GTI owner thinking of swapping to a Golf R

[Al_in_Philly]

I think about it this way, how much of the time that you're driving, will you be using the strengths of the R.....3%, maybe 5%? How often will you be using your R in 'GTi mode' lol....almost all of the time.

It all depends on what sort of driving you do and where you do it. If you drive fast in the rain or have to deal with snow (and you live somewhere it rains and/or snows frequently), you can't deny the uncanny traction which the R affords over the nice, but not exceptional, GTI. And, if you do a fair amount of highway on-ramps, or high-speed passing, that HP edge of the R is a pleasant "extra" as well.

To claim that the advantages which one car has over another in only extreme driving situations is something almost inconsequential, is to deny that those advantages aren't quite consequential when you want or need them. Taking that argument further, one might argue that a base Golf is good enough for 75% of the driving one does, so why buy anything more expensive. In reality, it's whether the differences between the cars is worth the price differential to you, which is something nobody else can answer or quantify--it's wholly qualitative and subjective.

 

[ATR]

It all depends on what sort of driving you do and where you do it. If you drive fast in the rain or have to deal with snow (and you live somewhere it rains and/or snows frequently), you can't deny the uncanny traction which the R affords over the nice, but not exceptional, GTI. And, if you do a fair amount of highway on-ramps, or high-speed passing, that HP edge of the R is a pleasant "extra" as well.

To claim that the advantages which one car has over another in only extreme driving situations is something almost inconsequential, is to deny that those advantages aren't quite consequential when you want or need them. Taking that argument further, one might argue that a base Golf is good enough for 75% of the driving one does, so why buy anything more expensive. In reality, it's whether the differences between the cars is worth the price differential to you, which is something nobody else can answer or quantify--it's wholly qualitative and subjective.

I deal with a true all four seasons in Maryland. I have a feeling that I'll be dealing with snow here as well in a few months. When it gets bad here most smart folks stay in and don't drive in the snow... I like to find parking lots to see just what my car can and can't do on the off chance that I need to know exactly what my car can and can't do. The FWD aspect of the GTI is a limiting factor. but overall the GTI is a vary capable car for it being a FWD car.

Today on my way home I took a longer way home just to see what it could do from stoplights and in turns under moderate *cough* WOT *cough* gas peddle applications on streets I'm very familiar with. Lets just say the frisky nature of the GTI out a big grin on my face... AWE Track edition was barking at me too

Again I'm not in a huge hurry to get away from my GTI. It's been a fantastic car for me so far. burns very little if any oil. My last oil change it was only down 1/2 qt after 7500 miles of driving. There's features that I miss however. I love manual, but always kinda wish I went DSG instead. I like leather for it's simplicity of cleaning (I have a fairly long haired dog). I also would like to have AWD for the increased traction.

 

[ecsta]

Biggest reason was the AWD for winter driving, and the "blue" accent. Personally i hate the colour red, if i ended up with a GTI the first thing i would be doing would be painting/swapping everything red haha.

Was shopping for the 2-dr GTI PP and couldn't find one (all were 4-drs in my area), then realized the price difference was affordable (insurance was actually cheaper on the R) so i splurged on it. The stealth factor and not having a luxury badge was actually huge for me, i like that people don't look at it and know how much money i spent on a Golf haha.

MPG is worse in the R so if you have a long commute that's something to consider.

 

[Al_in_Philly]

I deal with a true all four seasons in Maryland. I have a feeling that I'll be dealing with snow here as well in a few months. When it gets bad here most smart folks stay in and don't drive in the snow... I like to find parking lots to see just what my car can and can't do on the off chance that I need to know exactly what my car can and can't do. The FWD aspect of the GTI is a limiting factor. but overall the GTI is a vary capable car for it being a FWD car.

Today on my way home I took a longer way home just to see what it could do from stoplights and in turns under moderate *cough* WOT *cough* gas peddle applications on streets I'm very familiar with. Lets just say the frisky nature of the GTI out a big grin on my face... AWE Track edition was barking at me too

Again I'm not in a huge hurry to get away from my GTI. It's been a fantastic car for me so far. burns very little if any oil. My last oil change it was only down 1/2 qt after 7500 miles of driving. There's features that I miss however. I love manual, but always kinda wish I went DSG instead. I like leather for it's simplicity of cleaning (I have a fairly long haired dog). I also would like to have AWD for the increased traction.

