Stiff competition for the Mk7 Golf GTI - Second Edition

[kaktusdigital]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I don't mind the look, and they're offering 3 years of free servicing. Been seeing their ads on TV more and more lately. The segment really is heating up with competition. It'll be interesting to see if there's a reaction (if any) from bmw, merc when the A3 launches in April/May.

[elephino]

Yeh, if I were considering a premium sports hatch I'd consider either the V40 or A250. I read a review that said the electric steering in the V40 has killed nearly all steering feel which is a bit disappointing. But I guess you'd get used to it. Otherwise they seemed to like it.

Volvos haven't had much steering feel for ages now, so to kill off what was left is an amazing feat.

[stickshift3000]

I know it's technically not a hot hatch, but the merc CLA250 appeals more to me than the A250 and is high on my list for next car.

Clever marketing and product design by merc in my opinion.

New Car Review: Mercedes-Benz CLA 250

[alebonau]

that is going to be one awesomely popular car the baby benz sedan there.

[cktsi]

I know it's technically not a hot hatch, but the merc CLA250 appeals more to me than the A250 and is high on my list for next car.

Clever marketing and product design by merc in my opinion.

New Car Review: Mercedes-Benz CLA 250

Yeah, CLA250 should be even better from a NVH point of view.

[alebonau]

Spied! Brand New BMW 4 Series Coupe Caught Undisguised! | German Car Forum News

guys looking at the 4 series bmw coupe to come I can see a return to some really nice looking cars from bmw. low slung and with attractive styling as apart from the current hangovers of the chris bangles designs in 1 series etc which are all a bit on the odd side to look at.

next 1 series bmw I reckon will be some seriously stiff competition. but who knows how far away that is !

[alebonau]

mk6 gti next to a250

[paultrfc]

Hey has anyone considered the Volvo V40 R-design

55K drive away.
184kW, 350nM, sat nav & leather as standard.
Haven't read a huge amount on it though, does anyone have any experience with reliability of Volvos?

Here is a review from the UK.

First Drive Review: Volvo V40 T5 & D4 R-Design - SkiddMark

doesn't get too good a review, which is a shame.

Most of the UK reviews of the A250 are also pretty middle of the road. I don't know if the A250 here has better specs or drives better, but am yet to see a bad review from Aus. Maybe in the UK compared to similar valued cars it just doesn't cut it.

Hopefully I will have a look at both this Easter, not sure I want another GTI as the mk7 looks pretty similar to the mk6.

Hope this helps

Paul...

[kaktusdigital]

Thanks for that mate. Yeah I agree with most of the reviews I've come across, there's no really bad one from Australia. The only complaints seem to be consistant (harsh ride) but as several members have pointed out, its not really the case.

After all's said and done, the R-design kinda looks like the A250's ugly twin from the front.

[DoggieHowser]

I dunno. I still prefer the looks of the Golf esp the GTI. But I've found that I could never get much budging on the price with my custom configured Tiguan so I expect it would be the case with the GTI as well. And that would mean a big hit when I need to sell a highly optioned car.

I wish they'd just sell a Highline GTI spec car with more things as standard. Maybe as part of the Performance Pack. And match the A250 sport in specs. Something like Dynaudio, RVC+, Adaptive Chassis, Vienna, motorized seats and side window closing, color MFD, 8" Discover Pro, bixenon. Even if that cost 49k, I'd pick it over the Merc