mk5 gti golf

polod

hello .........im thinking of buying a mk5 gti golf i think they look gorgeous a 07 modle im looking out for ...im just looking for info on them ...i do a lot of short trips what kind of mpg or litres/100km can i expect to get ? any other things to look out for with them ? hom much petrol does it take to fill the tank too ? they would just be my biggest concern is running it

JoeA3

I had an 07 one for 4 years from new, traded it in recently (It's still on the dealer's forecourt if you were interested, and I can 100% vouch for it, an extremely well looked after car).

Tank is same size as every other Golf... 55 litres, which at today's prices takes the thick end of €80 to fill! On short journeys / city driving, you won't get much more than 500-530kms from a tank. That's very roughly 28mpg. On a longer journey with a light right foot, you will get over 600kms, which is what, about 34-35mpg.

Other running costs to consider are obviously road tax (€640 pa) and insurance. Tyres (on 18's or the smaller 17's) would be a bit more expensive than average too. Other than that, it's no more costly to run than any other Golf - i.e. servicing costs are the same or thereabouts.

In 4 years of ownership I had no significant issues with mine. I had a problem with the aircon that was sorted under warranty. Other than that, it was never in the garage apart from service time.

Have a look on the vagdrivers.net forums for plenty of other similar threads and info on these cars.

STForSale

I ran one for a year and could only echo what Joe has already said.
Sold it 6 months ago and have regretted it every day since....
They really are an excellent all rounder.

whippet

I sold my 07 DSG GTI a few months ago and I can vouch for the figures that JoeA3 quoted.

I had just shy of 60k miles on the clock and apart from Tyres (pricey for decent ones), Servicing and Oil (yes they like oil !!!)

Loved the car, the running costs are worth it.

JoeA3

Oh yeah, I forgot that bit - they do like oil! I had to top mine up with a litre every 5000kms or so. No big deal, but it needs to be watched.

Cosmetically, the 18" alloys are very prone to corrosion (white worm). It had started on mine, which on an otherwise immaculate car, looked a bit crap. It's difficult (even impossible) to refurb them properly.

I traded mine for a new MKVI GTD. The new car is leagues ahead in terms of interior quality, refinement, road noise, and of course fuel economy. It shifts through the gears very very well too, but I think the GTI had the edge for driving enjoyment - a more nimble, more fun car overall! A great all-rounder really.

Fizman

I've been driving a '06 manual for the past 18 months and love the thing. Being honest I average around 580 - 600 kms from a tank, mixed driving. I've gotten 700 out of one before, albeit that was a leisurely drive to Donegal and back. I would regularly average around 550 kms per tank for city driving, and I wouldn't have the lightest foot around. It really does like its oil though!

I have had one nasty enough mechanical issue two months back (I keep putting it off starting a thread on it) so I'll get around to putting the details up soon.

spunk_monkey

Yep, if you want something quick, nice looking and reasonably economical then the GTi is a great option.

Bought one recently and I love it..I do mainly city driving, depending how it's driven , I get from 480-650km per tank.

Had it on a dyno recently and it was putting out 210 stock:).

They are supposed to respond very well to a remap too..

If it were me, I'd go with the 18'' alloys and either the slate grey or candy white colours. Make sure to check the service history, very important, especially on a car like this. I came across some lemons..one lad had a DSG one with over 130k km and I asked him had it had its second DSG service and he just looked confused..book showed it had never had any DSG service at all.

In the end I went for a very low mileage one and it will be serviced every 10k km.. I wouldn't go near any of the ones that are on a ''long life'' service plan with service intervals every 30 k km or so..

Nonoperational

Have mine a year now. Not great on fuel around the city. I'd get closer to 400km than 500km from a tank around the city which isn't great. Can touch 600km on a trip alright provided I don't go over 120/130km/hr.

In the year I've had it I needed a new aircon compressor for which VW paid the part cost (around €800) and I paid the labour (€400). I also needed a new diverter valve as the old one split (€80), a new pcv valve (€40) and new wishbone bushes on the front (€120). Also needed new brake pads all round (€250) and I recently put 4 new Potenza tyres on it (€570). Service costs are very cheap but it will need a timing belt at 4 years which cost me around €450.

