Well I picked up my new 2018 Indium Grey MT R on Friday the 16th from a western Toronto dealer. After a total of 150 KMS I have some observations:
Delivery
The car was spotless inside and out. The paint appeared to be in excellent condition, no swirls or scratches. The person handling the delivery knew very little about the car except how to get in to and start the car when the key fob battery is dead. A common problem?. Keys have the proper R emblems. The car was delivered with a Golf Sportswagon manual and a previous generation nav brochure. Not very helpful. The salesperson from whom I purchased the car said he would replace them.
Driving
I was convinced before delivery that I would be able to resist an aftermarket horsepower increase. I thought the car was quick and fast enough as is. Within 5 minutes off the lot I knew I needed more--JB4 here we come. Id like more but have leased the car and don't want to void the warranty.
Under really hard cornering there is a little movement from the rear of the car. An aftermarket stabilizer bar and bushings to be installed next Tuesday will solve this problem.
I drive almost exclusively in Race mode. Even on Toronto's bad roads, most of the time I don't find Race mode to be too stiff. I like the weight of the steering in Race mode. The sound is nice too although I am installing a high flow air induction system next Tuesday as well as the sway bar. More noise. I also may disable the Soundaktor as I'm not sure about the artificial sound it makes.
I currently have also a 1972 Alfa Spider and a chipped Volvo V70R, both manual transmission and have never in 43 years of driving owned an automatic transmission car. The manual in the Golf R is the best and easiest to use manual I have ever had. A real joy. Smooth up and downshifts and really easy rev matching. Allow me to add my voice to those that say if you are on the fence between the DSG and the manual, get the manual. At the risk of being flammed, the DSG is for lazy young guys who don't know how to drive and don't want to risk embarrassing themselves because they can't shift properly. I drove the DSG and it is to be blunt a boring automatic transmission. Unless you are on the track or drag racing the faster shifts are completely irrelevant to anything. My 62-year-old wife who has also only ever owned manual transmission cars and drives mostly in the city agrees totally.
The brakes are good. Thankfully. Front assist is useful too.
The digital dash takes some figuring out. I like the nav in the center of the dash.
All in all the car is an incredible bang for the buck. My 50 year old single female neighbour, after one 2 minute drive around the block is going Saturday to buy an R. There will be three on our street. All manual transmissions.
Delivery
The car was spotless inside and out. The paint appeared to be in excellent condition, no swirls or scratches. The person handling the delivery knew very little about the car except how to get in to and start the car when the key fob battery is dead. A common problem?. Keys have the proper R emblems. The car was delivered with a Golf Sportswagon manual and a previous generation nav brochure. Not very helpful. The salesperson from whom I purchased the car said he would replace them.
Driving
I was convinced before delivery that I would be able to resist an aftermarket horsepower increase. I thought the car was quick and fast enough as is. Within 5 minutes off the lot I knew I needed more--JB4 here we come. Id like more but have leased the car and don't want to void the warranty.
Under really hard cornering there is a little movement from the rear of the car. An aftermarket stabilizer bar and bushings to be installed next Tuesday will solve this problem.
I drive almost exclusively in Race mode. Even on Toronto's bad roads, most of the time I don't find Race mode to be too stiff. I like the weight of the steering in Race mode. The sound is nice too although I am installing a high flow air induction system next Tuesday as well as the sway bar. More noise. I also may disable the Soundaktor as I'm not sure about the artificial sound it makes.
I currently have also a 1972 Alfa Spider and a chipped Volvo V70R, both manual transmission and have never in 43 years of driving owned an automatic transmission car. The manual in the Golf R is the best and easiest to use manual I have ever had. A real joy. Smooth up and downshifts and really easy rev matching. Allow me to add my voice to those that say if you are on the fence between the DSG and the manual, get the manual. At the risk of being flammed, the DSG is for lazy young guys who don't know how to drive and don't want to risk embarrassing themselves because they can't shift properly. I drove the DSG and it is to be blunt a boring automatic transmission. Unless you are on the track or drag racing the faster shifts are completely irrelevant to anything. My 62-year-old wife who has also only ever owned manual transmission cars and drives mostly in the city agrees totally.
The brakes are good. Thankfully. Front assist is useful too.
The digital dash takes some figuring out. I like the nav in the center of the dash.
All in all the car is an incredible bang for the buck. My 50 year old single female neighbour, after one 2 minute drive around the block is going Saturday to buy an R. There will be three on our street. All manual transmissions.