I took a ride up a mountain road in a 205 GTI and it was amazing

"Dsscats" (dsscats)
03/29/2015 at 22:38 • Filed to: None

For my birthday today, I went for a drive with a couple friends, including Cody (E46 driver) and Marc (205 GTI driver). After we went from Supercar Sunday over Mulholland and to Neptune's Net, I asked Marc to take me for a ride. He obliged, so here's the Oppo ride along review!

After cramming Cody in the back, Marc drove us up a random mountain road nearby, which turned out to be terrific, with tons of tight corners and little traffic. Minus some rocks in the road, it was perfect for the car.

What amazed me about the 205 GTI wasn't just the cornering, but the straight line power. It was WAAAY more than adequate. Just hearing it fly up and down the rev range was enough to keep a smile on my face the whole time. This particular model was a 1.6 with only power windows, so it weighed in at under 2000 LBS, which probably helped keep the speed up.

Of course with such a small car, the best part was the cornering. It went like this: Marc turns into corner at excessive speed. I expect understeer. It grips. He goes into another corner faster. It still just grips. He goes faster. It still grips. Tighter corner. Very, very slight understeer. More grip. SO MUCH GRIP!!!!!! It must have been up on three wheels at least twice. It amazed me how well planted something this small was. Though it bounced around a bit due to the Koni shocks, it was still so well grounded (to the ground).

Now my only problem is WHERE CAN I GET MORE!?!?!?!? It was such an amazing experience, with the sound, the smell, the grip, the sheer speed! Unfortunately, there are very, very few 205s in the US, and this may be the only CA legal one. Some day....

Huge thanks to Marc for giving me such a special ride on my birthday and to Cody for coming along for the whole ride (if either of you read this). Yep, today was a good day.