GTI vs Cooper S vs Ralliart vs MX-5???

[Pauly]

As the title says:

GTI vs Cooper S vs Ralliart vs MX-5

3 of these cars compete in the same market space (GTI, Cooper S, Ralliart), and the MX-5 is a completly different car, however its priced in the same category.

I was looking at getting a hot hatch as my next car, and it needs to have an auto tranny as an option, which helps rule out the Civic Type R, XR5 and MPS. However it leaves the Mini Cooper S (6 speed auto), Ralliart and GTI (6 speed double clutch).

The MX-5 I just threw in there for the hell of it, as it has a cult following, is priced in the same category as the other hot hatches, and by far in large, is a great car.

http://www.carsales.com.au/car-resea...,538473,539263

so what would you buy if you had about 50 - 55K to spend? Less is obviously preferable.

[mattyf83]

As the title says:

GTI vs Cooper S vs Ralliart vs MX-5

3 of these cars compete in the same market space (GTI, Cooper S, Ralliart), and the MX-5 is a completly different car, however its priced in the same category.

I was looking at getting a hot hatch as my next car, and it needs to have an auto tranny as an option, which helps rule out the Civic Type R, XR5 and MPS. However it leaves the Mini Cooper S (6 speed auto), Ralliart and GTI (6 speed double clutch).

The MX-5 I just threw in there for the hell of it, as it has a cult following, is priced in the same category as the other hot hatches, and by far in large, is a great car.

http://www.carsales.com.au/car-resea...,538473,539263

so what would you buy if you had about 50 - 55K to spend? Less is obviously preferable.

Thats probably the stupidest question i have heard asked on here. You come on to a Volkswagen Forum, into the MK6 section, put forward a selection of similarly specced and priced cars and ask which people would prefer?

Hmmmm.... i wonder what the responses will be

[philthy]

Second hand S3 or evo X

[goodfella]

Second hand S3 or evo X

or an R32

[Golf Houso]

Push 5-10k more and get an E46 M3...

[Pauly]

Second hand S3 or evo X

Do the EVO's have good history for reliablity? and would that be the EVO X or EVO X MR?

[Pauly]

Thats probably the stupidest question i have heard asked on here. You come on to a Volkswagen Forum, into the MK6 section, put forward a selection of similarly specced and priced cars and ask which people would prefer?

Hmmmm.... i wonder what the responses will be

Not really, the GTI is still a very viable option. But being on a car forum, the people on here do have a soft spot for VW's obviously, but there is credit where credit is due to other car companys and their cars too.

[iBoost]

The answers you get on here will obviously be biased towards the GTI, as most of us are waiting on ours to arrive.

However in saying that, I did look at the above cars and was also in the situation of needing an "auto", all be it I hate regular autos and the GTI is not an auto in the normal sense of the word.

I disliked the Ralliart as I found the interior cheap, and if I wanted a car with performance and a cheap interior I'd buy the WRX over it.

The Mini doesn't interest me as I don't like the way it looks, it's not tough in a performance car way, more cutesy in my opinion. I'm not sure what the auto box is like in them either, if it's a regular auto, then it doesn't compare to the DSG.

The MX5 is also a great car, but an auto would dull the experience I think, plus you need to decide whether you need to be able to carry more than one passenger.

For me the GTI ticked all the boxes, and the DSG is not a normal boring auto box so will satisfy my desire for a manual with my wife's need for an auto.

[philthy]

Do the EVO's have good history for reliablity? and would that be the EVO X or EVO X MR?

I'm not aware of it having a reputation for poor reliability, but have never personally owned one.

The MR is the auto I think.

[KWICKS]

More info:

What are you coming from and what did you like/dislike about that?

Your mix has 2 FWD, 1 AWD and 1 RWD car, which of these drivetrain layouts tickles you the most?

You also have 3 forced induction and 1 NA car, again, will this influence your decision? If tuning for gains is a consideration the NA will offer less - but then that's not what the MX-5 is about - its about being lightweight and achieveing a raw balance in its drive.

Do you value the interior as much as the exterior? Golf is classier.

Is warranty important - Mitsubishi warrants their cars well for performance vehicles.

Is number of seats or space a consideration? MX-5 falls down in comparison here.

Give us a hand here and we'll give one back.