I much prefer 5 doors over the 3 door models. Both the mk2s I've had have been 5 doors. As said above, having the extra doors makes it so much easier to get in the back etc. I have only ever had 1 3 door car, in which the only seat that tilted correctly was the drivers seat when people needed to get in the back. The novelty of having to get out everytime to let people in soon wore off, especially when it rained lol. From personal experience I have found a 5 door to be alot more practical car (for my needs anyway) than a 3 door. Of course, the added bonus is that if you are unfortunate enough to have someone hit the rear quarter of your car you can just replace the door on a 5 door rather than have costly repair bills to pull out a big dent or even new quarter panel on a 3 door.
IMO 3 door cars always look nicer, unless there estate cars because then its just a hurst, but even 3dr salons always look nice, 2dr jetta, mmmmm.
To answer the original question of the OP, yes. As has been proved by the posts in this thread and the price that 3 Doors command over 5 doors. 3 doors look much better, they just do.
I accept that 3drs are better-looking but tbh if I was buying a GTI to drive and enjoy (rather than polish, and disassmble/reassemble), I'd buy a 5dr. I have it on good authority that (as standard) the heavier 5dr actually handles a little better than the 3dr... What say you?
makes sense the 5dr is a stiffer car not just because the B piller is closer to the A piller but also the pressed out shape for the rear door is ridgid and closer to the rear suspension pick up point and beam pivot point, also the front rear weight distribution should be better.
I'd have thought it's unlikely that a 5 door will be stiffer than a 3 door, because of the extra holes in the structure. If you're right, why aren't the racers in the Golf GTI championship using 5 doors?
because they weight more and after a cage I would imagine any gains are gone. Think about a stripped 3dr and 5dr shell, think about where the stresses are, the cut out for the front door is smaller and instead of a flimsy window on a 3dr you have a large hole for the rear door which is most likely well reinforced. I dont know for sure but logically I can see why the 5dr is regularly considered to be stiffer.
But there is an extra area of chassis flex with a 5 door. I think this whole 5 doors are stiffer thought process has come from when a 5 door is jacked up. The 3 door will be hard to open the door, a 5 door will be easy. I dont think the 5 door is any stiffer, this is just due to the size of the doors. Would like to see some offcial facts though.
I got a 5dr and the thing is ... if u really want to find unmolested car its much easier to find a 5dr than 3dr ... simple is that . I dont bother how many doors is in a GTI ... because its still GTI , isnt it ?
Supposedly the big B piller is where the stiffness comes from, whereas on a 3 door it just goes straight to rear quarter.
Show me one situation where a manufacturer has chosen the 4 or 5 door car over the 2/3 door for competition use. Race series run to a minimum weight, and I'd bet you could get a 5 door inside it, when you remove the rear window winders, etc. They're the people with all the chassis integrity data. why don't they use a 5 door if they're stiffer.... because they're not!! There's nothing wrong with 'more door' GTIs, but the suggestion that a 5 door is stiffer is a load of bunk. Just like cutting the roof off makes a chassis flex, cutting a big hole in the side does too, which is why they need a great big pillar to hold it together. 3 doors have a B pillar too - it just doesn't have a big hole behind it. If you've got a family, I'm sure a 5 door GTI is a great compromise. Personally, I think the 3 door is slightly better looking (the extra door and shorter front door makes the car look shorter and fatter), but I wouldn't be put off a car by it, unless it was for competition use.
Well Mike I said im not sure but could understand where the idea comes from, you seem 100% sure and then some that the 3dr is stiffer so prove it. And the guys who run in the mk2 championship arnt that competitive that they plot the entire design of the car including every internal piece of metal onto a cad type program that mimics various forces, and like I said after a cage if there where any stiffness gains they would be eliminated by that, so the racing asspect of it is sort of a pointless argument. Although without a doubt the 5dr has a better front back weight distribution.
iv just had some injections into my spine and cant see straight but im pretty sure you picture is if the golfs where made of a single skin which is obviously not the case, cant see you have taken into account the many layers in a golf and different pressed pieces providing strength.
Does not matter how many skins anything has. The cross section through the door openings is basically identical on both cars. Unless they use thicker metal on the 4 door cars?
its the pressed metal shape of the second door which i think adds some stiffness compared to the very shallow press on the rear quarters for a window on the three door, as a 2d pic its pretty obvious a 3dr is stiffer but golfs are not 2d.
Of course they are two doors, with a hatch, and four doors with a hatch. The hatch is outside the torsioned zone, and is therefore irrelevant. The same shape pressings are use in two door and four door Golfs. The polar moment of inertia across the door openings is the same in both cars, unless the four door uses thicker metal? The total door opening of a four door is more than a two door. The four door is therefore less stiff!
