V6Jules

Not sure if it's as "cheap" as the golf deals as I didnt really see them. A Golf R was certainly not cheap when I was looking but with a 6 month waiting list I'm guessing they didn't need to push cheap deals I have got the 340i on a pcp. The prices are similar to a top spec superb 280 however with a bit less spec but better all round build quality and better residuals.

I know, the m-sport plus pack has plenty of goodies I wanted including the privacy glass, HK, tasty big brakes which I must say are pretty impressive

Thanks :-) It does, its really nice to have the options to play with although in comfort mode the throttle response is rubbish, thankfully I can set sport drivetrain and soft suspension in sport mode and save the stiff suspension for sport+. I think you can now spec DCC on the new VRS which you couldn't when I had mine... This might have helped. The road noise is far better than the Skoda although on some surfaces the run flats can still make a bit of a din

Thanks, indeed the brakes are monstrous! Yeah I've got the pro nav and the screen is stunning! Sharp and full of contrast. I'm liking the split screen and often find myself with the weather app on the right side of it. I have the HUD so the nav displays there... What a game changer! Not tried any other modern bmws but I'm kind of regretting getting the adaptive lights as I hear they are better. I get what you mean about the focus of the beam though, far softer edges that the sharp pattern you get from projector xenon's. Had a few people flash me as well so guess they could be a little dazzling compared to the old VRS

I had been looking for a replacement for the VRS (TSI COMBI) for a while as the PCP was coming to and end and as much as I liked the car I fancied a change for something faster, with a nicer cabin. I was looking at golf R estates and superb 280's but after an unintentional visit to the BMW dealer outside my work to pickup a bit for my wifes old 330 coupe I discovered I really liked the look of the 3 series touring in M Sport trim... a test drive later and some number crunching and I've ended up with a 340i Touring with 7k off the list price and monthly payments that are less than the Golf R estate I was originally looking at. It also only took a month to arrive unlike the long waiting times for the Golfs. I was surprised how sad I felt giving the VRS up as its been good fun and I will miss how light and chuckable it felt compared to the BMW but the Munich monster is just in another league in interior quality, ride quality and overall fit and finish (and so it should be with the price difference) The plastics are nicer with no burrs around the door handle moldings, the boot is trimmed much better in fact all of the carpets are nicer. The 6 cylinder engine is silky smooth, and also sounds fairly evil. The ZF8 auto box is really something compared to the old slush boxes I've driven in the past. I also just love the look of it, find it to be far more interesting to look at than the VRS There are a few things I will miss from the VRS though! the engine was really punchy low down whilst the BMW feels much more laid back at low RPM. The Colour maxidot is sharper than the BMW equivalent in the F30 series and has useful things like the average MPG for long term/since start/since refuel which the BMW does not (only average since reset) although i am currently too scared to check the MPG haha The adaptive xenons from the VRS were better when dipped than the non adaptive LED BMW headlights and the high beam assist was much better in the VRS and hardly ever blinded people where as the BMW loves to??? All in all I'm chuffed to bits with it but I will always have a soft spot for the VRS as I really dont think you can beat it as an all round good car for the price if you are after space and performance. I've attached a picture (bad phone pik as its all ive got atm)

How hot do you think you would have to get the paint on your bonnet for it to become damaged? Now how hot do you think your engine can get before it suffers serious damage, remembering that it is water cooled. There is also quite an air gap between the bonnet and the engine as well! Back in the day I had alloy cam covers painted in normal car paint and these were fine for years! The under bonnet insulation is there to keep bonnet resonance down and quieten engine noise that's all!

My VRS TSI got around 38mpg on a 500 mile trip to Wales the first weekend I had it (from brand new) now 16k later and doing the same kind of journey it will return the same fuel economy. Feels just as rapid and has never used any oil either. Has been very consistent.

