BMW 130i vs VW Golf GTI - FWD or RWD?

If you've got 10 grand to spend on a manual hot hatch, I reckon these two are the absolute best options you can get. But which one's better?
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:26 Exterior
1:03 Drivetrain
1:52 Interior
3:24 GTI Driving Experience
4:46 130i Driving Experience
Thanks for Watching!

[@dcvin2]

I had mk5 gti for about a year and I sold it to buy 130i. All the pop and bang tuned gtis on street really put me off of owning a gti. Going from a Honda, the gti interior felt luxurious but I reckon 130i is another step up. I believe 130i was more expensive than gti back in 2007 and it does feel more refined overall.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah I’d have to agree the BMW is a better car but it does cost more

[@stephenmeyer1984]

6 cylinder up front, drive to the rear, no contest! Great review by the way 👏. I'm currently in an F90 competition and I must say I still miss my 130i from way back.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Holy hang that’s quite the upgrade from a 130i! But yes I love mine it’s so good

[@loslogo]

135i eats it alive

[@stephenmeyer1984]

@@loslogo For sure, although a normally aspirated RWD manual bread bin is a lot of fun, in my opinion!

[@loslogo]

@@stephenmeyer1984 tbf I’ve never driven a 130i closest I’ve come was a 330i. Sounded kind of nice but wasn’t all that quick. 135i have a massive chunk of torque and 2 small turbos running off a bank of three cylinders each so have a very responsive feel without much lag.

[@spadgm]

Two great shouts for hatches at that price point. GTi looks like a great example, one owner and tidy, very nice!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah man two of the best I reckon

[@DDale21]

A lot of people underestimates the Mk5 GTI, yes it is not as engaging or good looking as other cars out there but it is cheap and quick enough to have some fun. Throw in a downpipe and upgrade the High pressure fuel pump and you'll be in 280-290 HP range. Get a K04 turbo and you'll be in 360hp range.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah agree they’re a great starting point and have lots of potential

[@DDale21]

@@KiwiCarLife they’re getting cheap now too, saw bunch of them on marketplace for $5-8k. I wonder how they compare to the Golf R32

[@craigauty6756]

Some impressive driving skills on show

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks man

[@amandeep650]

Literally going through the same comparison myself right now. Been a V6 Acura guy for the last three cars and I think I’m finally needing to scratch that RWD BMW itch with an E90, partially after seeing all of your 1 series videos. Still not brave enough to delve into N54 and N55 turbos though LOL, N52 or N53 will be the way to go

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah man I was the same. Hondas for ages then wanted to try something from BMW. A manual N52 is the way to go. More performance than a Honda but still good reliability

[@bdominik8497]

I like these short videos, but man do you have a gimball? If not invest in one if you can, you got nice b-rolls but the edited warp stabilizer kills me with the wooble.. just a tip, keep up the good work! :D

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah I’m aware, thanks for letting me know

[@shn22530]

Great review mate, if you get the chance do a review of a tuned/modified GTI vs 130. Would be interesting to see how that compares.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yes that would be very interesting

[@mikemitchell7529]

Hi, thanks for another video. Going back i see you used to have a Nissan 370gt coupe, just wondering if you still have it and your thoughts on that car? Seems to be quick but still affordable.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah it was just a project to flick on. Was good, fast in a straight line and handled ok but the lack of LSD really let the car down

[@mikemitchell7529]

​@KiwiCarLife Ah fair enough, cheers for that 👍

[@expertgaming4343]

Love the videos mate. Passed my learners a few weeks back what would you recommend would be a good car to start off with 👍

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks man and it depends what you want to spend?

