[1meanvw]

i am in the last stages of deciding my furure car. right now i have a jetta 1.8t. but want something more sporty, has to have a turbo.
Either a 2004 dodge SRT-4 or a MKV
there is quite a price difference being ones a new car and one is used. but i am lost.
also if i where to go with the MKV what are a few good cheap mods to put on?

 

[Dragon]

Drive both cars. I can't give you an objective answer since I'm a GTI owner

Numbers wise the Dodge wins when it comes to HP, torque and displacement. However I think the GTI makes up for it not only in handling, but in safety and build quality.

As far as mods go, the biggest bang for the buck is to remap the ECU software (on your 1.8t it requires an actual chip, where with the 2.0 FSI turbo- it's software programming).

On 91 octane petrol:

Stock- 200HP/207lb-ft

Revo- 250HP/285lb-ft $499
APR- 246HP/282lb-ft $599
GIAC- 218HP/257lb-ft $???
Neuspeed ???/??? $499

(these are based on the software vendors websites and results will vary from car to car)

Chips for the Dodge?
There is no easy way to remap ("chip") the SRT-4 ECU. The manufacturer of this vehicle has made it impossible for the aftermarket to disassemble and re-tune the stock ECU to accommodate the hardware changes in the engine (ie. turbo upgrades, intakes and exhausts).

:WELCOME6:

 

[cholosgti]

In my opinion you should go with the GTI cause in the end your getting better quality. Cause a dodge will always be a dodge and will never live up to the name of a VW. Plus my cousin has a srt-4 and i feel that the ride is always better in my gti. I feel that handaling is a lot better but power wise his a lot faster off the line hope that helps. Get the gti you wont regret it

 

[pokapreak]

umm u want fast gti or stupid fast srt 4? u choose

 

[GTI MKV]

srt4's are cheap as hell to modify.

 

[mofo529]

Well, I work for Dodge and have driven many SRT-4s and raced a few on the road.

The GTI is by far a better car, and I have yet to lose to one of those pieces of shit.

They are cheap (cost and quality) and do have alot of power and torque but they don't handle for shit. Plus the amount of problems they have is not worth the headache.

Go with the MKV or a MKIV for that matter, they're both better than the NEON!!!!!

 

[GTI MKV]

ever see how small the rims are (width wise) on the front??? i dont get how they are supose to put any power down or handle well with those tires. the GTi has a bigger spare wheel then one of the front srt-4 wheels haha.

 

[matrim22]

It's meant to be a drag car that can be used as a daily driver. If you look at it with that single minded purpose in mind, it's a really great car.

 

[boostedJTi]

Srt-4s when gone with the mopar stages come out nice, but for roughly the same price, if not cheaper, APR's StageIII+ puts out the same numbers and yet, still allows the GTi to walk on the srt4's... I love my mkiv and thought about buying an srt4 as well, but dodge is simply a disappointment when it came to the srt-4. Remember they discontinued it because it wasn't very popular...

Guess word got out that GTi's own srt-4's.

 

[kryptonkid07]

I've posted this before, but just so you know...

Here's how a MK5 stock goes against a pretty modded SRT... granted I think I didn't go into third... But still even if i had wouldn't have made much of a difference.

[youtube=425,350]VURyRA1orcw[/youtube]

 

[matrim22]

Srt-4s when gone with the mopar stages come out nice, but for roughly the same price, if not cheaper, APR's StageIII+ puts out the same numbers and yet, still allows the GTi to walk on the srt4's... I love my mkiv and thought about buying an srt4 as well, but dodge is simply a disappointment when it came to the srt-4. Remember they discontinued it because it wasn't very popular...

Guess word got out that GTi's own srt-4's.

Dodge claimed to do better than they expected on the SRT-4. They had to ramp up the numbers they were planning on making for the last 2 years. I'm pretty sure they only stopped production is because they cancelled the entire Neon line. Replaced it with the Caliber, which they are making an SRT-4 for as well. It's supposed to be a beast. If they can ever get it working, that is. They keep having to scale back the horsepower they were pulling from it. It started at 300 and I think it's currently down to 280.

