Golf R Observations and Questions

[HPSOV]

Did 150km on my R today and have a few questions. I've read the owners manual front to back but it hasn't answered all my questions.

-I've seen people talking about V3 maps for the RNS510, how do I know what version I have?
-I didn't get any DVD of the maps with the car, should I have?
-Am I right in thinking voice control isn't fitted to my car? Does it come with the Bluetooth option or something?
-The 'workaround' I found on youtube to allow DVD's to be played while the car is moving (press voice control button followed by tone button) doesn't work on my car. Is there any other workaround that will allow me to have the DVD running while driving? (for the passenger of course).
-I have seen people mention new firmware versions for the MDI and RNS, should I be doing this?
-Every online review says it has a 55L fuel tank, the manual says 60L, can anyone confirm?
-I think I read that the DSG clutched are designed to last the life of the engine and shouldn't need replacing. Does this mean you can use launch control as much as you like without wearing anything out?

Now for my observations...

Overall awesome. Comparing to my previous cars, an MY03 and MY08 WRX.
Handling of the Golf is far superior. ACC is the best option ever, the comfort option makes it very 'relaxed' to drive round town, while sport mode is great for when you want to attack a few corners, nowhere near as much body roll as the WRX and far more grip. To anyone considering the R I wouldn't bother getting it without ACC if you're serious about your driving.
The steering is quite heavy and is taking some getting used to. There have been a few occasions when I have used my 'muscle memory' from the WRX to turn into a familiar corner and ended up not turning in anywhere near enough. I live in a highrise and my parking is 7 levels underground, my arms are tired by the time I get out of the carpark with all the turning involved. No doubt I will get used to it.
The DSG is both the best and worst feature of the car. In manual mode it is incredible, gear changes are just so smooth and quick, I still get blown away going up through the gears from a standing start (haven't used launch control yet, running it in a bit first). But drive and sport mode let it down.
Drive mode changes up way too early, 6th gear at 45kmh? really? It feels like the engine is laboring the whole time. If you actually want to accelerate you have to put your foot down a long long way. On the other hand I was impressed with D when I was going down a long downhill in an 80 zone. I dabbed the brake and it dropped to 5th, still going too fast I braked again and it dropped to 4th, it then held 4th even after I took my foot off the brake which gave me the engine braking I wanted, I had thought it would go back to 6th after I stopped braking.
Sport mode is the total opposite of Drive... It just never changed up gear!! It wont go from 3rd to 4th until 65-70kmh, at which point it in doing near 4000rpm. It will only go to 4th if you're not touching either pedal, as soon as you touch either the brake or accelerator it drops back to 3rd!!
Basically I want a mode inbetween the two!! I want something that doesn't sound like I'm revving the engine the entire time, but will actually give me some power when I want it. I want 4th gear in a 50 zone and 5th gear in a 60 zone, unfortunately the only options the auto modes give you are 6th or 3rd in both.

[Corey_R]

-I've seen people talking about V3 maps for the RNS510, how do I know what version I have? It's written on your DVD
-I didn't get any DVD of the maps with the car, should I have? Yes, you should contact your dealer.
-Am I right in thinking voice control isn't fitted to my car? Does it come with the Bluetooth option or something? I believe it is tied with the bluetooth option
-The 'workaround' I found on youtube to allow DVD's to be played while the car is moving (press voice control button followed by tone button) doesn't work on my car. Is there any other workaround that will allow me to have the DVD running while driving? (for the passenger of course). If this work around did exist, and it was made public, then VW would have been forced to "fix" it so that their cars are legal to continue to be sold...
-I have seen people mention new firmware versions for the MDI and RNS, should I be doing this? If you want to. But I'm not sure of the stance VW take on warranty as upgrading firmware of car components is not yet something car consumers are expected to do
-Every online review says it has a 55L fuel tank, the manual says 60L, can anyone confirm? It's 60L. The 55L was either a mistake in the Volkswagen Australia specs document, or it has been changed for Australian only (not likely).
-I think I read that the DSG clutched are designed to last the life of the engine and shouldn't need replacing. Does this mean you can use launch control as much as you like without wearing anything out? If you abuse your car, it won't last...