Mine warned me of a lower pressure on the nearside rear which turned out to be a slow puncture from a screw. I've thrown one of my 17" Audi winter wheels on it as I'm currently doing 12hr shifts for the next few weeks and not got time to fix it. It's been on a week so far and not warned me once even though the tyres are different and the originals are far more work than my winter tyre. Even when I swap to the whole set and forget to reset the monitoring system it never warned me :-S

I've never driven any 4 cylinder TDI engine that pulled well from idle... In fact my Passat PD140 was the easiest car to stall I've ever had. Once it hit 1700rpm though it used to give you everything at once which felt very punchy but this was deceiving as it wasn't actually that quick. I would guess the golf R needs a little spooling to get the most out of it though as it must have a bigger turbo to get that level of power? I am looking at getting an R estate to replace my VRS :-D

Although back on topic I'm sure the dealer just said that diesels are being hit on value as an excuse for the poor valuation on the car... I will find out what they think of my 14 plate TSI VRS soon.

Remember you are talking about turbo diesels... Turbo petrols also offer bucket loads of midrange torque from similar rpm yet if you need to you can also hang onto the revs and use the bigger rpm range to your advantage. I test drove the TDI VRS before the TSI one and it felt flatter and less powerful at all engine speeds, both are pretty gutless under 1500rpm. The 1.4 I had as a courtesy car was pretty nippy but very quiet and smooth unlike a diesel.

I've had one light controller replaced due to an error (it kept telling me the light was faulty on the car display) this fixed that but that light has always flickered when going over bumps. It looks like play in the light somewhere as is way too fast to be it trying to self level. Not really been that fussed as I will be changing the car soon hopefully

I've not lived with a mk2 but I test drove a TSI vrs before buying my mk3 TSI VRS. The mk3 was better in every way. Styling is personal choice but the interior is much more modern and feature packed. It handles better, feels more nimble, is faster, better on fuel, stops better and mine doesn't rattle at all. Doesn't feel as solid as the Passat I had before but that was like a tank in comparison so not really a surprise.

On older cars with carbon(not ball race) release bearings on the clutch this would put way more load on the starter motor lol.This whole post has nothing to do with the actual clutch wearing though it's all to do with the thrust bearing on the crankshaft that controls end float. When you push the clutch in to release it the crankshaft is taking this load via its thrust bearing in the block. With an uprated clutch you are pushing harder against the crankshaft so more wear and when starting there is no dynamic oil film protecting the surfaces of the bearing so even more wear. I've rebuilt a few old yank v8s over the years and the manual cars always showed considerably more wear(as excess end float) on the crank thrust bearing than the autos as the torque convertors just don't provide the thrust loads a clutch does. Do I think my TSI VRS needs one? Probably not but I may consider one if I were to put a beasty clutch in it after some tuning.

Except the VRS foglights don't have the cornering function unless you enable it with VCDS? Unless it's been changed since I bought mine

I found the grill to be cheaper from the dealer by about £10 but that was two years ago now...

To be fair I don't know what plugs your car has as standard but its probably already a platinum or iridium one... I though normally tuned cars run cooler plugs, more heat in a tuned engine so you run a cooler plug to reduce the chance of pre-ignition. Hotter plugs self clean better. Don't APR recommend cooler plugs with a remap especially if you track the car?

Iridium plugs last longer than generic ones but unless yours are worn out you won't see any improvement on a standard car

I didn't realise they were going to make one! Hopefully the VRS will be getting swapped for one in 6 months

Bought my VRS TSI estate because there wasn't a Golf R estate at the time

Brake discs(what you are talking about is part of the disc not the wheel hub) go rusty its just a fact of life with all cars. Use of aggressive wheel cleaners will make it worse.

Can't really fault the as3 on my VRS other than the lack of rim protection ... Perform exactly the same as the contisport2 that were on it before just less protection. Possibly a bit more sticky in the dry but not by much, doubt I will see them out as my contisport2s did 9k on the front and the car may well get chopped in before these wear out

Probably a complete door card as they are normally one part these days. Without taking one apart I can't confirm this though

Nicely done. Saved yourself a few quid there. Although it's disappointing the sump did fail so easily

If you have auto lights you can check by looking at the switch If you have manual lights then you know as you have switched them on or off yourself