Golf R Observations and Questions

[Corey_R]

Nice observations AdamD. I agree, I don't think that any GTI owner should feel bad for the choice that they're made, it's a fine car, especially for every day driving. I also agree that a Stage I flash should be factored in as part of the R purchase for any enthusiast (and that was very much in mind during my test drive). I had already driven an Audi S3 and a GTI Pirelli in the past, so the lag in the R was neither a surprise or a concern to me

[AdamD]

Nice observations AdamD. I agree, I don't think that any GTI owner should feel bad for the choice that they're made, it's a fine car, especially for every day driving. I also agree that a Stage I flash should be factored in as part of the R purchase for any enthusiast (and that was very much in mind during my test drive). I had already driven an Audi S3 and a GTI Pirelli in the past, so the lag in the R was neither a surprise or a concern to me

Thanks coreying! I certainly didn't want to engage in any GTI or R bashing, and think both models are fantastic at what they do, for different reasons. No-one who drives both and chooses one will be disappointed with their choice!

Your R will be a cracking drive with the Stage I (or II, or III)!

[Corey_R]

I'm definitely thinking Stage II with the associated "recommended parts" is the way to go with the R. The R's intercooler appears to be either the same as the MK6 GTI or the MKV Pirelli, making it quite a bit smaller than the S3's intercooler. So the APR Intercooler will be quite a good upgrade. The downpipe & hi-flow cat abd Carbonio intake are also great upgrades for obvious reasons. Since I was always budgeting for R32 prices, the fact that the R came in under the R32 in price (even after factoring in the leather), it basically covers the cost to go from Stage I to II


To be fair, if I had purchased the GTI, I would've done the same upgrades anyway (but definitely gone the full RSC exhaust rather than just the downpipe)

[G-rig]

Great review Adam. 100% agree that the R isn't automatically better in every way just because it costs more. Around town and everyday driving the GTI could well be better.

Just went for a blast in the mountains and not sure i want to sell the GTI now!! The turbo spools up very fast and feels instant from any gear. The Stage 1 retune makes the GTI lot more fun.

Hopefully the retune does help some of the lag issues with the R but as people have said it could be somewhat limited by the hardware.

If you are intending on doing a lot of track work the R could be worth it, giving it some space to get into its power band with the higher speeds involved. May also save you upgrading the brakes and suspension but a lot of people upgrade those things anyway.

To be fair, if I had purchased the GTI, I would've done the same upgrades anyway (but definitely gone the full RSC exhaust rather than just the downpipe)

Those are the upgrades I'd get, full RSC and intake.. Would be a nice package and damn tempted to do it if i hold on to the car.

[shakespeare]

I agree, prefer the R32 blue over the R but alas i love blue cars (this would be my 3rd out of the last 4 i owned) hence why i went blue again. I think even in one of my early posts on here i even stated i was going to pick the white over the blue when i ordered one..

Looking at those pictures of the R i am sooo glad i picked 19" rims as an option, those 18" look tiny, especially side on..

Me too mate, this was exactly my thoughts when I looked at side on pics and when I sat in the showroom looking at the R with 18's

Thanks also Adam, great write up (need a Thanks button here guys - vBulletin has this feature)

[sameatworld]

Just got back from two days of get away in Byron hinterland with the missus and the R. Sure was glad to have taken the R rather than the MKV GTI as it was bucketing down! (and the falkens on my GTI are pretty crappy...).

Basically lots of twisty beautiful roads to see what the R can do and lots of grins during the two days still getting used to the awd traction of the R. Loving how the R just gets more tightly adhered to the road when you give it throttle in the wet mid corner. In the GTI, I would often bascially coast through the corner in the wet as getting on the throttle can be a bit scary. Not so in the R!

Have also been appreciating the DSG more as it reminded me how smooth the gear changes are with the paddles, not upsetting the car's balance at all thanks to the perfect heel toe everytime. Certainly much happier about getting DSG again than initially.

Am tossing up getting a bluefin for the R. GTI has been with APR but the news of APR stg1 for R not having the function of switchability via cruise control stick has been a rethink point. Plus it is much cheaper...

Should put up some photos but the car was absolutely filthy after a couple of days of play in the wet. Plus got a nasty stone chip/dent on the bonnet last week! was tossing up getting the bonnet repainted/bonnet protector but decided that I will probably get more stone chips and dents along the way. Might as well wait... the R unfortunately now has the nickname of 'Dented' as its name LOL.

[R1 Crasher]

[QUOTE=coreying;533602] So the APR Intercooler will be quite a good upgrade. QUOTE]


It would be an interesting stat to know how many of your posts have APR or Guy_H somewhere in them?
I'm guessing 60%
Anybody else + or -
I'm all for a lovein.

[Corey_R]

Plus got a nasty stone chip/dent on the bonnet last week! was tossing up getting the bonnet repainted/bonnet protector but decided that I will probably get more stone chips and dents along the way. Might as well wait... the R unfortunately now has the nickname of 'Dented' as its name LOL.

Bummers about the dent. Forget about the bonnet protectors though, they're useless. Once you get the dint and stone chip fixed, take the car to a specialist and get 3M Paint Protection Film (PPF) or Ventureshield Stoneguard (it's the same product). You'll never need to worry about chip repair again!

It would be an interesting stat to know how many of your posts have APR or Guy_H somewhere in them?
I'm guessing 60%
Anybody else + or -
I'm all for a lovein.

Oh no, I promoted 3M and Ventureshield in this post... are you going to accuse me of something in relation to that as well?

[Prodigy]

Bummers about the dent. Forget about the bonnet protectors though, they're useless. Once you get the dint and stone chip fixed, take the car to a specialist and get 3M Paint Protection Film (PPF) or Ventureshield Stoneguard (it's the same product). You'll never need to worry about chip repair again!

I'll be looking to get at least the bonnet of the R done with ventureshield, apparently it's pretty good stuff. Got a quote to get the front of the wrx done a while ago (about $900) but never got around to getting it applied, now it has quite a few stonechips so won't be letting that happen with the new car.

[G-rig]

So the APR Intercooler will be quite a good upgrade.

It would be an interesting stat to know how many of your posts have APR or Guy_H somewhere in them?
I'm guessing 60%
Anybody else + or -
I'm all for a lovein.

Would be interesting to see how many of your posts are attacking them or having a go at Coreying lol.

Nothing wrong with being a happy customer which there are many.