Well yesterday, I was the first non salesmen to drive the new 2006 VW GTI yesterday in the Jacksonville, FL area [:D] The car was awesome, the salesmen said to drive as fast as I want and take the corners as fast as I want went I took the test drive. The dealership drove that car from Atlanta to Jacksonville yesterday just to be the first dealership in FL to have the car. The turbo doesn't spool till 2k rpm. I had so much fun driving the beast. The GTI was almost fully loaded for 26k sticker. The base model cost around 22k. I might say goodbye to the Focus and move up to the GTI.

How is the interior?

I drove the 2.0 Turbo Audi A3 the other day and I was quite disappointed by the interior. Unfinisihed edges and surfaces. Lots of hard plastic. Some useless "compartments" - like a drawer in the certer stack...

It looked poorly thought out and put together... well at least compared to my Mazda3..

Also I didn't have a chance to drive it VERY hard so I didn;t have torgue steer - how was it?

Lastly? I drove an 06 Si right after the A3 and actually liked it quite a bit more in driving department. Can you compare?

Igor

The interior was nicely done, compared to most cars in it's class. I had leather interior and it grip you right into the seat. It was like being in a VW R32 if you ever sat in one. The GTI had the same features in the Jetta with the glove compartment being with A/C in it and covered in soft material. The gauges were very nice and had a 180 MPH gauge to boot. I didnt notice any torque steer in the car. I tried my best to make the GTI skid on turns, but it just hugged it. I think the GTI is way better than the SI and I drove the new SI as well, and the SI does not compare to the GTI. The salesmen in a straight got the car up to 80 MPH and he told me like I said to drive as fast and rough to the GTI to see it's full potential. The GTI has alot of room and it is made for tall pple as well. I have no doubts that the new GTI will be the best seller for VW this year. Everything from the exterior to the interior was planned out to perfection IMO.

I think the new GTI is an awesome car. I already am scheduled to test drive the 5-door model which should be arriving in May or June of this year. This could very well be a replacement for my SVT. I won't buy a car in it's first model year, so the soonest I would buy one is fall of next year when the 07's start hitting. Plus I still want to enjoy my SVT for a bit longer. But if the Mazdaspeed 3 turns out to be a FWD car, then if I'm going to stay with FWD the GTI looks more appealing to me, especially with the awesome DSG paddle shift transmission.

You have definitely gotten my interest piqued, I can't wait to take one for a spin.