I wouldn't be in a hurry to trade in a GTI either--it's a really nice car, and if VW hadn't brought the R stateside, it's what I'd be driving right now. But the R isn't "capable" in the snow, it's absolutely stunning, provided you switch out the standard summer performance tires for a set of winter rubber. Not being far from you, up in Philly, we get similar winter weather, and my experience with the R the last two winters has literally amazed me. I've floored it through deep slippery slush and the car just takes off leaving rooster tails flowing out of all four wheel wells. And it turns without ever losing my intended trajectory. In deep snow, the only issue is rutted streets where you can begin to ground out, but even then it grabs the snow fabulously.

A while back we had a snow storm that would have kept me parked had I not had the R. My wife was ill and I needed to get her to the hospital at 2:00 AM. We got in the car and it just pulled out into the street and got her to the emergency room (very quickly) without any drama, aside from the sound of the chassis scrubbing on the occasional berm in the middle of the street, though for many the streets would have been impassable. After getting her situated in the emergency room, I had to drive around the block to enter the hospital's parking garage. Since it was the middle of the night, the streets were deserted; I decided to see what would happen in the heavy snow if I floored it and then slammed on the brakes. It was unreal, almost as if the streets were bone-dry. After that I knew that paying the extra bucks for an R over a GTI was money well spent, if for nothing else, for those two in the morning races to the hospital in a snowstorm.

For what it's worth, I may be driving to Chicago next week. Although it's too early to tell for sure, I very well might be hitting what's left of hurricane Irma as I pass through the normally windy mountain passes in the Western part of Pennsylvania. With the R's 4-motion, I have no anxiety about doing that at all.

 

[nate704]

To be fair, when I was in my 20s, I'd have positively jumped on a Hellcat if I could have afforded one.

Hellcat is affordable, but the rest of the factors prevent me from buying one, such as the cost of insurance, higher tax, poor gas mileage, poor/dangerous handling under inclement weather, lack of space, big/bulky/ugly exterior and interior design and quality.

 

[ATR]

Biggest reason was the AWD for winter driving, and the "blue" accent. Personally i hate the colour red, if i ended up with a GTI the first thing i would be doing would be painting/swapping everything red haha.

Was shopping for the 2-dr GTI PP and couldn't find one (all were 4-drs in my area), then realized the price difference was affordable (insurance was actually cheaper on the R) so i splurged on it. The stealth factor and not having a luxury badge was actually huge for me, i like that people don't look at it and know how much money i spent on a Golf haha.

MPG is worse in the R so if you have a long commute that's something to consider.

I don't mind the red accents. It actually looks really good on white

How's the MPG for you?

I wouldn't be in a hurry to trade in a GTI either--it's a really nice car, and if VW hadn't brought the R stateside, it's what I'd be driving right now. But the R isn't "capable" in the snow, it's absolutely stunning, provided you switch out the standard summer performance tires for a set of winter rubber. Not being far from you, up in Philly, we get similar winter weather, and my experience with the R the last two winters has literally amazed me. I've floored it through deep slippery slush and the car just takes off leaving rooster tails flowing out of all four wheel wells. And it turns without ever losing my intended trajectory. In deep snow, the only issue is rutted streets where you can begin to ground out, but even then it grabs the snow fabulously.

A while back we had a snow storm that would have kept me parked had I not had the R. My wife was ill and I needed to get her to the hospital at 2:00 AM. We got in the car and it just pulled out into the street and got her to the emergency room (very quickly) without any drama, aside from the sound of the chassis scrubbing on the occasional berm in the middle of the street, though for many the streets would have been impassable. After getting her situated in the emergency room, I had to drive around the block to enter the hospital's parking garage. Since it was the middle of the night, the streets were deserted; I decided to see what would happen in the heavy snow if I floored it and then slammed on the brakes. It was unreal, almost as if the streets were bone-dry. After that I knew that paying the extra bucks for an R over a GTI was money well spent, if for nothing else, for those two in the morning races to the hospital in a snowstorm.

For what it's worth, I may be driving to Chicago next week. Although it's too early to tell for sure, I very well might be hitting what's left of hurricane Irma as I pass through the normally windy mountain passes in the Western part of Pennsylvania. With the R's 4-motion, I have no anxiety about doing that at all.

Yep... Pretty much all reasons why I really like the idea of a Golf R.

 

[TheWombat]

Hellcat is affordable, but the rest of the factors prevent me from buying one, such as the cost of insurance, higher tax, poor gas mileage, poor/dangerous handling under inclement weather, lack of space, big/bulky/ugly exterior and interior design and quality.