[@expertgaming4343]

@@KiwiCarLife probably around $10,000 don't really want to spend much more than that for a first car. Had a look at a 2007 Mitsubishi Galant 1990cc sedan and a Holden cruse CDX 2010 1991cc diesel Sedan. 👍

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@expertgaming4343 HEAVENS ABOVE for the love of all things holy please do not purchase either of those vehicles. Here’s what I’d recommend: BMW 325i 2005-2011 Honda Accord Euro 2003-2014 Lexus IS250 2005-2012 Audi A3 3.2 2004-2008 Mazda 3 SP23 2004-2009 Subaru Legacy 3.0R 2003-2009 Toyota Blade Master 2008-2012

[@expertgaming4343]

@@KiwiCarLife Thank you so much mate will definitely have a look at a few of theses vehicles and see what would be best for me. 👍

[@jackozjack9639]

I reckon you’d really love the fiesta st. The little thing can go and loves the corners

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah I’m sure will have to try one

[@chad6876]

I used to have manual black mk5 gti, it was a blast to drive. Mine had the apple/android carplay, hid headlights, res delete, intake, uprated dv and bgw Hamptons 18" wheels on Pirelli Dragonsports Unfortunately, i lost it in the flooding in Auckland and now I got a DSG Golf 6R

[@KiwiCarLife]

Very nice! Disappointing to hear about its flooded end but sounds like you got a nice upgrade out of it

[@Will0w_0n.F0urs]

Will there be a pov drive around your hood would be cool.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Could do actually

[@olihaub]

when are you starting the power mods for the 130i? intKez exhaust, tune?

[@KiwiCarLife]

Very soon!

[@ben130i8]

Where did you get the spoiler? Is it the OEM one? Looks good

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah oem

[@jasonpoosted5016]

would love to see your take on a Mazda MPS

[@KiwiCarLife]

Already done the MPS 6

[@brendanfeldwick6493]

Man I miss driving around in the Welly backhills (in Melbourne now). 130i for me, and I say that as a former R owner. On a completely unrelated topic, what watch is that?

[@KiwiCarLife]

Haha a lot of people have asked me that. It’s a Casio Ediface

[@chroniccrypto75]

Love my mk6 edition35.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Ooh yes I did a review on one of them it was excellent

[@chroniccrypto75]

@@KiwiCarLife yeah just the right amount of power and refined enough to be comfortable at the same time.

[@somalianpirate47]

How do you reckon the GTI compares to the golf r32?

[@KiwiCarLife]

Oh tbh the r32 is MUCH better

[@axelblitz5284]

Thumbs up for the review ! IMO 130i better compares to the MK5 R32 in terms of raw performance

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yep and I’ve done that video too

[@axelblitz5284]

@@KiwiCarLife Oh really ? I need to check that !

[@Aussiebuck]

if your ever in christchurch and want to review a mk7 gti with various sports mods and a tune happy to lend it to you :)

[@KiwiCarLife]

Ooh nice yeah I’ll hit you up man!

Fun daily both manual - mk5 gti or 3.0r-b? I asked you on the mps video the other day and you chose 3.0 over mps 😉

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah I just love naturally aspirated engines with more cylinders… instant response, predictable power delivery, great sound. It’s just better imo

Yes I could definitely have predicted your answer 😆 Just narrowing down my choices of a cheap fun daily through you, since I live somewhere where there’s no chance to test drive any of them

And thank you! Appreciate the videos and replies

[@KiwiCarLife]

Legacy 3.0R was one of the best cars I owned man. So good to drive

[@thatguyben3128]

_130i any day over GTi_ … 👏🏼👏🏼 _Great review_

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks man!

[@Alkhoholic]

Next time you back in Auckland try to compare your 130i to my slightly moded 130i and see what you can find out lol😂

[@KiwiCarLife]

Hmm that would be interesting. Why do you have a modified 130i?

[@Alkhoholic]

@KiwiCarLife suspension, brakes lol and tires 🤣

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@Alkhoholic ooh that would be interesting! Hit me up on insta @kiwicarlife.yt

[@juwie1563]

how does it compare to a cl7r

[@KiwiCarLife]

I’ve got a video of that coming out very soon!

[@Will0w_0n.F0urs]

Wonder how the 130i comparo with an rx8.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Mm yeah that would be interesting. I’d really like to review one

[@Will0w_0n.F0urs]

Let’s see which car pukes oil first.

