I used to trade cars a lot, mainly because I'd get bored and liked to try new things. I haven't done that in almost four years before now, because I loved my Evo X. It was a 2008, made 410hp on virtual dyno with a BBX Lite, had nearly 40k miles, and was a great car. I had recently paid it off, and started thinking about things that bothered me about it.

First of all, my wife and I now work slightly different hours, so we can't commute together anymore. That has kicked my annual mileage up to almost 15k. I was averaging 19mpg in the Evo, and that sucked. The bumper to bumper warranty had also recently expired.

Second, I wasn't able to use it's potential at all. I have two young kids, and don't drive hard with them in the car. Also, my commute has turned to crap due to construction on the interstate, meaning that I am averaging 35mph in heavy traffic for the last year or so.

Lastly, I have been road biking a lot, and a my bike fits perfectly in the back of the GTI with just dropping the backseat. No disassembly, no fuss, no wasting time putting the bike together when I want to ride during lunch with my friends.

I looked at a GTI a couple years ago, but it was such a gigantic performance hit, I couldn't justify it. But now it was looking a lot better. Selling some mods off the Evo and trading it in paid for the GTI almost completely. So now I had a brand new car with a full warranty that I didn't owe any money on. On paper, it was win/win.






I got a base 4 door manual car, because HIDs are in a package with Navi and a bunch of other junk I didn't want. Those options would ring the bill up an additional $4000, so I decided not to do it, especially when I would be replacing the stereo anyway.


I love the interior in these cars, and the think the Interlagos seats look great.

The engine is direct injected, so power delivery/curve shape and throttle plate closure are eerily similar to the 335i's N54, sans two cylinders, a turbo, and a correct-wheel drivetrain.

My fuel economy went way up from the Evo, I'm averaging 29mpg now, so that part is great. The car is quiet, comfortable, and doesn't have that catless car stench my wife hated.

Unfortunately, that's where the good parts stop. In my perception, it fails as a performance car. Of course my most recent benchmark is unfairly high, and one of my buddies told me not to compare it to an Evo. He is completely right, because it just makes me feel regret toward my new car purchase.

To label this car as a hot hatch is a gross misnomer. It doesn't accelerate so well, it has poor handling, braking, and traction. The stability control isn't user defeatable on USA cars, you can't get good negative front camber with an alignment, and the understeer and lean are both higher than I'd like.

Trying not to let my inner car guy get too uppity due to the fact my commute is a snorefest anyway, I tried to make lemons into lemonade.

The first thing I did was get a tune and intake. Man. Tuning an Evo is cake. Hook your tactrix cable into the OBDII port, and you can write a full custom tune to the ROM in less than a minute.

In a new GTI, they have to open the ECU, and most local dealers don't have the tools to flash them. So you get to ship your ECU off, and it's a friggin' nightmare to get to. Under a rain cover, under the windshield, shoved way up in there lies the ECU. To make it extra fun, it has tamper proof bolts that you have to slot to unscrew with a dremel. It's about a two hour job the first time to remove one, unchartered waters, fumbling in the dark.



I chose a well known vendor called APR for the tune, and although it's a canned "one size fits all" tune, coupled with the intake, the change to the car's acceleration is profound. It's an undersquare engine with a baby turbo, so you can't expect Evo power, stock these guys trap around 96mph, and with the intake and tune they trap around 101, which honestly is probably plenty for a FWD car. The only other turbo FWD car I've had is my GST, and it's been almost fifteen years since I bought that car. I must admit that I've forgotten how much FWD + boost fails in regards to traction. My dad was in town for the holidays, and I buzzed the car in second gear to show him what it would do on slightly wet pavement, and it went nowhere, sizzling the tires and laughing at itself.

While messing with the ECU, I removed the Soundaktor, which is basically a low frequency noisemaker mounted near the ECU. Think of a tiny Aura Bass Shaker, and you're in the right direction. Factory rice... err, kraut. Fake sounds aren't my thing, so that sucker is disconnected.

There is a product called VCDS, which is software and a USB to OBDII wire that allows you to make changes to the car. You change bits to control things like daytime running lights, the brake based differential, wiper programming, etc. I picked one of these up. The big thing I was able to do is make the stability control user defeatable like the traction control already is. This was a pretty big sin in the US GTI, and now you can lift and rotate without being watchdogged like any proper car should.



I know I've been a bit hostile to my new little car, but I don't hate it, it's just very different that what I'm accustomed to. I don't know how long I can last without an Evo, but I'm trying to be responsible and hold out.

Thanks for reading.

 

To make the commuting miles more fun, I'm currently blowing Christmas money on audio upgrades, including a stealth subwoofer box that goes under the rear deckliner.

The factory HU had to come out, it didn't sound good, and VW's mindless shuffle algroithm takes control away from iTunes.

 

You bought the wrong one.

 

Also, I cannot fathom why VW sticks with that tartan interior.

 

Sounds to me like you should have bought a RA Sportback.

 

There aren't any upgrades from an Evo that are financially sane. I certainly didn't want to add a car payment.

I don't regret the APR upgrade at all. Passing power is greatly improved, and midrange torque helps the drivability a lot.

APR does silly crank power estimates, applying a correction to dyno runs, but this will give you an idea what a tune and intake does for power output:

 

Glad you are liking it a bit more after the parts were added. I'm with Otter though

 

I looked at one of those, but didn't drive it. I love the exterior on the Focus and the seats themselves, but didn't like the interior at all. The gauges looked cheap to me, and that ginormous center console would make an head unit swap next to impossible. I also couldn't understand why it was so heavy for a FWD car.

Migs hates it too. I love the Interlagos, and think it looks great, but completely understand those who don't get the 70s GTI throwback. Different strokes.

 

Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. GTI is way better than that turd they call a Ford but I'm biased (vw tech). I would personally never buy a GTI because I would never go back to FWD but I understand why you did it. Hope you enjoy it and get rid of those hideous wheels

 

I don't know what your cash flow is like but I imagine if you can get a weekend project car that'll make it a lot easier to keep.

5.0 Foxbodies are cheap projects to start.

 

put a k04 and a downpipe on it and it makes a pretty fun little sleeper for a reasonable price.

 

Then it REALLY won't hook up and immediately need a new clutch. No more power mods. It's a commuter and a wussy go fast platform.

 

Nice, i just did the opposite of you, and jumped from a 12' GTI to a 13' GSR, and yes you are right there is just no comparison between the two, but you can't beat the GTI for a daily driver with some enjoyment. Be careful with tuning, because the MK6 GTI's are notorious for having extremely weak clutches that will start to slip with stage 2 and sometimes even stage 1. Check out golfmk6.com, if you already haven't, a lot of good information over there.

 

ST has a factory twin-disc that thus far has no issues holding sizable increases in power.

Just, you know, in case you were wondering

 

Just curious, if a good commuter car was the goal and you admit this doesn't accelerate/handle/brake anything like a performance car, why not get a TDI instead? 50 mpg highway easy (yes the EPA underrates TDIs) and can tow a small trailer with ease (useful if you race a bike or a kart like I do). Everything else stays pretty much the same. Just no plaid interior, which I like too so don't feel too bad.