Bought a Golf in a Dress, but not the 718 :-)

[MrDemon]

I know it's a Cayman section, but some people like to know what I am upto and I did take the piss out of the 718 calling it a Golf In a pretty dress.

Well 2 months on I have sold my S1, I did not gel with it, so I have in fact bought a Golf Clubsport, a Golf in a mini skirt , which is interesting as I have been calling the 718 a pretty Golf because of the 4 pot new engines and cannot get past paying £65k for a 4 pot !!.

Well I am amazed at the car, it's night and day better over the S1, the Recaro seats are to die for, I have bought a manual of course, and the disks are massive 340mm ones !!
picked it up for £27k only 7 weeks old, It's seems better built than the new range of base Porkers, has bigger brakes, better seats, better tech, better EPS !!! makes you wonder how people see the value in the 718 range now it has a Golf engine

Not only that it laps the ring the same as a 718 also !
I know people were a little upset me calling the 718 a Golf In a dress but that's massive praise indeed as this Clubsport is that good. So good I am going to give it a go on track when I have ditched the P zero's it came on,
HOW CAN a P-Zero be made, they are utter shit and yet again I am going to have to throw away a new set of tyres as they are that bad !!! and I don't need to buy "N" spec lol I am free to fit MPSS ;-)

So it's a bit like my Cayman R spec wise, White, black details, mirrors, stripe, spoiler etc, buckets, manual, and the CS tweaks, it's the Cayman R of the Golf world.
I am a hot hatch fan boy, always have been, and while they went all poor for about a 10 year spell, Hot Hatch's are back imo it's an amazing car, not been this impressed by a car for ages.

One could say it's all the car you ever need really ! and while people go on and on about how the GT4 and Spyder etc are great value, (I think people are mad calling £90k cars great value) £27k for this IS great value imo

 

[Phillip Wright]

As long as you are happy, that is all that counts as it is your money. Thank goodness we don't all like the same things.

Enjoy.

 

[Twinfan]

Nice, but I'd rather have Mrs Twinfan's Focus RS Mountune [8D]

 

[MrDemon]

lol Focus looks a hoot also, todays hot hatches are back to being fun again after a lull.

I bet the Doors close with a better thud on the Golf though lol

 

[Steve Brookes]

I see you're being controversial again D! While I can understand people calling an Audi TT a golf in a dress because of there being so many similarities under the skin, I don't see any where near enough similarities between a golf and a 718 for that phrase to be relevant.

 

[Twinfan]

lol Focus looks a hoot also, todays hot hatches are back to being fun again after a lull.

I bet the Doors close with a better thud on the Golf though lol

The Focus is very well built actually, I was surprised. With 375bhp and 4WD it's an absolute blast to drive, much MUCH more enjoyable than the 718 S loaner I've had for the last two days......

 

[Brian_Innes]

Well, for my two pence worth, I've owned and driven my version of 718 CS for considerably longer than 2 days............on both road and track.

I've also specced it the best you can make it from the sporty options, and it really works quite well on both the road and the track compared to my previous 3 other Golfs in dresses.

The 718 is not a "Golf in a dress" any more than the Cayman 987,981, and 982 is. Having owned Golfs and Sciroccos in the past I am entirely familiar with their capabilities and no matter how you tart up a Golf is it still a Golf. Porsche can make sports cars. VW make peoples cars.

Michelin also make better tyres than Pirelli. We make our choices and pay our money.

Brian

 

[ChrisW]

I have to agree that hot-hatches are now very good.

But they are still hot hatches ....

I also thought about a Golf Clubsport as a step up from my Polo BlueGT ... thought 4WD could be nice, fancied a compact estate, and ended up with an Audi RS3 Sportback.

It's a very nice place to be but suffers the inertia of it's drive system. The engine is wonderful ... and best of all, my wife will drive it !

 

[MrDemon]

. Porsche can make sports cars. VW make peoples cars.

Brian

I wish that were true Brian, but sadly Porsche now make "peoples cars" 75% sales are SUV, and now a 4 pot In a Cayman.

they do nothing for me.

The GT dept is invite only so ave person now has no chance.

what is a sports car ? I have no idea I am about fun and that's why a Golf came 2nd in EVO and my other hot hatch my Clio Trophy also came top, 10 years a go.

Porsche bar the GT cars come no where in any mag these days for "best drivers cars", because they ARE "peoples cars" now

 

[Brian_Innes]

I have to agree that SUV's have eclipsed the sports cars in the Porsche range. Sad that.

My 718 has really surprised me. Now that I have had the opportunity to get to know it better on the track, and also touring over 1700 miles in the UK for the last fortnight, the 718 should not be dismissed as a posh hot hatch.That is being unfair to the car. As I have specced it, the 718 has raised the bar in every department for the mainstream sports coupe sector in dynamic performance, except for the sound track. After a while you get used to it. The 718 is at its worst sound-wise when droning along on the motorway. Get it singing its baritone notes on the higher revs on the track or the winding mountain roads where I live and it's a much more pleasant place to be.

As EVO mag already stated, the Golf Clubsport is a serious contender in the best driver's car category and I also know that you with your long experience will get the best out of it David. I hope you enjoy your track time with the Golf........jostling for track space with the EVO's, GTR's, VXR's and the like. Good luck with that.

My hot hatch daily driver of choice is an Abarth Competizione 180bhp. Turbo lag by the bucketful, but when the 1.75 Bar of boost kicks in it shoves the 1000kgs along at a great rate of knots. I love it, but my 718 is streets ahead in every respect.

I look forward to hearing how you get on with tracking your Clubsport Golf.

