As title - has anyone owned either/both of these or has an idea about the difference in running costs? My sister has been looking at the gti for her next car, but the price difference between the gti and the r32 is negligible at the moment. I'm guessing insurance and servicing will be a little more and mpg will be less on the r32, but she doesn't exactly drive like the wind (I know, why buy one then) so excessive wear and tear on tyres/brakes shouldn't be an issue. Is there anything obvious I've missed about the r32 that would make it much more expensive to run/service than the gti? Cheers.
dont know, but the r32's are looking like a bargain arn't they? shame they are so ugly... mk5 gti is better i think
Agree the gti is a better looking car. But I had a look on the trader earlier and couldn't believe a well specced 06 r32 3dr in black with 20k is going for the same money as a fairly base spec 07 gti 3dr in black with 15k. Surely there's a catch?
I was looking at them when I got a new car last year, tax on R32's registered after March '07 will cost over 400 / yr plus the petrol prices were well above 1 / litre. If you do a lot of miles you'll need deep pockets, but got to love them!
no its not!!! if i had a pound for everytime someone's said that i would have my own mk5 gti 2.0 TFSI GTI - 200 bhp, fairly easily tuned to 250bhp, with a nice exhaust they sound lovely (pretty tasty standard) much nicer looking, FWD 3.2 R32 - 240 bhp, not really that tunable without spending big , sounds great,. but heavy on fuel, heavier car, handling not as good and ugly. I can't think of one reason why I would buy the R32 tbh
running costs other than fuel / tax R32 - haldex filter changed every 40K + 1 liter of oil- heavier on fuel with 4 wheel drive - brakes slightly more expensive (unlike mk4's when it was silly expensive on 32's) gti - cam belt 5 hour job every 120K or 4 years DSG (both app.) oil / filter change at 40K - dsg oil 12'ish per liter and needs about 5 good thing about r32's the handling is more solid feel on road, and the fluttering valve on second exhaust pipe
would you leave it that long? Vaux quote 100k miles for my car, snapped on 60k I will be forever changing cambelts at 60k no matter what they say, vw included. Especially if I had 20valves to look after!!!
I agree its a heavy car but it has outstanding traction and i really like the looks. Okay, it wont be as fun around the corners as a gti but im getting the slamming my car round corners out of my system with my current gti. Plus, 250 bhp in a FWD is starting to get dangerous. I know 2 guys round here who have ditched their remapped GTi's (literally) i know they are not pure breed racers, but im doing an MSC for a really respectable job and the R32 is more of a gentlemans car than a GTi. Plus, you have to own a v6 or v8 sometime in your life! Im either going to get an R32 or wait a few more years and get an rs4. with regards to running costs, with a remapped DSG car you can get over 30 mpg which is probably more than a fair few modified cars on here. Also, the early r32's are waaay cheaper on road tax as below: They are the same as the GTi Volkswagen Golf R32 (05-08) 3.2 V6 R32 4MOTION 3d DSG Rates effective from 13 March 2008 Date of Registration 6 Months 12 Months Band CO2 (g/km) 18 Nov 2005 – 23 Mar 2006 115.50 210.00 F 235 23 Mar 2006 – 31 Jul 2008 220.00 400.00 G 231-235 Rates effective from May 2009 Date of Registration 6 Months 12 Months Band CO2 (g/km) 18 Nov 2005 – 23 Mar 2006 118.25 215.00 K 235 23 Mar 2006 – 31 Jul 2008 222.75 405.00 L 231-235 Rates effective from April 2010 Date of Registration 6 Months 12 Months Band CO2 (g/km) 18 Nov 2005 – 23 Mar 2006 134.75 245.00 K 235 23 Mar 2006 – 31 Jul 2008 233.75 425.00 L 231-235
Good point on tax, but I think the cut off for the 400 tax hike was March 06 not 07. [Edit - azur beat me to it above!] Didn't realise the R was ~200kg heavier. Think my sister likes the idea of 4wd though as she drives to work on a lot of country roads which are often greasy/icy in winter. Going to have a look at a few gtis and r32s this weekend so will ask the dealers about servicing. Performance figures are not too far apart so will be interesting to compare in real life. Cheers for the replies.
different strokes for different folks. As for 250bhp being dangerous?? not buying that. The person pressing the accelerator too much was the danger to himself/herself... not the car. Agreed the R32 does seem a bit more grown up/business like, thats why i'm not as keen. The mk5 gti is a bit more drive it like you stole it fun. 200kg considering the 4WD and heavier engine isn't too bad tbf
would you not consider a mk4 R32? much better looking, similar power outputs and they are around the 12-15k mark.
never driven a mk5 r32 but i own a mk5 gti and i must say its aces i have owned it for nearly 4 years and it has never missed a beat . as for fuel i can get 34 mpg with ease . tyre wear nothing out of the norm along with the brakes (but they are crap) . infact i like it so much im finding it very hard to find anything i would replace it with
