How Does Mark VI GTI Compare with Mark V

[Guy_H]

Spent the first weekend in ours, the XDL function is a massive improvement in cornering assistance over the MKV - It still functions with ESP turned off - well worth the upgrade if you have the opportunity.

[Dubya]

Spent the first weekend in ours, the XDL function is a massive improvement in cornering assistance over the MKV - It still functions with ESP turned off - well worth the upgrade if you have the opportunity.

Still finding it difficult to reconcile the nondescript nose on the Mark VI GTI (that is so similar to the nose on any other Mark VI Golf) with the distinctive, masculine nose on the Mark V GTI.

The nose of my silver Mark V GTI (with its small, neat black NSW Euro plate that does not dominate the front bumper or detract from the car's design as the white Euro plate does on the Mark VI) pleases me every time I see it - even 18 months on.

Creating distinctive noses for the Mark V GT Golfs was very clever marketing and they looked great t'boot.

What was Volkswagen thinking when it made this retrograde change to the GTI's nose design and made it look so pedestrian?

(Yes, I know, Maverick has already written that VAG's new (ex-Audi) CEO decreed the Audi-like grill should go - but why?)

I imagine if we could create a groundswell of protest, this 100bn euro automotive titan would take prompt notice of the views of some antipodean Golf enthusiasts and change the nose design of its in-demand top seller and create a more distinctive nose for GTIs the next time it is updated.

So let's tell 'em what we think! Even the salesman at the VW dealership I visited conceded the Mark V GTI's nose looked a lot better!! So that's two people already (in less than a week)!!!

That's right - Mark V owners should boycott the Mark VI GTI until they fix the nose!

Today Australia, tomorrow New Zealand!

[pologti18t]

To me the GTI V front looks very similar to the VW Jetta (replace chrome with black)

The new VI GTI nose looks wider and lower and the huge front overhang look of the V GTI has been reduced. All up an improvement and definitely more modern

[mikinoz]

Interestingly, I have a different view on the car and have tried to be objective as I can of the mkvi without comparing it to the mkv.

As a mkv owner, and since driving the mkvi, I probably would not decide to upgrade hastily into the new model. This being said, I would recommend the mkvi to prospectivenew hatch buyers with confidence.

As for the grille. Well as a longer term VW enthusisat, I think VW actually got the mkv wrong, whereby the gti was made to represent something a little more distant to the other models, same with r and gt spec. Traditionally there have only been queues to an uprated model, nothing so extreme as the mkv gti front.

In short and asmentioned here also, I think the mkvi represents the model progression that should have been from the mkiv, but the style trends if the day prevented it.

[JustCruisn]

I much prefer the 6 to the 5 in the looks department.
The 5 was the only GTI to have a different front end to the standard models. Traditionally a red stripe was added.
Round tail lights should never be on a Golf, the 6 fixes that.
Front grill should be horizontal lines. Again 6 gets this back.

The 6 definitely has a nicer firmer quieter ride than the 5.

[G-rig]

Just because a new model is released doesn't mean you have to upgrade. I realise you're not saying that, but from your sig it looks like you car is probably under two years old. If that's the case, and you don't have money to burn, you'd have to ask yourself if it was worthwhile upgrading to any car, no matter how much better it is than your current drive.

Too true, I wouldn't upgrade an MK5 that was less than a couple of years old unless the km were getting too high (to the point of depreciating it too much) however if you were due for a new one it would a good choice. As most people have stated the change from mk5->mk6 isn't a big one and I'll wait and see what the MK7 brings (although some people have to have the latest and greatest).

I much prefer the 6 to the 5 in the looks department.
The 5 was the only GTI to have a different front end to the standard models. Traditionally a red stripe was added.
Round tail lights should never be on a Golf, the 6 fixes that.

The front grille of the GTI isn't that much different from the other models??

I think the round lights suit it as the rest of the car has a lot of round curves, whereas the mk6 is more straight lines.. so the denvers shouldn't have gone on the MK6 being the only rounded items.

[mikinoz]

Give it a rest guys. Let's try to reduce how personal this is or otherwise the thread will be canned like most that degenerate into a personal run in.

The high moral ground on the internet is usually knowing when to step back from an irritating comment and let it get absorbed into the ether. It also saves mods having to delete posts and infract people too.

As for the MKVI again - I agree that Denvers are a strange choice

[Dubya]

The front grille of the GTI isn't that much different from the other models??

I think the round lights suit it as the rest of the car has a lot of round curves, whereas the mk6 is more straight lines.. so the denvers shouldn't have gone on the MK6 being the only rounded items.

Could someone possibly organise one of those polls so people could register their preferences? Eg:

Do you prefer the look of the front of the Mark V or the Mark VI GTI?

[G-rig]

Do you prefer the look of the front of the Mark V or the Mark VI GTI?

Still not sure , but like the mk5 front.

However I like the front of the MK6 a lot more than the rear.

[Lima]

Could someone possibly organise one of those polls so people could register their preferences? Eg:

Do you prefer the look of the front of the Mark V or the Mark VI GTI?

That would be good.

Then we could run it again in 12-18 months time when the Mk6 is more familiar and prominent on our roads.