Idea for a Sporty GTI competitor for 6th Gen

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Main Forum' started by MechaDragon, May 25, 2026 at 5:35 PM.

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  1. MechaDragon

    MechaDragon New Member

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    Sorry, wrong video pasted for some reason, this is the MK-8 review alongside the GR Corolla and STI:

     
    #21 MechaDragon, May 27, 2026 at 11:47 PM
  2. MechaDragon

    MechaDragon New Member

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    I suppose I should put up the updated MK-8.5 as well, and show just how badly the automatic version of the GR Corolla gets absolutely CURB STOMPED by the automatic (DSG) version of the new Golf-R:


    Also, the MK-8 Golf-R is so good in general that even though he has the money to buy things like Porches and owns a BMW M2, he bought a 2024 Golf-R, just before the update lol:
     
    #22 MechaDragon, May 28, 2026 at 12:00 AM
  3. Winston Smith

    Winston Smith Active Member

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    You can like even the current GTI and one can agree that

    yet not assert a high demand for them.

    GTIs and Golf Rs don't crest a thousand sales a month in the US; Chrysler pacifica minivans sell ten times more. The Corolla GR is a specialty car built to a different standard in one specific plant that dealers have charged well above stick for and Toyota sells nearly as many of those as VW does GTIs. The Golf is a last remaining ghost of a once very popular line, and a format that everyone else has given up trying to sell here. We may not agree with most car buyers, but in the US buyers largely detest hatchbacks.

    To put this in perspective, look at the convertible roadster. Once upon a time, you could get one from MG, Fiat, Triumph, Jaguar, Lotus, Alfa Romeo. The Mazda Miata remains as a great example of the genre and outsells the Golf here, but it occupies its own niche. The Golf is the Miata of hatchbacks...if the Miata were only offered with an automatic transmission.
     
    #23 Winston Smith, May 28, 2026 at 8:10 AM
  4. MechaDragon

    MechaDragon New Member

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    What? theres no way that they are selling that poorly. I actually went and test drove a Golf-R before I purchased my Prius. The Golf-R was just out of my price range. Anyways, the Golf-R was in such high demand, every dealership in Utah was actually struggling to keep even a single example on the showroom floor. I am absolutely not joking you that when I went to test-drive this Golf-R, I had to literally wait weeks because every single one coming into every single showroom had already sold before the car even got there. So I had to wait for one in the least desirable color scheme (White with silver wheels) with none of the options I wanted before I could even get behind the wheel of one. I had to call all 7 Volkswagen dealerships in the state of Utah several times each over 3-4 weeks until I could even locate one that wasn't already sold and was actually available for a test drive.

    So in that one month in the state of Utah alone, more than 50 Golf-Rs were sold, and the Golf-R doesn't sell anything like as well as the GTI because once you fit the Golf-R with the optional Euro Style pack that lightens the car and gives you titanium exhaust, and the black appearance package that gives you the black wheels and badges - its a $55,000 car, BEFORE taxes, registration, ECT. I was quoted about 60 grand to walk away with the one I really wanted.
     
    #24 MechaDragon, May 28, 2026 at 11:52 AM
  5. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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    Facts are facts. The reason Golf Rs and GTIs are scarce is because VW USA is importing very few of them, not because tons of people want them. In 2025, there were over five times as many Priuses sold than Golf Rs and GTIs combined, and the Prius is considered a fairly low production car.

    2025 US sales figures:

    Total VW: 329,813
    Golf GTI: 7,235
    Golf R: 3,319
    That means that the two Golfs made up 3.2% of all VWs sold in the US in 2025

    Total Toyota: 2,147,811
    Prius: 56,488 (2.6% of all Toyotas)

    I wish I could do a total hatchback calculation for Toyota, but they lump all Corollas together, so I can't separate out the sedans from the regular hatchbacks and the GR.
     
    #25 Hammersmith, May 28, 2026 at 1:04 PM
  6. MechaDragon

    MechaDragon New Member

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    Thats just insane, and very disheartening. Im really sick of the beige landscape of Black, White, or Silver SUVs. I wish people would stop buying them. Most people who own an SUV aren't even smart enough to realize that a hatchback would suit them better and save them money.

    Then again, I guess I can't be too suprised. Lets face facts - the United States is mostly comprised of idiots who have no idea what they are doing. But hey, at least people in my area have taste. Like I said, I literally cannot drive a single day, even just to work without seeing a GTI or Golf-R on the road. There are a ton of them around here.

    If companies want to be stupid then I guess they can be stupid. But I for one refuse to join the SUV craze and I will NEVER own one, not unless there is one day literally no other option on the used or new market. Enough said
     
    #26 MechaDragon, May 28, 2026 at 1:26 PM
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