Give it a few months and the deals will be better still. "New" cars that have just been launched are always hiked up in price.

Can't see VW dealers starting to discount by more than the current 10 or so % tbh. A interest rate promo to put it under 5% wouldn't go amiss though.

I'd be surprised if it didn't go faster to be honest. Still plenty fast enough.

Depends on what your expectations are, and /or what level of performance you are used to. As a so-called performance car it would not be quick enough for me, I'm afraid.

Audi S3 sportback is currently on drive the deal for 28.5k. Ummmm very tempting...... Bet the mgfv will be quite chunky.

Gonna take a lot to stop me grabbing an M135i for my next motor tho :-)

Wait till you pick options on the S3 lol

Depends on what your expectations are, and /or what level of performance you are used to. As a so-called performance car it would not be quick enough for me, I'm afraid.

I think most people's expectations are that they're buying a medium hatchback to be used as a daily driver but capable of putting a smile on their face. Nobody is expecting or claiming supercar performance.

Wait till you pick options on the S3 lol

I'd add some parking sensors to protect from wife-damage and that would be it I reckon. Forget the toys just get on and enjoy driving it!

I think most people's expectations are that they're buying a medium hatchback to be used as a daily driver but capable of putting a smile on their face. Nobody is expecting or claiming supercar performance.

My Elegance does that but for different reasons. Comfort, relaxing, amazing economy, and pretty good performance for a car that doesn't pretend to be quick or sporty. And that's my point, each to their own, but to me the VRS and Golf do pretend to be quick and sporty, but for me at least they are not.

True to a point but come trade in the expect and penalise for no sat nav etc :(

I'm tempted myself but waiting to see

I'd add some parking sensors to protect from wife-damage and that would be it I reckon. Forget the toys just get on and enjoy driving it!

I think the golf and vRS do it exceedingly well and that's why the are some of the best selling models ever for both brands

My Elegance does that but for different reasons. Comfort, relaxing, amazing economy, and pretty good performance for a car that doesn't pretend to be quick or sporty. And that's my point, each to their own, but to me the VRS and Golf do pretend to be quick and sporty, but for me at least they are not.

I think the golf and vRS do it exceedingly well and that's why the are some of the best selling models ever for both brands

As I said, each to their own. If a Golf GTI or an Octavia VRS floats your boat then that's fine. It would be a boring world if we all liked the same thing.

I don't necessarily mean to my taste but to the mass market they have done so well over the years .

But yeah it's a gd thing we all have our own tastes. Lol

I don't even either lol

My Elegance does that but for different reasons. Comfort, relaxing, amazing economy, and pretty good performance for a car that doesn't pretend to be quick or sporty. And that's my point, each to their own, but to me the VRS and Golf do pretend to be quick and sporty, but for me at least they are not.

You must be the only person in the market for a hot hatchback who drove a Mk7 Golf GTI and declared it just isn't fast enough for a five door hatch. I bet the salesman loved you.

it just isn't I'm afraid. To me a "performance car" and true driver's car worthy of the name has to be at least as fast as a BMW M135i, and be either four or rear wheel drive.

But I'm not in the market for a hot hatch.....not really my kind of car.

Edited 20 July, 201312 yr by Timoctav

Interesting debate, but I still think comparing the Golf and Octy III is like comparing an apple with a lemon, yes they share a platform and a lot of components but the Octy III is as wide as a Superb II or a Passat, I have owned all three so can vouch for this fact, I think many Octy II owners obviously still do not appreciate the increase in width and length of the new model and the extra legroom and boot space in the Octy III puts it into Insignia and Mondeo territory for space. The Leon is the only fair comparison for the Golf as they are both medium size hatches with small boots. I also agree with Tim that the Octy III is better suited to non-sports models, especially if you go for the diesel as there is no benefit over the 150CR with the 185 CR as only 0.1secs quicker on the sprint but you lose out on mpg and higher tax if company car and to get an Elegance spec vRS you need to hit the options even harder pushing it into the silly money!

The VRS is not a sports car, it's a fast car compared to the average car (I read somewhere that the average engine hp for Europe is around 100-110).

The VRS is not a sports car, it's a fast car compared to the average car (I read somewhere that the average engine hp for Europe is around 100-110).

Absolutely right with your summary of the VRS, it is fast compared with the average car, (continental drift is fast compared with my wife's Honda Jazz - that's another story) but it isn't fast by performance car standards - it is average at best - and no I'm not talking supercars here.

I owned a hot hatch 25 years ago that would run rings around the latest Golf / VRS...both straight line and down the twisties.....it wasn't as comfortable, or as practical, it definitely wasn't as well built or as safe but it was properly quick and put a smile on my face every time I drove it. Thinking of that car is probably why Golf / VRS don't impress me.

Edited 21 July, 201312 yr by Timoctav

Absolutely right with your summary of the VRS, it is fast compared with the average car, (continental drift is fast compared with my wife's Honda Jazz - that's another story) but it isn't fast by performance car standards - it is average at best - and no I'm not talking supercars here.

