Golf R32

BenW

BenW

Anyone have any experience of the mk5 R32s? They seem like a logical step from the clio which to be honest is a little harsh for most of the driving I do.

These are reasonably priced now (~£12k for a reasonable one), servicing doesn't sound too bad, insurance isn't too bad (£970 compared to £680 for the clio) and still meant to be good to drive with that V6 and 4 wheel drive.
 
I test drove one about a month and a half ago alongside a mk6 GTi and thought the GTi was far better in every aspect.

Obviously the 4WD is better and it had more power but the power didn't seem too different and i also thought the 4WD felt too 'planted'. The GTi made the driving more fun. I was going to actually buy the GTi over the R32 but ended up buying a MINI :eek:
 
Slow and nose heavy, not really a step up from the Clio in anything other than noise.
 
Interesting, I guess we get spoilt a bit with the handling of the clio. Its difficult to find anything that handles as well but is a bit more useable every day.

I've driven a mk5 gti and wasn't that excited by it, didn't feel that fast in the corners and a bit dull. I read that the R32 is much more of a drivers car than the gti so interested to hear the mk6 gti is better!

Grumpy, slow in what respect? They're faster in a straight line and I assumed similar or even faster in the corners with the 4wd, especially if you get the haldex remapped for more power to the rear wheels.
 
I can't see them being faster in the corners, apart from the exit maybe where they can deploy their power better. 4WD doesn't give them any more grip, just better traction. They're a pretty heavy car as well at 1510kg!
 
deadmau5 said:
I can't see them being faster in the corners, apart from the exit maybe where they can deploy their power better. 4WD doesn't give them any more grip, just better traction. They're a pretty heavy car as well at 1510kg!
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Agreed, you won't get more grip mid corner but some review said that 4wd means it can be set up more balanced and this means it has great turn in and balance mid corner.....having never driven a 4wd car like this I have no idea if that's true or not??

-Eddie- said:
I'd much prefer an Edition 30 than an R32.
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Reason Eddie? For tunability?
 
Ed.30's are very easy to tune.

4WD gives better traction on exiting corners and can allow better adjustability mid-corner if you're willing to let her dance but in terms of turn in and balance, I'd say that there's not much better than the Clio this side of an E46 M3. For the traffic light GP then 4WD will always beat FWD but handling is a very subjective issue and no two people will give the same opinion on the same car. Drive one for yourself and make your own mind up would be my advice.

Personally I found the Mk.5 GTi very bland to drive. Average at best.
 
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Cheers Willis.

Agreed on mk5 gti, the r32 is ~55bhp up on that though and apparently the engine has bags of character?? Going to have to drive one and see what I think, pretty sure I will come away thinking it feels boring and detached compared to the clio.
 
Id love one as a daily but it'd have to be a 5 door with DSG and leather but without the optional Recaro's.

I think the 5 door has a nicer shape to it and the DSG because I'm getting lazy and without the Recaro's because I think the standard seats suit the car better...In fact I think I'm ageing before my time :scared: :lol:
 
MikeLYR27 said:
My mate off here just sold his 197 for one, great cars! Do it!
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How's he find it compared to the 197?

Mark, no idea which is the better gearbox....DSG or manual!? The DSG is meant to be fantastic with more performance, better fuel economy and launch control etc but the manual is well, a manual and can it really get better than that?

It's also tempting seeing the number of turbo'd R32s putting out 450bhp+ but you need to save some pennies for the turbo kit. Seems like they're reliable in this state of tune too.
 
I had one before clio, manual with normal cloth seats, very refined and fast but it felt slow compared to clio, it obviously wasnt but it was so stable and quiet, it made it feel slower, very dodgy really because I used to fly around not realising how fast I was going.
 
Yeah mate, tuneability.

I had a Mk5 (only a TDI) before the 197, and have always thought that my next car would be an Ed30. Done a lot of research when I was looking to change, but thought the 197 would be the more fun car to drive over the Ed30. From my research the DSG is the route to go down.

As mentioned though..a bit more sensible than a 197 lol.
 
Thing with the ed30, that has to be far too much power to properly put through front wheels. I was really tempted by 4wd or rwd for the next motor for this reason, was also thinking about bmw z4m or porsche boxster but my parents have a boxster which puts me off that.
 
I've driven the mk4 and mk5 R32. Both are BRILLIANT cars, but very different to the clio. They're a very heavy machine, I went back to back from my Clio to a mk5 R32 on track and when driving the R32 it was just waaay too heavy for the track, on the road though they're brilliant; bags of grip, huge amounts of fun in the snow (4wd drift anyone?). The noise the engine gives out is supercar levels of epic, and the engine itself has bag of character and torque.

They're pricey when they go wrong though and are a car thief's wet dream.


To be honest like a few have said, you really need to drive one and make your mind up on what exactly you want from the car, they're chalk and cheese compared the Clio so I wouldn't call it an upgrade.
 
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