Golf R
08-29-2018, 09:40 AM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Golf R
So i am contemplating getting rid of my sedan and replacing it with a Golf R,maybe a 2016 or newer. Anyone have any experience with this car? DSG or manual? I am looking for real world experience not opinions on it by those who look at youtube and draw conclusions, I can do that myself. Thanks in advance. I have no snow exposure. I have a big dog that goes places with me now and then. I know the car is practical already. I have little use for transporting family around at this point in my life. I am also wondering what it would be like on a good road trip?
08-29-2018, 09:50 AM
#2
Co-worker has one. Great interior, pretty comfortable ride for a "sports hatch", understated good looks, sounds good (fake engine sound is piped in, though). Quick, agile, fairly responsive. Lots of room for mods, if you want. I'd gladly use it as a daily driver or road trip car. It's not a razor-sharp car but it's a very, very good compromise. I wouldn't kick it out of my driveway.
6-speed is pretty good to use. It's no S2000 but I had no complaints. If you're going to mod it, get the DSG as it can hold a lot more power without modification. The stock clutch on the 6MT is not very good with mods.
They seem to be depreciating fairly quickly (here in Canada, at least) so you should be able to get a decent deal on one.
I know a few others on here own them so I'd expect them to chime in.
6-speed is pretty good to use. It's no S2000 but I had no complaints. If you're going to mod it, get the DSG as it can hold a lot more power without modification. The stock clutch on the 6MT is not very good with mods.
They seem to be depreciating fairly quickly (here in Canada, at least) so you should be able to get a decent deal on one.
I know a few others on here own them so I'd expect them to chime in.
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hirev (08-29-2018)
08-29-2018, 10:33 AM
#3
I had a few different test drives in them and was disappointed from what I was expecting. I think most of it is due to a large turbo that has significant lag and really tall gearing in the manual. I am a little spoiled in that my turbo in the BMW is small and tuned for throttle response. It comes on right now if you have it in the right mode and then runs out of breath at the top end. The Golf R is exactly the opposite. It is kind of wait for it, wait for it, GO! You have to really drive it like you stole it to get the magazine time performance, where just for personal preference, I would rather have effortless performance in around town traffic even if the engine loses steam up top. Otherwise, interior, ride, utility, everything else about the car I liked a great deal with the possible exception of lackluster styling. The manual was decent, but again, the tall gearing made for few shifts and wringing it out to get power.
The dealer I drove the last one at was also an Audi dealer and talked me into comparing it with a drive in an S3 which is the same powertrain. It felt night and day different. It must have hugely different shift points and different throttle mapping because in regular traffic it felt zippy and responsive where the Golf felt lazy. I really liked the Audi and was pretty "meh" on the Golf R.
With that said, I also drove some GTI's and can say for me at least, with the smaller turbo and lighter weight it was more fun to drive both in manual and DSG even though it would not put up as impressive numbers on paper. Given that an SE model with pretty much all the same things the R has sans adaptive suspension, digital dash (I prefer the regular gauges anyway) and NAV, I much preferred the GTI SE. You can get one easy for $28k with the leather or cloth, and manual or DSG and really is 90% of the car the R is. I read many magazine articles that preferred the GTI for a few reasons, but after several test drives I understood why. They also mod EASILY to make much more power when that warranty runs out.
You may find you eventually like the R better, but I would really encourage you to drive the GTI as well because you might like it and save about a third of the price of the R.
Have not taken it on one, but after several drives either the Golf GTI or R seem like they would be great on a road trip, very comfortable and nice ride.
The dealer I drove the last one at was also an Audi dealer and talked me into comparing it with a drive in an S3 which is the same powertrain. It felt night and day different. It must have hugely different shift points and different throttle mapping because in regular traffic it felt zippy and responsive where the Golf felt lazy. I really liked the Audi and was pretty "meh" on the Golf R.
With that said, I also drove some GTI's and can say for me at least, with the smaller turbo and lighter weight it was more fun to drive both in manual and DSG even though it would not put up as impressive numbers on paper. Given that an SE model with pretty much all the same things the R has sans adaptive suspension, digital dash (I prefer the regular gauges anyway) and NAV, I much preferred the GTI SE. You can get one easy for $28k with the leather or cloth, and manual or DSG and really is 90% of the car the R is. I read many magazine articles that preferred the GTI for a few reasons, but after several test drives I understood why. They also mod EASILY to make much more power when that warranty runs out.
You may find you eventually like the R better, but I would really encourage you to drive the GTI as well because you might like it and save about a third of the price of the R.
Have not taken it on one, but after several drives either the Golf GTI or R seem like they would be great on a road trip, very comfortable and nice ride.
Last edited by vader1; 08-29-2018 at 10:37 AM.
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hirev (08-29-2018)
08-29-2018, 10:57 AM
#4
Registered User
Thread Starter
My good friend let me drive his new then 2017 gti with the dsg. I did not like the way it crept ahead at stops, not like any automatic i am used to. I don't care for automatics anyway, they have their value just not for me.
I appreciate the feedback and am still on the fence...my sedan....well it's a 2016 m3 with manual and i love it, just that I am thinking about when it goes out of warranty and free maint in another 18 months or so, the newer R would still have a warranty and maintenance can't be that much on a new vw compared to a 3 year old m3....and I love the m3, warts and all....no car is perfect and mine has yet to give me any issues.... the gti is just not enough car for me in terms of performance, and it's a very very good car too. i think I can deal well on the golf R, used or even new, and no need to choose yet, but i am always thinking about the next car.
