GTI Upgrade!

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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...