Mk V Golf Gti

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

glojo

Hardcore MB Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 15, 2004
Messages
14,652
Location
Torquay
Car
S211 Sprinter 213CDI, & the new T-class
Number one son is thinking about buying a second-hand Mk V Golf Gti,
Are there any owners on here and if so what should he be looking for?

Is the DSG gearbox a good thing or bad?

Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

Regards
John
 
I've not owned a golf (ever), but I did test drive a Golf GTi DSG and I have to say, it was a lot of fun. the gearbox was very quick to change gear, but very smooth. if I was buying a golf, I think I'd want the DSG box.

One thing I would say though, if you're gonna get the DSG box, get the steering wheel paddles too. they're not standard, but they should be. :)

dave
 
Hi John,

I have had 3 Golf GTI's unfortunately previous marks, but all were great cars, I love them. As for things to look for, I have no idea on the Mk5, but I have not heard anything adverse, but do check the cam belt, and the change interval.

As for the DSG box, a friend of mine has it on his Audi A3 (it is the same more or less), and he loves it, he has the steering wheel paddles.
 
Thanks very much for the inputs,
At the moment he has a Mk IV 1.8 Gti turbo and is very happy with that. The must haves so far are leather interior, climate control and xenon headlights. Are the paddle shifts a must have type feature, or just an interesting choice?

This will be a second-hand purchase so he might have to comnpromise on a few features, but none of the above will be negotiable.

Regards
John
 
Hi John,

Not driven the MKV Golf GTI, but I drove an Audi A3 2.0T FSI DSG for a couple of days and was very impressed.

Much quicker than I expected, and the engine/gearbox combination went very well together.

I've driven 0000's of miles in a DSG equipped car without hiccup so far, so I recommend your son tries this transmission even if he's not used to/keen on an auto. I reckon many of the other GTI drivers will share this view?

Best of luck,

Will
 
Are the paddle shifts a must have type feature, or just an interesting choice?

well, the car is an automated manual and you can go up and down the gears very quickly, but without the paddles, it's only by pushing the gearstick forwards and back (and it's forwards for up and gear, and backs for down, which is just the wrong way round imho).

With the paddles then it's suddenly much easier and as the gearbox is very good, it's actually worth using. I never use the manual aspects of other auto's.

so for me, I'd want the paddles, and I might well go for the A3 instead which comes with the paddles as default.

but hey, that's just me :)

dave
 
Number one son is thinking about buying a second-hand Mk V Golf Gti,
Are there any owners on here and if so what should he be looking for?

Is the DSG gearbox a good thing or bad?

Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

Regards
John

John

I have just tested one of these on my recent trip to the Nurburgring, it was the 237 bhp version with DSG and steering wheel paddles. This is an absolutely excellent car, we rented this to test against a BMW M5, Vauxhall Astra VXR and Ford Focus RS. OK the BMW a bit different to the other 3 but I'll tell you what the golf was awesome, the dsg box with the paddles is a dream 0 -60 in just over 6 seconds with lightening fast gear changes. I have never driven a car so balanced or composed whatever you did it was there with you and it is such a forgiving car, even if you get it wrong you are not going to get into trouble with this car. That said it is fast and did top out at 238 kph

I will post a photo as soon as the photobucket website is up and running again, for a hot hatch this is leagues apart from anything else, to give you an idea he BMW M5 is my Nephews best lap of the ring we managed was 9 min 28 secs but it is a big car, the Golf gave us our fastest lap of all the cars at 9 mins 18 secs

Can't recommend this highly enough, fast, safe and composed a great combination

best regards
Ian
 
Photo as promised

DSCF0708.jpg


Got to know this car very well so if you need any further info or help please feel free to ask

Kindest regards
Ian
 
They do say the Mark V is nearly as good as the Mark 1 GTI :D

And they are loads of Fun! :rock:
 
DSG is a very good thing, and it will holds its value more as well.

DSG is similar to SMG in the BMW's and if he goes for the R32 - it can be a similar amount of fun as well...
 
MkV is a great car, wife had one.

Nothing much to watch out for - early ones had quite a few electrical gremlins so check everything especially the auto lights and wipers. The OEM 18" Monza alloys look much better but are ruined once kerbed.

The red calipers corrode very quickly as do the wheel centres.

But a great car, and a major step up from a MkIV 1.8T GTI.

Had the manual which is a great box, so cannot comment on the DSG.

That's it really, interior plastics are sadly cheaper than the MkIV but the handling and performance is in another league.

Enjoy......
 
Can't recommend this highly enough, fast, safe and composed a great combination

best regards
Ian
Thanks very much indeed. There is a nice one in Cardiff but that is way too far to travel. Thankfully my son is in no rush and it all comes to those that wait. ;)

Regards
John
 
go for the manual if your son is not too bothered about the extra performance/paddle shifts as if anything goes wrong with DSG it can be costly and a manual will be more reliable.
 
go for the manual if your son is not too bothered about the extra performance/paddle shifts as if anything goes wrong with DSG it can be costly and a manual will be more reliable.
Hi Will,
I don't think performance is the main criteria for buying this vehicle, I accept that DSG might be expensive if it goes wrong but is it a known weakness? It seems a geat feature and a new innovation which might become more common.

Thanks for the input and any advice isd most welcome.

Regards
John
 
I hit one as an upgrade on a rental a while back (yes, I was *that* lucky). The DSG with the paddles is a must. Great fun.

-simon
 
I hit one as an upgrade on a rental a while back (yes, I was *that* lucky). The DSG with the paddles is a must. Great fun.

-simon
I agree with Simon DSG & Paddles a must car is not the same with a manual box, Also I'm not aware of any DSG issues from VAG equipped cars
 
Hi Will,
I don't think performance is the main criteria for buying this vehicle, I accept that DSG might be expensive if it goes wrong but is it a known weakness? It seems a geat feature and a new innovation which might become more common.

Thanks for the input and any advice isd most welcome.

Regards
John

to be honest don't really come across any many DSG issues on the mkivs forum and seems to be related to Audi TT's, the case below is probably I one off as I'm sure there must be hundreds of happy DSG owners out there.

http://uk-mkivs.net/forums/t/155170.aspx

Here is also a You tube showing the performance advance of DSG

DSG vs Manual Gti / Astra Turbo / Megane RS

http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?vi...L6l1DQP64&use_get_video_info=1&load_modules=1

pretty amazing stuff:D
 
John
I had one for a weekend --- absolutely loved it ....grin factor second to none.
Had the DSG box and loved it...went for the Merc because it is more comfortable and economical --- but sometimes wish I had gone for the Golf..yes sacrilege but ...........:D
 
Mk5 GTi's fantastic cars. The only real problem with them was electrical stuff on early ones and the diverter valves - see this post for some info (there are reams and reams of it elsewhere)

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/showthread.php?t=60082&highlight=diverter+valve

IF you can, get the Edition30 model, we had one as a company car and once modified was running 330bhp, very very quick car. ;)

Either way pick a good 'un and you can't go wrong really.
 
Too good to be true

My son found this vehicle but me being me believe it is too good to be true

Bolton Lancs

Regards
John
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom