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HI, i currently have a 2002 mini cooper s supercharged and it is a lot of fun but pretty S**t on fuel and fancy a change!

I have only noticed that the polo gti 1.8T is now in my price range betweet 6-7k and considnering making the change.....a few questions?

Are they fast standard and handle well?

What are they like reliability wise and running costs/consumables?

what are people getting MPG standard and also with a stage 1 map?

What suspension are people using as standard they have a hugeeee wheel gap? haha

Any common prolems to look for??


Cheers...Mike

MikeyR wrote:HI, i currently have a 2002 mini cooper s supercharged and it is a lot of fun but pretty S**t on fuel and fancy a change!

I have only noticed that the polo gti 1.8T is now in my price range betweet 6-7k and considnering making the change.....a few questions?

Are they fast standard and handle well?

What are they like reliability wise and running costs/consumables?

what are people getting MPG standard and also with a stage 1 map?

What suspension are people using as standard they have a hugeeee wheel gap? haha

Any common prolems to look for??


Cheers...Mike

Hello and welcome

They are pretty quick from standard and with a remap they are just silly fast really, I can easily beat focus ST's and quite easily kept up with an R36 just a few days ago

Had a play with a Cooper S not so long ago too and it was no contest really, you will be amazed at how fast they are with just a stage 1 - guaranteed to put a massive smile on your face

Not too sure on running costs/consumable as I have only had mine around a year, service is around £150~

Cant really remember standard but MPG is around 42-45 after stage 1, sitting at 60 MPH on motorways, that is with cruise control though and Shell V-Power (not sure if v-power helps or not!)

Don't let just that lure you in though, if you have an energetic right foot you will probably struggle 260-300 miles from a tank, I can get just over 400 miles if I behave myself.. which i usually can't!

Yes the gap is quite large in the wheel arch, poor things are scared of the tarmac, I was running Eibach 35mm springs but I have bought Bilstien B14 coilovers from a guy on this forum a few days ago, cant wait to get them fitted tomorrow!

Hope this helps mate

with the following mods, mine is running 242bhp @ flywheel, 220.7bhp @ wheels and 301ft/lb torque


revo stage 2 software custom set up on dyno jet rolling road
4 bar fuel pressure regulator
jr filter
n75 j valve
milltek turbo back exhaust with milltek high flow cat
forge motorsport front mounted intercooler
forge motorsport silicone hoses
forge motorsport alloy map sensor
forge motorsport silicone turbo inlet pipe
apr r1 diverter valve
ngk diamond spark plugs
brand new coils x 4
newsouth performance power gasket
pipercross secondary air filter
ecs stage 1clutch kit with single piece 20.5 lb flywheel kit

i do all my driving in town traffic, if i drive it like an absolute saint i imagine i could scrape 250 miles from a tank of v power, but more usually depending on the right foot i see between 170 & 220 miles per tank, could probably get 300 miles on distance driving, motorways etc

s**t on fuel but amazing fun

Sounds like i need to get myself a ride in one as so far they are all sonding nice!

How much is a tank in one so i can compare it to the mini? to £50 in that i only get about 220 miles tops and thats driving pretty sensible with the odd blast!

Are they much worse on fuel after the map?

what do they sit like on the springs? do they go round the corners well?

Cheers Mike

Im not sure on figures standard but stage 1 gave me better MPG, on the motorway at least, dropped the RPM by about 500 when just cruising

Tanks are 45 litres, so full tank is around £62 on V-Power @ 137.9/litre

Ride height is still quite high on springs, with 35mm it's hard to notice any difference at all looks-wise

Handling is a different story, it handles pretty well standard but you can definetly feel the difference in sharpness, stability and response even on just springs

so they arent the best on petrol? Not that i would expect it from a 1.8t at todays prices haha

It says on my trip that i get about 28/29mpg but i did the maths and its more like 25/26mpg driving nice!

What are the common problems with them and also a stage 1 map should see you just under 200bhp....does this burn the clutch out within a month of driving or are they still quite stong?

May have to take a trip to my local VW dealer for a test drive

Cheers

Mine with stage 1 if I drive like a grandad I get around 32 mpg, i spent most of Sunday on boost and I averaged 26mpg. So it's not too bad, that's with v power.

They are lovely reliable cars. 1.8t is a manageable costing engine to maintain, not the cheapest but nothing like other larger vw engines I.e. R32 (stage 1 is quicker than r32 as well)

Get in one and you will never look back.

That seems slightly better than my mini and i can manage that haha i sont mind the petrol if its going to be faster than my mini

Do you all run them on V-Power then or is 95 octane rubbish in them?

its all looking good and they seem pretty cheap to insure too which is very appealing

so what are the common mods that people do to them?

how much should a stage 1 Map cost and is there anywhere in the North West that could offer me this service?

cheers

Also do they have Xenons on as standard and heated seats?

Thanks

There wasn't any option of xenons on the GTi.

Heated seats were an option though - heated cloth seats and headlight washers were part of the winter pack, and the optional leather interior (pretty rare) came with heated seats as standard. They are epic.

The minimum recommended fuel is 95RON, but I usually find myself filling up with super unleaded. I can barely notice a difference during normal driving to be honest, but it just seems like a good idea. I have used 95RON in it though, and it was still pretty rapid!

Hi mate I'm getting over 35 mpg out of mine and that is a mixture of driving. If I drive like a grandad I can get just over 40mpg and mine has is a stage 1 revo. I honestly can't believe how much fun they are and reliable. I would recommend getting one. Mine has heated leather which appears to be quite rare but they are about if you want one. I travelled 200 mile to get mine as it was ex demo with all the extras. Treat yourself mate you won't be dissapointed. I have had mine over a year and just replaced the front bushes which seem to be a common problem. You can soon sort that with some uprated ones.

that is good economy mate for the power you get!

I am seriously tempted to get one once i have sold my mini haha i really need a spin in one to get a feel for it! are they silly quick after stage 1?

I have a fear or getting it mapped and the clutch going after about 2k haha

Well there are loads of common faults with the mini which i have had and fixed so i am not so bothered about that one!

so do you even get cruse control on them as standard?

Cheers

Can anyone tell me how much the roadtax is please? just trying to work out my costs

125 for 6 months or 220 for 12 i think....... i may be out by a fiver

If it were me I'd get a mk4 Ibiza cupra. 4 pot AP brakes and Seat Sport FMIC as standard, all you need for stage 2 then is a turbo back exhaust, uprated TIP and DV...but that's just me.