[@Francis-ot7pm]

Golf 5 GTI with those rims? I have never seen that ever.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah because he bought them to put on as the original wheels had worn out tyres haha. When I filmed the video he hadn’t had time to swap the tyres yet. They’re off a mk6 tsi

[@samartz]

definitely the 130i! but geez they are exxy. I ended up getting a newer alfa romeo Giulietta at the time

[@KiwiCarLife]

Exxy?

[@samartz]

@@KiwiCarLife Expensive haha (South west sydney terminology)

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@samartz ohh right yeah everyone over there says they’re expensive, same with the ISF I used to own. Here manual 130i’s are 8-12k and ISF’s are 20-40k

[@samartz]

@@KiwiCarLife wow, cheap as chips over there. But I just went to Auckland in Easter, a lot less sport JDM cars around these days. Is that cause petrol is so expensive or less interest?

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@samartz I think it’s more we get Japanese imports so there’s just more cars for less people. Supply and demand

[@supersantos2007]

A stage 2 tuned ecu/dct with bolt on mods ect...Mk5 golf Gti would give your 130i bmw a run for it's money, maybe even beat it ?

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah you’re right the GTi has a lot of untapped potential

[@MANUMADRID00]

Why would you choose a car that is purposedly worse, as the GTI??? Literally the 130i was the top engine for the hatchbacks and the golf still got the 3.2 R32. If you wanted to make a real comparison you should have chosen the vw sirocco r, ford focus rs or the alfa romeo 147 gta i think.

[@KiwiCarLife]

I compared the R32 with the 130i in a separate video

[@victorwilks88]

Both love check engine lights 😮

[@KiwiCarLife]

lol haven’t had any engine lights in mine

[@victorwilks88]

@@KiwiCarLife your BMW really likes you then lol

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@victorwilks88 I’ve had engine lights in both my Accords! Never in all 5 of my BMW’s

[@victorwilks88]

@@KiwiCarLife that's unfortunate... BMW,s aren't known for their reliability.

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@victorwilks88 certain models, but a manual 130i is as reliable as they come. If you were talking about an E60 M5 or F10 550i then sure, they’re woefully unreliable. But to lump every bmw into one group just because some are unreliable is unfair. Honda Accord V6 transmissions are terribly unreliable, newer K series stretch timing chains at sub 100,000km, the new 1.5t’s have transmission leaking and oil dilution issues… but overall people would say Hondas are reliable right?

[@lucaking4041]

10k NZD - 9K AUD: mate you're so lucky you live in NZ with access to cars this cheap - every 130i under 200k km is 15-25 lol

[@KiwiCarLife]

Jeepers really? They’re all so cheap here

[@lucaking4041]

@@KiwiCarLife Yeah nearly the same with every car you’ve reviewed haha

[@The_Noticer.]

you can probably get a lot of extra horsepower out of that golf with a remap though.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah true, turbo always has untapped potential

[@The_Noticer.]

@@KiwiCarLife No kdding, just remapped my L15B7. 222HP, 350nm torque. Bonestock.

[@lucasherbert2254]

The Beemer is the better drivers car period. Ticks all the boxes for a real driver seeking fun on backroads or a track. Gtis aren’t bad overall but lack driver enjoyment and have a pathetically average sounding engine. Nothing beats a singing straight six

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah would have to agree

[@Saida561]

The BMW is better

[@KiwiCarLife]

I agree

[@gianhet]

The mark 5 golf is probably the second ugliest golf gen imo after the mark 8, so I'll definitely go with the BMW in terms of looks

[@KiwiCarLife]

Really? I think they look great

[@marlonbaird6070]

I still believe Mk5 was the best golf, used the best materials over all the ones that followed. Yes it's not the fastest but was also the most reliable. You need to own one to appreciate it.

[@gianhet]

I am merely talking about the looks, I am convinced it is a really good car, i just really never liked the design@@marlonbaird6070

[@sonof69star]

VW Gti and VW Sirocco = Zero street credibility.

[@perpetualgrin5804]

Never worry what others think.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Golf’s are a dime a dozen but Scirocco’s are cool I reckon

[@alfieprice5276]

Imagine caring about ‘street cred’

[@chroniccrypto75]

Street cred? How old are you?

[@dcvin2]

A great car ruined by boy racers..