2018 GTI or 2018 WRX Pros and Cons Please

Having owned a 16 wrx...

I loved my 16 WRX. It was my 10th Subaru (2 STi, 1 wrx, 2 RS's swapped, and a bivy of outbacks). The FA20DIT will be fine for the type of mods/driving your looking to do. It was the best handling Subaru out of the box I had driven, yet was a fun daily driver. The suspension being just on the other side of firm. The interior was standard Subaru, bland. But it was fairly well thought out and had a better texture and feel than previous models. Although not a big car, the interior is very roomy, the rear seats especially. The DIT motor coupled with the new placement of the turbo makes a VERY quick car that gets great gas mileage. Lastly, the AWD system is superior (if you are counting that). I lived at altitude in the snow, and you simply cannot beat Subaru's AWD system compared to others. Quattro (non-Haldex) is the next best.

My mods included;
Cobb AP OTS S1
Nameless Cat back 5" tips (by far the best sound)
Kartboy short shift kit plus bearing
Enkei NT03 +m 18x9.5+27 255/35/18
STi wing

With the above said, there were quite a few issues. The stock tune is TERRIBLE. Like puke worthy performance above 70 degrees. The performance was wildly variable due to weather, quality of gas, etc. On hot days the car was an absolute pig. The car pulled timing so badly you could feel the car bucking and surging as you accelerated (to the point it would throw me forward into the seat belt). The Stage 1 Cobb tune helped, but a car from the factory should NOT be tuned so poorly. There was a recall for the 15's in response to an awful stock tune. The 16's+ were better, but at the cost of performance. Even with the Cobb tune, the car was ALWAYS pulling timing, and therefore was always under performing. Oh, and don't even think about turning on the AC. It turns the car into a Mack truck, and even more timing is pulled (all while blowing luke warm air, another age old Subaru "feature"). The gearbox was borderline OK. With the short shift kit it was doable, but really it was not a good set up. Very vague.

If you haven't already, head over to NASIOC forums, and filter to the FA20DIT forum. There is months of reading in there, and may be helpful in formulating your decision.

As far as the GTI? I have an R, so not super fair (I test drove a bunch of MK7 GTi). BUT, as others have stated above, there are some very distinct differences that stand out regardless of model;

- Interior is superior. period.
- The infotainment is better. Subaru Starlink is absolute junk.
- The factory tune is superior. Rarely do I notice timing changes or performance differences due to weather.
-The chassis is just a bit better. The car is and feels lighter. Which for me, makes spirited driving just one notch above the WRX.
- Its a hatchback. I will never own a sedan again. I talked myself into thinking the WRX was fine as a sedan. I was wrong. Worst decision Subaru made was getting rid of the WRX hatch.
- Responds to tunes and mods better. Especially the motor. These being mods that will not void your warranty.
- Iron engine block. I like that.
- Price.
- DSG. I needed to move to an auto. I so far love the DSG. I get you are looking at a manual, but I recommend rethinking that.

There is probably a bunch more, but I have already wrote a wall of words. All of course my opinion. Maybe this will help. Good luck with your decision!

josh

I have a ‘17 GTI and a ‘15 WRX Sport-Tech in the driveway. The WRX is Cobb Stage 1+, the GTI is JB1/brakes/wheels/tires/etc.

For a daily driver, GTI hands down. Zero comparison. Smoother, more comfortable, better seats, better stereo, better gas mileage, and just overall way more sophisticated. The WRX does not shine in the DD department although it’s perfectly fine for that.

The WRX comes into its own in bad weather, and is pretty fun on track. The overall driving experience is much more raw. The turbo lags, the AWD system clunks and rattles, it heat soaks, the shifter is notchy as hell (but much better than previous generations), and the suspension is too stiff for the amount of performance you get from it. However, that’s a WRX and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a quirky car, love it or hate it.

That being said, I’d still go GTI. Especially for a family car. The power potential on these cars is pretty nutty with very modest upgrades and you don’t miss out on any refinement in the process.

I considered both, but I went with the GTI for the following reasons:



Price. I am eligible for VW Partner program, and that plus dealer cash incentives saved me thousands vs the WRX.



Interior. As everyone else will tell you, it's much nicer inside a GTI than a WRX. That said, a friend of mine really likes her WRX, and she's 40 and carries two small children around in it. She used to have a BMW M3 (1998) and then a Saab 9-2X Aero, so she's accustomed to a nice interior. She said it's not what she'd call noisy, either. But, I have tartan seat fabric, and she doesn't. Game, set, match.