I owned a hot hatch 25 years ago that would run rings around the latest Golf / VRS...both straight line and down the twisties.....it wasn't as comfortable, or as practical, it definitely wasn't as well built or as safe but it was properly quick and put a smile on my face every time I drove it. Thinking of that car is probably why Golf / VRS don't impress me.

 

Which 25 year old hot hatch would do that?

it just isn't I'm afraid. To me a "performance car" and true driver's car worthy of the name has to be at least as fast as a BMW M135i, and be either four or rear wheel drive.

But I'm not in the market for a hot hatch.....not really my kind of car.

To you, but not to VW or people who understand the GTI. Have you forgotten the Golf R? That's the one designed to take on the BMW you mention. As I said, for some reason you expect the GTI to do something it isn't trying to do.

The GTI sits firmly in the 6sec camp which is certainly quick. It's quick compared to the majority of vehicles and it's quick in the real world.

Have you actually driven a mk7 GTI? I just think you've decided you don't like the GTI which is fine, but there's no need to try and justify your opinion by finding faults with the car which don't exist.

The VRS is not a sports car, it's a fast car compared to the average car (I read somewhere that the average engine hp for Europe is around 100-110).

I guess you could also say that 0-60 in ten seconds is a fair benchmark for an average car.

Look, as this is getting tedious, you think that the Golf GTI / Octavia VRS are adequately quick, that's fine, it's a free country and you are as entitled to your opinion as I am mine. You think that the performance of these cars is satisfactory but I'm afraid I don't. We will be unable to convince each other if we continue this debate until Hell freezes over.

Edited 21 July, 201312 yr by Timoctav

?..........but there's no need to try and justify your opinion by finding faults with the car which don't exist.

To me the faults do exist. it isn't quick enough and it isn't exciting enough. And too expensive for what it offers.

Autocar said as much in their road test - their summary : "An excellent all round prospect, but not the thriller it might have been" . "....even in its Performance guise, the Golf is no match for the dynamic finesse of the Renault Megane 265. It is perfect for every day of the week, but incapable of blowing off the cobwebs come Sunday". Performance : "these figures are a bit run of the mill for a front drive hot hatch at this level". ....." Not lacking generally, we hasten to add, just lacking compared with some of the Golf's hot hatch rivals".

The car came third out of the five rivals selected, after the Renault (£25,255) , And Ford Focus ST-3 (£25,495). The Golf GTi DSG with performance pack is priced at £28,895.

For what it's worth I wouldn't have either the Renault or the Ford in preference to the Golf if I had to choose between the three and pay with my own money. but I wouldn't buy any of them in reality.

Edited 21 July, 201312 yr by Timoctav

Which 25 year old hot hatch would do that?

Lancia Delta HF Integrale. 16V 200 bhp, four wheel drive. And very light weight so the power to weight ratio was amazing. It was a rally homologation special, in the same vein as the Audi Quattro.

Edited 21 July, 201312 yr by Timoctav

Yes, that's comparable to a GTi.

Yes, that's comparable to a GTi.

Not comparable in any way. Not even in the same planet. Over any road much much faster, particularly in the wet, believe me and more fun, more flair. A car you'd take out early on a Sunday morning just for the hell if it and find challenging roads to enjoy. Not as comfortable, not as reliable, not as safe and not quite as practical although it was a five door hatch. A real "Q" car, no silly spoilers or wheel arch extensions to speak of, just a hump in the bonnet, a different grille and wheels and twin exhausts, and even those weren't silly false ones such as are fitted to the latest VRS.

But a quarter of a century old! Modern safety legislation would never allow such cars these days, mores the pity.

But the thing I remember most about time I had the car ? A high speed dash into to the local maternity hospital when my wife went into labour with our first child! Now 24 with a first class degree from Edinburgh university....tempus fugit!

Edited 21 July, 201312 yr by Timoctav

Golf GTi is not a slow car, fairly boring and middle class in hot hatch terms yes, not slow though.

 

Lancia comparison is a bit silly.

Golf GTi is not a slow car, fairly boring and middle class in hot hatch terms yes, not slow though.

Lancia comparison is a bit silly.

Both hot hatches, surely? Both readily available at the time from any normal Lancia or VW dealer. Bit extreme I grant you but a hot hatch in every definition! Maybe more of a match for the R32 I'll agree and quicker than that as well! I believe the 0-60 mph time for the Integrale was around 5.5 secs or better....due as much as anything to the amazing traction of the rally developed 4WD system. What the straight line figures could never show was just how fast it was round corners.

I don't believe I've ever accused the Golf of being "slow" it most definitely isn't. But it could have been a lot more interesting. I look for fun, excitement, a bit of sparkle in a performance car, not just acceleration figures, and to me this is where the Golf falls down.

Edited 21 July, 201312 yr by Timoctav