Oh, I agree, I have zero interest in anything like that these days. Thirty five years go, though....

 

[ecsta]

I don't mind the red accents. It actually looks really good on white

How's the MPG for you?

When you're not pushing it and just coasting along it's not bad. Driving to Montreal on the highway with ACC on and AC off, best i got it down to was like 8L/100km (29.4 MPG) which was impressive for me, my highway/commute is mostly 10-11L/100km (23.52 - 21.38 MPG), and my usual spirited/fun driving is about 13L/100km (18.09 MPG). This is on DSG and mostly esso 93 octane fuel (and some 91 where 93 wasn't available).

It's super dependent about how you drive, whereas from what i read about the GTI is that it's much better overall in all scenarios.

 

[Misshe11]

The newer BMW's are garbage compared to the older early to mid 2000's BMW's. They have become more luxurious than "The ultimate driving machine". I confirmed this by driving both a 328i and a 528i. Ride was garbage in the 3 series. Needlessly crashing over bumps. The 528i was better, however it still wasn't fun to drive like the older BMW's were. The best BMW's were the e46 m3, e39 m5, and e90 m3.

Want luxury and a look at me "badge" grab a MB.

Want under the radar luxury and a badge go for a Audi.

Want to simply fly in stealth mode? Get a VW.

You're 100% correct about it being personal decision. That's why we have so many different brands to choose from and so many colors to choose from.

Oh and to the dodge comment... Have you ever driven a current generation charger? Even with the base v6 it's pretty quick and rides great on the highway! I know this from having several for rental cars with my last job. From my understanding they shared their platform with the mid 2000s MB E-class.

I agree, BMW fell off the performance car map in 2000 when they decided the Toyota Camry market was the one they wanted to dominate... E90 and E46? I have owned an E36 M3, an E46 M3 and an E39 M5... The M5 was superb in every way (except winter driving)... The E46 made awful noises and handled like a pregnant yak compared to the E36 which was the last really racey feeling M3... The newer ones just feel like an E39 M5... Heavy with punch and not enough brakes . The E30 though is by far the king of the hill as a driver's car... It is just such an amazingly dialed in and fun to drive car... I have heard great stuff about the M2 but haven't driven one... Nor do I really want to drive one... From a build quality perspective, the E36 and E39 were flawless, never had a single issue with either car... The E46 was decent but had trim pieces coming unglued and again that exhaust sound.... cringy...

 

[ATR]

I agree, BMW fell off the performance car map in 2000 when they decided the Toyota Camry market was the one they wanted to dominate... E90 and E46? I have owned an E36 M3, an E46 M3 and an E39 M5... The M5 was superb in every way (except winter driving)... The E46 made awful noises and handled like a pregnant yak compared to the E36 which was the last really racey feeling M3... The newer ones just feel like an E39 M5... Heavy with punch and not enough brakes . The E30 though is by far the king of the hill as a driver's car... It is just such an amazingly dialed in and fun to drive car... I have heard great stuff about the M2 but haven't driven one... Nor do I really want to drive one... From a build quality perspective, the E36 and E39 were flawless, never had a single issue with either car... The E46 was decent but had trim pieces coming unglued and again that exhaust sound.... cringy...

Okay, far enough

I also wasn't a fan of the fact that the rear sub frame on the e46 had a tendency to catastrophically fail (crack).
And yeah, that exhaust note on the e46 m3 was too buzzy for my liking.

I had the chance to drive a Turbocharged e36 m3 that was pushing 400whp. IIRC it had a active autowork turbo kit. Also had a lightweight flywheel and a 6 puck clutch. I stalled that thing more times then I care to admit when I was pulling it out of the BMW dealership I worked at. That thing was like a supra... very fast and handled GREAT

Of the newer bimmers I'd be curious to check out the newer 135i or 335i.

 

[njswider]

I went MK7 GTI to MK7 R a few months ago. Best mileage I got in the GTI was 38mpg, I was highly impressed. Best I’ve managed so far in the R is 28. I drive the R more aggressively than the GTI but I definitely did not baby it. As Al mentioned, one of the biggest differences I noticed was highway passing, granted that comes from the power but still it was a big difference.