As you can see much of the stuff mentioned above is standard maintenance, they are not a whole lot more expensive than any other car to own but the petrol and tyres are pricey at the same time. There's also a recall on the coil packs on earlier ones so if it's around 2006 you're looking at, most of them can get 4 new coils for free. I've used around 500mls of oil in 15k km so mine uses no oil really.

If I was buying one I'd plug in Vagcom to make sure there were no fault codes showing.

spunk_monkey

gpf101 wrote: »

Have mine a year now. Not great on fuel around the city. I'd get closer to 400km than 500km from a tank around the city which isn't great. Can touch 600km on a trip alright provided I don't go over 120/130km/hr.

In the year I've had it I needed a new aircon compressor for which VW paid the part cost (around €800) and I paid the labour (€400). I also needed a new dump valve as the old one split (€80), a new pcv valve (€40) and new wishbone bushes on the front (€120). Also needed new brake pads all round (€250) and I recently put 4 new Potenza tyres on it (€570). Service costs are very cheap but it will need a timing belt at 4 years which cost me around €450.

As you can see much of the stuff mentioned above is standard maintenance, they are not a whole lot more expensive than any other car to own but the petrol and tyres are pricey at the same time. There's also a recall on the coil packs on earlier ones so if it's around 2006 you're looking at, most of them can get 4 new coils for free. I've used around 500mls of oil in 15k km so mine uses no oil really.

If I was buying one I'd plug in Vagcom to make sure there were no fault codes showing.

Didn't think the mkv had a dump valve?

Nonoperational

It does indeed. This is the new one that was redesigned after the old ones kept blowing...

http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_V--2.0T/Engine/ES263879/

spunk_monkey

gpf101 wrote: »

It does indeed. This is the new one that was redesigned after the old ones kept blowing...

http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_V--2.0T/Engine/ES263879/

Cool, theres something I didn't know..although I think that's a recirculating valve which works differently than a dump valve which is why there is not much of a dump valve noise as such.

gpf101

gpf101 wrote: »

Have mine a year now. Not great on fuel around the city. I'd get closer to 400km than 500km from a tank around the city which isn't great. Can touch 600km on a trip alright provided I don't go over 120/130km/hr............

Seems more like it to be honest.

Nonoperational

spunk_monkey wrote: »

Cool, theres something I didn't know..although I think that's a recirculating valve which works differently than a dump valve which is why there is not much of a dump valve noise as such.

Post edited I actually meant to say diverter valve originally, you wouldn't get away with much on the motors forum these days!

JoeA3

RoverJames wrote: »

Seems more like it to be honest.

Yeah, those figures would be close to what I got. I do a lot of short/city driving and there were occasions where I wouldn't have got much more than 450km from a tank. But I did see over 600kms on the occasional long trip.

The GTD is doing 700-750kms on the same short hops, so that's a welcome change!

Homer

Sold my beloved MkV gti a few months back and have regretted it to be honest. MPG for me was 500km from a tank on a good week and 420-440 on a bad week. Always kept some spare oil in the boot and topped up roughly every 8-10 weeks depending on the mileage I was doing. Had mine remapped to 240 and it really mase a noticeable difference, especially torque in the higher gears where the DSG box used to drop down a gear, it didn't need to do that anymore as it had a lot more torque in 5th and 6th. Find a well cared for example and you definitely won't regret it.

spunk_monkey

my last tank reached over 600 km..consisted of a return trip from dublin to port laois (about 200km), a few short m50 trips (60km) and the rest was all city driving. Did go easy on it though..no rallying around the place..except the odd bit:D

paddydriver

All great write ups!

I have an 06 from new and has 44k miles on it now. It has looked for a service every year so forget long life servicing etc.

Has been loyal servant and could not recommend it enough. I am planning on putting 10 years ownership in on mine; only way to ever get my value out of it;)

Seem everyone has the same issues though - my Air con compressor went too and had it done under warranty, the dump valve the same. The coils were done under recall on last service. Timing belt just done too - pricey!

It drinks oil! Just got another 8 litres on the current halfords deal - see Bargain Alerts and use the groupscheme voucher for another 10%.

