Goody_GTI said:
Well thats the biggest load of rubbish i have ever heard and how can you comment on the 1.8ts if you have never even driven one. If the only golf you have ever driven is the 2.0 gti then no wonder you don't like them; but please, don't even think about putting the 2.0 and the 1.8t in the same league

Please detail the exact mechanical differences, other than the different engine, between the Golf GTI 2.0 and 1.8T 150bhp. I was under the impression the suspension, etc etc was the same - therefore, both cars will handle the same, but the 1.8T will have a power advantage.

Is this not the case?

Goody_GTI · 19 Jun 2007 at 13:06

[TW]Fox said:
Please detail the exact mechanical differences, other than the different engine, between the Golf GTI 2.0 and 1.8T 150bhp. I was under the impression the suspension, etc etc was the same - therefore, both cars will handle the same, but the 1.8T will have a power advantage.

Is this not the case?

The 1.8T has lower and uprated suspension, has the recaro seats all round, generally better specs all round i.e. electric everything, and better looking alloys.

[TW]Fox · 19 Jun 2007 at 13:17

Goody_GTI said:
The 1.8T has lower and uprated suspension, has the recaro seats all round, generally better specs all round i.e. electric everything, and better looking alloys.

Not all 1.8T's have Recaro seats. Are you sure the 1.8T has lower and uprated suspension over the 2.0 GTI? As the 2.0 GTI has lower and uprated suspension as well, did it not...?

They also don't have electric everything - this is not 1990, front and rear electric windows does not mean 'electric everything'.

Dangerous Dave · 19 Jun 2007 at 14:03

[TW]Fox said:
Not all 1.8T's have Recaro seats. Are you sure the 1.8T has lower and uprated suspension over the 2.0 GTI? As the 2.0 GTI has lower and uprated suspension as well, did it not...?

They also don't have electric everything - this is not 1990, front and rear electric windows does not mean 'electric everything'.

The Sport Suspension pack was optional on the 2L 8v and early 1.8Ts with 150bhp I would suspect very few 2L 8vs had them as Sport and the 2L 8v don't go together. (Otherwise in standard trim both had the same suspension setup)

The 180bhp ones which are around 51/52 plate on I think, they came with previously optional "Sports Suspension" as standard you can tell what ones they are as they came with 16" alloys so the bigger brakes could fit under them, they had a different suspension setup which was stiffer and 15mm lower using eibach pro's springs and Bilstein B4 dampers and I think thicker anti roll bar to the 2L 8v and 150bhp 1.8T. The 2L 8v has 288mm brakes where the 180bhp 1.8T went to 312mm. However they never really set the world on fire with there handling the R32 handles well though and has a fair amount of poke.

The 2L should never have had a GTI badge in fact it only did in the UK and the States, 115bhp is a joke from a 2L engine even the almost 25 year old (at the time) original 1.6 mk1 GTI made almost the same amount of power.

[TW]Fox · 19 Jun 2007 at 14:11

Dangerous Dave said:
The Sport Suspension pack was optional on the 2L 8v and early 1.8Ts with 150bhp I would suspect very few 2L 8vs had them as Sport and the 2L 8v don't go together. (Otherwise in standard trim both had the same suspension setup)

I'm almost certain the 2.0 I wasted the dealers time with had Sport suspension. It was a 52 plate. I was under the impression that with the exception of power, it was otherwise identical to a 150bhp 1.8T.

Dangerous Dave · 19 Jun 2007 at 14:28

[TW]Fox said:
I'm almost certain the 2.0 I wasted the dealers time with had Sport suspension. It was a 52 plate. I was under the impression that with the exception of power, it was otherwise identical to a 150bhp 1.8T.

Depends if it had the stiffer suspension, the 2L 8v never got it as standard so it would have had to have been speced as a option most would have just bought the 180bhp 1.8T. I driven a latter 1.8T and it handled pretty well you could certainly keep the pace up over a country road I know. I remember thinking that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be could have done with less bodyroll though.

If both a 2l 8v and 150bhp are standard then yes they have the same suspension setup. The latter 180bhp 1.8Ts did have better setup.

matt100 · 19 Jun 2007 at 15:19

I suppose you could also take into account the different engine, the 2.0l would probably be heavier than the 1.8T and with the extra bhp the 1.8T would feel a bit livlier.

That said, whether either is what you would call a drivers car is debatable.

Almost every motoring journalist has said the focus is a well sorted car and the mk4 golf wasn't.

Drawing comparisons between R32s and Focus RS' isn't terribly helpful, especially seeing as the R32 is 4WD.

I'm still pretty sure a 1.8 zetec focus would feel a lot lighter on its feet that a naturally aspirated golf.

Goody_GTI · 19 Jun 2007 at 19:34

All i can say is that any 1.8T be it the 150bhp model or the 180bhp model has the lower and firmer suspension, bigger brakes, all the wooden trim inside, and by 'all electric' i mean windows, mirrors, sunroof (if they have one), etc. Plus i have just found that they have slightly stubbier mirrors as well.

But enough of the arguing about golfs, i say go and test drive both whilst bearing in mind other cars such as the leon, fabia, a3 and any other similar sized cars as they will all be different and it really is down to personal preference

OpenToSuggestions · 19 Jun 2007 at 20:17

what the contest should be is between a focus and leon. As the leon is a golf, yet costs less and is.....better

[TW]Fox · 19 Jun 2007 at 20:21

Goody_GTI said:
All i can say is that any 1.8T be it the 150bhp model or the 180bhp model has the lower and firmer suspension

As confirmed by Dangerous Dave, you are incorrect as standard.

Goody_GTI · 19 Jun 2007 at 20:27

[TW]Fox said:
As confirmed by Dangerous Dave, you are incorrect as standard.

Well i'm still not convinced as i'm sure the suspension is completely different between the two and my early 150bhp model definitely has the lower stiffer suspension. Suspension aside, there is still more differences as i said above. The 2.0l is rubbish and as already said by many people should not be badged as a gti

[TW]Fox · 19 Jun 2007 at 20:30

Goody_GTI said:
Well i'm still not convinced as i'm sure the suspension is completely different between the two and my early 150bhp model definitely has the lower stiffer suspension. Suspension aside, there is still more differences as i said above. The 2.0l is rubbish and as already said by many people should not be badged as a gti

The 2 litre is THE SAME as the 1.8T with the exception of the gutless engine!

Goody_GTI · 19 Jun 2007 at 20:31

[TW]Fox said:
The 2 litre is THE SAME as the 1.8T with the exception of the gutless engine!

No need to shout, and you are wrong there are differences other than the engine