I watched a review on the most recent Golf R and they said (and demonstrated) the newest awd system was significantly better in terms of getting the rear out. Looked like a LOT of fun.

Back when I bought my STI I also drove a GTI. Aside from the huge difference in clutch feel, the GTI just felt heavier even though it was about 150 lbs lighter from memory. Haven’t driven an R32 or R yet but, I’d love to compare!

Good question. Apparently not. Why not?

Exactly my experience… it was double the tundra.

Drove both again today and ruled out the subie. Adding slightly used a4 45 s line to the list of possibles. Unfortunately a 2.5 hr drive to try one but on paper I like what I’m seeing.

I went through the "grown up" phase back in '04 and sold my '86 cab and bought a then new WRX. I did some Cobb stuff to it and drove it for 3 years. Was doing a lot of commuting then and at the time it was the right car for the job. We had one kid and another on the way.

I made it until '07 being responsible before I said screw that and got back into a 911.

Always wanted an STI but for what I was doing it did not make sense.

Yeah, good luck with the Auid, get a warranty.

Quite a change in direction. From boy racers to an upscale mature type vehicle,.

Hell we drove an Outback today too! I'm all over the place with this. Just trying to be thorough.

I read somewhere the A4 is like a GTI sedan so figured it would be a good option to check out. Does the Pelican brain trust feel these are certain financial ruin? G20 330i as well?

Audi… German for ‘don’t own off warranty’.

Drive em all. If you don't you may miss out on the best choice.

Be sure to pay attention to the physical buttons an switches and infotainment system control. To me, some were subpar and made an otherwise nice vehicle a "no sale".

The Golf R tho… if I was going to jump back in, now would be the time. 2024 is the last year for a manual transmission.

When I was looking at getting a car ~10 years ago, I considered, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc...

The conclusion that I came to after talking to lots of folks on the board is that if you get a good BMW or Audi, then you're going to love it. But the odds of getting a good one are 50/50. Lots of folks swore that they'd never have another and had lots of issues. I've been hearing that about BMW for MANY years (since the 80s). Audi seems to be similar. I didn't want to gamble with QC (so I bought a car with possible IMS and bore scoring issues :D).

Audi used to have a reputation for expensive electronic failure. Have they remedied that?

Well I gotta say the ONLY reason to look at the A4 is a slightly larger package ie crash safety. And awd would be kinda neat but realistically I don't need awd as we have two big beastly 4wd trucks for bad weather.

The R looks positively bad ass with the awd. Topher and Straight Pipes reviews on the thing make me want it for sure. But $50k is REALLY tough to justify when $33k gets me all the hp I'd want and just leaves out the awd. If they were closer to $40k I'd probably do it.

You guys have any opinion on white vs moonstone grey in these? The car I've got a line on is the grey. Daughter not a fan of the white but I feel like it has more wheel options. Probably would be pulling the 19" factory wheels and saving them for ax/summer use and putting some 18's with a good all season for winter.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1720819250.jpg

I have a white car. I would rather have that grey.

That grey looks very similar to the color of my Harley. It is pretty easy to keep clean.

Is that a manual?

Yep, manual.


My wife liked the car and thought it would be so nice to fit into those tight spaces at Walmart. God bless her I corrected that idea as gently as I could. Pretty paint like that with no side steps like we have on our trucks to protect from ignorant door throwers? Uh no this thing is a 4 wheeled exercise plan. Tons of walking from waaaay out in the parking lot and a constant reminder to lose some weight thanks to the sculpted seats. I will definitely be more careful around the Oreos knowing I gotta fit into this thing.

Buy one in Canada. They are $50k here.

holy smokes. I guess there are significant difficulties bringing one into US?

anybody know anything about importing a new Ca vehicle into US? Exchange rate would make this a no brainer.

This thread isn’t helping with my impulse control! Now I’m wanting to head out and see how much has improved in a couple of these cars in the last ten or so.

Sooooo many great options when snow, ice and terrible pavement come off the list of concerns.

Well 70SAT it could be that I’m easily impressed. The hottest performance car I’ve owned was my 70 2.4 and my f250 would probably give that thing a run on a rolling start.

Gave both cars some right foot today and scared the **** outta my wife. She never grabbed the door handle like that in my 911.

Somewhat related .....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1720833966.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1720834028.jpg

Out of curiosity, what did you not like? What was the deal-killer?

The GTI is a smoother, more refined ride with plenty of power, 7-8mpg better efficiency at .90 less per gallon to feed and has a more comfortable and modern cabin.

Every vehicle bound for the US or Canada can be registered in either country per NAFTA. Beyond that, I have only imported to Canada.

I sold 2 vehicles into the US but registration was the responsibility of the buyer.

What made me dive into the AWD world was my regular mountain commute from Santa Cruz into the valley. Before the STI, my ‘10 MCS was my scalpel of choice and I still love driving that little monster. Yes, FWD and crazy torque steer but, I guess I developed the sense of what it can and can’t do, it’s pretty predictable. Still have that car though I’m finally thinking of giving her up at 135k. Part of me wants a R52 JCW GP too, lol. Love the smaller platforms and hot hatches are my kind of a jam. More versatile than the sedans.

Test drove a new wrx
 

Bought the GTI last night.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...fd14edef3b.jpg

Love the retro seats

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6b1cde8b0d.jpg

Looks great, love the color!

Thanks! I struggled on the color. Wanted something that wasn't too boy racer. Not sure i succeeded there but i do like it. Sales guys were like 'this is the greatest color ever!'. Considered white and also a darker metallic grey but this particular trim (380S) is pretty hard to find so i went with what was available. It was also the only way to get it without a sunroof. $33k and comes with some nice goodies like heated seats and wheel, radar cruise, lane keeping, etc. It turns a bright light to the inside of a turn when the wheel goes past a certain point (maybe at lower speeds only?) which is super cool at night. All the interior lighting including cluster can be changed to any color. Daughter thought that was super cool.

Lots of drivers goodies too. Has several preset driving modes that even adjust the dampers! And you can make a custom mode that lets you change all manner of settings from steering feel to suspension to, iirc, throttle map. Tires are 235/35r19 ultra high performance summers. Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3. Probably should get some good all seasons for cooler weather and may go with 18's if i can find an inexpensive set of factory wheels for them. Then i can keep the 19's for summer and ax stuff. Plenty fast for me, at least for now, and i've yet to run it past 4k trying to be good about the break in. Go kart feel for sure.

Feels like an F1 car relative to the F250 i've driven the past 40k miles and got 34.8mpg on the trip home last night.

love the color and interior. Congrats!

Nice! LOVE the color!

Wow good score!

Congrats!

rjp

Nice, manual?

yep 6 speed.

Very nice! Great color combo. Seats sort of remind me of my '82 Scirroco ....



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1721168192.jpg

Nice! Great looking little car. And an absolute hoot, I suspect!