Golf GTI Edition 35

[AdamD]

I guess, you would be one of those people that would detune and dynamat (to silence the viceral noise) of a McLaren F1 Supercar so that you can enjoy it's performance in silky smooth refinement.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I don't like a car with a raw edge. What I am suggesting is that refinement and driving enjoyment are not mutually exclusive. Of course I wouldn't detune a McLaren F1 - it's an incredible performance machine just as it is, and entirely fit for purpose. But I don't think that, by making the MkVI a little quieter (and the EA888 a little smoother - have to emphasise that I think the differences to the EA113 are minor), VW has taken away any of the enjoyment or sensation of speed. They've just made it - to my mind at least - a little nicer to live with as a daily.

I've driven several MkV and MkVI GTIs at length. Sure, there are differences, but like I said, I don't find it a less satisfying performance drive than the V - they haven't diluted the steering feel or throttle response or overall handling balance. But then I don't associate a minor reduction in engine noise and NVH with a reduction in performance. Guess it's all down to perception.

[MrGTIandRfan]

Stock for stock, I find the MK V & VI very similar to drive. The driving experience is not any duller in a MK VI and welcome the nicer, more refined interior.

Now that I have a stage 2 Mk6 GTI, I love the fact that I have a comfy daily drive that has a bit of power when needed.

[SilvrFoxX]

[triode12]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I don't like a car with a raw edge. What I am suggesting is that refinement and driving enjoyment are not mutually exclusive. Of course I wouldn't detune a McLaren F1 - it's an incredible performance machine just as it is, and entirely fit for purpose. But I don't think that, by making the MkVI a little quieter (and the EA888 a little smoother - have to emphasise that I think the differences to the EA113 are minor), VW has taken away any of the enjoyment or sensation of speed. They've just made it - to my mind at least - a little nicer to live with as a daily.

I've driven several MkV and MkVI GTIs at length. Sure, there are differences, but like I said, I don't find it a less satisfying performance drive than the V - they haven't diluted the steering feel or throttle response or overall handling balance. But then I don't associate a minor reduction in engine noise and NVH with a reduction in performance. Guess it's all down to perception.

Unfortunately for me, I do find a difference and I too have driven several Vs and VIs at length. The refinement of the MkVI GTI has just pushed it over the edge of me in terms of fun vs boring. The improved NVH, and refined engine are just things that to ME don't spell GTI.

While the R still retains that edgyness of the MkV GTI that revived the line. Both the R and current GTI sport the MkVI chassis with the only difference being the engine. It has previously been stated in an online review that the EA113 is less refined that the EA888 so I believe that it is most likely the major contributor to why I feel the R(and possibly the new 35) is a better GTI than the current one is.

Again it is not about performance, you seem to think that fun is all about performance (numbers) while I have been trying to say that it more to it than that. All the cars we are talking about are within a second or fractions of second of each other on the track in the hands of competent drivers. It is how the makes you feel when you drive it.

If you had viewed the video I posted, it is about the driving experience, not the performance that Jay Leno was alluding to before he bought the Morgan 3 wheeler - even though it could go quite fast - he was having fun under the speed limit.

The 6N Polo GTI would kill both the R and GTI (mkV and VI) in terms of fun and it isn't as good as both cars performance wise. And that is what a GTI is all about - not all out performance.

[WhiteJames]

The Mark 6 GTI has much better sorted suspension than the MKV GTI - that's with or without DCC. The Turbo on the Mark 6 GTI spools up faster and harder on initial acceleration bursts providing NA crispness with improved exhaust turbine scavenging, making the Mark 6 useable and fun at & below posted speed limits when driving in traffic. The chain-driven cams in the EA888 actually make the noise of the EA888 louder and more gruff than the older belt driven EA113 motor in the MKV. The fueling of the EA888 as opposed to the EA113 is like going from a carburator to fuel injection with newer tech. An EA888 in the Mark 7 Golf R is likely to be something to savour when it arrives. I'd never go back to the EA113 - KO3 or KO4. Yes ... I have owned both MKV GTI and Mark 6 GTI. The improvements in the NVH are primarily in the sound deadening of the chasis for the Mark 6 Golf, rather than the motor when comparing like for like (KO3). My two bobs worth would be to seriously consider that bigger (KO4) is not necessarily better when strapped onto an aging EA113 motor in the case of the GTi Ed35. Go the regular GTI I say.
Cheers.
WJ

[SilvrFoxX]

I think it is the "personality" which the older engines appear to present which is what is up for debate.

[Corey_R]

Seriously... does this really need to be the 1846th MK6 vs MKV thread in this forum?

[SilvrFoxX]

Probably not.. but the Edition 35 has sort of recreated the conversation by using MkVI shell and fixtures yet used the MKV engine
so it was sort of inevitable that it has come up.. personally I don't care that much nor driven a GTI VI for long enough to articulate any noticeable difference.

Has me scratching my head really as to why VW do this mix and match

[markwid]

Seriously... does this really need to be the 1846th MK6 vs MKV thread in this forum?

+1. Sigh...should hold those that prefer mkv to their words and ban them if they change up to mk6.

[Corey_R]

Probably not.. but the Edition 35 has sort of recreated the conversation by using MkVI shell and fixtures yet used the MKV engine
so it was sort of inevitable that it has come up.. personally I don't care that much nor driven a GTI VI for long enough to articulate any noticeable difference.

Has me scratching my head really as to why VW do this mix and match

Yeah, I know, the R and 35 both use the EA113 engine... so we've already been through this pointless argument so many times.

The reason why is already known. There is currently no "High Performance" version of the EA888, only the EA113.