Does Golf R "feel" AWD?

[jozeff]

Hi guys,

I have currently owned a Renault Clio Sport 172, Mazda 3 MPS and now own a BMW 130i.

Driving the 130i is phenomenal. The chassis is balanced, changes direction quickly and the new RWD feeling for me has really put me off FWD cars. No matter what they say, i still feel a huge difference between pulling a car and pushing a car.

Problem is, my current CHP agreement is about to expire and i was thinking of upgrading. I test drove an Audi S3 2009 model prior to the BMW and it felt too much like my MPS in terms of feeling front wheel driven.

Then i dug deeper and found out all about Haldex AWD and how the car is basically FWD until the wheels slip and then it becomes true AWD.

My question is, how does the Golf R feel with its newest haldex? Will i be disappointed coming from a 130i?

[MACCAA]

Haldex in the Golf R is the same as facelift S3-which is very similar in operation to the previous 8P S3 in operation[Gen 2]
I've driven a few Golf R's on the track and to be honest they felt virtually identical to my pre-facelift 2008 S3.
When I enquired with Haldex as to the difference in the latest models they said not much-maybe slightly quicker engagement.
Cheers
Len

[DreamensioN]

For me, the R still feels like a FWD car in day-to-day driving. But when you throw it into a corner, you can feel the rear end "push" the front of the nose in tighter. Though, it's not the same feeling as a true RWD car. With a true RWD, you can get that feeling of the rear end pushing, and pushing, and then the tipping point where the back end starts to slide out and you need to start feeding opposite steering into the wheel to counter balance it. Get it right and it's the perfect drift - it's a great feeling.

You won't get that in the R. The R just grips. Or possibly (if pushed hard enough) would still understeer.

[team_v]

The R just grips. Or (if pushed hard enough) would still understeer.

This is my experience with the Gen 4 haldex

[Sharkie]

...Will i be disappointed coming from a 130i?

The short answer is "yes" ......

[Corey_R]

If you've driven a Golf GTI, the R definitely feels like a AWD.... there's no mistaking that extra 125kg you're lugging around, whether you need the "grip under acceleration" or not!

[gokartgti]

So to be the thread jacker. How about getting a Gti kitted up with suspension to make it feel as close to the R or AWD.....

[stickshift3000]

The mitsubishi evos are the least 'AWD feeling' of the turbo AWD's I've driven (including golf R).

[Ideo]

If you've driven a Golf GTI, the R definitely feels like a AWD.... there's no mistaking that extra 125kg you're lugging around, whether you need the "grip under acceleration" or not!

Oh FFS. Not this crap again.

OP. I know what you mean about the 130i. If you didn't like the S3 then you won't like the R. You can play with the Haldex a bit, but from the sounds of it, it still won't be the car for you.

I'd stick with a 1 series if I was you. Is a 135i in budget?

[chylld]

i just changed to the R from a 125i, and having owned 4 FWD cars before the bmw i can confidently say that you will LOVE it

hammered the R through old pac and apart from a bit of understeer, it was planted as hell. piling the power on didn't affect the steering at all, it felt RWD but without the constant fear of the tail kicking out. it held on to the road far better than the 125i ever did.

yesterday it was raining on my drive home and i had to pull out of a side road on a blind corner. i had always avoided this turn in the 125i because the esp would kick in or the tail would kick out and i'd nearly get rear-ended. in the R however, it makes no fuss and just thrusts out of the turn like a RWD with infinite grip.

in terms of chassis balance, well my 125i had the m-sport pack and that rolled a lot more than the R. friends following me through old pac said the R seems to corner much flatter than the bimmer, and it definitely felt that way too

the only thing that you have to get used to is the turbo lag, which really is only a problem below 25kph. once you're moving you'll be grinning from ear to ear like i am now