Transmission. I wanted a DSG, WRX has only manual and CVT (which is the wrong transmission for that sort of car).



Hatchback. If they still made a 5-door WRX, I might have given it a longer look. But, they don't, so I didn't.



Infotainment. Surprising that no one else has mentioned this. VW has Android Auto and Carplay standard, but they are not available in the WRX. (At least they weren't when I was researching them last fall.) Also, the WRX system looks to be the same one that was in my brother's 2012 BRZ, and that thing was terrible. It wasn't as bad as, say, a 2002 BMW 745Li with the 1st-generation iDrive system, but it wasn't much better than the Navi system I had in my old Honda Civic, which was cutting-edge in 2006.



I don't think the WRX is a bad car, and I'm sure if my priorities were slightly different I'd be quite happy in one. The GTI just ticked all the right boxes for me.

josh_ said:

With the above said, there were quite a few issues. The stock tune is TERRIBLE. Like puke worthy performance above 70 degrees. The performance was wildly variable due to weather, quality of gas, etc. On hot days the car was an absolute pig. The car pulled timing so badly you could feel the car bucking and surging as you accelerated (to the point it would throw me forward into the seat belt). The Stage 1 Cobb tune helped, but a car from the factory should NOT be tuned so poorly. There was a recall for the 15's in response to an awful stock tune. The 16's+ were better, but at the cost of performance. Even with the Cobb tune, the car was ALWAYS pulling timing, and therefore was always under performing. Oh, and don't even think about turning on the AC. It turns the car into a Mack truck, and even more timing is pulled (all while blowing luke warm air, another age old Subaru "feature"). The gearbox was borderline OK. With the short shift kit it was doable, but really it was not a good set up. Very vague.

Click to expand...

I heard about this, the stock tune being absolute garbage and the wildly varying performance. This is exactly what kept me away from the WRX. So many stories about the horrendous stock tunes.....

While I understand that slightly varying performance is typical with turbo charged engines, its something I want to avoid. I had a 2005 audi allroad 2.7 bi-turbo and it did this garbage (it did have 187k miles though). One day it would feel strong and kind of impress me and other days it was like wtf.

I dont want a car thats a dog, especially on summer days where A/C usage might be almost required.

So far, the best turbo car ive had was my 2015 Jetta 1.8t sport with APR tune. God damn that thing had no lag. for sure it was an aggressive tune but it felt way more like an N/A engine than it had any right to. Hoping the same for my GTI after I tune Stage 1 93 octane. The Neuspeed I have makes it very peaky and uneven power.

The GTI feels like it has retarded lag when taking off from a stop as compared to my previous tuned jetta. Granted that little turbo it had took no time to spool with the tune.

We own Subies at the ski house. All have the CVT, that tranny is why I came back to VW for the DSG. It really is all personal preference. Drive both and see which you like better.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

WRX is nice and I can definitely see myself driving it. However, price point, performance and overall quality made me lean towards a GTI

Just go drive both from a dealer and go from there. Only you will realize what you prefer regardless of how many of us chime in.
You wont be daily drving it. You want noise. You plan on modding it fairly mild- mention stage 1 with catback, then stage 2 in future. So your requirements are reasonable. Both cars can do what you wish.
Power wise they are close. Advertised power is meh. Wrx 268/ gti 220. However on dynojets 93 octane, latest gen Wrx usually hit 240ish, gti 220-230.
Wrx 3300+lb gti is below 3100. So awash imo there.
Everyone else has mentioned the differences. Go drive them, good luck.

agree with the bulk of the other guys. Traded in a nice day toy Mustang for the GTI. (have a Tacoma). These are in order what made me pick the GTI over the WRX

I found it more fun to drive than the WRX (not as fast but more fun)

Hatchback

Price ($4-5K)

Looks


the WRX advantages were interior room (but it felt bigger too ) and I believe better reliability


On of my fav things about my GTI is it feels fast. I enjoy going down 2 lane twisty blacktop. I don't need a car than can go 3x the speed limit down it. 2x and feeling fast is better for me. A slower car can be more fun driven fast than a faster car driven slow.

I commute in traffic 5 days a week and I wanted an automatic. The WRX was not an option. If they had a hatchback I would have at least taken a test drive, but ultimately the CVT was a deal breaker and the DSG a deal maker.

I love how people act like a tune is mandatory as soon as they get the GTI and then worry about the warranty. If you're worried about it DONT TUNE IT. The amount of power it has is already more than any normal person needs, easily able to over power the tires all the way through 1st gear and most of 2nd.

