It would obviously be worth my time getting some quotes beforehand. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too bad, as I’m 37 with full no claims, and I don’t do many miles a year either, so unless insurance is horrific, it’s probably going to be dwarfed by the savings I could make vs another Golf GTI.

35mpg on a motorway is about right, but more like 26-28mpg in an urban environment.

Still have the car though, so it’s almost 6.5 years old now, and it’s still difficult to find a suitable alternative. I might end up buying an Octavia vRS in a year or so, as it’s basically the same car, but with a bit more space, and more modern electronics, and it’s much cheaper than the current Golf GTI.

I’m pleased you found the review helpful, and good luck with your GTi.

The MkVI looks good, but I don’t think it’s moved things on far enough to justify an upgrade for me. I’m at the 3.5 year point with my 05 GTI, and I suspect it will be staying on my drive for another 2 or 3 years.

It’s also pretty telling that friends and family have inquired about whether I’m interested in selling it, so they obviously think highly of it too.

your review certainly made a drastic contribution towards my path in getting a UK spec GTi 2009 MkV . Will be getting a Candy White 2.0 GTi full UK spec which are mostly imported by the grey importers here in Singapore. The authorised dealer is charging a hefty sum for their official version. The only difference I can see is that the authorised version for Singapore is “Hot Climate” which consist of radiator fans.

The grey imports seems to be doing pretty well here without any reports of overheating or breakdowns. With a saving of some US$7,500 I would definitely go for the greys !

Yes, the MkVI is just 6 months away but they would be selling them for high price being a new model. I prefer the interior of the MkV but the skin of the MkVI. So, with money being the only restrictor, I would settle for a MkV and hopefully in 3 to 5 years time, go for the MkVI.

Jim

Individual cars obviously differ, but I’ve experienced no downsides to my remap, and it does give the car that bit more muscle. I wouldn’t want any more power than 240bhp in a GTI, as I suspect it would be more than the front tyres could cope with.

I don’t want my car to be altered into a tyre shredding angry rage machine, just a bit more muscle would be nice!

I know the MPG on any car alters to how heavy your right foot is but does it affect the day to day driving MPG ?

Thanks

Alan.

See http://www.distantparts.com/2007/10/06/182/ for my detailed thoughts on Bluefin on my GTI.

I’m still very happy with the remap over a year later.