Tyres have been as expected. Have to compliment it and say it was good in snow as the DSG just drew me out of any think and slippy stuff.

Economy wise... have actually been working hard recently on that as my office drive is 16m door to door with most on M50 so actually got it to 40MPG one day on way home! Watch for me cruising on inside lane doing 95ish the whole way - don't touch brakes once from time I hit M50 to off ramp at Dundrum:D. Once you give it welly then it starts rapidly drinking juice.

Have often thought of getting a more economic diesel but its a false economy as I would lose my hat on it now for a trade in and not interested in getting back into another car loan for another 5 years as the GTI and wife's 2008 s-max is paid for; now there is another great car too! Perfect for a family of 3 young un's.

Thumbs up on the GTI from me. Great car and would hate to see it go.

Paddy

spunk_monkey

how do you know when the air con compressor goes? Dunno if it's in my head but don't think my aircon is producing really ice cold air like it did when I got it a short time ago...If the compressor fails out of the poxy miserable 2 year warranty, is it just tough ?

Fizman

It's funny, only in the last couple of weeks have I contemplated selling it, but the more I look at other possibles online, the less inclined I am of changing. I have it fully paid for, but my intention was to maybe buy a car for maybe €4k less so I can free up a few quid for other stuff, not to mention the amount of hopping around the globe I've been doing recently.

Mine is due a service now, and I think spark plugs, brake fluid and brake pads are due. Not to mention possibly 2 new tyres. If I put all of that money into her, I will almost certainly hold onto it for another while.

A thread I've been meaning to start for a while now would be in regard to what peoples opinions are on what is the best pound for pound petrol car on the road today. I reckon the MK5 GTI has to be a very strong contender when you factor in performance, handling, running costs etc.

whippet

Fizman wrote: »

A thread I've been meaning to start for a while now would be in regard to what peoples opinions are on what is the best pound for pound petrol car on the road today. I reckon the MK5 GTI has to be a very strong contender when you factor in performance, handling, running costs etc.

the GTI would get my vote each any everytime. I still get a small feeling of regret everytime I pass by one on the road.

However, needs were needs at the time and what I have now is the perfect car for where I am in life now !!!!

Fizman

Fizman wrote: »

..........
A thread I've been meaning to start for a while now would be in regard to what peoples opinions are on what is the best pound for pound petrol car on the road today. I reckon the MK5 GTI has to be a very strong contender when you factor in performance, handling, running costs etc.

New or 2nd hand? Pound for pound a €3000 200sx is incomparable to a mk5 GTi. The likes of a Stagea RS4 landed for under €5000 would be too, along with loads of other contenders.

Nonoperational

Well the main way to tell if your aircon isn't working is if the air isn't a lot colder when it's turned on versus when it's off. You can also check for error codes on vagcom. Mine threw one when the compressor went. As I said mine is a 2006 and they paid for the compressor and I paid for the labour. It's an expensive job.

paddydriver

It seems to be a well know issue with the compressors in these and other VAG's so VW may cover the parts. I had an extended warranty so it was covered but garage told me the warranty provider had deal in place already that VW provide parts and they cover install.

If you are not getting joy off VW or you want a good service and check over of your aircon then contact John Kenealy below. Couldnt meet a nicer guy and he will either regas it or tell you if compressor gone. He can do compressor job for far less than VW too with proper OEM parts.

http://www.carairconditioning.ie/

Fizman

Homer wrote: »

Sold my beloved MkV gti a few months back and have regretted it to be honest. MPG for me was 500km from a tank on a good week and 420-440 on a bad week. Always kept some spare oil in the boot and topped up roughly every 8-10 weeks depending on the mileage I was doing. Had mine remapped to 240 and it really mase a noticeable difference, especially torque in the higher gears where the DSG box used to drop down a gear, it didn't need to do that anymore as it had a lot more torque in 5th and 6th. Find a well cared for example and you definitely won't regret it.

Out of interest, where did you get this done? And how much? If I still have it come 2012, I reckon I'd go for a remap.

Oh, and what kind of impact did it have on your insurance?

dell1211

I bought a new one in 2007, ran it for 3years before replacing it with an R32.

