So drove an R yesterday for extended period of time and compared to my GTI PP/DCC/LP Manual, it's a very different experience even though the car look so similar.
First off, the R has 19's with RE050 compared to P7 all-season on 18's and its much stiffer on bad pavement even in comfort mode.
The R is much more settled down, with less roll in turns and corners flatter. The engine sounds much better especially with engine on sport and exhausts flaps open.
I didn't take it over 4k rpm so I'm sure not able to assess its top end feel but there was a whole lot of nicer mechanical noise, including a deeper turbo whine which is lower in pitch and nicer than the slightly buzzy one on the GTI. But also, definitely more turbo lag, and i kind of like that (don't ask, reminds me of on-off behavior of early 80's turbos). The DSG is very impressive but manual was obviously more involving and fun but definitely slower.
What an impressive car... i have to say the GTI seemed more nimble at low speeds and around town but maybe that's just an impression. At higher speeds, the R imparts much more confidence but that could be partly due to the summer tires/19's.
Finally, the suspension over bumps has a lot more stuff moving around and tramming in the R than the GTI, maybe because of the diff in back etc. or again the stiffer tire/wheels combo.
Question: among the R owners who switched from 19's to 18's wheels with softer tires, any thoughts?
Overall, what a car...except for that tiny infotainment screen.
