had a play with the gti last night

bass mekanik · Post by **bass mekanik** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 9:30 am

took it out for a blat around some twisty lanes up in whetstone/barnet area.

oh.....my......god.

its very quick. not mind blowingly fast but quick enough to leave you grinning like an idiot for a little while and very fast for a car its size!

more to the point though, the novelty for me was the handling. Most of the reviews i read before i bought the car stated a few very specific weaknesses, namely: the gearbox and the handling. Ok gearbox first. I have to admit this is one area of the car that hasnt enamoured me very much. My sister has a mk4 polo 1.0E (6n i beleive- as opposed to 6n2 on the mk5?) and the gear change in her car feels FAR more concise and smoother to shift than mine. ironic considering her is the lowest possible spec you can get in a polo and mine is the highest!

all down to characteristics of the car i guess.

anyhow- moving on, the handling. the reviews are all LIES! perhaps its partly the fact that my previous car was a 1.2 mk1 punto which handled like a bag of spanners on a 44foot wooden barge, but i found the polo superb. throwing it through the bends in the lanes only induces more idiotic smiley faced grins that I just couldnt get off my face. There is a very slight amount of understeer if you push her too hard, and she does need two new tyres up front now as well so I didnt step too far on the limit but overall, it seems to me like the car is on rails. I love it

the rest of the car i have always loved and now i own it Its growing on me even more so.

definately best car i have owned my a long run

13twelve · Post by **13twelve** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 10:18 am

i've read similar reviews about the handling and thought its all codswallop

both my mk4s where fun to drive
(though i just discovered that taking reasonable sharp motorway bends at 100 is pretty hairy in my 16v - though i think i'm finding my limmits, not the cars...)

bass mekanik · Post by **bass mekanik** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 10:54 am

13twelve wrote:i've read similar reviews about the handling and thought its all codswallop

both my mk4s where fun to drive
(though i just discovered that taking reasonable sharp motorway bends at 100 is pretty hairy in my 16v - though i think i'm finding my limmits, not the cars...)

I think sharp turns at 100 in a lot of cars would be pretty scary!!

Johnmk4 · Post by **Johnmk4** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 10:55 am

My Gti handles like a dream

might be something to do with the FK Konigsports, Strut Brace and Dunlops with a slight stretch

carmadaaron · Post by **carmadaaron** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 12:32 pm

glad u like it..... mod it more and itll be ace!

BLACK6N_POLO · Post by **BLACK6N_POLO** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 8:32 pm

i love the handling of mine too

every morning i accelerate off the roundabout (large national speedlimit one) on the way to skl testing the handling -- which is spot on!!!!

Si_GTi · Post by **Si_GTi** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 8:50 pm

When I had my new Toyos put on the front of the car the improvement in grip and handling was simply immense! It feels much more planted through the corners, and I can push the car through much faster than before

The gearbox is a little uninvolving, yes. I simply can't wait to get my B&M fitted up... I don't want to wish away the summer but huzzah! it's only 2-and-a-half months to September

Coilovers are the future - one day I'll have them on my Polo

Tahrey1043 · Post by **Tahrey1043** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 11:55 pm

ha, the mk3 was hilarious down country lanes as well - i still think there's a couple particular ones that i'm ten seconds slower down in the astra.

maybe its something endemic to the polo spring setup?
feels utterly responsive up until the point where you've taken it too far and start to lose it, but you can feel that coming and edge off.. hence more smiles per mile

(driven a punto for quite a while before, it's not a bad drive, but a bit wallowy/imprecise and not as 'italian' as you'd expect)

funnily, although most of the time i've have to put the vaux's gearchange as being the "better" one, the polos certainly does feel more solid and precise despite being the best part of a whole generation older. maybe it's the idiotically long stick?

PoloGTi · Post by **PoloGTi** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 8:07 am

Just be carefull of oversteer in the wet! Really scary!

Ive pushed it a little too hard a few times in the wet and found my arse end overtaking me. I think at standard height handling in the wet is bad, Ive just had mine lowered so hopefully it will have improved.

bass mekanik · Post by **bass mekanik** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 10:26 pm

Si_GTi wrote:When I had my new Toyos put on the front of the car the improvement in grip and handling was simply immense! It feels much more planted through the corners, and I can push the car through much faster than before

The gearbox is a little uninvolving, yes. I simply can't wait to get my B&M fitted up... I don't want to wish away the summer but huzzah! it's only 2-and-a-half months to September

Coilovers are the future - one day I'll have them on my Polo

the stick on mine is actually very short- I have a suspicion it already has a short shift on there (has aftermarket gear knob as well- wolfsburg edition- yum

)

i thought about a set of coilovers, luckily I can get them dumb dumb cheap through work as well.

bilstein PSS9 ride and height adjustable coilver kit. up to 50mm drop on front and 40mm on back.

retail price - Â£1000 or thereabouts
staff price for me- Â£512

dubpolo · Post by **dubpolo** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 11:17 am

took mine for a 3 hour blitz round the horse shoe pass saturday afternoon! my mate has made a few vids so i will get they up when i can. very nice day! very nice roads! and lots of bikers to have fun with! hehe

Really need to uprate the brakes tho..... they where smoking!