GTI to Golf R?

[Hyperlite]

I’m currently running my GTI with Pretoria’s and Conti sportcontact 5p with lots of tread. I believe these are decent tires and they have lots of life left so I don’t see myself upgrading, even though I know there are stickier options out there.

I know I could keep upgrading the GTI to make it hook up better, but I feel like I would start to lose the daily driving comfort. I don’t do track days. I’m looking for a very fast, daily driver that’s comfortable as possible. To me, the R seems to fit that bill perfectly.

Step 1 was to get opinions from those who have had both, so big thanks to everyone for their feedback! Step 2 is to test drive some R’s. Then if there is a good deal to be had I’ll pull the trigger. The GTI is still a great car so I’m not in a rush to get out of it. Used R’s are super expensive right now so it might take a while before I make the switch.

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

I’m currently running my GTI with Pretoria’s and Conti sportcontact 5p with lots of tread. I believe these are decent tires and they have lots of life left so I don’t see myself upgrading, even though I know there are stickier options out there.

I know I could keep upgrading the GTI to make it hook up better, but I feel like I would start to lose the daily driving comfort. I don’t do track days. I’m looking for a very fast, daily driver that’s comfortable as possible. To me, the R seems to fit that bill perfectly.

Step 1 was to get opinions from those who have had both, so big thanks to everyone for their feedback! Step 2 is to test drive some R’s. Then if there is a good deal to be had I’ll pull the trigger. The GTI is still a great car so I’m not in a rush to get out of it. Used R’s are super expensive right now so it might take a while before I make the switch.

Yeah the used market is insane. When the 8R comes out a 7R will go down in value.

 

[Mk_GTI]

Yeah the used market is insane. When the 8R comes out a 7R will go down in value.

When VW replaces all the haptic touch controls with knobs, then 7R's prices will drop. I'll keep my Mk7.5 R until the Mk8.5 R arrives.

 

[sterkrazzy]

If the mk8 R starts at 44k like everybody thinks that will also help the resale on the mk7.

 

[Mk_GTI]

Traded my 2010 GTI 3dr DSG bought brand new for a 2018 R. The Mk7.5 Golf R is everything I ever wished the Mk6 GTI could be, other than no sunroof option.

 

[hans611]

I went from my Mk5 GTI with 110k mi to my Golf R back in late 2018, best decision ever...

MQB chassis was a huge upgrade... and after going through owning and selling a GTI, I now knew the R was the better choice, especially if keeping it long term.

6 speed on both cars, drove 70k mi on the MK5 and have 25k mi under my belt on my R now.... No Regretz, way too fun to give up.

Im still trying to get myself to like the Mk8 though, in case the worse happens and I need a new car and cant find a nice used Mk7 around....

But thats not going to happen, my Golf R is going to have a nice long life with me at the controls for a long long time

 

[Daks]

My next car will either be a MK 7.5 GTI or MK7.5 R. That way, I can keep all my aftermarket parts and just transfer them over; #frugal.

 

[CarlosCanizares]

Im still trying to get myself to like the Mk8 though...

But thats not going to happen, my Golf R is going to have a nice long life with me at the controls with full driving gloves on for a long long time

Enhanced for you.

 

[launchd]

Why does everyone keep saying that... its not 10k.... The difference between the R and an Autobahn was like 5 grand in 2017, last I checked... Sure you can spec a GTI cheaper, possibly get a better deal from the dealer, but its not 10,000 less, you arent getting the same stuff.

And for the 5 grand you get the IS38, the rear Haldex/AWD..... the nicer engine (Cylinder head, Exhaust valves, camshaft, injectors... the bigger intercooler, radiators...), the body kit.... etc.... Oh and an actual German car... sorry I am from south America, ill prefer my car from Germany lol

Oh and after the 5 grand initial cost... after they reach their "end of life", around 125-150k miles... The Golf R will still be actually worth something, will the GTI will be just another $3,000 beater. Sorry, but I learned that when selling my Mk5...... you can look at used car prices now, look how much a 2012 Golf R goes for? Now look at a 2012 GTI with the same milage .... you will more than get your 5 grand back.