As far as vs. the GTI, I've seen a stock SRT-4 blow away a Stage-II APR. Straight line, that car is no joke.

 

[Livnplush]

I ran stock vs. stock against a guy. I beat him by 4 car lengths but he missed third. If he would have know how to shift, he would have owned me. I agree with cholosgti, which would you rather drive, a dodge or a vw?

Edited for krypton and matrim

 

[kryptonkid07]

I don't like it when people refer to SRT-4's to "Neon's" or Evolutions to "Lancer's" or GTI's to "Golfs"... cause all you're doing is trying to make yourself feel better by downplaying the car.

No offense meant. Just wanted to let you know that.

 

[VEGAS FAHRENHEIT]

I don't like it when people refer to SRT-4's to "Neon's" or Evolutions to "Lancer's" or GTI's to "Golfs"... cause all you're doing is trying to make yourself feel better by downplaying the car.

No offense meant. Just wanted to let you know that.

{agree}

 

[boostedJTi]

Dodge claimed to do better than they expected on the SRT-4. They had to ramp up the numbers they were planning on making for the last 2 years. I'm pretty sure they only stopped production is because they cancelled the entire Neon line. Replaced it with the Caliber, which they are making an SRT-4 for as well. It's supposed to be a beast. If they can ever get it working, that is. They keep having to scale back the horsepower they were pulling from it. It started at 300 and I think it's currently down to 280.

As far as vs. the GTI, I've seen a stock SRT-4 blow away a Stage-II APR. Straight line, that car is no joke.

I also thought they scaled back on srt-4 calibers? even still the production wasn't near as high as it could have been to keep the market. They dropped the car after what, 2 years? Seems pretty stupid. They dropped the srt-4 for the caliber which isn't as aggressive looking or have near the capabilities to a big brother neon.

As far as people calling evo's lancers, srt-4s neons, etc. I'm always told, "Hey that's a nice Golf you have." My reply, It's a GTi, not a golf."

 

[matrim22]

I also thought they scaled back on srt-4 calibers? even still the production wasn't near as high as it could have been to keep the market. They dropped the car after what, 2 years? Seems pretty stupid. They dropped the srt-4 for the caliber which isn't as aggressive looking or have near the capabilities to a big brother neon.

As far as people calling evo's lancers, srt-4s neons, etc. I'm always told, "Hey that's a nice Golf you have." My reply, It's a GTi, not a golf."

They haven't even put the SRT-4 Caliber into production yet. They can't get it to work. Can you say torque-steer?

Dodge never really intended the SRT-4 Neon to be a car in it's own right. Just like their other SRT models, it's just a performance model of the original vehicle. All I can tell you is everything I read from Dodge says they exceeded their numbers for the 3 year run of the SRT-4 Neon. The reason they quit making it was because of the cancellation of the entire Neon line to make way for the Caliber, not because of how well the SRT-4 did or didn't do.

I've never called a GTI a Golf. That's just wrong. The only reason I call an SRT-4 by it's base model name is to differentiate between the Neon and Caliber platforms. The Lancer though.. Mitsubishi even calls the Evo that. Their artsy way of saying it's an "evolution" of the Lancer, I guess.

 

[pokapreak]

remember the srt 4 is a 14.1 quater mile car stock with a good driver..they are faster no doubt stock for stock

 

[<missing user>]

The styling of the Caliber is great, just don't get inside one. If you do you'll go running to your VW dealer. In another post I stated that VW doesn't always add up on paper as a better deal. When you look at the big picture, VW is way ahead of dodge. The interior fit and finish is competing with the Chery and don't ask about resale or durability, those words aren't in dodge's vocabularity. Why did Mercedes leave...

 

[uncle dude]

not seeing the beauty here..............

 

[boostedJTi]

not seeing the beauty here..............

They say beauty lies within... But with Dodge, don't count on that.