Debating purchase between Fiesta ST & MK VII GTI

[ajs00100]

Guys,

I am in a dilemma and could use a bit of your help. I have had the chance to test drive a Fiesta ST, as well as MkVI GTI. My dilemma concerns my purchase of a Fiesta ST and a MKVII GTI.

My purchasing criteria:
-Fun to drive
-Reasonably priced(Lease or Finance, with payments under 390 with $0 down(5 years finance or 3 years lease))

The Volkswagen dealer offered me a lease deal of $333 with 1,999 down with payments for 35 months, which accounts to $13,545 over three years($387 overall per month). Lease buyout would be around $14,000(based on a 55% residual value). Car is a base model with lighting package. MSRP of 27,000
The Fiesta ST can be purchased/financed for 5 years with payments of $390/month with no money down. MSRP of @25,000

My dilemma comes down to whether or not I would want to upgrade my vehicle after three years. If I do decide to upgrade after 3 years of owning the FiST, how much would I be able to get if I trade in the vehicle? I will most likely want to get a new car after 3 years. It would either mean turning the ST into a track car, or turning in GTI to upgrade to a Corvette.

I like the grown up feel of the GTI, but I have not had the chance to drive a MKVIII yet. I have driven a MKVI Golf R which was fun, but felt a bit isolated from the driving experience. The power was nice, and the car felt solid, but did not put a huge grin on my face. Let me know what you guys thought of the MKVIII GTI and the Fiesta ST after you drove it.

Please feel free to chime in and voice your opinion.

Anas

 

[MegaBuster]

its hard to beat the grin factor of the fiesta. I did not consider the GTI because of the weight. I wanted a light weight car that was quick on its feet so I went strait to the Fiesta. Lots of people buy GTI's but I think most people that gravitate towards to Fiesta are more serious about their driving experience while the GTI is a more grown up vehicle

 

[rexdriver85]

The GTI is more refined, interior is a lot more grown up and so is the whole car in general. It will be faster out of the box (in a straight line) and the community is overwhelmingly huge, as well as the aftermarket.

They are very nice vehicles, solid.

I've come from many years of Volkswagens and have driven all model year vehicles Jetta and GTI from MK3 to now.

I can tell you if fun factor is a high priority the FiST wins. If you can actually get a chance to push both vehicles, you will literally be amazed at how good the FiST is in comparison. It's insane how good the car is out of the box. The VWs cannot compete.

MyFordTouch is way better than any of VWs systems in my opinion, tons of ways to hook your multimedia in the vehicle as well.

I don't know if this matters to you, but, if you choose the FiST you will be apart of a more unique, smaller and mature community.

Go over to the VWVortex and see how people who ask questions get treated and then come back here and browse around. You'll see what I mean.

Good luck!!! You can't go wrong either way, but like MegaBuster said, if you are serious about driving experience, the Fiesta is your ticket! [emoji106][emoji106]

 

[praecurvo]

There's not much to say than what's been said. I looked around quite a bit and came to the same conclusions as above.

 

[ajs00100]

Thanks for the response guys. The Fiesta ST is a much more fun to drive vehicle than the GTI.

I have had the chance to drive a Jetta, CC and GTI and it is true, they feel like much more grown up vehicles, isolating the driver from the experience, and that is what some people desire in a vehicle.

I agree with you rexdrive, MyFordTouch is quite comprehensive in its multimedia inputs and options, and to be honest, the touchscreen does not irritate me as much as it does automotive journalists.

 

[turbowhiz]

I seriously considered the Mk7 GTI. I test drove it right properly and its definitely a great car. I figured I wanted a more mature comfortable car (I'm a middle age guy with a wife and 2 kids).

In Canada however for a 4 door GTI you're Autobahn trim and that's it. And I was also seriously considering the Cadillac ATS (2.0T manual sedan), and between the GTI and the ATS I preferred the ATS, considering how the Canadian pricing is the GTI is getting very close price wise to the ATS.