Lol you would not spank a stock Golf R from a dig....... a dig until What? 120mph? The Stock Golf R does sub 5s to 0-60s, it would pull like 2 cars on you in the first quarter of a second.... unless you have drag radials on a drag strip, I dont see it....

Also, the golf R would just spend the 800$ on a tune and then it would be guaranteed..... oh and the RS3 is like in another level cost wise, its like 2 level ahead of the R, the GTI and R almost cost the same compared to an RS3.....

You're comparing the cost of the highest trim GTI (which I also think is a waste of money) with the cost of a base Golf R....

The differences you described (along with the additional options found in the highest trim GTI) are not worth the price gap (from a performance perspective) to me and I don't consider myself cheap.

I have spanked stock Golf Rs from a dig (not using radials) and I'm really not sure what to say other than that... it shouldn't be a surprise, seems to be one to you?

I don't buy cars as investments and, based on some of the logic you're using in this post, you do?

Opinions are simply that, opinions - that was all my post was. We are allowed to have a difference of opinion.

 

[hans611]

You're comparing the cost of the highest trim GTI (which I also think is a waste of money) with the cost of a base Golf R....

Dude you tell yourself that, talk about logic, and all but don't do the research. Just google the MSRPs... I had done it back for the 2017 models, a while ago, so that's what I remembered of the top of my head, and a good comparison spec wise as the only difference was the Autobahn had the sunroof... You made me go back to check.. the MSRP for the higher spec Golf R, "with DCC/Nav", in manual is $39,375...... that's not the base, the base is $35,655...

The Autobahn (manual) for that year 2017 was $34,095... In those specs like I said, only the sunroof is different... they both have DCC, Adaptive cruise, etc.... The base Golf R is only $1,600 more than the Autobahn lol

Go check and post back... its $5,280 Autobahn vs Golf R "With DCC/Nav" .... same features other than the sunroof... and the R stuff.

have spanked stock Golf Rs from a dig (not using radials) and I'm really not sure what to say other than that... it shouldn't be a surprise, seems to be one to you?

A broken clock is right twice a day, who knew......

edit: And then you see this.... same parameters, same area 200 mi, same years picked the first ones after the advertisements, they both had similar mileage but the price difference is there

It is what it is bud, and I never said I bought it as an investment lol... if you can get the Golf R with its initial upfront cost, and want to, you should... ....but I know not everyone wants one, I love GTIs too dont get me wrong, its nice to have 280 pounds less and big power FWD is fun as hell, I had a ton of fun on mine... but the reality is if you get a higher spec GTI you aren't saving as much as you think over a Golf R... your trim will not matter much when its time to sell it either.

 

[launchd]

How do you like the a7? The a6 was too soft for me, even compared to our Q7 (the supercharged 3.0t - love this car sooo much), but they didn't have a reasonable a7 that day so I didn't get to try it. I LOVE the way the a7 looks. Imo it's better than the rs7 from every angle except rear 3/4.

I love my A7

The dealership failed to do it’s PDI properly (rear bump stops were not seated correctly) and it’s front bumper ended up getting damaged by the dealership while it had less than 40 miles on it, but I’m passed that now.

Crazy how comfortable it is and how easy it is to drive (fast - don’t even realize it sometimes). But it doesn’t provide me with the same exhilaration that my GTI does (wasn’t bought to), if I was being honest haha. It serves its purpose though and so far, I really do love it, no regrets.

 

[Daks]

Dude you tell yourself that, talk about logic, and all but don't do the research. Just google the MSRPs... I had done it back for the 2017 models, a while ago, so that's what I remembered of the top of my head, and a good comparison spec wise as the only difference was the Autobahn had the sunroof... You made me go back to check.. the MSRP for the higher spec Golf R, "with DCC/Nav", in manual is $39,375...... that's not the base, the base is $35,655...

