Selling a nearly new car?

[simonali]

Made a little mistake regarding the evo thing, as it was a Golf GTI, not the Cupra. (I've been doing plenty of research on FWD traction!)

Here's the link anyway: http://www.evo.co.uk/track-and-travel/14765/vw-golf-gti-on-michelin-winter-tyres-report-2

 

[Crafoo]

FWD will never put down the power as well as 4WD but I think a certain amount of throttle control is needed

 

[DoodleDids]

It's disappointing when something doesn't come up to expectations (my ex wife for one)

Interesting thread, get mine Wed hoping to get reasonable mpg, my driving is 50/50 motorways dual carriages / town and will drive economically as I can. Also pretty flat around here. I'll be happy if I can get av 34-
36ish. If I don't, going to use VCDS to set mpg display=lie


Comfort is quite important to me so going from what Simonali says, looks like I need to save up for some 18's..

 

[schofier]

Comfort is quite important to me so going from what Simonali says, looks like I need to save up for some 18's..

Got to say that in Comfort mode at least, its a much nicer ride than my old Mk V Golf GTI, which was on 17's

 

[Crafoo]

Do you genuinely hate this car then Rab?

Is it not just a case of trying to adapt a bit more?

I know you've come from an Evo background but it's never going to drive like an Evo, obviously the 4wd is far more planted and will put the power down differently but maybe you need to adapt your driving style a little more to get the best out of the car.

BTW I'm not saying you don't know how to drive but obviously different cars have different characteristics and maybe tuning your driving style to suit the car may change the way you feel about driving it.

Economy wise, if you wring it's neck then you're going to get poor return figures, but if you don't have a commute is this really a factor? I guarantee a steady drive over anything more than a short journey will return 30+mpg easy enough. I came from a 340bhp Mk2 and could fairly easily return 30+ if I drove it sensibly with the odd squirt of the throttle.

I hope it wins you round though fella because it's a lot of money to lose on something so quickly, if you do end up selling then someone will be getting a cheap Cupra

 

[Biker]

Interesting thread, get mine Wed hoping to get reasonable mpg, my driving is 50/50 motorways dual carriages / town and will drive economically as I can. Also pretty flat around here. I'll be happy if I can get av 34-
36ish. If I don't, going to use VCDS to set mpg display=lie


Comfort is quite important to me so going from what Simonali says, looks like I need to save up for some 18's..

On my short commute to work, 5 miles of A roads If I drive normally I get between 34 - 36 mpg. I did a longer run last weekend, 600 mile round trip to London and the overall average was just shy of 42mpg. So I would think if your journey is mainly motorway and dual carriage way you should easily see 36mpg.
As for comfort, with the standard 19's fitted I tend to keep it in sport mode and don't have an issue with the ride. The only time the ride has been uncomfortable was on a very poor B road in Cupra mode but to be fair even in comfort mode it would probably not have been much better.

 

[RabRS]

I know how you feel. The car is nowhere near as good as all the magazine reviews made out. They probably all drove the car on a smooth track in Spain, where it probably works quite well, but it's a poor road car that is unable to put its power down properly on anything but warm dry Tarmac. I fail to see why I would want a car with this much performance when I can't use it 90% of the time? To counter this, though, I have recently put 18" wheels and tyres on the car and it has made massive improvements. The tyres are Goodyears, which usually have softer sidewalls and the car is now much more comfortable and breaks traction far less often.

To add to the misery I was offered just £17,985 for mine a couple of weeks ago as a trade in against a Golf R. As the dealer hilariously failed to offer me any sort of discount on the Golf I walked out with only a brochure!

I missed this post. I feel vindicated now I know it's not just me being weird....

This is an interesting thread, i've had similar feelings on and off over the last couple of months, although mine is leased so i've got it for 2 years regardless.

Your economy seems quite low, I average 30mpg and that's driving hard - on a run I often see 37ish.

For me the main issue that lets the car down is traction in anything other than perfect conditions.

I think there are 2 reasons for this, firstly the Bridgestone tyres aren't all that. I'm seriously considering ditching them for some Pilot Sports at some point. I might also try lowering the PSI that simonali mentioned - have you got a link to the Evo article?

The second reason is most of the traction the reviewers rave about seems to come from the diff doing it's thing. As I mentioned in one of my own threads I haven't quite found the diff to be 100% dependable - sometimes there is a small delay before it kicks in. You almost have to think against your natural instincts to get the most out of the car. When you are accelerating our of a corner and the under steer kicks in it's natural to back off a little, instead, it seems you have to keep it nailed to get it to kick in and transfer the power.

Obviously if you are going to try this find a corner with a couple of lanes to slide into if it all goes wrong

That's the thing though mate, I live in rural Argyll. There isn't anything wide enough to **** around, any unersteering will result in tree/rock/sea contact. And I'm not dying to prove a point..

Do you genuinely hate this car then Rab?