And then I drove the FiST. And that was it; It was pure fun to drive. The GTI was good, but on balance the ATS was better. But the FiST was pure fun, and when the $ is considered then it was a no brainer.

It is significantly cheaper in Canada (10K+ on the road cheaper then the GTI). Its more fun to drive then the GTI. And although I've just had the FiST 2 weeks, its been great. I've not regretted my choice for a second. Its been very livable as my commuter car. The MFT infotainment is fine, the creature comforts are good enough. And the Recaro seats are awesome (in Canada they're standard. Don't buy a FiST without them IMHO)

Now if the GTI was the same price as the FiST, I'd still take the FiST having driven both, because the FiST is just so much pure fun. However if I didn't have other vehicles in the family that are more practical (i.e. the family van) then I might consider the GTI over the FiST for practical reasons. I'm okay to pile the wife and two young kids into the FiST, but its not the go-to family car. But for my own personal commuter/weekend car, its great. And still practical enough for the daily grind.

 

[FiSTofNoVA]

I couldn't decide either.. So I purchased both. I love each one differently. Most of what everyone else said here is on point. To me, the GTI is a much more comfortable better built car (at least interior) but yes the my touch on the Ford is way better than VW's infotainment. Pure fun driving enjoyment, FiST. More of a car, GTI. Also if it matters, my FiST is a stage 3 tune and my GTI is still faster with only a power module installed. Handling wise, as far as I've pushed both, pretty much the same. If you have any other specific questions I can probably answer them for you! Either way you go...

 

[FistSt215]

The GTi well cost you way more to own. They have a huge aftermarket . If you do get one I would get the mk7. I had a mk6 dsg before I traded it in for the fist . When you get ecu re flash , they have to crack open the ecu by hand and reseal it up . I seen and read so many damage ecus and not covered by warranty of course . The mk7 I've heard don't require to crack open the ecu. To sum it up if you want to mod the Gti it will def cost twice the fist would.

 

[ajs00100]

Turbowhiz,

I looked at the ATS as well but the lease deals are just too expensive, and it seems like a smarter idea to start with a cheaper car, and get a nicer car down the road compared to if I had gotten an expensive car to start off with.

I had a quick drive in the FiST last year, and I remember it being so much fun to drive. It reminded me of the first car I drove a long time ago, a late 80' 5 Speed Suzuki Swift which was a riot!

I did do a lot of research on the Recaro's, and while some people say they are a tight fit, I am small in stature to start with(5'9", 150) and the standard seats did not provide enough bolstering. A friend of mine had a C63 with the Bucket Seats, and I fit perfectly in them.


FiestaofNoVA,

Thank you for letting me know. The GTI does leave a lot of performance potential on the table, but the trim I would like to match equipment levels to the GTI was frankly, just a bit too pricey(SE Performance Pack, almost $30K+TTL). I am concerned with fun, and the feeling that I am going fast versus actually going fast. Sounds a bit weird, I know lol

FiST215,

The GTI has a great after-market, but I won't be looking much into mods till a couple of years down the road.

 

[McSwine]

The GTI is more refined, interior is a lot more grown up and so is the whole car in general. It will be faster out of the box (in a straight line) and the community is overwhelmingly huge, as well as the aftermarket.

They are very nice vehicles, solid.

I've come from many years of Volkswagens and have driven all model year vehicles Jetta and GTI from MK3 to now.

I can tell you if fun factor is a high priority the FiST wins. If you can actually get a chance to push both vehicles, you will literally be amazed at how good the FiST is in comparison. It's insane how good the car is out of the box. The VWs cannot compete.

MyFordTouch is way better than any of VWs systems in my opinion, tons of ways to hook your multimedia in the vehicle as well.

I don't know if this matters to you, but, if you choose the FiST you will be apart of a more unique, smaller and mature community.

