2007 VW R36
08-09-2005, 01:54 PM
#21
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 835
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
i think the mini and the golf are competing for different crowds despite their price similarities. i doubt an awd mini would slow the sales of an r32, and although i feel they go for different people i think an awd mini would augment them, creating more demand...look at the evo and sti
08-09-2005, 02:34 PM
#22
Moderator
Build it on a German assembly line (not one in Bratislava) and you've got my attention again. . .
. . . when I found out the R32 was being built on the Bratislava line, I gave it the heave-ho on my car choices.
. . . when I found out the R32 was being built on the Bratislava line, I gave it the heave-ho on my car choices.
08-09-2005, 02:42 PM
#23
Why is it that the company who invented the hot hatch some 21 years ago -- low weight, decent horsepower, tons of fun to drive is now trying to sell us overweight bloated pigs while telling us they are the descendants of the earlier cars -- for a premium. I'm not fooled, is anyone?
Why not ditch the use of what must be depleted unranium in the body panels and give us a true modern day iteration of the early GTI?
Why not ditch the use of what must be depleted unranium in the body panels and give us a true modern day iteration of the early GTI?
08-09-2005, 03:05 PM
#24
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 835
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
if i recall vw intentionally did not call the r32 or r36 a gti since its execution is so different from the original gti and thus the golf moniker. the "purest" (quotes used in a sarcastic sense) incarnation i have seen in the recent vw lineup is the gti 337. the closest thing to the gti nowadays is probobly the lupo gti or polo gti, i dont recall which one, neither of which is sold in the US. when the new beetle came out it was originally designed on the polo/lupo platform but due to manufacturing costs in addition to the troubles of federalizing it for the states (safety i believe), the larger golf/jetta platform was chosen. perhaps some of the same troubles plague them now in tryign to get a smaller car here and thus the r32/r36 has become its ultimate expression of pocket rocket
08-09-2005, 04:12 PM
#25
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 1,408
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
steve, it seems that a lot of what has been lost in the original GTI's can be attributed to poor/undersprung suspension design and a slow steering rack.. With the added heft this translates to a slow, wallowing, and overly uninspiring ride.. Try driving a Mk4 with a properly sorted suspension (I'm talking more than just spings and shocks), and I swear you'll be surprised. That said, as mentioned above, VW purposely kept the letters GTI away from the R32 and now R36 lines for that very reason...
08-09-2005, 05:23 PM
#27
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Vancouver, WA USA
Posts: 3,365
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by steve c,Aug 9 2005, 02:42 PM
Why is it that the company who invented the hot hatch some 21 years ago -- low weight, decent horsepower, tons of fun to drive is now trying to sell us overweight bloated pigs while telling us they are the descendants of the earlier cars -- for a premium. I'm not fooled, is anyone?
Why not ditch the use of what must be depleted unranium in the body panels and give us a true modern day iteration of the early GTI?
Why not ditch the use of what must be depleted unranium in the body panels and give us a true modern day iteration of the early GTI?
08-09-2005, 06:06 PM
#28
Registered User
I love those seats and that interior; they are really impressive for a VW.
I noticed the DSG paddle shifters in the top photo, sweeeet!
The exterior design is better, more updated than the current R32.
With 300 HP, AWD and that interior/exterior combo, I'd be interested in the $30k range. Much more, and I doubt that I would be.
See that's the thing too about VW, they are trying to go more "upscale" and, IMO, are pricing themselves out of the target market for the VW moniker.
But you gotta love that double rear tail pipe!
