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Lupo GTi Grouptest in Autocar (V the C2 and MINI) recently?


AndyW
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Saw this mentioned in another thread, of a group test in autocar with the GTi, VTS and Cooper.

When was this issue?Anyone know, and does anyone still have it?Crusoe, you buy a lot of car mags don't you.If anyone has it and wouldnt mind parting with it, I would be just ever so slightly grateful!

Failing actually having one, if someone knows what issue date and number it was, that would be just as big a help!

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yeah it was the boot space and the fact that they think it is overpriced, but they gave it the thumbs up for performance. it was an october issue, im not sure which one as it was my mates and they release them weekly. on another note (sorry to hijack the thread) but has the lupo gti ever been on top gear before?

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Gti has been on Driven.

Jason Plato tested it against the VTS and a 1.7 Puma.

Lupo won on straight line performance, handling and desireability. All good praise from a racing driver if he rates the handling and performance.

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Thankyou tigz, once again. Can't wait to read this!

I remember that driven episode, they gave one away as a competition prize for the winner of a 'find a new presenter' competition. Now I think that same person later ended up on Pulling Power and is the worst car journalist Ive ever seen. In a unforgettable piece on said programme about 2 years ago he attempted to demonstrate that older hot hatches were 'death traps'. How did he test this?

By driving at 70+mph, mid turn and.....letting go of the steering wheel. Erm. Ok. Moron, who I think is still on the show. The mk2 Golf GTi was also said to be 'an accident waiting to happen'. Twit. Last time I saw him he took a Johnathon Palmer racing jag (JP1) to a film premiere in leicester square, and kept stalling it cos he was in high heels or something.

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QUOTE(AndyW)
kept stalling it cos he was in high heels or something.

laugh.gif style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> laugh.gif style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> laugh.gif style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />

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Gti V VTS V Cooper

I've owned a Cooper and traded it in against my GTi. It lost cos of boot space, how sad! I'm sure non of us bought it for that reason. Yeah I know its tiny but with the seats down, there is more room in it than the Mini, did they test that?

Overpricing was the other reason was it? Do you get `bi-xenon` headlights, the same quality of materials, performance, the exhausts and that noise in a VTS and Cooper? I think not!

Personally, there is no chance in hell i'd own a VTS (driving around in a girly looking, french pile of sh*t that could fall apart at any time).

And the Mini, slow as sh*t and becoming less and less desirable with all the grannies you see driving them! Glad I got rid of mine when I did.

To me, NO CONTEST!

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I'm going to stick up for the C2 yet again biggrin.gif style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

I can't agree with the girly looking comments, if anything they've taken styling cues from the lupo, specifically the GTi, and its all the better for it.

To discount something cos its a 'french piece of crap' isn't really a smart evaluation, the old 106 GTi was and still is a great handling car, but I still like it cos of its talents and not where its made. And anyone who cites german build quality over french or any other country should really take a look at this forum or ask anyone whos bought a vw, reliability is now more or less even.

Can't wait to read this article, dissapointed evo didnt do something like it, they are normally good with their group test car choices.

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QUOTE(AndyW)

To discount something cos its a 'french piece of crap' isn't really a smart evaluation, the old 106 GTi was and still is a great handling car

I have a Clarkson Video Called Apolcalypse Clarkson where he tried to discover the greatest handleing car on the road.

Tim Harvey, Richard Burns and Clarkson take out a host oftop motors including Ferrari 355, a Skyline, A lotus Elise and along with crap loads of others a 106 GTi.

Theres a quote that will always stick in my mind.

"The professions wont see sence. The best handleing car in the entire world, is not a front wheel drive hatchback."

It comes second.

The 355 beats it.

Im with you 100% here Andy.

The Pug 205 1.6GTi my cousan had a few years ago was as good as a Loop on coilovers even as standard.

The AX GT I had for a couple of hours before crashing it, was one of my fav cars of all time.

But even so, I would still rather have a Loop GTi.

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QUOTE(Tigz)

But even so, I would still rather have a Loop GTi.

And this is where I become a hypocrite, cos yeah, I'd still rather have a Lupo GTi over a VTS, but that doesn't mean I don't still like it, I prefer the MINI in other ways too, but thats more about buying choice than the cars abilities. EssexVTS still likes the Lupo GTi, I've heard him compliment it several times, but when it came down to putting the cash down he went for the C2. Fairy muff.

Anyway, getting off track, by all sounds of it this new incarnation of the VTS is very good indeed, so I struggle to slag it off to be honest. Now the Pug 206 GTi 180, (or 206 RC over on this side of the pond), now theres a car I can enjoy slagging off. How can any hatch with 180bhp feel slow!!!!Sorry, but I'd never ever buy one (and it looks like the rest of the hot hatch buying public hasn't either) when theres the clio 182 for LESS money.

Getting off topic again sorry biggrin.gif style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

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To add my tuppence on the 'French pieces of *****' debate...

Having owned various 205 GTI's, I have a real soft spot for them. The 1.9's performance is right up there with the Lupo GTI, and due to the higher `low-down` torque of its 8v engine, it probably out performs it. Handling wise, no comparison... the 20 year old design of the pug is still livelier than the Lupo... and I know someone will bleet about coilovers... but a 205 with lowered spensh & tweaked torsion bar will probably still handle just as well.

Its such a pity that as they've become so cheap, folk are giving them such a bad image with the `max-power` style tackiness.

Good fun cheap cars, and a complete piece of piss to fix at the side of the road when bits fall off laugh.gif style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />

That said, I wouldnt be seen dead in a Citroen... let alone part with my hard earned cash for one!

What the group test did not take into account is that the lupo worked out at around 500 quid dearer than the vts (once dealer discount comes into play). That 500 pounds will buy you 50,000 more miles out of the cars life expectancy!!! Not even mentioning depreciation, and that the mini is so common that prices have to crash soon due to lack of demand on the horizon!

Okay, rant over... for now.

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355 isn't meant to be *that* good of a drivers car. And rating the 106GTi over the Elise? I've owned a 106XSi which is pretty damn close to a GTi, and trust me, it aint a patch on an Elise wink.gif style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" /> Clarkson has gone down in my estimation tongue.gif style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":P" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />

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i think the 106 was over hyped....i just think it was better than expected so car journo's over enthused about their amazing discovery that it was not as crap as you'd assume.

as for the french peivce of crap....i stand by the fact that most ****roens do feel cheap and poorly built compared to a VW. I dont think the C2 is that badly styled (although if i were involved I would have to dispute the non aligning side windows {crap visual gimmick})....but at the same time I dont think its a fantastic for a newly released car.

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