Go over to the VWVortex and see how people who ask questions get treated and then come back here and browse around. You'll see what I mean.

Good luck!!! You can't go wrong either way, but like MegaBuster said, if you are serious about driving experience, the Fiesta is your ticket! [emoji106][emoji106]

Pretty much agree with all of this. I came out of a 2012 GTI, so I can't speak about the new one, but the fun-to-drive factor goes to the FiST hands down...and it's not even close (IMO).

 

[Stun a]

I traded my '11 mk6 GTI with dsg for my fist. Before that i had a wrx STI hatch.

The fist is hands down my favorite. It is simpler and more fun. It has everything I need and nothing I don't.

I agreee with everyone about the fun factor. The fist is a hoot, while the GTI is a nice car but not a hoot. The DSG shifts about 10x faster than you can with the fist, but who cares?

Vw Parts, OEM and aftermarket, are 2x as expensive compared to the fist. One reason that I left my GTI bone stock. Furthermore, I had some kind of electrical gremlin with my gti that caused the engine to shorter and stall when starting it warm. Dealer could not solve it after five tries despite having vwoa case. Only reason I didn't lemon law the car was because I was the second owner and not legally able to do so.

Another reason I sold it is because, while I enjoy occasional wrenching, the massive numbers of leaking waterpumps on the 2.0t engines concerned me a little, especially considering that some owners had repeated failure, installation is apparently tricky and dealers don't do it properly.

Another issue is timing chain tensioner. Pretty low failure rate, but if it goes, bad news.

My dsg never gave me any trouble, and I serviced it by the book, but the oil change every 40k at a dealer can be around 6-700. For a dsg oil change. It does require the 2-300 rosstech VCDS scan tool to do and the oil is about 120 alone. But fix a broken dsg? I think the assembly is well over $5k in parts alone. There are some significant plastic parts inside as well as electronics, that you pray last longer than you own it. The mechatronics unit (circuit board) is like $1500+. VW replaced a ton of them under warranty for the mkv.

I like me the fist manual gearbox. Simple.

I am happy that if the tranny or engine goes on Ford, I have a better chance if being able to affordd it. And I would actually want to, because the fist is just that much fun.

I like the MyFordtouch much better than the vw infotainment system, BTW.

Also, the vw leather seats are not perforated, which doesn't make sense in warm climates.I regretted that, though they held up nicely after 3 years. Get the plaid if you get the GTI.

 

[FiSTofNoVA]

No problem for the insight! Everyone here has valid points and expericnces with both, in the end it always comes down to money. I can tell you, you would be happy with either. Are you willing to spend the extra 4-5k on GTI is the question. You should not even consider NOT getting the Recaros if you choose FiST! I am 6'0 and 235lbs and I make myself fit! haha. There is definitley a break in period. Lastly, the FiST feels like a car made for the track, meaning you feel everything. Maybe bc I am so big it affects me more, but a long trip in my FiST sounds taxing. Whereas the GTI is pretty smooth for everyday driving in any conditions. I have both, right now, and I drive both of them every week, and I do not envy your decision.

PS- Yes the GTI forums are filled with chumps and that's not cool.

 

[mustachiofurioso]

I just got out of a '11 DSG GTI Autobahn. The MK VII was tempting, but I had a pretty bad experience with my MK VI with only 33k miles. I've had every generation of the Golf/GTI since the MKII as well btw. Couple quick comments on some of my issues:

-The car was pretty dull to drive stock. With a stage 1 tune, it was quick, but still boring.
-If you have a tune, VW will find out about it and deny any warranty coverage. You might be able to get away with it by completely removing the tune from the ecu, but I'm not sure. They denied a fuel sensor on mine due to my "undetectable" APR tune.
-Virtually everything in it rattled like crazy. Seats, pillars, door panels, dash, center console, literally everything. That's not acceptable in a 30k car. VW also only only covers rattles for 12k miles.
-Leather started peeling right around the 3 year mark.
-The artificial engine noise generator (soundaktor) rattled at certain rpms which was not covered.
-It ate up a water pump every 8-10k miles and had various electrical issues.
-The NAV was also about the worst I've ever used.
-TPMS would go off all the time when tires were inflated at or above correct pressures.

