Considering getting a lightly used 2024 GTI as my first manual car. I'm between it and the Civic Type R, just don't know if I want to pay extra for the Honda. Whichever one I got would be my only car, and would primarily be a grocery getter desu. I don't plan on taking either to the track, but I do like to drive on backroads. Does /o/ recommend the GTI or should I just spend the extra money and get a type R?
I swear I saw this thread last montheither way I'll reiterate what I said thenit all depends on what you are looking for in a carthe CTR is more comparable to the Golf R in both price point and performance more than it is the GTI even though both GTIif you are 100% prioritizing a drivers car, a track car, the road feel etc. look at the CTRif you want something practical and more mature, more muted at the plus of a $10+ less, look at the GTIreally only look at the Golf R if AWD matters to you, you're fine with spending the extra money, and/or you want the GTI but don't want to feel like you're missing out on the performance of the GTIbut like I said previously, the best car for you is the one you like driving the most and the one you're most comfortable inso test drive all of them because you can bench test these cars all day if you end up getting the one you liked the most on paper then, for whatever reason, ended up behind the wheel of the other car and fell in love with it you're gonna feel like you shot yourself in the foot
>>28929435>>28929491>both GTI*both are FWD
golf>understated>mature>more practical>slightly more premium interior>higher maintenance costctr>nearly as practical>faster>much more driver focused>will hold its value better>initial cost is much higheryou're not gonna really going wrong with either. I'd spring for the CTR if the $ isn't an issue
>>28929435I didn't really like the cabin in the new golf I took for a spin the other day, otherwise it was great though
>>28929556you could really see the VW cost cutting in action this time around and I get it as a "trying to be the future" move but going full haptics on the buttons was a big missthey only seemed to have doubled down on it by changing the dash into a full blown ipad on the 8.5 refresh
>>28929563I don't get it man, it's like they are trying to ruin the whole car by making the buttons all haptic nonsense
Both are pigfat commuters. You need to go sub 1000kg for fwd to be fun. As such, picrel is your only modern choice.
>>28929580Lightweight.
>>28929435Why would you get a gti and not get the dsg? Are you poor or something?
>>28929580It's discontinued, OP is also probably american so he can't get one anyway.And the stock transmission feel is awful, only gets good with AT LEAST aluminum gear lever inserts and a thicker clutch pedal stoppert. own one
>>28929563Mk8.5 owner here. The iPad is actually a step in the right direction. It has the real estate to have persistent climate controls and shortcuts for things like TC and other important functions you want to access fast on the screen at all times. It still sucks that they're not buttons, but I can say with certainty it's not a pain in the ass to use. Also way less buggy than the Mk8 screens. Oh, and the GTIs at least have real buttons on the steering wheel once again too.
>>28929891I tried (and did) change the radio station yesterday. F* taking your eyes off the wheel.
>>28929891is the 8.5 worth the extra $5-10k more than a '23-'24 mk8?
>>28929491>>28929538We definitely had this thread last month. OP, you aren't going to get better answers than these two, I don't have much to add except.>golf slightly more premium interiorI disagree with this. Civic has abysmally cheap back seats and sun visor lining though. Also, I am guessing the GTI doesn't get 22 mpg like I do in the CTR. And GTI consumables are probably cheaper and you probably start out with all seasons so you don't have to swap tires 2 times a year. Those are genuine things to consider.At the end of the day, the GTI is fun enough unless you actually want the CTR. I went with the CTR, acquaintances have GTIs, they are fine.
>>28929899>radioI never experienced this because I rarely leave the android auto screen. Do you mean you were able to do it with the steering wheel skip buttons like on most cars?>>28929901Depends what's important to you. It was for me, because I knew that the Mk8's interior would probably bother me. The Mk8.5's doesn't so I think I made the right call. Beware that there's no manual option and ECUs are still locked on the 8.5 though.
>>28929967what's different with the Mk8 interior besides the different dash screen?unless you're talking specifically about the GTI which apparently has analog buttons on the steering wheel now which is nice it's pretty gay they didn't do that to the R as wellI know there's no manual with the refresh and I know it's heretical because it's /o/ but I am going to get a DSG any which way as I've been seeing their manual is pretty mediocre and the performance gap between the DSG and manual is bigger than most other cars with an option for bothprobably the only car it'd choose auto over manual that being said I've never drove a DSG before, apparently there's some dos and don'ts like heavily advising not to inch forward by taking the foot off of the brakes and rollingthem getting new method of encrypting the ECU does suck thoughif I do get an R I'm not even planning on dropping a tune/remap on it for awhile but there are some minor things I'd still like to do to it that apparently you can't do in the mk8.5 yet like unlocking the IQ headlights and swapping the tailights for the euro spec ones with full function
>>28929580I saw one today. Why is it as tall as the Zafira it was tailgating?
>>28930001Different dash screen and steering wheel buttons is pretty much it. I know that probably doesn't sound like much but it's just that much better, since it governs so many drive functions as well as climate control. They outsourced it to Android whereas the older infotainment was in-house, so that's a perfectly logical reason for the leap in quality of life if you ask me. The audio and temperature sliders are also illuminated now, which is how it should have been from the start obviously.
>>28930001I am afraid to remap on the CTR - whole point of it was to be reliable, and it's enough power stock for anything other than pulls, and I don't want to give myself any excuses to do pulls.I am guessing GTs still pull on chipped CTR.
>>28930167from what I've been seeing, yeah Golf tunes are still popular and they get good resultsthe community swears up and down a stage 1 tune doesn't compromise reliabilityI can somewhat see that with the EA888 being as old as it is people know how to get a lot of it nowthe biggest problem on those still seem to be the cooling system primarily the water pumpI don't know much about messing with the ECU when it comes to the CTR but I imagine with it being a purpose built track car Honda coded the ECU to take the powertrain right up to its limit before performance being reliability takes a hit
>>28930069sounds like good QoL updates I just don't know about paying $45k-50k for itI imagine I'm just going to end up with a mk8 and, if the 5cyl Golf R turns out to be a meme (whichbit probably is), just trade up to the 8.5 down the road instead, when tuners reliably crack the 8.5's ECU so I can at least get europe's Golf headlight and tail light function
>>28930007so normal sized white persons can pilot it
>>28930007
>>28930167>I am guessing GTIs still pull on chipped CTR.no not all all especially the manualsstock GTIs can't even pull on CTRs let alone chipped onesa stage 1 GTI simply puts it close to the level of a CTR and that's really only straight line speedon top of that the manual for the GTI can't really handle extra power like the DSG can so if you're tuning the GTI the stock clutch needs upgrading at the bare minimum
>>28930221And that's not even the sport which is slammed like 2cm from factory
>>28929435I would NEVER pay that much money for a FWD car.
>>28930221funny, it looks even smaller in >>28929580
>>28930474GTs. V8 Mustang GTs.Of course GTIs don't pull on a CTR, it's not even close. I think that's the key difference - CTRs can bully V8 Mustangs on a track, GTIs can't, which is what makes it a different class of car. GTIs are snappy for what they are though.
