MK5 Golf GTI
General => Random Chat => Topic started by: JigBake on July 29, 2013, 12:48:35 pm
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I went do Mercedes-Benz world yesterday to drive the new A45 AMG and was absolutely amazed and blown away. After watching all the reviews I knew it was going to be good and I was still impressed with how much of a weapon it was. They really let me drive the car hard to really experience the car. The brakes, the race start, the gearbox was all jaw dropping. As for the noise on over run and gear changes! The car wants for nothing, is so complete and my god do I want one sooo bad.
Words cant describe it but Just thought that I would very very breifly share my experience.
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:jumpmove:
couple of questions - did you notice the downshifts to be annoying when entering corners?
have you driven an m135i?
was it quicker than an R32?
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I cant say I noticed the downshifts annouying me at any time, but brooklands is such a tight track that one gear gets you most of the way round. I thought the gearbox was great IMO, especially considering they are usually Mercedes' weak spot. From what I experienced they have done a very good job.
I havent drove the M135i no, but will end up getting A45 in the near future. Not a massive fan of it TBH. As for the R32 comment, are you serious :laugh:
As for handling, an R32 does not feel no where near as accomplished and im a big fan of the R32, as I had one.
Have you drove an A45 yourself??
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Is your Edition 30 tuned?? And how did it compare to it? DSG to Mercedes Version?
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I cant say I noticed the downshifts annouying me at any time, but brooklands is such a tight track that one gear gets you most of the way round. I thought the gearbox was great IMO, especially considering they are usually Mercedes' weak spot. From what I experienced they have done a very good job.
I havent drove the M135i no, but will end up getting A45 in the near future. Not a massive fan of it TBH. As for the R32 comment, are you serious :laugh:
As for handling, an R32 does not feel no where near as accomplished and im a big fan of the R32, as I had one.
Have you drove an A45 yourself??
nah not driven one but would like to. Think i would prefer it over the M135i but would have to drive both. R32 is a long standing forum joke as nothing is faster than it accept... white van man
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was it quicker than an R32?
:grin: :grin:
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My car is S2+ making 351bhp. Its hard to compare with the speed because The highest gear I got into was 3rd. Up until 3rd my car wouldnt stand a chance, it really covered ground quickly. I cant see it being any faster after or during 3rd though, it cant be. Would be an interesting race.
As for a comparison to DSG, my car is manual and the only DSG car that I have driven is a new Polo GTI with the 7spd, which is very impressive, but what I found better with the AMG is full control of the gearbox in manual mode, it will not change gear unless you pull either of the paddles. For that reason only I think it was better. Appart from that the gear changes just seems the same, the speed of shifts and smoothness etc.
I cant compare to the 6spd DSG in the golf though as I have never been in one sorry.
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nah not driven one but would like to. Think i would prefer it over the M135i but would have to drive both. R32 is a long standing forum joke as nothing is faster than it accept... white van man
Im sure the M135i is great, but it is not for me at all thanks.
As for the R32 comment, I clearly missed the humour and do remember some of the comparison threads. Woops
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Did you pay the £295 that MB are asking for the first 100 drives?
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Did you pay the £295 that MB are asking for the first 100 drives?
Yea, plus the £15 waiver. I am number 017 to drive it. I got a certificate and the first 100 also get a named plaque go on the wall somewhere. It will drop in price once the hype has dropped I assume.
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That's what I was going to do but not at that price. :smiley:
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300 quid to drive a road car?
If youve got any of that gear left... let me know! :grin:
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I also aggree that it is expensive but it was a present. Theres no denying it, especially when you consider my friend drove an E63 AMG (560bhp) for the same time and he paid £130 as a last minute buy. Great day out though.
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Very nice.
I had a drive of APR's Stage 3 + Golf R running Haldex controller VWR brakes etc and 460bhp.
Absolutely stunning...drove it on the roads around Castle Combe and on circuit where it was lapping at 1.16 a lap!
This package achieves 0-60 in 3.2 and was extremely well resolved. It is so good that at a recent Porsche day at Goodwood GT3 owners were queing to get in and experience it.
I priced the package up and the way to go is buy a cheap S3 as the whole lot soon adds up but you get one hell of a bit of kit.
DIY is the way to go and save money but even with brakes exhaust intercooler suspension, Haldex controller, DSG mapping or uprated clutch pack with car it still adds up to 25-30k dependant on donor car.
A 350-360 2wd Edition 30 with diff, brakes, suspension is still a compelling package on track with the right set up...I'm doing this to my new toy at the mo.
Is the AMG A45 a 40k investment?
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The AMG after 3 years will probably be worth about 25k if that answers the question lol.
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Is the AMG A45 a 40k investment?
I would imagine there are competitive discounts. I can get £3500 off through work, so imagine the Merc dealerships are doing similar discounts to the M135i. Aim for 15%.
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Work have pretty much given me the green light for the A45 and so long as the test drive goes well I can see this being the replacement for my 1er...
