2010 Volkswagen GTI: The Honkus

Ouch you guys don't trip on the razor wire wit mcgs999 is packin

:rolleyes:

Just making an observation that he is clearly just trying to start more fights. Josh doesn't like the car. He has some legitimate points and it certainly is best to bring them to light rather than ignore them. That said, posts like this one from a "respectable" (in quotations not to indicate sarcasm but rather a comparison to other blogopniks) blog is the lowest of the low.

The equivalent would be CSPAN covering celebrity news...

Its lazy.

Wow! Look at how accessible the oil filter is!! Right there on top of the engine. Sure beats any of my Japanese cars!

I'm not sure what Josh is saying? That the engine is ugly? No more so that most modern engines, and far less than others. I love a good looking engine (ala the 20100 5.0 and the 80's Alfa V6 with the polished runners), but I drive with the hood on and shut, so what the engine looks like doesn't really matter.

I'm always game for a snorkus debate (I assume the post references the tube that pipes in motor music)... Given what I've encountered online, it seems that de-snorking such cars can gain a small amount of power. Is the cabin soundtrack worth some (likely small) lost performance?

So is the Mark VI GTI better than an M3, or is it a poor-handling poseur with an execrable engine bay? There must be some interesting conversations about this vehicle at Insideline HQ.

This being a blog I guess there is license for hyperbole on both sides; but being a curious VW agnostic, I do get the feeling that there's been some baiting going on recently.

If this is some resonator joke, you might as well get the yellow and green arrows out and point it out to us...

Tell me what I am supposed to look at.

daddiod,
Toyota has the same oil filter placement on some of their trucks and suv's since 2003

Josh is right, the GTI does sound great, and the honkus (the long snakey tube that connects the intake to the firewall) has a lot to do with it.

It is an easy place for the oil filter when changing the oil.

When the car is turned off and the oil pressure drops, I would guess that the filter drains? Does the filter drain every time the car is turned off? Is this good / bad / other / neither?

I think Josh's post is fine but it still doesn't stop me laughing at mcgs999's comment.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I feel like if you look at that picture and can't guess which piece is the "honkus", you should spend a little more time under the hood of a car.

POOR

I'm with mcgs999. Nice sarcasm Josh. We get it -- you don't like the car. Please let others drive it so you can demonstrate this same level of professionalism on the other rides IL currently has. It's nice that one of the brood chimed in to support you.

"So is the Mark VI GTI better than an M3, or is it a poor-handling poseur ..."
Perfect demonstration of the ridiculousness of Josh's GTI observations, marlinduke.

There is nothing special about the way this engine sounds - just like VW should sound and just like any 2.0 would sound. In terms of "honkus" comment, Josh must be right. Since he is short, he's looking at the engine from the different angle. I don't think any normal height person would be bothered by that.

To mcgs999: Imagine reaching for a seat belt when you sit in a driver's seat with his height:) I think it's a good reason to start disliking this car.

I don't know which piece is the "honkus" or why people are whining about the comment.

I've never heard of a honkus and as far as I know it's not even a word.

It actually is a word I believe. Josh is a moron anyway, but I think he's talking about the GTI's exhaust.

Josh is referring to the GTI's noisepipe which pipes in engine noise to make the car sound more exciting. The BMW Z4 also has this "feature" in the older generation - not sure about the new one. By plugging the noise pipe, people have reported increased throttle response and higher peak boost, AND a quieter cabin at speed.

Since this "feature" is only found in North American GTI's, how about I pose another question - why is it on American models exclusively? Does it imply anything about how North American perception views noise made by a car as proportional to its sportiness?

Wow, some people are touchy. Must be short honkus syndrome.

Speaking of, how much in-cabin difference would dehonkusing make?

If anybody thinks a Ferrari engine sound so great just by accident, they should get their brains checked!!

Other car companies such as Porsche also do a good amount of "sound engineering" to make their cars sound pleasant. Like the GTI, they have a target audience for their product that expect better than vacuum cleaner acoustic performance of their cars....

On the other hand, I do believe that in the "old days" some engines just sounded great by chance....

Am I the only one who took a more literal meaning? Perhaps he's saying the engine bay doesn't look very pretty, and the strangely contorted rubber hose that makes up the resonator system looks out of place and ugly. I know Josh isn't a fan of the GTI anyway, but couldn't this simply be a "well, it doesn't look too pretty, but it does work well" post, and not "the GTI sucks at everything"?

josh is just upset the gti is a better at singing than the mazdaspeed3 is. (which happens to be a better dancer.)

i prefer a better singer on the freeways i commute on personally.

f1ndler:

actually there is something VERY special about the way this engine sounds, noisepipe or not.

have you listened to the engine note off an evo? or the mazdaspeed3/6? they sound like vacuum cleaners. granted, maybe darth vader's vacuum cleaner but a vacuum cleaner nonetheless. subies turbos sound quirky, but thats about it.

this is the most harmonious and throaty 2.0t in existance, maybe even 2.0 four cylinder in general. (i know hondacura4 would disagree, but the si's engine note borders on ricey.)

This 2.0 TSI sounds a little too Honda Accord 2.4L to me without the honkus...the honkus makes it sound unique (and not just like a run of the mill, silky smooth 4). The 2.0T FSI was a much better sounding engine...at least from the inside --- it's pretty loud on the outside.