Long post warning LOL. Skip to the last 2 paragraphs if you must.
I've only ever had the estate Mk3, but the first was a
280 DSG FWD, the current one is a 300 DSG 4Drive. So think I've got a good view point on the factory FWD VAQ E-Diff cars vs the 4drive Haldex system. Sorry if this comes across a bit arsey/know it all LOL:
Size/weight
The FWD
280 never ever felt like a big heavy estate, just a normal hatch in every respect except when you look to check your blind spot (This was coming from a Mk 2 Hatch).
However, the 300 (standard), although physically the same size car, did feel heavy to drive (still does TBH) and after the 0-60 (standard) definitely slower. My wife said it lacked 'drama' when accelerating after the initial 30mph, my daughters favourite thing was when I would accelerate up or down the slip road.
Fun
The
280 was by far the more fun car from the factory. I spotted someone saying you'll get less understeer with the 4drive. With all due respect that a load of BS if your talking in the dry. The Limit Slip e-diff on the FWD
280 gave me so much more confidence in corners, Where as the 4drive felt like it was understeering like a cross channel ferry in comparison.
Acceleration
Yes 300 4drive is faster, initially and 100% in the wet. But on a roll my old
280 would of quickly dispatched the 300.
Traction (not grip)
Link to the above, of course better on the 4drive, no wheel hop, and the car is effortless to drive quickly. Foot planted out of a corner, where the surface is less than perfect is effortless. Where as the
280 took some work on bumpier roads.
Nice road however, the traction with the VAQ E-diff is just mind blowing on the FWD, so much fun and surprising. Never once felt wanting. Yes people will say in the wet it isn't great. But , if you are on public roads and driving like a **** in the wet, then your an idiot.
So why didn't I sell up and get a FWD again.
Well I was going from a
280 with the old sat nav etc etc. Where as I was lucky enough to get a
Carbon Edition. So this car has Buckets, bigger brakes. Also being a 300 it came with the updated interior, 8" screen, the very lovely Virtual Cockpit. And for 95% of my driving it is just a much nicer place to be.
That being said, I really missed the buzz the
280 gave me that 5% of the time. Yes the 0-60 drag (well 10-60 for me a still not used launch control) is fun for a time, but for me its the corners.
So 2 weeks into ownership I swapped 4 brand new Continental Sport Contact 5Ps for £600 worth of Micheline Pilot Sport 4S. I'd hoped the biggest difference between the cars was the tyres (I was running Michelin Pilot Super Sports on the
280 for 15k before it went).
Yes it made a difference, a big difference even to the feel, and feedback., and I've never once regretted spending the money. But still, the fun factor was missing and it still understeered when trying to power through a corner. Even when compared to the Kumho ditchfinder tyres my ex dealer demo
280 came with.
Then it was a £90 strut brace, that probably got the confidence feel 99% there, but the ability of the car still meant it felt slow in a straight line and more prone to understeer. I tweaked the 4drive settings in OBDEleven and it was near enough there but fuel economy suffered so i switched it back.
To get the car to feeling as much fun and confidence inspiring (and fast) as the the
280 it took:
Lowering springs
Fixed camber plates (similar setup to the R ST now).
Racingline Stage 1 map. Initially it only had 330hp (long story) and that made it feel as quick as the
280. Now its sorted it defo feels quicker (270PS/265hp)., and 0-60 is still mind blowing (to be anyway lol)
But imagine what the
280 would of been like with this money spent on it...
So in short, if you don't have the hatch/FWD already, you'll probably love the 4drive. Your Grandma could drive it at 95%,, so very very capable.
But if you want the absolute most fun, and are happy to deal with the challenge of the 0-30 traction/wheel hop, and/or don't want to be blowing £1,000s on tyres and modifications, then the FWD is the car to have.
Now if I could just save up for a proper LSD for the 4drive. it would be perfect...