I still have concerns about dropping back to a 4 pot after having a 6 for nearly 3 years and the M135i is still on my watch list. It's just that I still can't get to grips with it's looks unfortunatly and believe me I have tried :sad1: I'm not saying the Merc would win a beauty contest, but IMO it just pips the 1er looks wise and I do fancy trying 4WD for some all weather performance. Also the fact that the A45 has haldex and still manages to deliver in the fun stakes definitely gets my attention.. Tuning might be an issue though..
S3 will get driven too, but not holding out much hope..
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Work have pretty much given me the green light for the A45 and so long as the test drive goes well I can see this being the replacement for my 1er...
I still have concerns about dropping back to a 4 pot after having a 6 for nearly 3 years and the M135i is still on my watch list. It's just that I still can't get to grips with it's looks unfortunatly and believe me I have tried :sad1: I'm not saying the Merc would win a beauty contest, but IMO it just pips the 1er looks wise and I do fancy trying 4WD for some all weather performance. Also the fact that the A45 has haldex and still manages to deliver in the fun stakes definitely gets my attention.. Tuning might be an issue though..
S3 will get driven too, but not holding out much hope..
Hmmmmm, interesting mate!
You know I'll be hassling you for a passenger ride if you do get the A45! :laugh: :innocent:
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If they are offering such discounts then that would be even more tempting. Still thinking hard about it. Coming from a 6pot to a 4pot is always hard. Sounds like someone needs to go for a test drive.
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You wont get 15% off an m135i and thats a fact, i would imagaine that Merc wont discount the a45 a great deal.
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You wont get 15% off an m135i and thats a fact, i would imagaine that Merc wont discount the a45 a great deal.
Yes you can. I got 14.5% and plenty have got 16% on factory orders.
http://www.babybmw.net/viewtopic.php?f=74&t=40339&start=105
I got just under £5k on my factory order. You even tried to beat my deal that was offered from Southampton, but I got a better deal from Elms Bedford in the end. They took the Douglas Park Hamilton offer of around £4500 discount and applied an extra £400 nearly.
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But i didnt go to 15% to try and buy your business :) A lot of people post on these forums of x,y and z discount in reality very few will get them.
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But i didnt go to 15% to try and buy your business :) A lot of people post on these forums of x,y and z discount in reality very few will get them.
You are stating the discounts aren't available as fact. They are, and it doesn't take much work.
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But i didnt go to 15% to try and buy your business :) A lot of people post on these forums of x,y and z discount in reality very few will get them.
Why not? You lost a sale.
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Because I like to get paid well for my time, anybody can give something away. (The car got sold anyway with less discount and with a trade in which we had a buyer for so win win)
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Because I like to get paid well for my time, anybody can give something away. (The car got sold anyway with less discount and with a trade in which we had a buyer for so win win)
What car? Just happen to have one exactly the same as I wanted? Or are you referring to a build slot?
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I had a stock car with the same spec as one the quotes you sent me, it wasn't a particularly rare spec.
We still have an Estoril 5dr in the showroom and I have underwritten one today with Sunroof,adaptive drive,dct,pro-media,sun-pro,interior/driver comfort pack in a 3dr again in Estoril.
We do pretty well with the m135i.
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I had a stock car with the same spec as one the quotes you sent me, it wasn't a particularly rare spec.
We still have an Estoril 5dr in the showroom and I have underwritten one today with Sunroof,adaptive drive,dct,pro-media,sun-pro,interior/driver comfort pack in a 3dr again in Estoril.
We do pretty well with the m135i.
DCT? :confused:
Anyway, back on subject..
I managed to blag an A45 for the day yesterday and did a good 250 miles whilst testing it. I'm not going to waffle on with a full 10 page road test report, but there are a few bits I will cover..
Looks - This car was a pretty standard spec car in White with the hideous standard 18's, so I wasn't head over heels in love with it in this spec. With the right bits they can look A LOT better IMO. Interior was a lot nicer than I expected and the seats were pretty fantastic in not only their visual appeal, but their comfort too..
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fw6%2FCUPRA270%2FIMG_1170.jpg&hash=6b24236a3061312ced80ee7559bfc86dc2f89e0a)
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fw6%2FCUPRA270%2FIMG_1175.jpg&hash=43aa109b840dd6392016ce39e40dc255ee3b245e)
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fw6%2FCUPRA270%2FIMG_1173.jpg&hash=4bfb850b9646c8f58a7022c11d28ae4ec627814d)
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fw6%2FCUPRA270%2FIMG_1180.jpg&hash=d1b3073f3171376f4d1088de8b1dc444cafbb300)
Ride & Handling - For a heavy weight haldex equipped car, I was mighty impressed with how chuckable and light on it's feet the car felt tbh. The turn in was delicious and grip was obviously available by the bucket load.
I was keen to feel what the ride was like in the car after reading so many reports about how harsh the car can be on anything other than smooth tarmac. I was very surprised how smooth the ride felt to be honest and was initially expecting that my dentist was going to have to re-attach all my fillings, but it was fine. Definitely a lot lot smoother than my mates Megane 250 that I drove recently. I will add that the car wasn't equipped with the optional AMG suspension and bigger 19's though, so this would most probably change with these additions.
