Mk5 golf gti - thoughts?

[tyranical]

Any current/previous owners give me their thoughts on them please? Any common problems?

Just a car i'm considering for my next car.

Cheers

[nobodyknows]

Can't comment on any common problems but after owning a Black 55 plate for 9mths I can recommend them. Only reason I don't still have it is because I p/x'd it against my 996 & couldn't afford to keep it for the (now ex) OH.

[wackojacko]

Great car, Interior is well made but a little dull apart from that it's a good drive (motorway and twisties) easily tuneable, looks good etc, I'd try and go for the Edition 30 for the cudos and extra 30bhp as standard (also looks alot better in my opinion)

[roscozs]

My dad bought a brand new Edition 30 in 2008. He hated the thing. The parcel shelf rattled against the rear seats, there was a creak and rattle from the vent ontop of the dash and a rear brake disc was unevenly worn after only a few thousand miles. Then comming back from a holiday in Dorset a rear wheel bearing let go. However he did love the way it drove and went. He only had it 12 months and couldnt live with it anymore.

[TRUENOSAM]

A good mate of mine bought a 2006 mk5 GTI about 3 years ago and he loves it. Never had any problems with it what so ever. Very solid car and a good all rounder

[Motorrad]

Good points- practical, comfortable, reasonably nippy when remapped, quite rewarding with the stability control turned off

Bad points- a/c failure (I believe it's a matter of when not if), boring and predictable, build quality isn't great, 3 door has door sealing/hinge/drop problems, 5 door looks crap, high seat bolsters wear on non-leather cars, DSG potential for failure, early DSG steering wheel paddles peel!, needs 98 RON+ to run effeciently in FSI mode.

Ran one as a second car to my RS2 over 20K miles and it was a jack of all trades, master of none.

edit to add: audio system/speaker setup very poor compared to MKIV.

[Eddie the Ead]

Had an Edition 30 for about 18 months and all round it was a great car. The only problems I had was the Ipod conectivity giving up and the dreaded AC failure. The dealership experience didn't really live up to much as when I had problems it always took the dealer a couple of attempts to sort. The car went on a couple of trackdays including the Nurburgring and always felt very secure and could be pushed hard. The fuel consumption wasn't great at an average of 28MPG over 20000 miles.
I replaced it with a BMW 130i and have to say that the BMW was a better car. Not really any quicker then the Golf but a much nicer engine that returned similar economy and a better sound. The car was more adjustable on the limit and never underestimate the joy of RWD.