Originally Posted by: PonyOneGolf 5 uses a 2.5l 5 cyl that has nothing but midrange torque, and the GTI model uses a 2.0T that gets great torque and will probably end up being a highly tunable engine.

the mk4 (99-05) Golf uses an anemic 2.0 or a lackluster 1.9l Turbodiesel, while the GTI comes in an insanely-tunable 1.8l turbo inline 4 or a 2.8l "inline-vee" 45 degree angle six cylinder engine, AKA the VR6, which gets awesome low end and midrange torque. on the older 12v VR6's the engine gets better low end torque at the cost of high-end, and the newer 24v with variable valve timing gets less low end but more high end; it's more consistent across the board.

a C5 is car enough for practically anyone; i love the fact they still use an OHV 350 and live rear axle in a modern sports car... torque is socket-popping, and handling is great, plus it looks good... tough to beat. the Z06 uses the 405hp LS6, which is basically the same 350 with different heads and other internals that gives it an overall power boost. i disliked the Z06 for a simple reason when i sold Chevy's: you can't get the removable top. phh. WTF's the point of a Corvette in Southern California if the top doesn't at least come off, if not down? structural rigidity on the standard 'Vette was better too, because of the metal pillar instead of the fiberglass roof.

handling on a Vette is as good as it gets for American muscle and it still gets eaten alive on tracks by a Lotus Elise with a 1.8l Toyota engine (which also beats out a Viper and a Ferrari of some sort... forget what model). personally i'll take something that's lightweight, simple, handles like it's on rails and has a screaming engine... like a Caterham/Lotus Super 7 with a modified Suzuki Hayabusa 1300cc motorcycle engine (0-60 in 3.1 seconds).

something like a Nissan Skyline GT-R, pref. an R32 or R34, would be sweet too, especially if it was modded beyond all reason. for manliness nothing will ever beat an El Camino with a blown 502.

back to reality... i drive a 2000 Jetta VR6 stick, i have a job, my hair is kind of short, my girlfriend is busty and an architecture major. hooray for me.

Wooooow. You know a lot! I really disliked the Lotus' looks in the beginning but it's actually really cool now that it's had a chance to grow on me.
It's inky dinky though. I probably couldn't even fit in it comfortably. Top Gear did a really neat review on it where they raced a helicopter. It was an Apache vs a Lotus. If you haven't seen it...it's still available for download here http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/downloads/
The Toyota Hilux video is hysterical. And the Astie vs. train is good too.