Hi guys,

I've got a couple of drives lined up next Saturday in a new Civic Type R and a Golf GTI.

Ignoring the subjectivity surrounding the Octavia VRS, I was wondering if anybody has experienced either of the cars above and knows what I should be looking out for on each drive? Apart from the obvious things such as "get in it and see which you like most" etc!

I must say that the Civic does seem good value. I'm still not sure about the styling though!

Civic looks horrible at first, then it grow's on you.

yeh, and you spend most of your time inside as well I guess.

The interior isn't much different from the standard civic though. Not sure if this is a good or a bad thing at the moment. I guess it will all boil down to the driving and whether the golf seems to justify an extra

depends if you want some "easy-driving" torque, or like to wring a car out to get anywhere

depends if you want some "easy-driving" torque, or like to wring a car out to get anywhere

If you're referring to the civic's power band I did mention this to the somewhat brazen sales girl who told me to 'stop right there', plonked herself into the passenger seat, shut the door and started to tell me about the ridiculous speeds you can do in second gear.

It was a very surreal conversation actually ... she even pointed out that the one we were sitting in had a 'special number'. I bet you can't guess what that was!

yeah, it's got power, but it's all at a billion RPM!

yeah, it's got power, but it's all at a billion RPM!

They say it comes in earlier now though. She seemed to think that anything above 4400rpm was good but obviously if you look at the figures it still says peak power is at approx 7k i think.

Not sure how this compares to the golf though.

The Civic is the sort of car that will shine on a test drive, you can drive it like you stole it, you can sit and gasp at all the bells and whistles in the spec and it looks like a bargain(ish).

The Golf is the sort of car you will be glad you bought a few months down the line. When the new car novelty has worn off you get to appreciate the finer details, the little bits of spec you don't find straight away. Plus when you've had a bad day at work and just want to drive home and have a beer the Golf is just so easy to drive. Great spread of torque and no turbo lag (yeah okay the Civic doesn't have any lag either!!!) plus you can remap the beastie up to about 270bhp when you get bored of the power.

Then again there's the Octy and Leon counterparts, same sort of performance as the Golf at the same sort of price as the Civic.

Having said this, with VAGs current reliability issues you may be glad you went for a Honda after all!!!

depends if you want some "easy-driving" torque, or like to wring a car out to get anywhere

What's the new Civic Type R like to drive then or the older one infact?

they're both very peaky, you really need to give it hell to make it shift, whereas the 2.0 TFSI engine will give more more lower down, and make it easier to drive day-to-day.

nothing 'wrong' with either of the Civic's, just they can be a little tireing

The Golf is the sort of car you will be glad you bought a few months down the line. When the new car novelty has worn off you get to appreciate the finer details, the little bits of spec you don't find straight away.

That is so spot on. I'm 3 months into Golf ownership (ok its a TDI and not a GTI ) and at first I thought it was a tad dull, but I must admit its one of the best choices I have ever made car wise..... like you say its the finer details and little touches - at the end of the day you can't go wrong with a Golf, the "Power of understatement" and all that

they're both very peaky, you really need to give it hell to make it shift, whereas the 2.0 TFSI engine will give more more lower down, and make it easier to drive day-to-day.

nothing 'wrong' with either of the Civic's, just they can be a little tireing

From driving a few Civic Type-R's as of late, and looking to buy one, I can tell you, there as good as any out 2.0 to drive, without being ragged all the time. They might not have huge torque figures, but as weighing a lot less than most cars, they don't need it in order to move the car etc.

(ok its a TDI and not a GTI )

Sorry folks, off topic, John is yours a GT 'big bumper' or a normal TDI like mine?

hmmm ... so the golf sounds a little more refined which is what I've read really tbh.

I found the Mk V Golf GTi completely soulless. Quick, but completely boring in every way. They're common, pricey (IMHO for the performance) and a bit dull to drive.

I found the Mk V Golf GTi completely soulless. Quick, but completely boring in every way. They're common, pricey (IMHO for the performance) and a bit dull to drive.

Sold!

I found the GTi was quick but diddnt feel quick - you had to watch the speedo to get any sense of speed.

The Recaro seats are a very expensive option that I couldnt go without if I was looking to buy one.

I diddnt like the blackness in the cabin, the way the dash slopes down before kicking up again just before the windscreen - made me feel like I was sat in a post box looking out through a black rectangular slot.

I've driven the Mk5 GTI and It is an awesome car! Not worth £20K though! I'd rather buy a MK4 R32 and spend a bit on engine mods to take it to 300bhp! or Get a Run out Model S3 and take a trip to Jabba!

Or even get a 964 911 for that money!

Mate of mine has a CTR and went for a test drive in a brand new CTR.

He actually didn't like it as much. The VTEC kicks in earlier now to improve mid range power apparently but it doesn't feel quite as mental when thrashed as the ealier one. Apparently it handles a touch better and the seats are nicer but he didn't like the dash as much and they've put a normal gearknob in rather than the dash mounted old one.

He did a full on review which I'm struggling to find...... arrgh...