I only covered 30ks in the 3years but had no problems at all with it and all it needed while I owned it was 2 basic oil changes and 4 new tyres. Mileage wise it was always around 30mpg regardless of what way I drove it. Wheels started to get some of that worm that another posted mentioned. Its impossible to stop and looks cack, mine was a result of stone chips, there was no kerb damage at all on mine.

EPM

spunk_monkey wrote: »

how do you know when the air con compressor goes? Dunno if it's in my head but don't think my aircon is producing really ice cold air like it did when I got it a short time ago...If the compressor fails out of the poxy miserable 2 year warranty, is it just tough ?

Basically. Mine failed 2 months out of warranty on an 06 Leon and it was tough luck from VAG. The compressor failed on the vrs at the same age and again it was tough although dealer got goodwill afaik in the end. It's the same part in all 3 cars.

Henry Ford III

I like mk5 Golf GTI's. 3 door in white please Good all rounders, and decently quick too.

p.s. Having read through the thread I find it a bit odd that there seems to be a preoccupation with fuel economy. It's a hot hatch after all. Won't be long until someone asks about cheap road tax post 07 I guess.

Fizman

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I like mk5 Golf GTI's. 3 door in white please Good all rounders, and decently quick too.

That's what I have, with the 18's and the sunroof.

p.s. Having read through the thread I find it a bit odd that there seems to be a preoccupation with fuel economy. It's a hot hatch after all. Won't be long until someone asks about cheap road tax post 07 I guess.

To be fair to those asking, I think it is a valid query. The reason being is that there is a significant difference in the economy of some of the modern hot hatches in comparison to each other. My mate for instance, has an Astra OPC. I'd say my GTI regularly gets about 100kms more out of a full tank, if not a little more. Now he has this car from new, in '06, so his driving behaviour is much more pedestrian now than it was when he got it, but he struggles to reach 500kms out of a tank, whereas I hit 600 and over often enough.

spunk_monkey

just while we are on the subject of white gti...what do people think about window tinting on them..is a light to medium tint too much-does it look too boy racer, or does it look good?

Thinking about getting mine tinted..I know the NCT doesn't allow but that a different story.

JoeA3

spunk_monkey wrote: »

just while we are on the subject of white gti...what do people think about window tinting on them..is a light to medium tint too much-does it look too boy racer, or does it look good?

Thinking about getting mine tinted..I know the NCT doesn't allow but that a different story.

Not a big fan. Makes it look like a van, especially if it's a 3 door!

spunk_monkey

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Doesnt an OPC astra have like 40/50 more bhp than a golf gti?

it is supposed to have an extra 40 bhp but not always the case (my gti had 210bhp stock). The opc is still thirstier though..you can map the gti up to 240-250 and it doesn't have any effect on mpg with normal driving.

spunk_monkey

JoeA3 wrote: »

Not a big fan. Makes it look like a van, especially if it's a 3 door!

A van! really? I can understand if it were just the rear and passenger windows..may look like a commercial..but if all windows(bar windscreen of course) had a mild tint do you not think it would look nice against the white and improve the overall appearance of the car?

spunk_monkey

spunk_monkey wrote: »

it is supposed to have an extra 40 bhp but not always the case (my gti had 210bhp stock). The opc is still thirstier though..you can map the gti up to 240-250 and it doesn't have any effect on mpg with normal driving.

Have you gotten yours on the RR with the new filter and plugs?

spunk_monkey

RoverJames wrote: »

Have you gotten yours on the RR with the new filter and plugs?

Hi James...car has just had a major service..standard filter and uprated ngk plugs..will be going back to the mapper over the weekend for some adjustments(i think) and a spin on the RR.

JoeA3

spunk_monkey wrote: »

A van! really? I can understand if it were just the rear and passenger windows..may look like a commercial..but if all windows(bar windscreen of course) had a mild tint do you not think it would look nice against the white and improve the overall appearance of the car?

It's a factory-fit option to have the rear side windows and rear windscreen tinted (privacy glass I think VW call it). They won't do the front windows from the factory.
In my eyes, it does make it look like a van. However, if you were to do all the side windows, it may look better alright.

Fizman

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Doesnt an OPC astra have like 40/50 more bhp than a golf gti?

