GTI Upgrade!
 

I finally got my hands on a GTI, not a Golf, but a French equivalent. Been longing to own one of these for a while, especially since my 48 hour test drive back in July, which was very generous of Peugeot to loan out expensive cars to people for two days.

So mines a one year old/4000 mile top of the range 270 BHP version with every option besides the panoramic roof which eats headroom and adds weight. It's simply stunning to drive, it's hard to explain just how good this car is until you drive it. Build quality is rock solid, Peugeot has got the likes of VW/Audi worried now. It has huge bucket seats which pin you in place, and have a nice massage feature. The interior has so many nice features, leather touches here and there, Red stitching, brushed aluminium accents, black headlining, the quality of plastics is superb. Despite this being an almost new car, it had £12,000 off the original £30,000+ list price when new, possibly the bargain of the century for a car of this calibre.

The 1.6 litre petrol engine originated in the BMW Mini, now revised and highly tuned with a Borg Warner twin scroll turbo and Mahle racing forged aluminium pistons, cooled by a double jet of oil underneath, and carbon treated to reduce friction. The injectors are powerful enough to cut solid concrete. It's the most powerful engine of it's size and has more BHP per litre than a Ferrari 458 Italia! The 6 speed manual gearbox has a nitro-carbon treatment to make it more durable too. It has HUGE 15" brakes at the front, and the 19" rims on mine are lighter than the stock 18" rims. It also has a torsen limited slip differential, which is quite honestly astonishing, the speed at which you can take bends full throttle is quite scary!

But this car is more than just a track toy, when driving normally it's very refined and efficient. The ride is fairly firm, but also comfy and quiet, at 70 MPH there is no wind or road noise despite the huge rims. Peugeot widened the front track for better handling, but it also helped the steering lock, which is remarkable for a car with wheels this size. The engine has so much power, you can change gear very early and still make huge progress, max torque happens at just 1900 RPM, like a diesel, so you can floor the throttle in any gear at any speed and you have almost instant power, it's quite remarkable. This car has the best power/weight ratio in it's class, the car weighs a mere 1200KG, which is great for fuel economy too. Taking it easy I've seen 42-46 UK MPG so far, I should see between 300-400 miles per tank if I'm lucky. It also has a boot (trunk) larger than it's Golf rival, the list of things to like about this car just go on and on and on....like me...

So I've only increased my engine size by 0.1 litres V's my previous car, but I've tripled my power! I love it, I cant stop driving it. Until I take some decent pictures, these naff phone snaps will have to do. I hid the first part of the number plate, it ends in SUV although it's not an SUV...

Congrats, very nice car.

Soon as I saw the thread title in the new posts section, knew it was you. I was thinking "No, he didn't!" Congrats!

Futuristic cockpit, cool thick looking steering wheel. Wish we had these available here. Wonder how's the reliability of modern French cars.

If I decide to get a newer car, most likely I want it to be a hatchback. Nice blend of everything.

Thanks guys. I'm hoping it will prove reliable, my previous Renault was the most reliable car I've owned so far, and I keep reading consumer reports and collated data that suggest French cars keep climbing the ranks, whilst Germans are dropping somewhat (he says, remembering the engine is kind of German lol...)

Congratulations. That's a cool looking car. I agree on the roofs. Who wants the extra weight and bits to break and chances to leak and everything else? Give me a solid roof with more headroom so I can raise the seat all the way up and still have plenty of room.

Paul,

That looks cool, enjoy, but be careful :)

You now have a Jekyl and Hyde garage, the GTI for the times when you want to have fun going fast and the Insight for the times when you want to have fun going slow.

Sounds quite idyllic.

Oliver.

Well sadly I had to let the insight go, needed the cash to put towards the gti, and I've just had the Clio back from the bodyshop, so that will be up for sale too shortly. But I am ecstatic about this car, I've never owned something that drives like this, feels like a supercar!

I had the chance to give the GTi a quick wash just before the new year. They added some kind of paint protection, not sure of the exact product, but the car required little more than a blast with the jet wash and a hand shampoo/dry, came up great. Detailed the wheels too.

Note the 15" front brakes are actually carbon ceramic, made by Alcon in the UK who made the brakes for the Ariel atom, Bentley Continental and other premium brands. The full LED headlights are crazy good at night, it's like someone bought the sun back. Personnel best trip MPG of 51.3 over 30 miles, but been doing a lot of "lets see what she can do" trips which has lowered my average a bit! Totally love this car. Anyway, a few pics, cant be bothered hiding the registration anymore...

Little video I made.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKE5RiOAktk&t=25s

How do you embed videos? used to be able to do it?

That's the spirit! Soo jealous of those roads. It's all grid system where I live (right next to the city). Winding roads are rare and I have to drive much further out for most of them, besides two alright ones like 10 miles away.