So like a few people here I'm in a market for a new car. I currently have a
mk4 Ibiza FR TDi and a TT roadster. Both are about 10 years old and I've had them from new and I'd probably hang onto them if there wasn't a child on the way.
Anyway, I need a practical car, with 5 doors (don't like saloons) and while the other half might disagree, I want something fast.
So there'll be no surprises that on my list are the Cupra
280, Golf R (or maybe a GTi), S3 and M135i. Today I went out for some test drives, and managed to drive none of the above. Yes, the local SEAT garage isn't getting a Cupra for a couple of weeks but had a couple of FRs, VW only had a GTD, Audi had nothing worth driving and while there was an M135i at the BMW dealer, which I managed to sit in, we were kept waiting for 45 mins after the appointment time and we gave up to get to the VW dealer in time for the next one.
So we took out an FR TDi first. It was Alor blue which is a great colour, albeit one I'd never pick myself. I'm 38, love driving fast, and don't particularly want to draw attention to myself. Which is another reason why these cars are on the list: none of them look much different from the rest of the respective ranges.
I didn't drive the FR too far, as I've already ruled out getting a diesel as I don't do the miles that I used to. I was more interested in the cabin, and practical stuff like the size of the boot (sigh). It's a good drive though. And the cabin is a vast improvement from the last one. Still a bit too much plastic, particularly on the door cards but I'll reserve full judgement for the Cupra test drive, which I'm now looking forward to.
I won't dwell on the M135i as I didn't get to drive it. I will drive it though, just to see what everyone's raving about. It's clearly the engine and driving experience, because it was bottom by a mile in every other respect. The interior is cramped front and back (more rear legroom in my
Ibiza) and the boot's small too. The sat-nav screen's a horrible lump of plastic sticking out the dash. It just felt like a small car.
The GTD drove pretty much the same as the FR except it had the god-awful DSG. It's a clever auto, but it removes any enjoyment from driving. The paddles are tiny (unlike the M135i) and are on the steering wheel, so I can imagine an Alpine pass being frustrating. Anyway, I'm not here for that old debate.
The interior in the Golf is great. Better than the FR, although the SE model in the showroom had brushed aluminium which was better still. You get shiny black with the GTi/GTD/R.
Didn't drive the S3 as they didn't have one but stopped in the Audi dealer anyway to take a look at an A3. The interior's behind the FR I reckon. Felt too cluttered. And significantly, being a quattro, the boot was tiny, which is something I expect I'll have to mark the R down on too.
For me, it's currently Golf then Cupra then S3 then M135i and that's the order I'd rank them in looks too. I expect the BMW to go up the rank when I drive it, given what people say, although too much of the raving's been by journalists driving on tracks with the back end sliding out. I don't plan to do that on public roads.
From a price point of view, I don't really get some of the comments on this thread. Once you spec up the Golf to a similar spec as the Cupra, it's £35K, and the S3's about the same. That's a hell of a lot more than the Cupra, but I'm not sure what the options will be on the Cupra. That might push the price up.
I don't quite get why the Golf can get to 62 so much faster than the Cupra, other than it's 4 wheel drive, in which case I don't care. Traffic light grand prix's something I grew out of 15 years ago and in-gear grunt's more important, as is handling.
From a practical point of view, the Golf's probably at the top. The boot might be smaller than the Cupra, but there's loads more legroom in the back.
Anyway, opinions/comments welcome. And sorry for bringing up the DSG vs manual thing, but autos are for old people and people who don't like driving. Oops, did I just type that?