The Autobahn (manual) for that year 2017 was $34,095... In those specs like I said, only the sunroof is different... they both have DCC, Adaptive cruise, etc.... The base Golf R is only $1,600 more than the Autobahn lol

Go check and post back... its $5,280 Autobahn vs Golf R "With DCC/Nav" .... same features other than the sunroof... and the R stuff.



A broken clock is right twice a day, who knew......

edit: And then you see this.... same parameters, same area 200 mi, same years picked the first ones after the advertisements, they both had similar mileage but the price difference is there

View attachment 210592 View attachment 210593 View attachment 210594

It is what it is bud, and I never said I bought it as an investment lol... if you can get the Golf R with its initial upfront cost, and want to, you should... ....but I know not everyone wants one, I love GTIs too dont get me wrong, its nice to have 280 pounds less and big power FWD is fun as hell, I had a ton of fun on mine... but the reality is if you get a higher spec GTI you aren't saving as much as you think over a Golf R... your trim will not matter much when its time to sell it either.

Not the same comparison. The MK6R is much more rare of a car than the Mk7R. In canada there were only 500 of them in 2012.

 

[hans611]

Yes you are right, I actually documented the rarity of the Mk7 Rs in the US DM...

There is 11,340 MK7 Rs (~3,800 avg/yr) and 8,884 MK7.5 Rs.... (~3,000 avg/yr)

As opposed to the MK6 Rs, which they made just 5,492 of in just 2 years (~2,750 avg/yr)

If you disregard Golfs, around 13% of MK7s were Golf R Mk7s and about 18% of MK7.5s are Rs (NOT COUNTING 2021 when the R was discontinued)

On the other hand the MK6....

If you disregard Golfs.... 35,116 MK6 GTIs and Rs were sold in the US in 2012-2013, so around 16% of MK6s ended up being Golf Rs, a similar percentage.....

They are rare by quantity but not by model year..... they also made a lot less MK6s overall per year.... with the MK7 they really ramped up (and later died down.)

Nevertheless, if you do the same exercise for high mileage 2015-2016 MK7s, the same holds true... you can just do the KBB Value too, its around that amount.

You can scroll through it yourself.. this time I choose the east coast, DC area 300 mi for the GTI, 500 mi for the Golf R....
I did select " no accidents reported" which filters them out through car fax to not mess with the results...

Listing from lowest priced up:

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for...er=false&sortBy=derivedpriceASC&numRecords=25

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for...er=false&sortBy=derivedpriceASC&numRecords=25

I am seeing around 14-15 grand for a GTI with 80-100k miles.. while all the Golf Rs in that same mileage hover around 24-25k....

or am I crazy? too bad Corona is probably having an effect, but I was seeing similar spreads back when I was buying my car a few years ago... it hasn't changed.

 

[victorofhavoc]

Nice to have the data! Does your filter include same spec level? An autobahn gti i think is far more equal in spec to an R right out of the gate, and that really brings them closer in price. I would imagine the higher spec cars tend to go for more money in the long term.

To 99% of car buyers the leather seats and sunroof sell better than cloth and base everything...

 

[hans611]

Well that little spreadsheet I shared just has all the cars sold in total, I took it from the VW press releases where they announce their sales for the US Domestic Market...

Yes, you will be able to price the higher trim a little higher once in the used market, thats what I saw when i was selling my MK5... at one point I wanted to jump up to a MK6 so I had been looking before that too.... However, in those previous generations I feel the trim mattered less in GTIs as for now with the MK7, so what I saw before may not hold true.....

But you will never claw back the 40% more you paid for an Autobanh over a S (4 door manuals were $25,595 MSRP in 2017)... there is no way you will get 40% over a similarly used and in similar condition lower trim car.... yet the base Golf R would more or less get that 40% over the base GTI....

Just click the two links above and you can filter the trims on the left side..... see if you see a pattern, they are listed higher, its all over the place... but the competition for the cheaper lower trim cars will just never allow them to actually list them that much higher.... Corona is screwing this up too....