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GTI or RSX? - READ ONLY

16 messages,  Last post on Jan 23, 2004 at 9:52 AM

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What is this discussion about? Volkswagen GTI, Acura RSX, Hatchback

Messages Page 2 of 2

#7 of 16 GTI by nippononly

Jan 16, 2004 (8:05 am)

has that bank-vault feel to it, combined with the best interior. However, also a feeling of overweight when driven, and consequentially soft handling. Reliability is statistically way off, esp with turbos.
 
You may be unpleasantly surprised by how small the RSX is inside - don't know if you've tried to sit in the back yet, for instance. GTI will have a lot more space. But RSX has the better powertrain of the two, IMO, and the better chassis control for sporty driving. Lightweight is good in this type of car!
 
If you like fuel economy to go with the sport, RSX is better. Standard warranties are the same; both will likely consume oil as they age.

#8 of 16 horsecrap!... by wetwillie

Jan 16, 2004 (8:21 am)

acuras do NOT have a higher resale. They may be in more demand because most people in this market are looking for basic transportation with maybe a nod towards performance - in looks only. The acura fills the bill in this respect.
 
Drivers know better, sure the VW is not as absolutely reliable on the whole but so what? Drivers are more involved with the machine so that the quirks that are VW are more endearing than annoying.
 
I have to admit the VWoA servicing is horrid but these cars (all cars) are so much more reliable than was the standard even 20 years ago we take it for granted all cars should be camcord reliable.
 
That reliability comes at a price. The DRIVING experience between the Acura and GTI is as different as is the reliabilty. Just depends on what your priorities are.

#9 of 16 wetwillie by nitromax

Jan 16, 2004 (10:19 am)

acuras do NOT have a higher resale. They may be in more demand because most people in this market are looking for basic transportation with maybe a nod towards performance - in looks only. The acura fills the bill in this respect.
 
So the RSX is better for people looking for basic transportation and a some performance.
 
Drivers know better, sure the VW is not as absolutely reliable on the whole but so what? Drivers are more involved with the machine so that the quirks that are VW are more endearing than annoying.
 
So the RSX is better when it comes to reliability.
 
I have to admit the VWoA servicing is horrid but these cars (all cars) are so much more reliable than was the standard even 20 years ago we take it for granted all cars should be camcord reliable.
 
So the RSX is better when it comes to service.
 
That reliability comes at a price. The DRIVING experience between the Acura and GTI is as different as is the reliabilty. Just depends on what your priorities are.
 
So what are the priorities that make the GTI better than the RSX? So far, everything you've said has been for the RSX.

#10 of 16 Take my advice by sts_pa

Jan 16, 2004 (1:59 pm)

I had a 2002 GTI 1.8T that gave me so many problems VW had to buy it back under the lemon law statutes. When a coil pack fails, you WILL be stranded (I was 3 times) as the car cannot be driven. When the window retainer clip fails, you WILL be stranded unless you don't mind driving/parking with a window down. There are also numerous creaks/groans and other unexplainable gremlins.
 
I bought a 2003 RSX-S and have had ZERO problems in 11 months. The manual stated oil changes every 10,000 miles and the maintenance schedule has nothing major until 100K miles.
 
The GTI had more torque (after the turbo lag) and the heated seats were great, but the RSX feels just as nice inside. The Acura has a more precise feel to the steering and the shifter is much better.

#11 of 16 GTI offers a different kind of value by gsolman6

Jan 16, 2004 (3:01 pm)

Both of these cars are hot hatches, that is "basic transportation and some performance," but one of the reasons I went with the GTI is that it is a full hatch(rather that a fastback) that provides more utility than an RSX would.
 
Yes that is 4-adults-and-a-large-dog hauling type of utility I am speaking of.
 
My experience with the base RSX is that the only dealer in town wouldn't budge from 20k while I had the 3 VW dealers bidding against each other to finally come down to $150 over invoice. That adds up to almost a $2k difference back in the spring of 2002.
 
$2k more for 20 less hp and a whole lot less torque? And a whole lot less inexpensive potential. APR and Revo can have me at ~ 240 ft. lbs of torque for under $1k. How much money do you have to put in a base RSX to see that much torque. With a $4k turbo setup possibly?
 
Also I have been to three dealers, two in Austin and one in San Antonio, and have gotten good service from 2 of the those 3. Yes I got horrible service and attitude from that third one, but my point is that if you have more than one VW dealer in your area you should be able to find one you can work with and all you have to do is keep going back since any dealer has to honor warranty service.
 
RSX Type S is in a more expensive price bracket than the 1.8t GTI(if that is the one we are talking about).
 
RSX is a good car, but why do the dealers(in my experience) talk more about the reliability/resale aspects than performance? Why did my dealer try to convince me to go for the automatic?
 
BTW: my bad coil packs never stranded me.

#12 of 16 by biggie2

Jan 18, 2004 (5:13 pm)

The '04 GTIs and Jettas are far more reliable than the '01. I would feel secure buying a vehicle that has had five years of fine tuning and reliability fixes.
 
If you were buying used i would tell you to stay far away, but i truly believe that these new '04s are fine vehicles.
 
Other than reliability, the vehicle overall is nicer than a base RSX, no question.

#13 of 16 Hey Kid by the_man

Jan 18, 2004 (10:17 pm)

Get A Ford Focus SVT. Don't complain that its a manual . Anybody can learn to drive stick. You can't go wrong by driving stick. Plust it'll cost you less in your initial purchase.

#14 of 16 scottsmi by joshs

Jan 20, 2004 (10:39 am)

I drive an RSX-S (I know you're looking at a base), and I love it.
 
Rather than get into a game of VW vs. Acura in general, or point out things you can learn from Edmunds and Consumer Reports, a few points occur to me:
 
1). If you're attached to the idea of an automatic/tiptronic, I'd say that is a point in favor of the GTI...I don't like the Acura's sport shift, but the GTI's is okay. Still, the_man was right and learning how to drive a stick isn't all that hard (and worth it once you do).
 
2). In my experience, Acura dealers seem to not budge at all until you have a rival bid, and then they seem to deal pretty readily. If you're in a small area this might not help, but when I shopped in the greater Chicago area I had no trouble getting a good deal. If you're concerned about price, don't let this turn you off of the RSX.
 
I find the Acura to be a better car than anything else in the price range, but remember that I live with the type-S, so that experience might not apply.

#15 of 16 Ownership by tnisace86

Jan 22, 2004 (5:26 pm)

I'm looking for a used car. At this point, it's between a RSX-s or a Celica GT-s. Right now, it's leaning on the Celica. But I've heard some problems with it. Problem is, I can't find a RSX-type S anywhere. Extremely hard to find. Should I continue to keep looking, or just get a Celica. Don't get me wrong, I like them both, it's just a matter of getting the most bang for the buck.

#16 of 16 Celica or RSX by gsolman6

Jan 23, 2004 (9:52 am)

Having driven a base RSX and a GT-S I would probably go with the RSX Type S(yes, even though I haven't driven that particular model).
 
I think the RSX's exterior styling is already wearing much better than the Celica's and the RSX's interior can't be beat in its category even though the GTI equals it.
 
Also I did not like the tight gear spacing on the Celica's 6 speed.
 
You may have to look outside your area to find a Type S, but if you remain unconvinced try test driving(if you haven't already) new versions of both these cars since I don't think they have changed much since they came out.
 
Oh and if you are looking for best bang for the buck try a used WRX or Dodge SRT.

Messages Page 2 of 2

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