I'd avoid german cars, especially volkswagen unless you want a constant future headache on your hands which judging by your threads, just may be your ticket to getting permanently banned what with the whining and complaining about your car.
Looking around.
VW Golf GTI, TDI. I've driven a 2003 1.8T GTI before. It wasn't a bad experience. Cupholders suck ass and the stock stereo is a bit finicky but not too bad. I was driving it for 500+ miles at a time and some short around town trips. I didn't mind it. It was older and had been abused, so it wasn't a great experience in terms of shifting.. (The syncros were fucked. It felt cool to hear the turbo and feel some kick but I couldn't shift because the syncros were totally in bad shape. And the kick ran out real fast after 40mph but that's okay...)
I have a 2007 E92 335i with 73k miles on it. Everyone is correct about the BMW. Be prepared to budget $1k a year on maintenance. Doesn't necessarily mean you'll use that every year but the potential is certainly there.
$100 says you'll end up with a prius/camry/accord type of a deal.
$100 says he ends up running whatever he buys into the ground through lack of maintenance and general abuse just as he did the Civic.
ZV
why?
If that is his plan then I would not suggest a VW. In fact, I wouldn't recommend a VW to anyone looking to buy a car but especially not to someone who doesn't want to spend thousands of dollars repairing it over 4-5 years of ownership.
why?
why?
You have a pretty narrow criteria. I see 221 automatic MK6 GTI's with 4 doors, less than 75K miles, and sunroof nationwide (on AutoTrader) so you can't figure there are going to be a lot within 100 miles of any single location.
They're priced from $14K to ~$27K...not sure what you consider a "decent price" but you may be looking for a while unless you're willing to travel.
It's pretty reasonable criteria though. 4 door version (because practicality), decent mileage/condition/etc because I want something that will last some miles, sunroof is totally reasonable (basically not a super base model), and an automatic. (Which is a bit more difficult because apparently 50% are sold with manuals. Manual is okay but just not for how I'm going to be driving a lot of the time. (simple commutes, traffic, etc.))
It's pretty reasonable criteria though.
Civic, Accord or Camry will happen one way or another; mark my words. We played this game last time around with a foregone conclusion.
It's pretty reasonable criteria though. 4 door version (because practicality), decent mileage/condition/etc because I want something that will last some miles, sunroof is totally reasonable (basically not a super base model), and an automatic. (Which is a bit more difficult because apparently 50% are sold with manuals. Manual is okay but just not for how I'm going to be driving a lot of the time. (simple commutes, traffic, etc.))
Went and test drove a 2013 GTI, 4-door, automatic. However, it had a previous owner who had done extensive modifications. Lowering springs (much lower, passed the shoe test!), new exhaust, APR intake, and a tune.
Walked out not impressed. It felt so bulky inside that car (wheel felt quite large in the hands) and I had to be cautious because it was so low (and not my car). It gets up and goes okay but I don't know... maybe it was the modifications but it felt very imprecise. The braking was difficult. I'd go from nothing to super hard bite for the pressure applied to barely giving anymore... It made moving the car very jerky. I couldn't slow down at a stop light with light pressure. I'd go from what felt like nothing to the car jerking. It felt very binary and I'm pretty sure it wasn't just the fact it was a car I hadn't driven.
The throttle response was similar. There was very little from 0-75% throttle. Pretty much all the response came out at 90-100% throttle. And then it was okay but I couldn't hear the engine or the exhaust much even at 100% throttle. (You could definitely hear it outside the car though) It didn't help that the AC was on 100%. It definitely gets up to speed quickly enough but not to a point where I'm impressed.
I walked away not feeling impressed or even connected with the car.
I might buy another civic. I might not. It's hard to test cars here in Phoenix beyond straight line performance and whether or not it has a decent alignment. This car also liked to pull to the right slightly just going down a road and then torque steer was also a thing. The traction control kind of did its job but it felt intrusive most of the time. It made the car jerk around quite a bit.
EDIT: I also think it had a tint job. It was quite dark inside the cabin.
why did you test drive this car? It has nothing to do with a stock gti.