As for the heavy steering in your car park - change it to normal or comfort mode. The feedback from most people is that the steering is too light in these modes. Getting the ACC for the heavy steering of the sport model to "fix" this "too light steering" has been mentioned a lot in press I've read.

As for the negative comments on DSG. Stick with it, and you'll get used to what it is doing in the various modes.

[elisiX]

Sport mode is only good for 1st - 3rd gear acceleration - then your already doing 100km/h on the street and its best to simply upshift. Within a matter of seconds it'll shift back into sport but by then you might have come to a corner, light, traffic etc. That's how I use it when I am driving in S on the street. I too was a little frustrated with S mode holding onto 3rd gear for what seemed like forever. D is simply for plodding along in traffic for me - the commute to work etc. If I am going for a spirited drive on the weekend, its M all the way.

[Corey_R]

D is simply for plodding along in traffic for me - the commute to work etc. If I am going for a spirited drive on the weekend, its M all the way.

Correct, you want D to be upshifting as soon as it can, so you're not wasting fuel when you're just driving regularly. Don't forget HPSOV, even if you're in D, if you suddenly need to accelerate hard, you can use the paddles to change down gears whilst still in D, perform your acceleration, and then either hold down the right paddle and it will put itself back in D, or it will put itself back in D after about 15 seconds of you not touching a paddle.

[HPSOV]

If you abuse your car, it won't last...[/COLOR]


As for the heavy steering in your car park - change it to normal or comfort mode. The feedback from most people is that the steering is too light in these modes. Getting the ACC for the heavy steering of the sport model to "fix" this "too light steering" has been mentioned a lot in press I've read.

As for the negative comments on DSG. Stick with it, and you'll get used to what it is doing in the various modes.

Thanks very much for your replies
So using launch control is considered abusing the car? The owners manual makes no mention of restricting its use, I just have no idea what sort of wear its actually putting on the system. Is using it once a day too much? once a week? (I know there is no definitive answer to that question, just trying to get an idea).

As for the steering, yes I've tried all modes, and yes I can feel the stiffer steering in sport mode. I dont remember the stiff steering from the test drives, I'm almost tempted to do another test drive just to make sure its not my car, it does feel very heavy.

And I have no doubt I will get used to the DSG, about 9 years ago I had an Alfa 156 Selespeed and I remember telling everyone how awesome that was, the DSG is in a while different league!!!

[hooba]

If you are going to use launch control a lot, please make sure your video camera is on every time you do it. That way you can post the "My gearbox / DSG / clutch (take your pick) lunched itself" video up on YouTube.

Seriously, because you've got AWD the grip you've got is enormous. On a hard launch you are transmitting a massive amount of grunt through the drive train, and with AWD you have a far higher "safety valve" threshold than on a 2WD car which basically spins two tyres when the grunt is too much. Your WRX used to blow the clutch as a safety mechanism in order to preserve the rest of the drive train (clutch is cheaper than a gearbox or diff). As the R is so new, I guess time will tell what is the weakest link that will let go first.

I figure that just by asking the question, you do have some mechanical sympathy in you.

[Corey_R]

It's just like a regular manual in a high performance car. If you start doing repeated quarter mile runs, the clutch will overheat and fail. But as you said, it's hard to put a figure on what is too much.

If the steering is too heavy in normal and comfort modes, I'd suggest checking the tyre pressures to ensure they're correct. We've seen it where people have driven away from the dealership with pressures in the low 20's. In my Golf GTI with 18" wheels, I used to put 40psi at front and 36psi on the rear. Since the R is AWD, I'm not sure if it's still best to have the pressures set like that or whether the rear should be 40psi too...

[Guest1306]

Touch and hold the RIGHT paddle to shift back into D, not the left!

[Corey_R]

Touch and hold the RIGHT paddle to shift back into D, not the left!

Ooops! Sorry. You're quite right. It's been a while since I've had a DSG equipped car. I miss it so dearly!
(Edited my post, thanks).

[elisiX]

I didn't actually know you could touch/hold to get it back into D mode. I assume it's the same for Sport?