I also have a 2008 MKV R32 with I bought CPO with a 75k Bumper to Bumper warranty. They pretty much didn't want to cover any defective materials like peeling shifter trim, rattles/squeaks, or other material defects. That car is thankfully very solid mechanically.

So far my ST is a lot more fun to drive, but it will have its own issues I'm sure. It already has a couple rattles at 800 miles, but that's a lot easier to swallow in a 22k car vs a 30k car.

 

[ajs00100]

My brother had a Jetta as his first car, and considering it was a brand new car, that car had one or the other go wrong every few weeks. It was quite scary, but it was under warranty.

A brother of mine got a 2014 Jetta last year and is quite happy with it so far, it seems solidly built and that 5 cylinder makes an interesting sound.

I am definitely getting the Recaro Seats, they look amazing, and they are heated which I think is a must in NM winters - they are no where as bad as Michigan winters but a warm bum is a must lol

 

[MrClean]

The GTI is more refined, interior is a lot more grown up and so is the whole car in general. It will be faster out of the box (in a straight line) and the community is overwhelmingly huge, as well as the aftermarket.

They are very nice vehicles, solid.

I've come from many years of Volkswagens and have driven all model year vehicles Jetta and GTI from MK3 to now.

I can tell you if fun factor is a high priority the FiST wins. If you can actually get a chance to push both vehicles, you will literally be amazed at how good the FiST is in comparison. It's insane how good the car is out of the box. The VWs cannot compete.

MyFordTouch is way better than any of VWs systems in my opinion, tons of ways to hook your multimedia in the vehicle as well.

I don't know if this matters to you, but, if you choose the FiST you will be apart of a more unique, smaller and mature community.

Go over to the VWVortex and see how people who ask questions get treated and then come back here and browse around. You'll see what I mean.

Good luck!!! You can't go wrong either way, but like MegaBuster said, if you are serious about driving experience, the Fiesta is your ticket! [emoji106][emoji106]

^This post nails it on the head.^

The only other part I could add is it also depends on where you live. I'm not sure about the driving roads in NM so, if they're mostly straight, you probably won't be able to enjoy the Fiesta as much as someone who lives near some twisty roads. If the straight roads happen to be the case, I would suggest going straight for a Corvette. LS motors are awesome for making power AND they get reasonable gas mileage for being a V8.

 

[dirtyb]

If you have any other specific questions I can probably answer them for you! Either way you go...

Real world MPG difference? Fist about 5mpg better?

 

[FiSTofNoVA]

Real world MPG difference? Fist about 5mpg better?

I'd say right around that yes. It's a little hard to say exactly right now bc I drive a little more spirited in my FiST. Also that DSG in the GTI is super smooth, especially when driving "normal" and loves to shift early. I have been averaging between 260-280 miles to the tank on both (city/hwy mix). I never run them too close to empty though, always have about 30-40 miles left in the tank.

 

[RStolz]

The MKVII engine is a "next gen" type. It is the first generation for much of it's design and electronics. that means there are a lot of unknowns. And a lot of potential for problems. From what I have heard, they've been fairly reliable so far, but they are still pretty new.

By comparison the FiST engine is tried and true at this point. It's yesterday's news as far as engine and electronics design. Largely that means that any first gen gremlins have been worked out. And the engine has seen years of use in multiple vehicles.

 

[MegaBuster]

I love the feel of the torque vectoring bringing the rear around in the tight corners. Its fantastic fun!

 

[McSwine]

Real world MPG difference? Fist about 5mpg better?

At least. In my case, probably closer to 7-8.