Is it not just a case of trying to adapt a bit more?

I know you've come from an Evo background but it's never going to drive like an Evo, obviously the 4wd is far more planted and will put the power down differently but maybe you need to adapt your driving style a little more to get the best out of the car.

BTW I'm not saying you don't know how to drive but obviously different cars have different characteristics and maybe tuning your driving style to suit the car may change the way you feel about driving it.

Economy wise, if you wring it's neck then you're going to get poor return figures, but if you don't have a commute is this really a factor? I guarantee a steady drive over anything more than a short journey will return 30+mpg easy enough. I came from a 340bhp Mk2 and could fairly easily return 30+ if I drove it sensibly with the odd squirt of the throttle.

I hope it wins you round though fella because it's a lot of money to lose on something so quickly, if you do end up selling then someone will be getting a cheap Cupra

I don't hate it. It's a nice car. Nice inside, comfy, good kit as standard. It's just not filling the performance car hole left when I sold the Makinen. I don't have a commute, but I use my car at work depending on where abouts one of my ships is (I'm responsible for the engineering depts of 4 ferries) and I'm not kicking it's arse. I'm just driving normal, and the economy is nowhere near what I was expecting. Maybe it's because the engine is tight, like someone has said. My point was that if I was going to have to pooter about going slow to avoid the wheelspin and understeer I'd be better off sticking with my old Passat and it's 800 miles range! I wasn't expecting the Cupra to match it, in any way. I was however, shocked to find the Cupra matches the 407bhp Evo for economy............... So, basically while I find it great as just a car, I do not find it exciting or thrilling at all. Just frustrating.

On my short commute to work, 5 miles of A roads If I drive normally I get between 34 - 36 mpg. I did a longer run last weekend, 600 mile round trip to London and the overall average was just shy of 42mpg. So I would think if your journey is mainly motorway and dual carriage way you should easily see 36mpg.
As for comfort, with the standard 19's fitted I tend to keep it in sport mode and don't have an issue with the ride. The only time the ride has been uncomfortable was on a very poor B road in Cupra mode but to be fair even in comfort mode it would probably not have been much better.

All my roads are like your poor B roads mate. I leave mine in Individual, never Cupra. The suspension is too stiff, and it handles way better with the suspension in comfort. I also HATE the fake engine noise with a passion. It was hilarious for the first week, now it's just annoying...

Some great advice here. Maybe with some wider 18's and sticky tyres in summer it would be better. But for now, in this weather it's not what I'd hoped....

 

[simonali]

Shame you're at the opposite end of the UK to me, as I'd happily let you try my car on the 18" wheels. If I keep this car into the summer I'll be sticking new rubber on the 18s and leaving the 19s in the garage!

 

[kazand]

Interesting thread, get mine Wed hoping to get reasonable mpg, my driving is 50/50 motorways dual carriages / town and will drive economically as I can. Also pretty flat around here. I'll be happy if I can get av 34-
36ish. If I don't, going to use VCDS to set mpg display=lie


Comfort is quite important to me so going from what Simonali says, looks like I need to save up for some 18's..

you getting a new wife Wednesday? good luck.... oh... I see....

 

[RabRS]

Shame you're at the opposite end of the UK to me, as I'd happily let you try my car on the 18" wheels. If I keep this car into the summer I'll be sticking new rubber on the 18s and leaving the 19s in the garage!

TBH, I doubt I'll keep mine. I'm willing to pay the finance payments if I love it, but not if I don't....

 

[AlexV]

Ffs Rab... you're comparing a fwd car with probably the best road car ever made (TME)!!
Honestly, you must face the truth that you'll never find any car with superior handling/power/traction balance (I suppose yours was a GSR with AYC).
My advise would be to stick with the Cupra and try to adapt your driving style to a fwd 300 bhp car.

 

[mister.c.]

I suppose it all pretty simple in the scheme of things. And fair play for saying it out loud. Many wouldn't admit as such.
You bought a car you don't 100% like for various reasons. Mainly in part due to you not doing your research fully. Not that you have bought a poor one. And likewise you've paid over the odds for said car, making the 'loss' larger and compounds your sense of poor research and planning.

So its all down to how much of a loss you are prepared to take, to be able in your own mind to cut your losses and move on. For that you need real figures, more than soul searching on a forum. Get some of those soon and work out whether you need to keep it for a while longer to make the financial 'loss' more acceptable, or what adaptations would make that time until it becomes more acceptable less painful.

Or get rid, take the loss, put it down to experience and move on. And properly plan the next purchase to avoid not just the same issues again, but others which may crop up from a new vehicle. Good luck.

 

[RabRS]

Ffs Rab... you're comparing a fwd car with probably the best road car ever made (TME)!!
Honestly, you must face the truth that you'll never find any car with superior handling/power/traction balance (I suppose yours was a GSR with AYC).
My advise would be to stick with the Cupra and try to adapt your driving style to a fwd 300 bhp car.

