2005 Volkswagen GTI User Reviews

Pros

8 speaker Monsoon system w/ amp, 6-CD changer opt., smooth ride, 16' alloy rims, excel. cargo space

Cons

automatic trans. is rough on first gear, heavy doors for 2-dr type, 06 GTI newly remodeled

My girlfriend and I purchased the 2005 VW GTI a week ago and we love it. I took it on a 400 mi. road trip and the ride was excellent. Very smooth on the road and with the sound system on you become unaware of whats around. Our GTI came fully loaded with rims, sound system, sunroof, and alarm. Once you get familiar with car all the little details come to life. You'll see. The cargo space is excellent and the back seats fold down to give you a level space. This is handy for dog lovers like ourselves. The interior is comfortable even in the back seats. We owned a Honda Civic before the GTI and change was great....read morehide

Pros

Smooth power delivery, really great 5 speed.

Cons

not a lot of let room in the back seat.

I have never driven a car that is more fun. The transmission really sets it apart from any American or Japanese car I have driven. During regular driving you never feel as though you are in need of any additional power. Pulling out in traffic you have to keep your eyes on the car ahead of you more then being concerned about the car coming up from the rear. It takes no time at all to get out of it's own way. You really can't beat the practicality of a hatch. Maybe having four doors if you carry passengers a lot, but otherwise the seats move out of the way plenty for loading anything in the back seat....read morehide

Pros:
-Unassuming hatchback with a sporty edge.
-It tears asphalt while getting great gas mileage
-Very smooth at high speeds.
-Nothing on it is cheap looking.
-Lots of features for $19k.
-Good cargo space for it's size
-Plenty head room (tall people need not worry)
-Electronic Stability Program a definite plus
-Great everyday car

Cons:
-Monsoon sound system not much better than factory, not MP3 copatible (it's 2005 get with the program!).
-Seat adjusts w/ knob instead of lever... takes forever.
-Sun visors do not have extendors yet there's a tiny visor above rearview mirror (very useful, btw).
-Very soft suspension (mom's Chevy Tracker has stiffer ride!)
-Excess wind noise w/ windows down....read morehide

Pros

rge

Cons

rgreg

New volkswagen golf vr6 must get in finland... ;) My car is gonna be car like this.. :P

Pros

acceleration, performance, look, feel.

Cons

None

This is a terrific car! I have no complaints so far. I've only driven 450 miles though.

Pros

fuel economy, storage capacity, acceleration, horse power

Cons

too much time in shop,

My care only has 18,000 miles on it, but it has been in the shop at least a dozen times. Within the first 1,000 miles, I got some sort of electrical short during the holiday season. They had my car for 3 days. 1,000 miles later, my ignition coil burned out (or something) and it had to be replaced. They had my car for a week, but gave me a rental. Shortly thereafter, the remaining ignition coils were recalled and had to be replaced, which took a full day. The driver's side window fell into the door and had to be replaced (2 days). The sunroof started leaking (2 days). My rear axel got bent when I hit a curb (didn't think I hit it that hard) and had to be replaced (many trips adding up to approx two weeks). The latch on my center armrest broke (couple hours). Currently, my cruise control is on the fritz so I will have to take it into the shop again.

When the car works, its fun to drive. It just spends too much time in the shop....read morehide

Pros

very fast, good handling and great breaks

Cons

All season tires, needs gripper tires.

This my first German car, selected this over a Mustang, best choice, for the money, mine is loaded leather moonsoon, and I love it, stable in the corners, comfortable, I spend 2 + hours on LA freeways, and this car will past in 5th. Vw has a winner.. the great thing is it not a police magnet, I drive right past them...I guess the 1.8 badge helps....read morehide

Pros

Quality feel, torquey engine.

Cons

Soft suspension, too sober.

After several years, VW finally got the MkIV model right and now it's a very reliable car. The car is ideal if you don't want to attract any attention. I mean, it's still quite a pretty design, but it won't turn heads because there are so many of them. Besides, the GTI has too few differences with a regular Golf (the Mk.V fixes that among many other things).

The 1.8T engine is simply fantastic, with smooth power delivery (just dont expect it to pull much under 1,800 RPM) and decent MPG. Handling-wise, sadly this is no sports car. Understeer everywhere and too soft a suspension make it ill-suited for spirited small road driving. For highway cruising, though, it's a breeze.
Of course it wouldn't be too hard to get more HP from this engine, but for a FWD car, it doesn't make that much sense. I think VW made a pretty good compromise.

Interior is very comfortable. I'm surprised about the quietness. Even revving to 5,000 RPM goes almost unnoticed from the inside (some would say that's a bad thing, though). Nice safety ratings, and nice equipment. The Climatronic system works well, and overall the car has a quality feel to it.

Anyway, even though I own a Mk.IV and find it much better looking than the V, I'd wait for the V if I were you. For what I've read and seen (it's not arriving in Chile until next year... what about the US?), it really feels like a sports car and revives some of the original GTI spirit. If you get a goot deal for a IV, though, I'd take it eyes closed....read morehide

Pros

good modern engine, stable

This car got a real good engine -- made for the highway.
The maximum torque is available at 1950RPMs and stays the same until 5000RPM. This means if you compare this car with a Japanese car,
you got much more power available at lower RPM -- so the 180HP translate to 300HP on a Honda – when considering available power for daily driving (below 4000RPM).
The car reaches 120mil/hour very quick in the 5th gear -- and stays stable at this speed. In the 4th gear you can reach this speed even quicker.
The top speed is above 140mil/hour -- but you cannot reach it because of the all-season tires allow only 130mil/hour.
Accelerating from 50mil/hour in the 5th gear is real fun – you can so easily -- without any need to gear down -- leave the rest of the world behind you.
If the stock power is not enough for you there are websites available which change the programming of the engine control – and you get even more torque and 30hp more.
The stability control makes certain that you don’t accidentally get out of control e.g. when accelerating full throttle from stop while making a turn. Cars with stability program are considerable less often involved in single car accidents.
The car handles very well on snowy roads – traction control comes into play. My version did not allow for snow chains on the stock tires – they are too wide.
Btw – 60mil/hour can be reached in the second gear.
The engine breaks pretty strongly when you step of the accelerator – this makes for quite relaxed driving – you hardly need to use the breaks when following other cars which do. Tip: Try to find an wide & empty parking place and do some fast turns – you can feel the stability program at work – it does not let you drive faster than the car will allow for a given turn radius – but tires are screaming nonetheless.
When driving in the city you hardly need to use higher RPMs than 3000 – relaxed driving.
BTW – I got the manual transmission....read morehide

Pros

strong engine, safe car, ride quality

Cons

rear seats takes too long to put down

Nothing bad about the car, except under the hood it could use another hood lift on the left side to provide support if pushing the hood down from the center.