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Yamahas, Festivas, Avantis and XKEs—3 Years with my R

Al_in_Philly

Autocross Newbie
Location
Philadelphia USA
We had a recent snow here in the Northeast, which meant that for a couple of days I wasn’t able to ride my motorcycle, a heavily tuned Yamaha FJR1300. Though I live in Philadelphia, and not in Miami, I ride year-round. There’s just something about being one with a machine that can hit 60 in well under 3 seconds, and just goes where you’re thinking about going almost as it it were an extension of your own being. I almost start Jonesing if I don’t ride for a few days, even in the dead of winter. Yet there I was, driving our little blue R to work, doing it with the same grin on my face that I had driving home from the dealer’s the very first time just over 3 years ago. What is it about this car that can still generate that level of playful satisfaction?

My R hasn’t been tuned. Even if it was, it would never offer the literally arm stretching acceleration which my FJR has. No car under $100,000 can. But it is quick. As quick as I’m ever likely to really need. Quick enough to make me smile. . . a lot. I have no desire to take my car to a track and see how quickly I can turn a lap, so occasionally hitting triple digits on open roads is about it for me, along with sudden bursts of acceleration just for shits and giggles.

Years back I had a Ford Festiva, which actually wasn’t all that bad of a car. Even though it was propelled by a diminutive 1.3 liter four, it was often the fastest car on the expressways surrounding Philadelphia, easily passing Corvettes and Porsches. Not that those cars couldn’t go faster than the typical 85 MPH that I would drive that little Festiva, but the drivers of those uber-fast sports cars typically limited themselves to 75-80. Which is faster: the car capable of 180 but is only drive at 75 MPH, or the car which could only possibly hit 90 but is driven at 85? Who would have thought a Ford Festiva would ever appear in a Zen koan? Which brings me back to my Golf R. A Focus RS or an Audi RS3 may be faster and turn quicker lap times, but in the driving which I do, would they really provide me with more performance, when my R typically has performance in reserve, no matter what I seem to throw at it in the real world? Plus, it does so with comfort, practicality, and a lot of style. Now you see where that grin on my face comes from.

In some of the automotive press, there’s a common refrain that the R is plain or boring looking, compared to cars like the Focus RS, Civic Type R, or the Subaru STI. I think that those journalists are confusing “plain” and “boring” with “elegant.” When I saw the first photos of the Mk7 Golf, my jaw dropped. When Giorgetto Giugiaro penned the first Golf, it was a design masterpiece. The world saw his genius work of simplicity as well, and has never stopped buying them through all of its various iterations. The Mk7 may have surpassed that original masterpiece, blending the subtle curvatures which Giugiaro’s design had evolved into with just the right number of sharp creases to carry the eye along the car’s sheet metal. “Exquisite execution of lines and surface,” said automotive designer Tom Gale when Motor Trend voted the Golf car of the Year in 2015. Think of such classic designs as the Studebaker Avanti and the Jaguar XKE. They were simple, elegant, almost bereft of any extraneous ornamentation; just minimal flowing lines in a single unified statement. Parsimonious perfection. And the R is only more so. Without breaking the existing lines and balance of the base Golf’s design with huge wings, tacked-on hood scoops, and extraneous plastic moldings which have little to no function besides saying “look, I’m the performance version,” the R’s gaping air inlets residing below the bumper, wider wheels, slightly larger rear spoiler, and quad exhausts, subtly infuses functional performance elements on the flowing Mk7 body lines as if this was the intended body style all along.

So, the other day when I was leaving work to drive home in the R, instead of riding my bike, I saw a man in a business suit, probably mid 40’s, just staring at my R parked out on the street. I stayed back watching him, just out of curiosity. Over at least 4-5 minutes he walked back and forth along the side of my car and once walking in front of it and stooping down slightly. He then walked a few car lengths down the street and got in a big silver SUV. Yes, I had done a few subtle mods to my R, 18” Advanti winter wheels/tires, ROW electric folding silver mirrors, ROW LED tail lights, and a small SRS-TEC spoiler lip, but I realized that this guy just had to look at my car, for a long, long, time. A Golf R, stunning in its elegant simplicity. Even without the wings and body moldings of its competitors.

After the man left in his SUV, I got in my little blue R, started it up, put on some Bonnie Raitt, and began to grin. Again. After three years with my R.
 

