Golf R -v- Golf GTI

[WhiteJames]

The Golf R is a great car. Good enough to make me want to trade in the GTI? No. The GTI fits in nicely between the GTD, which feels a tad underpowered for country road use, and the Golf R, that can sometimes be a galloping horse when you looking for something a little more sedate and user friendly in the daily commuter grind. I spoke to a few R owners who had the GTI for a day. All said that they were pleasantly surprised at how much speed the GTI could carry in the torrential conditions and how much grip was on offer with XDS. No oversteer on the GTI and GTD, in wet conditions it’s a case of welcome to understeer city when on the gas. The corner speeds were about the same in the Golf R and GTD. When driving the GTD, the Golf R drivers would storm past you in the straight line. When negotiating corners, the Golf R lost a bit of time around mid-corner and tended to slide wide in either understeer or oversteer with a smaller margin of driver adjustability in the wet conditions. It was the softer suspension tune in the Golf GTD that inspired driver confidence as the chassis was easier to adjust on the brake or throttle. Softer is generally more manageable in the wet.

I’ve driven two R’s with 235/35 tyres and one R with 225/40 tyres. The wider 235/35 feels as if it has more side-wall tyre flex around than the 225/40 (18” and 19”) when pressing on in corners, reducing the steering response and vehicle alacrity in short and sharp directional changes. The 235/35 is good if you’re after straight line dragster style grip, despite the heavier wheel negating any improvement in grip level, not to mention upping the unsprung weight. The 225/40 seems to offer a terser ride and greater sharpness in directional change. You could feel this in the GTD with 225/40 x 17” around the slalom run, as is the case with my GTI on 225/40 x 18”. In terms of street cred, the 19” wheels and in particular the black headlight cradles of the Golf R wins hands down. The Golf R does have a noticeable level of GT refinement over that of the Golf GTD and GTI.

Cheers.
WJ

[SilvrFoxX]

Can't agree with the R not being a good commuter.. does me just fine, I like driving under the boost threshold it is very smooth and quiet. All this drivel about what it can and can't do on the limit is irrelevant in the daily driver category.

As for 19s over 18s .. lol

[Corey_R]

I don't think it's a case of the R not being "good" at the daily commute. Just the GTI (K03) probably being a better option as it's lighter, considerably more fuel efficient, and also much more responsive within the rev range that you typically spend all your time in traffic in, especially in a DSG - i.e. <2500rpm.

[Ideo]

So the problem is with DSG, not with the R

[Corey_R]

Nah, DSG makes it worse (in D mode, but no diff to a real manual in M mode), but there is still no getting around the fact that the R is ~125kg heavier, has less drivetrain efficiency due to the AWD, and the K04's peak torque is from 2400rpm instead of 1700rpm.

[sabloke]

All this talk about a "good" for daily commute... No one can quantify that, surely. Everything is in the eye of the beholder. My Clio feels great no matter where I go or how bad the traffic. But at the end of the day no commute is any good anyway and don't think any car is too good at killing those boring, boring minutes and hours...In those moments you're better off on a comfortable bus that in any GTI or R, DSG or not. Right?

[Maverick]

All this talk about a "good" for daily commute... No one can quantify that, surely. Everything is in the eye of the beholder. My Clio feels great no matter where I go or how bad the traffic. But at the end of the day no commute is any good anyway and don't think any car is too good at killing those boring, boring minutes and hours...In those moments you're better off on a comfortable bus that in any GTI or R, DSG or not. Right?

Of course you can quantify that, a car with less turbo lag is going to be better then a car with more turbo lag in the daily commute (everything else being equalish like interior of the car, comfort etc) unless your daily commute is a non congested section of the autobahn.

As for the comfortable bus, not sure what type of bus you're catching because I haven't seen any that I'd gladly sit in for the commute over my GTI.

[Ideo]

All this talk about a "good" for daily commute... No one can quantify that, surely. Everything is in the eye of the beholder. My Clio feels great no matter where I go or how bad the traffic. But at the end of the day no commute is any good anyway and don't think any car is too good at killing those boring, boring minutes and hours...In those moments you're better off on a comfortable bus that in any GTI or R, DSG or not. Right?

I'm with you on that.

But my daily commute is a nice comfortable ferry

[DoggieHowser]

All this talk about a "good" for daily commute... No one can quantify that, surely. Everything is in the eye of the beholder. My Clio feels great no matter where I go or how bad the traffic. But at the end of the day no commute is any good anyway and don't think any car is too good at killing those boring, boring minutes and hours...In those moments you're better off on a comfortable bus that in any GTI or R, DSG or not. Right?

Actually I always loved my Evo 8MR. Even with a dual plate clutch, I never found it a chore in traffic. Maybe it gave my mind something to focus on

That said, one of the options I am looking to get on the Veedub (when the missus makes up her mind) is the Dynaudio option!

Sure it's probably money down the drain come resale, but I have a decent stereo system at home and I'd like something to keep me happy if I am going to be on the road for any considerable periods of time.

[Corey_R]

Combine what sabloke and Maverick said and you have why the GTI is "better" than the R in the daily commute.
They're practically the same car (from an interior point of view) so they're both as comfortable and as pleasant to be in as one another. But the GTI has lower fuel consumption and is more responsive at low RPMs. The qualities which would normally make the R better than the GTI cannot be used when you're surrounded by traffic.

So whilst I'm a R owner, I can completely admit that when we're stuck at 50km/h in day to day traffic, the GTI has a few advantages
Get out onto the open road or race track in the wet, and we've got another story to be told