4mo gone. New daily replaces it... first impressions of the mk6 GTI

[Portent 0]

As some will know I've been thinking of swapping the 4mo for a while. I looked at mk5 GTI's and then, as is usually the way, gradually let my budget creep up into mk5 Edition 30 territory. I had a deadline by which to make the swap because the large service, haldex oil and MOT were all due on the 4mo this month, as well as a few other items that I would have to get done. After looking around I couldn't find a decent mk5 in the sort of condition I would be happy with and almost decided to stick with the 4mo again for another year.

 

But a couple of weeks ago I stumbled across a slightly high mileage mk6 GTI at a main dealer for similar money to top end mk5's. It was in my first choice of colour (steel grey with black leather) and with it being one of the cheapest mk6 GTI's I could find advertised anywhere it was worth a look. The condition, while not perfect, was certainly good enough.

 

I'll be honest; I do miss the 4mo and only now it has gone do I fully appreciate how good a car it was. It had instant acceleration, fantastic grip and traction and was in far, far better condition than anything I looked at. It had bags of room in the back for the kids and the economy wasn't too bad either for the size of engine (I averaged 29mpg on the last 1500 miles of my ownership and achieved 34mpg on a long run if taking it easy). I miss the sound too. If anyone in the near future sees EO53 WOD for sale and is in the market for a 4mo then I doubt you'll find one much better out there.

 

But time moves on and I needed to keep a reasonably modern car for the family. The overall deal seemed good.

 

So my first impressions on the mk6 after a few days of ownership:

 

Exterior Looks

 

I think I marginally prefer the more aggressive looks of the mk5 GTI but I the mk6 will age slower due to it being closer in shape to the imminent mk7. It certainly looks a million years newer than the mk4. Overall I'm really starting to like the shape. The wheels are fantastic although I suspect they will be very hard to keep unmarked. I've already put several coats of wax on them to keep the water out of the laquer. They only take seconds to clean though :D

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]69430[/ATTACH]

 

 

Interior

 

This is where the car really does shine. It looks and feels a very upmarket car. There are so many nice touches in it with storage holes everywhere, a cooled glove box, dual zone climate control, aircon vents for rear passengers, front and rear arm rests, footwell lighting, ipod/usb connectivity, etc. The heated leather sports seats are fantastically comfy and very supportive, allegedly made for VW by Recaro, and have electric lumbar support which is particularly useful for those of us that have killed our backs getting into a Corrado. The audio is not quite as good as the factory uprated sound in the 4mo. But that can be fixed in the future. One other downside is that with black headlining and rear privacy glass the kids have complained that it's a little dark in the back. I love thatg look as it makes it feel more enclosed and personal. But for them it's probably not quite as pleasant as the old car which was very light and airy.

 

There are more switches and buttons on the mk6 steering wheel than on the entire Corrado dash :D And at least 10 airbags that I've counted.

 

 

Practicality

 

There isn't much to fault in a Golf. The boot is large (larger than the 4mo) and it comfortably seats 2 adults and 2 children. I guess it would be fine for 4 adults even on long trips. The kids have commented on it having slightly less room in the back than the 4mo but on the positive side there seems to be more headroom in the back. It does of course have the usual split/fold rear seat. It also has 3 rear headrests, a rear arm rest that folds down and a great little access hole in the rear seats for carrying long items through the boot into the cabin. I've always loved performance Golfs for their combination of family transport, practicality and fun factor and this one continues the trend.

 

 

Performance and Handling

Unfortunately it doesn't have the instant go of the 4mo where I could sit at 30mph in 6th and a tap of the accelerator would propel the car forward instantly. That's not surprising and I'll simply have to adapt my driving style to drop a gear first. I chose the manual over DSG due to long term reliability concerns. But when the turbo does spool up you do get a very satisfying push in the back, albeit with a less satisfying engine note. The handling is fantastic so far. I doubt it will have the sure footedness of the 4mo in wet or launching out of a side turning. But it does feel so much more alive and nimble than the 4mo. It is, afterall, meant to be a GTI rather than a motorway cruiser. At this it does its job very well indeed.

 

The steering feels perfectly weighted. The brakes are very effective and have a nice progressive feel. The clutch is light and the gear changes are smooth and crisp.

 

 

Economy

 

A nice surprise was that the tax is around £190 a year which is even cheaper than mk5 GTI's due to the newer engine with lower emissions. The insurance is higher however. But fuel costs are obviously lower than I'm used to and on a very long run back from Norfolk to Surrey I managed to get 44mpg which is much higher than the 30 to 34mpg I would have got in the 4mo. With my relatively low mileage I guestimate at least a £300 yearly saving on petrol.

 

 

Overall

 

It does its job very well and I don't regret the change as the main point was to get the family into a more modern car. I do agree with some comments on them not having much "soul" but in all honesty after a 2.8 V6 with 4wd and a Corrado VR6 it was always going to be a tough act to follow on character alone. However it is a really lovely place to be sat in and so far it seems to be a fantastic family all-rounder and does feel like a return to a proper GTI, albeit a more mature GTI. Although I've owned a very long string of VAG cars since I started driving in 1988 I'm quite surprised that this is still only the second car I've had which has a GTI badge (the first being a mk2 GTI 16v).

[Pete 0]

Really like that, but I have to ask, why don't you use your corrado every day?

 

My vr is my daily and my vx220 is for sunny weather.

[Portent 0]

The Corrado was never meant to be the family car. When I bought it I already had the 4mo. A Corrado can be used fine for a young family but with an 8 year old and 6 year old it's getting a little too small for them... I need 4 doors :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Must admit, the MK6 is growing on me. I'm surprised to hear the torque isn't immediate though. I always found the MK5 engine to be very responsive indeed :D Although I understand the MK6 has gone to a different engine (Yamaha designed / derived apparently?) which might explain the change in character.