Bvstp

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Connecticut
We had a recent snow here in the Northeast, which meant that for a couple of days I wasn’t able to ride my motorcycle, a heavily tuned Yamaha FJR1300. Though I live in Philadelphia, and not in Miami, I ride year-round. There’s just something about being one with a machine that can hit 60 in well under 3 seconds, and just goes where you’re thinking about going almost as it it were an extension of your own being. I almost start Jonesing if I don’t ride for a few days, even in the dead of winter. Yet there I was, driving our little blue R to work, doing it with the same grin on my face that I had driving home from the dealer’s the very first time just over 3 years ago. What is it about this car that can still generate that level of playful satisfaction?

My R hasn’t been tuned. Even if it was, it would never offer the literally arm stretching acceleration which my FJR has. No car under $100,000 can. But it is quick. As quick as I’m ever likely to really need. Quick enough to make me smile. . . a lot. I have no desire to take my car to a track and see how quickly I can turn a lap, so occasionally hitting triple digits on open roads is about it for me, along with sudden bursts of acceleration just for shits and giggles.

Years back I had a Ford Festiva, which actually wasn’t all that bad of a car. Even though it was propelled by a diminutive 1.3 liter four, it was often the fastest car on the expressways surrounding Philadelphia, easily passing Corvettes and Porsches. Not that those cars couldn’t go faster than the typical 85 MPH that I would drive that little Festiva, but the drivers of those uber-fast sports cars typically limited themselves to 75-80. Which is faster: the car capable of 180 but is only drive at 75 MPH, or the car which could only possibly hit 90 but is driven at 85? Who would have thought a Ford Festiva would ever appear in a Zen koan? Which brings me back to my Golf R. A Focus RS or an Audi RS3 may be faster and turn quicker lap times, but in the driving which I do, would they really provide me with more performance, when my R typically has performance in reserve, no matter what I seem to throw at it in the real world? Plus, it does so with comfort, practicality, and a lot of style. Now you see where that grin on my face comes from.

In some of the automotive press, there’s a common refrain that the R is plain or boring looking, compared to cars like the Focus RS, Civic Type R, or the Subaru STI. I think that those journalists are confusing “plain” and “boring” with “elegant.” When I saw the first photos of the Mk7 Golf, my jaw dropped. When Giorgetto Giugiaro penned the first Golf, it was a design masterpiece. The world saw his genius work of simplicity as well, and has never stopped buying them through all of its various iterations. The Mk7 may have surpassed that original masterpiece, blending the subtle curvatures which Giugiaro’s design had evolved into with just the right number of sharp creases to carry the eye along the car’s sheet metal. “Exquisite execution of lines and surface,” said automotive designer Tom Gale when Motor Trend voted the Golf car of the Year in 2015. Think of such classic designs as the Studebaker Avanti and the Jaguar XKE. They were simple, elegant, almost bereft of any extraneous ornamentation; just minimal flowing lines in a single unified statement. Parsimonious perfection. And the R is only more so. Without breaking the existing lines and balance of the base Golf’s design with huge wings, tacked-on hood scoops, and extraneous plastic moldings which have little to no function besides saying “look, I’m the performance version,” the R’s gaping air inlets residing below the bumper, wider wheels, slightly larger rear spoiler, and quad exhausts, subtly infuses functional performance elements on the flowing Mk7 body lines as if this was the intended body style all along.

So, the other day when I was leaving work to drive home in the R, instead of riding my bike, I saw a man in a business suit, probably mid 40’s, just staring at my R parked out on the street. I stayed back watching him, just out of curiosity. Over at least 4-5 minutes he walked back and forth along the side of my car and once walking in front of it and stooping down slightly. He then walked a few car lengths down the street and got in a big silver SUV. Yes, I had done a few subtle mods to my R, 18” Advanti winter wheels/tires, ROW electric folding silver mirrors, ROW LED tail lights, and a small SRS-TEC spoiler lip, but I realized that this guy just had to look at my car, for a long, long, time. A Golf R, stunning in its elegant simplicity. Even without the wings and body moldings of its competitors.

After the man left in his SUV, I got in my little blue R, started it up, put on some Bonnie Raitt, and began to grin. Again. After three years with my R.



After only 9 months with my Blue’17 R, I feel the same way as you do. I love driving it and often completely disagree with the boring and bland comments. I avoided the the other cars in this segment because of the odd designs they have too many plastic add on parts that I find tacky.
I’m trying to keep the overall mileage down on this car but my find myself grabbing the key for it over the SUV, especially a sunny day. I still have the summer tires on it and on snow days, I don’t drive it but as soon as the roads are clear I will. I did try it in my neighborhood which is hilly and it did quite well with those tires, but I don’t want to risk sliding around corners or longer braking distances that the tires would need. Anyone else try it in the snow with the summers on it?
I’m so glad I decided to buy this car. I read and watch all the blogs I can on it. I’m a bit obsessed about it!



