172 owners advice please...

[matt200vvc]

Good Morning, this is my first post on the forum so be kind please :rasp:

I have around 4k to spend on a car, I've finally made my mind up on a 172. However, i've been doing my research and prefer the sound of the "cup" in terms of the driving experience that can be had.

Now i'll be the first to admit i'm no driving god, but i do like to have my odd moments of madness so to speak on the long twisty country lanes. I've never driven on a track and probably never will, so i don't need it for anything like that.

My concerns are i have to do a 40 mile round trip each day for work alone, how does the cup fair on the motorway and day to day driving. I currently have a golf gt tdi 170 which has been mapped to 203bhp and 330 lb ft torque (this is a company car though, and a change of job means i'm losing it) and it makes for easy motorway driving and it has all the toys, a/c, abs all the things a cup doesn't.

Going by what i need a car to do, what would you guys pick? 172 cup or 172? will i really notice much of a difference? I'm yet to drive a 172 cup but hopefully will be the weekend.

help in making a choice will be much appreciated!

 

[Russ_16v]

Hi mate, do a search as you will find loads of threads same as this, but the basics are:

The cup doesn't have xenon lights, leather, air con, abs, less sound proofing, but it is 89kg's lighter and has a wider track, so a more 'raw' driving experience the cup is better but for the 40 mile round trip it sounds like the normal 172 will be better for you, go for a late one (53 plate ish) and you will get cruise control and auto lights/wipers too

 

[Terry172]

TBH for 4k you could pick up a very nice mk2 ph1 172 and have the a/c and abs included plus the added fact that the ph1 172 is light and is closest to the 172 cup compared with the mk2 ph2 172 which is heavier. You have the luxury of haing leather/alcantara seats which are comfortable for motorway driving as well. Also if you pick up a pre march 2001 model you get the added bonus of being in the lower tax band lol

 

[Lewb]

Personally I wouldnt go for the cup - for the small performance gains you lose most of the luxuries you have which on a 40 mile trip you will probably miss.

 

[DaveDreads]

The only thing I would worry about on a cup is no ABS,
its saved my172ff a few times.

Also i'm not sure how much your gonna like any 172 compared to your Golf,
I had a GT TDI and in traffic jams and long journeys I miss the comfort and
goddies like cruise control. Clios are a bit basic.

If its pure driving experiance you want then a 172cup would be your best bet.
However you could just take the back seats out of a 172ff and save 20kilos.

 

[Rhino172]

The only thing I would worry about on a cup is no ABS,
its saved my172ff a few times.

Also i'm not sure how much your gonna like any 172 compared to your Golf,
I had a GT TDI and in traffic jams and long journeys I miss the comfort and
goddies like cruise control. Clios are a bit basic.

If its pure driving experiance you want then a 172cup would be your best bet.
However you could just take the back seats out of a 172ff and save 20kilos.

whats a 172ff?

Stick with a 172 tbh, from what you're saying it would be much better for you rather than a 172cup.

I still have muchos fun in mine and it's not a cup and legally the only time you would really notice the difference in performance would be on track anyway...

*awaits cup owners response* lol

 

[Greeny.]

Id rather have a cup over my 172 anyday!

 

[Henry]

i've the regular use of a TDi Golf and they're chalk&cheese really

best to drive Cup/non-Cup and see which floats your boat. don't know what the non-Cup's brakes are like, but the Cup's non-ABS set-up will be frightening if you're used to relying on the Golf's ABS