Sorry, yes the OPC does have 40 hp more at stock. What I was implying though was what spunk_monkey was referring to, in that even at similar power output, there is still a significant difference in economy.

Henry Ford III

spunk_monkey wrote: »

....my gti had 210bhp stock....

Tuners dynos have been known to be optimistic you know.

spunk_monkey

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Tuners dynos have been known to be optimistic you know.

true, but the tuner in question uses this same dyno all the time and he has done heaps of gtis, he told me before hand to expect anything from 190-205 ish i think he said. I have driven a few of these cars and did notice this one feeling quicker(however it is in great nick, well looked after around 20k miles on it vs the others which were a bit ragged and 80 odd k miles on them)

TestTransmission

Fizman wrote: »

A thread I've been meaning to start for a while now would be in regard to what peoples opinions are on what is the best pound for pound petrol car on the road today. I reckon the MK5 GTI has to be a very strong contender when you factor in performance, handling, running costs etc.

I'd say it'd be easily beaten tbh with ya.
Add in reliability too,any major issues with yours?

Fizman

TestTransmission wrote: »

I'd say it'd be easily beaten tbh with ya.
Add in reliability too,any major issues with yours?

Read the thread. Post #6 refers to it.

I was just incredibly unlucky. Care to put forward some cars that 'easily' beat it?

Fizman

Fizman wrote: »

Read the thread. Post #6 refers to it.

I was just incredibly unlucky. Care to put forward some cars that 'easily' beat it?

RoverJames wrote: »

New or 2nd hand? Pound for pound a €3000 200sx is incomparable to a mk5 GTi. The likes of a Stagea RS4 landed for under €5000 would be too, along with loads of other contenders.

Pound for pound mark5 Golf GTi would struggle.

TestTransmission

Fizman wrote: »

Read the thread. Post #6 refers to it.

I was just incredibly unlucky. Care to put forward some cars that 'easily' beat it?

I'd say you could pick up a ST or a 3mps for the same as/probably less than a mk5 GTI.

You could get deffo get a DC5 for a lot less money and that would out perform,out handle and less to run than a GTI.I'm sure I could find a car for half the price of the nearest GTI that would beat it as RJ has already pointed out.

We'll leave it at that though,the VW fanboys have been a bit tetchy lately. :pac:

Nonoperational

You could of course beat it pound for pound but as an all round package it's hard to beat. A 200sx wouldn't be to everyones taste, and wouldn't be as good at relaxed cruising as the GTI. An ST has considerably higher tax and poorer MPG but I'd agree it pushes it close. Fine car. The 3mps is nice but I couldn't like with the looks.

I'm not sure I'd agree with you about the Integra, I thought the 0-60 time of the integra was 6.8s? That's 0.1 seconds off the GTI which does it in 6.8. Very easily remapped to do it in under 6s for under €300. Could you get a DC5 under 6s for €300? Same comments apply as to the 200sx about cruising etc and acceptability to certain people. Not sure how you make out it would be cheaper to run? The GTI will seat 5 people easily enough too.

I'm not saying it's perfect at all but for an all rounder it's ticking a lot of boxes. You could pick out a car for cheaper money to beat it in any one area but to beat it in all it's tricky.

I'm not a fanboy (stupid word) by any stretch just giving my 2 cents.

spunk_monkey

TestTransmission wrote: »

I'd say you could pick up a ST or a 3mps for the same as/probably less than a mk5 GTI.

You could get deffo get a DC5 for a lot less money and that would out perform,out handle and less to run than a GTI.I'm sure I could find a car for half the price of the nearest GTI that would beat it as RJ has already pointed out.

We'll leave it at that though,the VW fanboys have been a bit tetchy lately. :pac:

Are you sure!?

polod

cheers for all the info lads the main i was just cocerned with was just the running mpg costs as i do have a heavy right foot have a 2005 tdi golf to trade in against it i reckon 7 or 8 grand with it i should have a nice high spec one

TestTransmission

gpf101 wrote: »

You could of course beat it pound for pound but as an all round package it's hard to beat. A 200sx wouldn't be to everyones taste, and wouldn't be as good at relaxed cruising as the GTI. An ST has considerably higher tax and poorer MPG but I'd agree it pushes it close. Fine car. The 3mps is nice but I couldn't like with the looks.