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Stevo_CT

Ready to race!
Location
Cape Town
Nice post. I suspect most forumers can relate to this. As I write this, I am looking forward to seeing and driving my R again later today. :)
 

cbr600rr

Go Kart Champion
Location
Ottawa, Canada
I ride a cbr600rr myself. And our bikes are capable of sub 3 second 0 to 60 times. I'd bet a thousand bucks you have never achieved that. (Same with myself)... It really takes a pro, with guts, to launch a bike properly.

All that aside. I know exactly what you mean. There is no feeling of freedom quite like a sunny afternoon on your motorcycle.
 

Al_in_Philly

Autocross Newbie
Location
Philadelphia USA
I ride a cbr600rr myself. And our bikes are capable of sub 3 second 0 to 60 times. I'd bet a thousand bucks you have never achieved that. (Same with myself)... It really takes a pro, with guts, to launch a bike properly.

I've had a few 600's. Big 1300's are much easier to launch and keep the front wheel just hovering off the ground. 600's have no torque until 9K and when you hit it they are so light that the front can come up on you making you back off the throttle. But when it's warm and traction abounds, 100 MPH comes by real, real, fast on a 1300. OK, so I'm still more than a bit juvenile.
 

cbr600rr

Go Kart Champion
Location
Ottawa, Canada
^ I gotta say, my previous statement may have been an ignorant one. Never launched a bike other than my 600.

I launch at 10,000 rpm with a fair amount of clutch slip to manage the front wheel. A bigger heavier bike is likely different. My bad for making assumptions and generalizing.
 

Al_in_Philly

Autocross Newbie
Location
Philadelphia USA
^ I gotta say, my previous statement may have been an ignorant one. Never launched a bike other than my 600.

I launch at 10,000 rpm with a fair amount of clutch slip to manage the front wheel. A bigger heavier bike is likely different. My bad for making assumptions and generalizing.
I'd generalize that you could probably lose me in the twisties. But then again, we're talking sportbikes in a Golf R forum. LOL
 

bboytaktix

Ready to race!
Location
Canada
Nice write-up OP! Although I've only had my -R for just over two weeks, I am super happy with the car for pretty much all the reasons you mentioned. I even caught a few people checking it out already, more noticeably than I remember with my STI even.

I also ride bikes and can't wait to start riding again, probably only in another 4-5 weeks since still snow here :( I ride a 2014 ZX-6R and the thing's a beast, and surgical precision in curves. I can confirm that sub- 3 second 0-60 is definitely do-able especilly with the modern tech they have in bikes these days. I set my traction control on minimum setting (allows just enough excess power to get front wheel off the ground), rev the engine to 10,000RPM and when the flag goes down I drop the clutch and GO! We have some $5 sunday night 1/8 mile at a local track here during summer, did a few passes with my friend in his heavily modded STI, I always came out well ahead, especially when I hit my launch :D took a few tries to find the right launch RPM tho :D

now...My gf is also anxious for me to begin riding, as she wants to take the -r to work when I'm on my bike :D
 

drshark

Ready to race!
Al,

I always like reading your posts, as I can see my own inner logic made explicit in your words. Speaking as a marketing professor -- or as I tell students and clients, an applied social psychologist -- what we're talking about is the construction of one's self image; that is, you are what you buy. Therefore, one's happiness with a purchase is directly related to the extent the car reflects to the outside world your chosen identity.

Good for you! And for all of us that similarly self-identify with the brand personality (it's a thing, go look it up) of the R...

Shawn
 

tknj99

Ready to race!
Location
Central VA
I currently ride a Honda Fury 1300 but hope to add a ZX14r as a stablemate in the near future. .its been too long since i've experienced the tunnel vision warp speed of a SS bike.. with that i'd have my GTI and and an "R" ;)
 

elwood1

Ready to race!
Location
Highland Park, IL
Car(s)
2024 GTI SE DSG
I have had my R for just over 2 years (March 9th) and just over 40,000 miles. It is my daily driver, and I marvel at how many things it does well while being so much fun to drive. My STI may have been faster, but the R is so superior to the STI as a daily driver. Just this morning, I got a thumbs up from a guy in a 944. I thought that was pretty cool. I really love this car.
 
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