After accepting a job in Fredericksburg VA I decided that I wanted to look for something a little more practical to replace my 96 Miata as my daily driver (I also really wanted AC.) I ended up finding a great deal on a new GTI. Apparently on it's first test drive the individual driving it stalled it pulling away from a signal light and somebody not paying attention bumped it from behind at fairly low speed. It resulted in nothing more then a gouge in the bumper that has since been replaced. Because of this though I was able to get a decent chunk of change off of sticker price.
The car is a base model 2 door GTI with a 6spd. That is the exact combination I was looking for, and it was surprisingly hard to find. These days most of the hot hatch market is 4 door only. I did original intend on holding out for a performance package car in silver, but with the discount I got on this one that would have been nearly 8k more so I decided it wasn't worth it.
So far I really like the car. Coming from a Miata I love the new found sensation of having torque pretty much anywhere in the rev range at any time. It certainly does feel bigger and more floaty then my miata on coilovers, but it also has a ton more cargo room. I've been averaging around 37mpg on the freeway, so nothing to complain about there either. I hope to hit an autocross or two with it this year and then next year I want to run it in either GS or STX and see how it does agains all of the Focus ST.
Here she is the day I brought her home.
And then my second day of ownership I was already taking full advantage of the practicality. That's a 65" entertainment stand in the car.