JB4 option also removes the worry of voided warranty and easily makes the GTI come alive.

I went from a '16 WRX base to a 16' R (after a 2 yr hiatus of a fun car)
Comparing them, its night and day. WRX felt bigger, but did have more room inside, apart from trunk space (nice, but not hatchback nice)
the stock tune on my '16 was just as everyone else here was describing it. TERRIBLE.
I actually took it back to the dealership b/c at 5500rpm when the turbo ran out of wind it felt like hitting a brick wall..thats just the way they are. Also had the typical craptastic A/C, never turn it on when driving as it kills power too much, and it was a rattle trap. Constant rattles that never went away.

Also side note for WRX - Cobb AP Stg 1 with cat-back, mishimoto cold air, and it got walked by a civic from a 40 roll. In the winter.. Not a roll racing car, but still...a 2007 SI sedan walked me(hes a buddy).
Fun on the track, and the torque biasing with the brakes made it feel a lot more nimble than it actually was. Had it 1 yr 21k miles, sold it for $500 less than purchase price.

Now the R.
Interior/infotainment/fun factor is way better than the WRX. While I went DSG for family reasons, it doesn't hurt the car in my eyes. Doesn't loose power the way the WRX did, and just as fun to drive, with better highway mpg (29ish highway vs 25-27ish WRX)

Have not taken it to a track yet though, just a couple autoX's where it performed well for being on stock tires/brakes.

If I had to do it again, I would reluctantly say the R is in favor. And I only got the R because I didn't fit in a GTI with a sunroof, and they stopped producing 2dr GTI in '15 so what I wanted wasn't obtainable. Otherwise I would have a GTI over the R.

cfalenski said:

Snow maybe 5 days a year, and the car will not be driven in it. I am nervous about tuning and losing warranty though. I have read more turbo failure issues about GTI then engine issues with the WRX after tuning. If i go GTI 6MT I would like to go cobb or cts cbe, a drop in filter, a turbo intake hose, and a stage 1 cobb tune until i can get a clutch. I have never worked on a FWD car or RWD. So i don't know how hard a clutch swap in the garage on floor jacks would be. Also if i go stage 1 mild tune how much risk of turbo failure on a 2018 GTI. I drive every day for my job so i need my license, so i don't plan on racing anyone, but i will open it up on the highway or when no one else is around from time to time.

I know this is a VW forum, but the GTI and WRX get compared a lot which is why i am looking for everyone's pro's and con's.

Click to expand...

*insert "dont plan mods before driving the car for a while" comment here*

Modding will ALWAYS "void" your warranty. Void is in quotes because its an imaginary term, but if you mod and attempt to make a claim on a blown engine, turbo, or transmission, you will be denied 100% of the time, unless your dealership is VERY understanding.

Your turbo will not fail on a mild tune unless you are incredibly unlucky or treat your car like shit. Don't boost when oil is cold, don't lug your engine, and don't turn it up too high. You'll be fine. I've had my JB1 on a custom map running +5 PSI for 2+ years and its still running great.

I'm very happy with my GTI. The interior and build quality overall is what drew me to it over the Subaru. Subarus feel very cheap and I refused to pay more for a car that felt like it cost less.

WRX is going to be a much better platform for tuning and having to deal with warranty issues. There's only one issue you have to worry about on that platform and thats "Ringland" failure.

I'd also wait for the 19' WRX to come out, it's rumored the WRX or WRX/STI is getting the RA type engine updates which = no "Ringland failure". If you cant wait, I would roll the dice. if there's snow and you want AWD go with Subaru. Also if you plan on keeping the car and eventually selling it Subaru will hold it's resale value better.

If you want nice interior keep it stock and really good MPG go GTI. I would not under any circumstances mod the GTI or flash it unless you have put a bunch of miles on it.

I enjoy everyones feedback and it is helping me do my research. So if i go GTI no flash or tune until the warranty is over. I still want to mod the car, that is something i enjoy very much no matter how big or small the mod is. So hopefully this will not lead to any warranty issues being denied i have been looking at Catbacks, Turbo intake hose to the factory air box, a drop in filter, and maybe some charge pipes. Like i stated, i like some noise from a car, not staight piped honda loud, but some nice tone. I may even look into a BOV also.

Also was looking at a Manual, but can anyone direct me to certain posts about the DSG that would give info and why or why not, service issues, maintaince requirements and so on.