Another comparison lost

Sounds like the MS3 kicked a$$ but they just needed to make someone happy.

If you want the most power and thrills for your buck, the choice is obvious. But we think more folks will be interested in buying the most rounded and refined hatch for everyday driving that just happens to be hot. That's the 2010 VW GTI
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Screw rounded and refined... I'll take power and thrills any day of the week :D
 
Marketing....it's VW's year not ours. We celebrated victory during it's first gen run, but then they can't let us win again so they gave it to VW. Afterall, there's no where the US makes have a car that can compete at all in terms of anything but performance.

Interior wise, I wouldn't say the VW blows the MS3 inside away. Not at all. Hell, I think those plaid seats are the worst.
 
how come every other thread is griping on how fugly the new MS3 is but then you stick up for it against the rivals? and I'd take the plaid seats over the new MS3 red pokadotted stuff all over the inside. The new Golf/GTI is getting all sorts of praise.
I think a big part of it is just the fact that people cling on the memories of when the 1st GTI came to the states. It's a soft spot in their hearts so to speak.
I drive a GTI but I'm honestly NOT biased. I spend more time reading up on MS3 stuff on this forum more than Mazda 5 which I also own. Course the mazda 5 forum isn't really all that exciting.
The new GTI is basically just a better version of the MKV which many of VW loyalists never fell for. True dubbers prefer CEL's, bad coilpacks, broken window regulators etc...LOL. Having a MKV for the last 3 years, I'd probably choose the 2010 MS3 over the new GTI just because it's simply not all that different. I could get past the smiling bumper and I like the interior other than the red splashy stuff on the seats and door panels. I like the scoop and the rear and side views look nice IMO.
 
The 2010 MS3 blows away the GTi,performance wise,but the seats in both cars are pretty bad. The 2010 MS3 seats appear to have been crafted by a video game designer and the 2010 GTi seats looks like leftover kilts from a Scottish Pep Rally! It comes down to,do you want a visceral experience or would you prefer 'Grey Poupon'?
 
looks wise, I thinks it's subjective. I like the plaid. That said, my GTI has the anthracite leather seats which are a little nicer (and heated). They're dark gray/black and very supportive but a common gripe with the VW seats are the funky dials and ways to adjust them. The lumbar is the only electric control, the rest being all manual.

Overall these 2 cars are always the top tier in the hot hatch. I think that is primarily due to the base car that it is built on. The Golf is a good car and the Mazda 3 is a good car. The performance versions of both are the clear winners based on their entry level packages. If I didn't care about performance, but wanted a hatch the Mazda 3 and Golf would still be my top two choices. I would choose the mazda 3 as it's 4 banger has an edge on the inline 5 cylinder in the golf. Salesman will pitch that it's got the performance of a six but fuel economy of a four. Uh no, it's the other way around. The mazda four banger is just more refined. The GTI 2.0 TFSI is great. The mazda doesn't quite BLOW the GTI away. It might seem that way on paper but the MS3 doesn't really just walk the GTI.
 
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I think that was a fair review. I said in a previous post that I'd consider the new GTI over the new MS3 if I were buying right now. They are both GREAT cars, but the MS3 no longer has leather, HIDs, LEDs, a decent Navi, or sufficient lumbar support. The interior is still nice but a little overdone on the trim. I still don't like the plaid seats on the GTI, but they are more comfortable IMO.

If performance were the only thing that mattered in this category, we'd all be driving Cobalts lol.
 
Design said:
I think that was a fair review. I said in a previous post that I'd consider the new GTI over the new MS3 if I were buying right now. They are both GREAT cars, but the MS3 no longer has leather, HIDs, LEDs, a decent Navi, or sufficient lumbar support. The interior is still nice but a little overdone on the trim. I still don't like the plaid seats on the GTI, but they are more comfortable IMO.

If performance were the only thing that mattered in this category, we'd all be driving Cobalts lol.
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Not necessarily true. While the Cobalt is dynamically superior to the MS3 and GTI, the performance difference between the MS3 and the cobalt is not so wide as to eliminate it from competing.
 
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After letting Cobalt test the domestic waters for a bit, I was really suprised that Ford failed to quietly slip the Focus RS over here for 2010

In something other than Green, of course

It would have made a nice counterpoint to the return of Cosworth to F1
 
boosted1 said:
The 2010 MS3 blows away the GTi,performance wise,but the seats in both cars are pretty bad. The 2010 MS3 seats appear to have been crafted by a video game designer and the 2010 GTi seats looks like leftover kilts from a Scottish Pep Rally! It comes down to,do you want a visceral experience or would you prefer 'Grey Poupon'?
Click to expand...

Donas64 said:
All the complaints of "torque steer" make me feel like auto journalists need to work on their upper body strength.
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You guys are funny! :)
 
meicalnissyen said:
After letting Cobalt test the domestic waters for a bit, I was really suprised that Ford failed to quietly slip the Focus RS over here for 2010

In something other than Green, of course

It would have made a nice counterpoint to the return of Cosworth to F1
Click to expand...

IMO, there's not much of a market for the RS at 30K something. It's dominated by Mitsu and Subaru AWD.
 
I don`t understand the fuss. You either like the car and drive it or you don`t.
How insecure do you have to be to be this worried about what some journalist thinks about your car? Read the reviews to get an idea of whether or not the car is worth checking out then go make your own decision.

I stopped paying attention to much more than the facts (slalom times, 1/4 mile times, top speeds, etc.) back in the 70s when the idiots at Popular Mechanics took a Celica AllTrac (a car ahead of its time) to a snow covered field to test the all wheel drive.
 
Design said:
IMO, there's not much of a market for the RS at 30K something. It's dominated by Mitsu and Subaru AWD.
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If they can get close in performance and competitive in price, there are still an awful lot of people who will "buy domestic" as the deciding factor.
 
Mid_Life_Crisis said:
I don`t understand the fuss. You either like the car and drive it or you don`t.
How insecure do you have to be to be this worried about what some journalist thinks about your car? Read the reviews to get an idea of whether or not the car is worth checking out then go make your own decision.

I stopped paying attention to much more than the facts (slalom times, 1/4 mile times, top speeds, etc.) back in the 70s when the idiots at Popular Mechanics took a Celica AllTrac (a car ahead of its time) to a snow covered field to test the all wheel drive.
Click to expand...

To be fair, I do enjoy hearing the opinions of journalsts (and fellow enthusiasts). It helps me identify both positive and negative aspects of a car that otherwise might go unnoticed during a test drive.
 
Design said:
To be fair, I do enjoy hearing the opinions of journalsts (and fellow enthusiasts). It helps me identify both positive and negative aspects of a car that otherwise might go unnoticed during a test drive.
Click to expand...

As I said, read the journalists to get an idea as to whether it would be a complete waste of your time or not, but beyond that...
I get more from reading places like this where people live with a vehicle day in and day out.
Some of these posters sound like unless the magazines tell them the car is the best, they don`t want it. That`s what the push behind my post was.
 
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