I'm not sure I'd agree with you about the Integra, I thought the 0-60 time of the integra was 6.8s? That's 0.1 seconds off the GTI which does it in 6.8. Very easily remapped to do it in under 6s for under €300. Could you get a DC5 under 6s for €300? Same comments apply as to the 200sx about cruising etc and acceptability to certain people. Not sure how you make out it would be cheaper to run? The GTI will seat 5 people easily enough too.

I'm not saying it's perfect at all but for an all rounder it's ticking a lot of boxes. You could pick out a car for cheaper money to beat it in any one area but to beat it in all it's tricky.

I'm not a fanboy (stupid word) by any stretch just giving my 2 cents.

Pound for pound ,a DC5 is a better car,that's my argument.You're a fanboy,not my fault :pac:

spunk_monkey

TestTransmission wrote: »

Pound for pound ,a DC5 is a better car,that's my argument.You're a fanboy,not my fault :pac:

well if he's a fanboy, so are you!

I wouldn't agree it's a better car..I considered buying one very recently, and went with the gti for 3 reasons:

-It's a faster car after a remap, and just as quick without.
-I didn't want boy racer looks
-The DC5 has crazy insurance costs-more than double that of the GTi..It's certainly not down to it being more powerful, but more to do with it's boyracer image, poor security and increased likelihood of being robbed by young joy riders.

TestTransmission

spunk_monkey wrote: »

TestTransmission wrote: »

Pound for pound ,a DC5 is a better car,that's my argument.You're a fanboy,not my fault :pac:

well if he's a fanboy, so are you!

I wouldn't agree it's a better car..I considered buying one very recently, and went with the gti for 3 reasons:

-It's a faster car after a remap, and just as quick without.
-I didn't want boy racer looks
-The DC5 has crazy insurance costs-more than double that of the GTi..It's certainly not down to it being more powerful, but more to do with it's boyracer image, poor security and increased likelihood of being robbed by young joy riders.

I dont own one..... not my cup of tea

dell1211

spunk_monkey wrote: »

well if he's a fanboy, so are you!

I wouldn't agree it's a better car..I considered buying one very recently, and went with the gti for 3 reasons:

-It's a faster car after a remap, and just as quick without.
-I didn't want boy racer looks
-The DC5 has crazy insurance costs-more than double that of the GTi..It's certainly not down to it being more powerful, but more to do with it's boyracer image, poor security and increased likelihood of being robbed by young joy riders.

Plus the GTI is a much better all rounder than most hot hatches and especially a DC5. Its as happy(discrete, comfortable, realatively economical, cheap to run, power is on tap, quiet.....) cruising around town as it is being thrashed on back roads(great grip, chassis, power). All in all its an ideal every day car. The main reason I sold mine is because im not doing the mileage.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

spunk_monkey wrote: »

well if he's a fanboy, so are you!

I wouldn't agree it's a better car..I considered buying one very recently, and went with the gti for 3 reasons:

-It's a faster car after a remap, and just as quick without.
-I didn't want boy racer looks
-The DC5 has crazy insurance costs-more than double that of the GTi..It's certainly not down to it being more powerful, but more to do with it's boyracer image, poor security and increased likelihood of being robbed by young joy riders.

Double?? There is less than €100 insurance difference for me!

Boyracer image on the DC5, kinda true, not as bad as the DC2 Integra but a lot of time the boyracer image is down to how the car is looked after, driven and the person behind the wheel

I'm a big fan of Integra's, had a DC2 and am looking to buy a DC5 at the moment. I did consider the MKV GTi, test drove one a while back. They are a nice car, but I found them quite boring to drive, wasn't a fan of the interior (apart from the blue lights on the dials ). They are a lovely car, and if I wanted a car with a bit of poke when I would be doing a fair bit of mileage, I would have been interested, but for me the DC5 will win 99 times out of 100.

Theboinkmaster

TestTransmission wrote: »

Pound for pound ,a DC5 is a better car,that's my argument.You're a fanboy,not my fault :pac:

No it's not - DC5 looks cack.

I'd go for the GTI - easily the best all-rounder