So, drive really slowly, until I get to the nearest dual carrigeway and then welly it up the road? lol

I suppose it all pretty simple in the scheme of things. And fair play for saying it out loud. Many wouldn't admit as such.
You bought a car you don't 100% like for various reasons. Mainly in part due to you not doing your research fully. Not that you have bought a poor one. And likewise you've paid over the odds for said car, making the 'loss' larger and compounds your sense of poor research and planning.

So its all down to how much of a loss you are prepared to take, to be able in your own mind to cut your losses and move on. For that you need real figures, more than soul searching on a forum. Get some of those soon and work out whether you need to keep it for a while longer to make the financial 'loss' more acceptable, or what adaptations would make that time until it becomes more acceptable less painful.

Or get rid, take the loss, put it down to experience and move on. And properly plan the next purchase to avoid not just the same issues again, but others which may crop up from a new vehicle. Good luck.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. I maybe didn't do my research, and should have gone with plan 'A' at the time which was an Evo X. I will phone a few dealers and see what I can do.

 

[AlexV]

So, drive really slowly, until I get to the nearest dual carrigeway and then welly it up the road? lol

Probably yes

 

[trebor]

I'd definitely say try another set of wheels/tyres if you can, 18's or even 17's (do 17s clear brakes on the Cupra?) to soften the ride a little. The feedback and 'feeling' you get for grip can change enormously with different tyres and what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another.

A few years back I had a Celica Gen 7 190 and with the Pirelli's that it came on it just felt uneasy to me and like it was about to fly off the road at speeds much lower that i would have expected and I couldn't keep up with a mate who have the 140 bhp version. Changed the rubber and it was like a different car, I had so much more confidence and feel for what it was doing.

Have to admit that I'm surprised that your mpg is so low though, no way it should be down as low as the Evo was. A more modern and efficient engine, no 4WD losses - are you sure that there isn't something wrong, dodgy sensor or something, i'd be tempted to get a rolling road run and check the fuelling isn't way too rich or something.

 

[RabRS]

I'd definitely say try another set of wheels/tyres if you can, 18's or even 17's (do 17s clear brakes on the Cupra?) to soften the ride a little. The feedback and 'feeling' you get for grip can change enormously with different tyres and what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another.

A few years back I had a Celica Gen 7 190 and with the Pirelli's that it came on it just felt uneasy to me and like it was about to fly off the road at speeds much lower that i would have expected and I couldn't keep up with a mate who have the 140 bhp version. Changed the rubber and it was like a different car, I had so much more confidence and feel for what it was doing.

Have to admit that I'm surprised that your mpg is so low though, no way it should be down as low as the Evo was. A more modern and efficient engine, no 4WD losses - are you sure that there isn't something wrong, dodgy sensor or something, i'd be tempted to get a rolling road run and check the fuelling isn't way too rich or something.

Tbh, I don't think it's that as the car can tell you if it has any faults. no?

 

[trebor]

Tbh, I don't think it's that as the car can tell you if it has any faults. no?

If a sensor fails yes, but could something be working well enough not to trip diagnostic fault but still be be causing as issue ??

Mine's only the 1.8 TSI 180 but so far i'm seeing roughly the figures suggested - i.e. 37 around town daily commute driving to mid-high 40's on longer mixed runs.

The trouble with being an Evo owner is 'what the hell do you replace it with'. I recently considered going back to a single car but apart from a newer Evo again I couldn't find anything that would do both jobs in the one car. Miss my IX MR 360 as that was capable of being a comfortable daily and a weekend hoot.

Looks like you've a Rock to your left and a Hard Place to your right ? I wish I had a cunning plan that would help you, but all roads out seem to point to a 'take it on the chin as an expensive experiment' outcome. ... or keep it and hope the relationship improves.

 

[RabRS]

Aye, it certainly seems to be the way. Might just have to lose a LOT of money and chalk it down to experience.

 

[concerned cat]

My last car was a company funded Passat Estate 105bhp. How I hated that car. The thing is I had it for three years & learned to live with it. Consider yourself lucky Rab!

 

[Seastormer]

Magazine testers don't pay 30 grand of their own money for the car, though, do they?! They get given the car by the press office and can't really give it a good slagging off because said press office might be less inclined to deal with them a second time. It's a lot easier to overlook the shortcomings of a car when it hasn't cost you anything...

Bit of a paranoid statement that, if all mags were afraid to upset manufacturers how come we have group tests, they can't all win. Cupra 280 V Renaultsport Megane (in Autoexpress) Cupra won, and Cupra 280 V Golf R on Track (2 tests in wet and dry - Autocar I think) Cupra won again. Every week in AE they do group tests and always some car is judged better than another, all car mags/tv progs do this, there is no conspiracy. If lots of mags like a car then that is their opinion, but they can't all be wrong.