Golf R –v- Golf GTI
I stopped by Gerald Slaven Volkswagen, Belconnen, ACT and Sales Manager Phil Fairhall was kind enough to allow me to take the new Mark 6 Golf R for a test drive on a whim. I set a few conditions on Manager Phil Fairhall – the Golf R had to be test driven along a challenging B’grade roadway with some ascents, descents, and a few tight twisties, in addition to the odd National Capitol roundabout. This is not Manager Phil’s usual 10km test drive route and I wanted to see if the Golf R would cope with some rural type B’grade roadways. The new Volkswagen Golf R had @ 150kms on the odometer and had been test driven several times over during this day. I predominately used the DSG shift paddles on the otherwise un-optioned 5 door Blue Golf R with 18’ wheels (see pics in WJ Suspension & Wheel Thread for pics).
In contrast, immediately after the test drive of the Golf R, I drove the same route in my own Mark 6 Golf GTI DSG with DCC on ‘Normal’ mode & riding on 18” Detroit Wheels. The Golf GTI was not revved past 4500rpm as it’s in the process of a particular type of break-in atm and has @ 2500km on the odometer.
One passenger was on board for both test runs in the Golf R and GTI.
Golf R:
First thing I noticed about the Golf R is that it felt as tight as a drum – very secure on its 20% stiffer than GTI springs. Taking off in Drive/Auto, it was immediately obvious that the power band of the Golf R’s EA113 KO4 motor exhibited low down lag compared to the EA888 motor in the MK6 GTI. The turbo lag in the Golf R was not excessive, but did involve a muted response to the throttle application and loss of feel. I’d attribute this to the less instant torque down low coupled with the added weight of the Golf R (@ 120kgs extra on GTI). When spooled up, the older belt cam driven EA113 KO4 motor of the Golf R did feel more refined & was quieter than the newer chain driven cam EA888 motor in the MK6 GTI. The fuel delivery of the Golf R didn’t feel as well metered as that in the MK6 GTI, but this was expected.
Driving out of Belconnen just behind Black Mountain Tower on suburban roadway with predominately 80kph posted limits, the 20% stiffer Golf R springs was riding in a similar manner as the Golf GTI, only with a touch more rebound in the spring rate and a greater tied down feeling. The Golf R felt that bit more Grand Tourer in ride.
Leaning on the Golf R between 20kph to 80kph showed a mix of linear surge forward, mated with a laggy feel lower in the rev range. It’s obvious that the max torque comes on song later in the rev range with the Golf R. Between 1000rpm and 3500rpm - 4000rpm, the Golf R motor is uninspiring. You’re moving forward, but without any sense of feeling, rather building up to a higher crescendo.
Once you straddle the 4000rpm to 6000rpm, the Golf R comes alive with some real strong thrust. The rpm gauge moves fast in this band of rpm, requiring some fast work on the DSG paddles. The final 4,000rpm from 6,000rpm onwards makes up for the lack-lusted feel below 4,000rpm. The power delivery of the Golf R does notably pin you into the seat back harder and for longer than in the MK6 GTI, but by no means is this thrust overwhelming.
Heading out to a rural mild B-grade roadway that borders Canberra had the Golf R riding the bumps surprisingly well for a vehicle that has 20% stiffer springs than the GTI. The extra weight helps the Golf R soak into the undulations, rather than riding or bouncing over them as in the case of the GTI.
Overall - I wouldn’t say that the Golf R riding on 18” wheels is superior or interior to the GTI in ride – but it does ride better over the smaller low speed compression bumps and has sufficient rebound rate in the springs & dampers to keep the chassis well contained. The suspension tune also offers enough compliance for mild to good B-grade roadways on this short B’grade roadway portion of the drive. Please note that this was a short test drive.
It was time to chuck the Golf R around a few tight twisting B’grade coarse bitumen corners in addition to dropping into and out of valleys to see how she handled.
The Haldex system on the new Mark 6 Golf R is superior to the Haldex system on the MKV R32 Golf. It is also superior to the aftermarket Generation III Haldex Controller that some owners fit to their R32 to improve the time it takes for the vehicle to apportion drive to the rear wheels. The shift from front wheel drive to rear wheel is almost imperceptible and the grip levels are very high. Mid corner grip levels do not feel to be as high as the Mark GTI, and it is debatable how much an advantage the Haldex AWD gives the Golf R over the electronic EDL/XDS differential of the Golf GTI. When applying the gas, the feeling of the Haldex AWD in the Golf R is certainly better than the FWD GTI.
To drive, the Golf R feels like a 50/50 AWD than a FWD shifting power to the rear wheel slip is detected as in the case of the earlier MKV R32 Golf. The drive experience of the Haldex Generation IV in the Golf R was certainly one of the highlights of my drive experience when pressing on in this portion of the B-grade roadway drive. It’s all very seem-less and fuss free.
Another highlight of driving the Golf R was the chassis balance.
The Golf R is definitely an improvement over the front heavy Golf R32, which exhibited much more understeer, swaying under heavy braking and with the occasional rub of the front top inner fender screw due carrying the heavy V6 motor up front. With 35kg less over the front axle than the MKV R32, the Golf R is beginning to feel more BMW 50/50 like in weight distribution. With the front to rear balance much improved over the previous model, the Golf R adds reassurance and ease of effort when hustling via a series of bends. The reduction in weight and improved weight distribution front to rear certainly improves grip levels over the outgoing R32 MKV Golf.
The larger diameter brakes on the Golf R (330mm/310mm) did not feel as sensitive as those on the new Mark 6 GTI. I had not a great deal of cause to lean on them, but for street driving, the retardation of the Golf R brakes –v- the GTI has the GTI feeling to have greater initial bite. The extra weight of the Golf R may have something to do with this, and for repeated stops, I’d be putting my money on the Golf R for consistency. The tyres on the Golf R and GTI seem to be about the same standard now, whereas the MKV GTI had tyres one step down in terms of performance in comparison with the R32 (i.e. Conti CS2 –v- Conti CS3; Dunlop Sport –v- Dunlop Sport Maxx, etc).
I conducted a test of tractability between the Golf R and Golf GTI. This involved dropping the speed to 20kph under the speed limit in top gear (6th) on approach to a long & steep hill. About half throttle would be applied to see if the vehicle would increase speed in ascending up this protracted climb. The Golf R failed to accelerate up the hill leading up to half throttle, maintaining a constant speed until a down change to 5th gear was required nearing the peak of the climb. This showed that the bigger turbo could not overcome its turbo lag to spool up enough towards maximum torque for the hill climb. This detracted from the driveability of the Golf R and is clear evidence that the Golf R requires revs to extract the best from it under pressing conditions. You wouldn’t want to be caught in the incorrect gear under load in the Golf R.
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