I appreciate the feedback and am still on the fence...my sedan....well it's a 2016 m3 with manual and i love it, just that I am thinking about when it goes out of warranty and free maint in another 18 months or so, the newer R would still have a warranty and maintenance can't be that much on a new vw compared to a 3 year old m3....and I love the m3, warts and all....no car is perfect and mine has yet to give me any issues.... the gti is just not enough car for me in terms of performance, and it's a very very good car too. i think I can deal well on the golf R, used or even new, and no need to choose yet, but i am always thinking about the next car.
08-29-2018, 11:03 AM
#5
My good friend let me drive his new then 2017 gti with the dsg. I did not like the way it crept ahead at stops, not like any automatic i am used to. I don't care for automatics anyway, they have their value just not for me.
I appreciate the feedback and am still on the fence...my sedan....well it's a 2016 m3 with manual and i love it, just that I am thinking about when it goes out of warranty and free maint in another 18 months or so, the newer R would still have a warranty and maintenance can't be that much on a new vw compared to a 3 year old m3....and I love the m3, warts and all....no car is perfect and mine has yet to give me any issues.... the gti is just not enough car for me in terms of performance, and it's a very very good car too. i think I can deal well on the golf R, used or even new, and no need to choose yet, but i am always thinking about the next car.
I appreciate the feedback and am still on the fence...my sedan....well it's a 2016 m3 with manual and i love it, just that I am thinking about when it goes out of warranty and free maint in another 18 months or so, the newer R would still have a warranty and maintenance can't be that much on a new vw compared to a 3 year old m3....and I love the m3, warts and all....no car is perfect and mine has yet to give me any issues.... the gti is just not enough car for me in terms of performance, and it's a very very good car too. i think I can deal well on the golf R, used or even new, and no need to choose yet, but i am always thinking about the next car.
But, it's not my money. Best of luck to you. I'm a big fan of those Golf R, especially the newer ones. They're rare enough to turn heads on the streets and you're buying an Audi S3 for 2/3 of the cost.
08-29-2018, 12:12 PM
#6
Registered User
Thread Starter
Next June...Well the m3 will be about 43k to buy out of lease, the golf r, assuming it is a 2019 will be close to that as well. that's the sense, plus the golf r will have a warranty for 3 and the m3 for only a year at that time. And lets say normal maintenance plus things that go wrong on the m3 could be more after the year of warranty and service i would have left, the golf r would be normal maintenance only with a warranty. Looking a few years down the road...
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08-29-2018, 01:29 PM
#8
Next June...Well the m3 will be about 43k to buy out of lease, the golf r, assuming it is a 2019 will be close to that as well. that's the sense, plus the golf r will have a warranty for 3 and the m3 for only a year at that time. And lets say normal maintenance plus things that go wrong on the m3 could be more after the year of warranty and service i would have left, the golf r would be normal maintenance only with a warranty. Looking a few years down the road...
08-29-2018, 01:34 PM
#9
Registered User
I have come full circle on mine. I liked it, then I didn't like it, and now I like it again. It really depends on what you want. As a comfortable and fast daily driver, it's hard to beat. As a track car, it needs a few things to be ideal. As a family hauler, I can't think of anything better.
Personally, I wish I would have at least test drove a DSG car before buying my manual, but I am MT for life so what can I say? The MT is meh though, there are lots of improvements on the market, none of which will make it an s2000 shifter. You get over it I guess, I just had mine at Sonoma Raceway, and besides the stock rubber being crap, it's a fun track car with predictable handling.
It just really depends on what you want from it. Btw, in my experience the fuel economy SUCKS so if that is a factor, forget it, I think my fuelly shows 22mpg average, keeping in mind I have a heavy foot, but I think the short gearing is not taking into consideration whatsoever on the federal testing, this thing sings along as 3000+ rpm on the freeway in 6th gear.
Personally, I wish I would have at least test drove a DSG car before buying my manual, but I am MT for life so what can I say? The MT is meh though, there are lots of improvements on the market, none of which will make it an s2000 shifter. You get over it I guess, I just had mine at Sonoma Raceway, and besides the stock rubber being crap, it's a fun track car with predictable handling.
It just really depends on what you want from it. Btw, in my experience the fuel economy SUCKS so if that is a factor, forget it, I think my fuelly shows 22mpg average, keeping in mind I have a heavy foot, but I think the short gearing is not taking into consideration whatsoever on the federal testing, this thing sings along as 3000+ rpm on the freeway in 6th gear.
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hirev (08-30-2018)
08-29-2018, 01:40 PM
#10
Registered User
I had a few different test drives in them and was disappointed from what I was expecting. I think most of it is due to a large turbo that has significant lag and really tall gearing in the manual. I am a little spoiled in that my turbo in the BMW is small and tuned for throttle response. It comes on right now if you have it in the right mode and then runs out of breath at the top end. The Golf R is exactly the opposite. It is kind of wait for it, wait for it, GO! You have to really drive it like you stole it to get the magazine time performance, where just for personal preference, I would rather have effortless performance in around town traffic even if the engine loses steam up top. Otherwise, interior, ride, utility, everything else about the car I liked a great deal with the possible exception of lackluster styling. The manual was decent, but again, the tall gearing made for few shifts and wringing it out to get power.
For reference - Top Speed in gear:
Gti / R:
1: 39 / 35
2: 71 / 58
3: 100 / 81
4: 125 / 111