Article Comments: 2006 Sport Compact Comparison Test - READ ONLY

274 messages, Last post on Aug 20, 2007 at 9:50 AM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Cobalt, Honda Civic, Mazda MAZDASPEED MAZDA3, MINI Cooper, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, Volkswagen GTI, Car Comparisons, Hatchback, Sedan

Article comments for 2006 Sport Compact Comparison Test - Here's the three-word definition we like: small, sporting, inexpensive. And because these cars are frequently the only transportation their owners have, reality says we should add a fourth: practical. (more)

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#265 of 274 Last note on Speed3 by forbesj Aug 06, 2007 (7:24 am)
eldiano - Driving the Speed3 isn't as bad as you're making it out to be. It barely torque steers, and cornering is just fine as long as you don't hit a rough patch of road. Yeah, if you gave it full power constantly with no traction control, it will burn the tires up in a hurry and get you nowhere fast, but if you're judicious with the throttle going through corners and launching (it is tough to launch quickly), it's fine, and it has TONS of power for when you actually do bring it up to its maximum potential: IE, once you're in 3rd gear, going in a relatively straight line, it will absolutely, positively torch the GTI and Civic. The excess power is only an issue if you have your foot to the floor and the engine pushing 4-5.5k when you shouldn't be doing that. And, yes, it would be stupid to do that through a long sweeping corner, it'll accelerate so quickly that you could easily overdo it. Or, you could just be in a higher gear, or give it a lot less gas, and you're all set, and have a huge power reserve when you hit the straight. So, because of the power, you can take the car way above its limits in corners at low speeds with ease, however, it's easy enough to use some discretion and not push the car too much in situations where it does have "too much" power. When you're at highway speeds, the Speed3 makes very effective use of all the power it has, as seen by the 1/4 mile times as compared to the 0-60 times. A WRX will stomp it from 0-60, but the Speed3 wins out in the 1/4 mile. It might not be able to use all of its power all of the time, but it can use all of its power some of the time, and for that some of the time, it's very nice to have!
#266 of 274 Re: continued... [forbesj] by eldaino Aug 06, 2007 (7:32 am)
Replying to: forbesj (Aug 06, 2007 7:17 am) excellent posts! totally agree with everything said. on a side note, did you know the gti can be had in 4 door guise now?
#267 of 274 Re: Just Wondering... [eldaino] by aviboy97 Aug 06, 2007 (7:38 am)
Replying to: eldaino (Aug 05, 2007 6:53 pm) avi, are crystal white pearl 3 hatchbacks still hard to come by? just wondering. You asked me that a long time ago, I think? But, yes, they are hard to come by. Crystal white is not popular. Why? I dont know. I know my store saw a higher demand this year for white, so, for 2008, we ordered a good amount. I do not know if that will hold true for other Mazda dealers.
#268 of 274 Re: ms3 and gti performance comparison [eldaino] by bani Aug 06, 2007 (7:42 am)
Replying to: eldaino (Aug 06, 2007 6:52 am) there's about 40,000 people where i work. what reports are saying that the mk5 is more reliable than the mk4? the mk5 hasn't been out in america long enough to collect data for any american report. but the mk5 has certainly been selling in europe for long enough, and the data shows it's not any better. i just recalled one other problem i had when shopping for a mkv (other than dealers not letting me touch a rabbit ). i had local dealers flat out tell me that pkg0 did not exist. and i couldn't find a 4 door gti for less than 28k, all the dealers were loading them up with tons of options and accessories and would not negotiate. i did find dealers back east who were willing to deal, but that would have meant i would have had to close a sale sight unseen with a car almost 3,000 miles away and then drive it back. Replies to this message: eldaino (Aug 06, 2007 10:35 am) bani (Aug 06, 2007 11:00 am) inceptor (Aug 19, 2007 8:27 pm) and 1 more...