Performance - As expected, this thing leaves the line like a scalded cat and is pretty ballistic to illegal speeds (especially for a stock 2.0L car :surprised:). 0-60 (according to some non-scientific testing with Dynolicious) revealed it was consistently cracking 0-60 is around 4.0-4.1. What it would be like high speeds and Vmax will have to wait for another day/track.
The gearbox was spot-on and I never experienced any of the downshift issues that a lot of the motor journalists found. Whether this has been ironed out with a software update or whether I was lucky, I don't know. Where I did feel the car/gearbox did let itself down was with the gearing. 2nd gear was ridiculous short compared with 3rd and 4th and when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd turning right on a RA for example, the car would sit very high in the rev range and would almost immediately change gear when applying the throttle again. This was made worse with 3rd gear feeling so much longer and felt as though the car had dropped out of it's power band (5-5.5k). When in S or C modes, the car would change at a smidgeon over 6k, just when it felt like it was just getting going and IMO would relish another 700-1000rpm.
The power is nowhere near as 'boosty' as I expected for a small-ish capacity TC'd engine running 1.8 bar and seemed quite linear with a nice punch after 5k as the revs got higher. This was all spoiled for me in the lower gears by the car upshifting. :sad1:
My best mate managed to film a 'Race Start' launch when on a AMG Driving day and sent me this vid a few weeks back. You can see here what I mean by the gearing. 2nd gear is all over by around 47mph... :surprised:
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi172.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fw6%2FCUPRA270%2Fth_IMG_4316.jpg&hash=f7234692d93ef9341944ceb7059b69c337e9c821) (http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/CUPRA270/IMG_4316.mp4)
All in all I did like the car very much and budget dependent, could be a serious contender as the BM's replacement (especially as I fancy a bit of 4wd/all weather performance). I also eagerly await to see what the tuners can do with this engine (if anything) when they start having a play, but I don't expect there to be huge gains if reliability is required. :sad1:
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We still have an Estoril 5dr in the showroom and I have underwritten one today with Sunroof,adaptive drive,dct,pro-media,sun-pro,interior/driver comfort pack in a 3dr again in Estoril.
DCT? :confused:
Even Autocar or Autoexpress got it wrong when they reviewed the M135i. :grin:
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To be fair, unless you look at the tech spec on the gearbox, you would be hard pushed to know the difference between a DCT box and the new 8 speed ZF auto..
I would expect a BMW salesman to know though.. :booty: :laugh:
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Hahaha i will concede that one :signLOL:
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Sunglasses Ron, its interesting to hear another 'normal' persons opinion that has drove the A45. For me personally I prefer the smaller 18" wheels that you dislike, im not to keen on the 19" from the C63, (I like then on the C63) but each to their own.
I didnt notice how short 2nd gear was. If 47mph is correct, then that surely means the car doesnt just set the record for output/litre but shortest 2nd gear ever :smiley: That means 3 gear changes to reach its 0-60 time.
I personally think the white car in the pictures that you posted looks stunning! The car I drove looked a bit bland in comparison. It was black, and it just didnt stand out enough.
How did you manage to Blag one for the day?? You missed that part out........
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I personally think the white car in the pictures that you posted looks stunning! The car I drove looked a bit bland in comparison. It was black, and it just didnt stand out enough.
How did you manage to Blag one for the day?? You missed that part out........
Same way I managed to get this one for 24 hours on Fri- Sat...
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fw6%2FCUPRA270%2F549547_10151590688281938_741366464_n.jpg&hash=69aa23152a880f8f3de6da9e9cdb20fd28ff0b09)
I just told them I wasn't going to make a decision on a £40k+ hatchback from a 10 minute drive up the road.. :happy2:
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The styling has more than a hint of Japanosh about it, this being said you can spot them a mile off coming down the road. They are growing on me, it is really good to see Mercedes competing in this section of the market.
Is there no 1M on the horizon Ben! To give you something to think about. :wink:
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The styling has more than a hint of Japanosh about it, this being said you can spot them a mile off coming down the road. They are growing on me, it is really good to see Mercedes competing in this section of the market.
Is there no 1M on the horizon Ben! To give you something to think about. :wink:
It will be a 2M if and when it does arrive, but if it's anything like the last one, it will most probably be manual only :sad1:. That being said, it's still something I have on the radar.. :wink:
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Can't you drive stick or something why autos all the time no joy in a car doing the work for you
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Can't you drive stick or something why autos all the time no joy in a car doing the work for you
Because I spend most days on the road in traffic and cover 30k a year... Simple really. I can't ever see me going back to manual, unless it was a garaged track toy that was used solely for fun.
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Yeah I do about that a year in all my manual cars but etto and all that. In a performance car I think it takes something away from the driving experience these auto cars
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I would have to agree if my car was used for the commute I would also choose auto.
If its purely a toy once the novelty of dsg has worn off I preffered the slower manual.
But I can see why a lot of people prefer auto in that scenario also, as it allows them to fully concentrate on the road ahead.
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Most of the 30k is work mileage as well, so hooning is a small percentage.