The GTI is definitely the better value car and if I couldn’t have the R there isn’t another car on the planet I’d rather have than a GTI. There are many factors that made the R worth it to me, I know this may not apply to all but it might help. Driving a DSG GTI was fun, but DSG R felt like another transmission. I’ve heard the mini GT-R references, and I find it pretty accurate. Blue is my favorite color so that obviously wins me over, I also feel like red is the generic sporty color so I like the change of pace. Don’t care for a sunroof or fogs so no worries for me there. AWD for winter, rain, dry... it’s better. I’m not for spinning wheels, I prefer feeling glued to the road. DAP is incredible and it’s standard. Parking sensors allow me to pull into the garage every day and not worry about accidentally hitting something or curbs, parking spots etc. BSM is nice to have for sure, lane assist is awesome when paired with ACC (don’t know if I can go back to standard cruise now). Front assist literally saved my car from being totaled the other day as I’m doing 50 in the left lane and 4 cars ahead of me decides to slam on brakes in the middle of an intersection to make a left turn when it’s a no-turn intersection. I slammed the brakes but the car took over and just stopped itself. Unbelievable. The leather is actually smoother and nicer leather than the SE/Autobahn (not sure why). R badges everywhere, love the fully powered seat and moveable lumbar. Auto dimming mirror, felt lined glovebox, I mean there are so many little things that add up IMO. Euro cup holder, electronic e-brake cleans up the center console and the ugly toll/cars slots are no more. Quad exhausts, upgraded internals, engine sound, turbo is larger and louder etc. Double U DRLs, DCC, NAV, front end looks way more aggressive, it’s the ultimate sleeper. Sure you can retrofit most of this stuff, but it’s all already there. Ultimately, in 5 years when it’s paid off it should still be worth ~20k and at that point I can just get another R or go back to a GTI and pay way less. The amount of GTIs these days kinda worries me about the depreciation. I liked the days when I was one of a handful of guys with a GTI.

Both cars are wonderful, you’ll be happy either way. Hopefully this helps!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ATR]

On the note of the R vs the GTI... From what I've read about the transmissions so far is that the DSG is shorter geared than the GTI. Tuned more for performance vs the nod to efficiency that the GTI has. Same can be said for the manual transmissions between the two. At 80mph I'm only spinning at 2500rpm in my GTI. The R spins about 500rpm higher at 80. However, the DSG in the R is between the two of them.

You're 100% right about the Difference with the DSG in the R vs GTI. I REALLY did NOT like the DSG in the GTI. The shifts sounded like a standard autotragic. With the R shifts feel more solid and also much faster. Part of me wants to go manual, I really need to see what a DSG feels like so a manual in the R to know for sure.

I definitely want to get the DAP no matter what... Way too many people do dumb stuff around here. I wonder if my insurance would go down with those features...

You're totally right about the Golf R! The depreciation of the GTI is crazy. The R is much slower. Probably the only thing that it's slow with

Love my GTI, but I personally think that the R is a better fit for me.

 

[TheWombat]

My only complaint with the R (other than the unmodified manual transmission) is that it's so good, it seriously circumscribes your options for subsequent cars! That is, if you plan to stay at the same basic price point, or go up a bit, there isn't that much that combines its performance, features, size, utility and quality. This is particularly true if you're restricted to AWD (or FWD), and RWD is simply not an option. It's trebley true if you insist on a manual transmission.

Even as the price creeps up above $40k these days, this continues to be true. Unless you can pony up ten or more grand in addition to the price of an R, and can tolerate a bigger car, an automatic, or both, you're sort of living on the apex of this sort of vehicle.

 

[njswider]

My only complaint with the R (other than the unmodified manual transmission) is that it's so good, it seriously circumscribes your options for subsequent cars! That is, if you plan to stay at the same basic price point, or go up a bit, there isn't that much that combines its performance, features, size, utility and quality. This is particularly true if you're restricted to AWD (or FWD), and RWD is simply not an option. It's trebley true if you insist on a manual transmission.

Even as the price creeps up above $40k these days, this continues to be true. Unless you can pony up ten or more grand in addition to the price of an R, and can tolerate a bigger car, an automatic, or both, you're sort of living on the apex of this sort of vehicle.

I agree. But if that means I’ll be driving R’s for the foreseeable future I wouldn’t have a problem with that! The two cars I wish we got was the RS3 hatch and A45 hatch, definitely more expensive though.

 

[BlueHen]

Listen guys, if you're looking for mpg, VW has an app for that!

My other Mk7: http://www.fuelly.com/car/volkswagen/golf/2015/BlueHenTDI/618927