#269 of 274 4 door GTI by forbesj Aug 06, 2007 (10:19 am)
Yep, I'm aware of the GTI being availible in 4 doors. I also didn't test drive the DSG, as it's not cheap. I have been in an A3 with DSG, and it will likely be a consideration on my next vehicle, if it's on a car I want (probably in 5-7 years unless the Civic proves ridiculously unreliable for some reason) When I was shopping, I too, couldn't find a stripped GTI, most were in the $25-28k range (probably all of the 4 doors). The least equipped one I could find had package 1, and stickered for ~$23.5k, although I think I could have paid just over invoice for it.
#270 of 274 Re: ms3 and gti performance comparison [bani] by eldaino Aug 06, 2007 (10:35 am)
Replying to: bani (Aug 06, 2007 7:42 am) all the reports i have ever read in europe about the mk5 golf have been great, both mechanically and reliability wise. and all of our reports here in the states prove that it is. the jetta (out since 05) has been rated at average, which is a huge step up from 'avoid this car altogether'. so, you work with 40k people, happend to know the hundreds that own mk5's and to top it off, NONE of them found the time to let eachother now how horrible of a car it is? typicall shady and overblown anti vw reliability rant. i think we should just leave the people you 'supposedly' work with out of it bani. package zero probably does not exist, because if you don't have package 1 or 2, you have package nothing, so theres no need to even designate it as a package. (although its commonly referred to by dubbrers as this, a clueless dealer wont get it.) lots of gti's are loaded up, but i've seen a few 4 doors for just about 24 k. and acouple of high 22k 2 doors. out of all the dealer experiences i've had, the one with buying the rabbit was the easiest and most pleasant. rabbits are short in supply and the few that get on dealer lots are coveted and held for serious buyers. the rabbit will have a short run...i suspect it will do good for its resale, being engineered so nicely and in such a limited prodcution run. it will be missed!! Replies to this message: bani (Aug 06, 2007 11:00 am) inceptor (Aug 19, 2007 8:27 pm) eldaino (Aug 20, 2007 9:50 am)
#271 of 274 Re: ms3 and gti performance comparison [eldaino] by bani Aug 06, 2007 (11:00 am)
Replying to: eldaino (Aug 06, 2007 10:35 am) i told the dealer exactly what pkg0 was - "no options". they stated point blank that vw 'does not make GTIs that way' and if I wanted a GTI I would have to choose between a pkg1 or pkg2. pkg0 does exist. i called vw and they told me explicitly that it does and verified the msrp for me. Replies to this message: inceptor (Aug 19, 2007 8:27 pm) eldaino (Aug 20, 2007 9:50 am)
#272 of 274 Something interesting. by iomatic Aug 06, 2007 (3:00 pm)
Old news: http://www.onelapofamerica.com/history/2006/results/showResults.shtml?y=2006&res- =OVL_CUM Check out fourth place, and all the other vehicles in that class. Probably supercharged...
#273 of 274 Re: ms3 and gti performance comparison [bani] by inceptor Aug 19, 2007 (8:27 pm)
Replying to: bani (Aug 06, 2007 11:00 am) eldaino wrote: i told the dealer exactly what pkg0 was - "no options". they stated point blank that vw 'does not make GTIs that way' and if I wanted a GTI I would have to choose between a pkg1 or pkg2. pkg0 does exist. i called vw and they told me explicitly that it does and verified the msrp for me. You're correct. I bought a 2007 GTI 4-door with PKG0 two weeks ago...it only has DSG and the 18" Huffs. No navigation, no leather, no ground effects. Paid $250 over invoice. Replies to this message: eldaino (Aug 20, 2007 9:50 am)
#274 of 274 Re: ms3 and gti performance comparison [inceptor] by eldaino Aug 20, 2007 (9:50 am)
Replying to: inceptor (Aug 19, 2007 8:27 pm) actually, even you are wrong. package 0 does not 'come' with the dsg transmition and the 18 inch huffs, those are just 'options'. when did i ever deny that there was a package zero? i was saying it in reference to the fact that the dealers, (knowing so little about their products) may simply not 'get it' when you say 'I want package zero', because while it does exist, its still a silly concept to assign a car a 'package' when the 'package' adds nothing to it.