Brian

 

[MrDemon]

I'll do a few track days at Donnington with it, but it has "NO" camber adjustments, so I need to buy some trick top mounts, some engine mounts and some tyres, then it should be set to go, atm though I am enjoying it, far far more than my S1, I looked at the Abarth, but I need boot space and 4 seats in at least one car, even the S1 was too small and lasted 2 months in my hands.

I'll be jostling with the Cayman R's and GT3's I hope not the evo's lol

 

[Brian_Innes]

Ah hah! So the "Golf in a dress" is not so boring after all in still providing camber adjustments front and rear for those of us who know about such things.

Glad to see Porsche still make concessions to us sports car owners despite the "yummy mummy" SUV market.

Donnington should be fun in the Golf Clubsport even with the fixed camber.

Brian

 

[MrDemon]

lol nothing is adjustable on the 718 or 981 ;-) at best you have an alinement slot, bar that every thing is fixed sorry to say.

Even my GT4 had fixed toe links !!! shocking for a GT car !

 

[ralphmusic]

It does seem an eccentric design.

 

[Brian_Innes]

lol nothing is adjustable on the 718 or 981 ;-) at best you have an alinement slot, bar that every thing is fixed sorry to say.

Even my GT4 had fixed toe links !!! shocking for a GT car !

Not strictly true David........

As Ralph has subliminally stated, there are eccentric bolts on the the rear suspension of 987, 981, 982 to allow a small amount of camber and toe adjustments, as well as the front track rod end (toe) and top mount slots (camber) you mentioned. Tiny variables I agree, but not entirely fixed as on the Golf and on my Abarth for example.

Of course these modest variables in geo settings are nowhere near the scale of adjustments offered by rose-jointed spherical bearings as is commonplace on race cars, and as you correctly say, these should have been offered on the GT4. I think I am correct in saying that only the 991.2 GT3 RS has rose-jointed suspension adjustments on the current range of Porsche GT cars. Unfortunately not all owners lucky enough to own such machines have either the desire or the knowledge to exploit such facilities.

Brian

 

[ralphmusic]

.. and of course adjustability requires owners/drivers to know what they want or cycle through various settings until they give up or reach Nirvana.

Solid bushing creaks, transmits more road noise, and wears out more quickly.

Very few owners of Porsche models drive their cars anywhere the limits and these are the ones who might want to use the adjustability.

It is easy to add adjustable suspension components so I think in this respect Porsche's products make sense for >95% of their customers.

 

[MrDemon]

I am not talking solid bushings, you cannot adjust anything on the 718, or 981, it's more small adjustment to aline the car within spec. all cars have this even the Golf !

the GT4 is useless for adjustment , you can have everything adjustable but if it has fixed rear toe links you cannot adjust anything as you cannot change the Toe lol !!!!

So all the adjustment in the world and a GT3 front end is halted by 1 part !!! I don't get why Porsche did it !

every none GT porker is as good as fixed sus. and the GT4 was laughable with fixed toe links !!! to say other wise is just being daft.

I dare to think how much Ralf has spent on adjustable LCA and parts, and CW was about an £8k bill for the manthy set up!!!

Tim Raven, well he must be £15k in and still going on his GT4 lol

Ralph,you say it's easy to add adjustable parts, but A: people don't and B it voids the warranty !!! people won't even go away from N spec tyres, so to fit a set of RSS arms will be a BIG NO NO for 99% people !

I cannot see Brian fitting £8k parts to his 718 any time soon and yes 95% of their customers will be happy as they make "peoples cars" and SUV's.

Come on guys lets not say black is white here. you cannot even dial In a fast road set up on a non GT porker let alone any serious track work.

 

[Brian_Innes]

Absolutely true on both counts David.

A: No chance of me spending £8k on adjustable suspension for my 718.

B: A fast road set up, for those of us who know what this is, cannot be achieved on current wheel alignment settings on mainstream Porsches.

My point was that owners can tweak the wheel alignment settings marginally via the eccentric bolts, so in the strictest sense there is a modicum of adjustment available.

Brian

 

[ChrisW]

And in fairness David, the money I have spent has bought me far more than the rear toe-links alone which would have unlocked a true fast road set-up on the GT4 ...

I agree illogical, or fear of how close the GT4 could be to the GT3 with very modest spend ??

If the latter, is that a reason not to buy a GT4 ? Or a reason to buy one and get stuck-in to a few easily reversible mods ??

 

[MrDemon]

I love your set up Chris , I am not saying don't spend the money I have no right to ever say that to anyone, in fact I love to see people get the best from a platform, it's exciting, I am not a PASM fan and would rather some trick shocks.

I only have the toe links, so I can at least dial in a good setting, the hassle is the car will have to go to a shop and have the Tarett parts taken off soon when it goes in for part ex. or worse still if I wanted to extend the warranty on the car with just my Tarett toe links it would not allow a extended warranty to be put on. so 4 trips to extend the warranty, all parts off, 111 check, all parts back on, then a another geo !

The UK and buyers are anti mods it's quite clear when selling a car it has to be stock, the warranty thing just for a toe link is daft.

IF I were keeping my car (might still be if the GT3 does not happen) then one is stuck between a rock and a hard place, I want a gear box warranty due to the 3rd gear issues on the GT4 (seems early cars are ok like mine and yours though) but my car is now classed as modded for a stupid toe link part on a GT car ! I have no local good shops to do work on my cars so every thing is hassle, and any sus parts always needs a geo after also.

I don't mine Spending £10k on the GT4 if I keep it, it's a great platform.