Golf R -v- Golf GTI

[G-rig]

1 thing I think is not coming through clear enough in this thread (mainly because I suspect most don't undertand how important it is) is the difference AWD makes to the performance of a car ....

AWD mainly helps in the rain and on the track.. doesn't rain that much in BNE so i'm not too concerned, but would be nice to have given the weight difference isn't 200kg any more like with the R32.

Sure it takes a bit getting used to for the leagues of FWD only capable drivers who judge performance by tyres spinning and torque steer instead of actual forward motion .... but stick with it, its worth it ....

Sounds like your APR polo GTI was a lot of fun to drive and isn't that the main thing? Sometimes it's about the driving experience not outright speed.

Classic example is the 2 recent Stg 3 APR cars .... their GTI and the S3 .... similar power .... completely different feel .... everybody who drove them thought the GTI was faster .... ???? .... WRONG .... think 5.5s GTI v 4.2s S3 .... and why? .... all down to AWD traction or lack of FWD traction ....

You'll have to ask Guy which is more fun to drive.. (the Stage 3 GTI is very quick but no doubt the Stage 3 R/S3 could put a bit more of the power down).

After i drove the R I found that the power is a bit deceiving and more linear, and feels like it takes longer to get going. Still a bit more of a tourer as far as i can see, but a modded one would be better to tune out some of the lag. Depends what you want as there will always be a faster car out there, and unless you doing timed laps it may be an overkill for the streets anyway.

x 2

WJ spends a lot of time putting together such detailed reviews and I respect what he has to say over 99.9% of the posters on here.

x3.

It makes for an interesting and informative read and know a lot of people on various forums appreciate his input. I couldn't analise a test drive that well or in as much detail.

He's correct about the scrubbing as the R32's with 18x7.5" 225/40/18 can scrub on stock suspension so not hard to believe that the R may as well with 0.5" wider wheels and tyres. I also removed the fender screw and had 18x8 OZ wheels with 225/40/18 and had very few issues with scrubbing when lowered 30mm - mostly on mid corner crests or fast dips etc. The point is it pays to do the research if considering different wheels/tyres/suspension.

[Corey_R]

AWD mainly helps in the rain and on the track.. doesn't rain that much in BNE so i'm not too concerned, but would be nice to have given the weight difference isn't 200kg any more like with the R32.

Yep, the Golf R is only 116kg heavier than the GTI.

[sharkablue]

Please correct me if i'm wrong

I dont see the point of the AWD system in the R. It is FWD biased. So for 99% of the time (when you are on normal roads driving it) it is only spending power to the front wheels.

It is only when it senses loss of traction or whatever that it will send power to the rear wheels.

So whats the point of it?

The GTI is also FWD and it has that Electronic Diff thrown into the mix.

Yes I am getting a GTI, so it maybe very biased coming from me. But all these blokes on here talking about "On the race track"... seriously... when the hell are you ever going to be on a race track? Let alone 99% of R Golf owners.

You are driving this car along public roads with speed limits and police around. The only real difference between them will be seen on twisty PUBLIC roads, and even then by all accounts the GTI is better and more fun in the corners going from other peoples reviews.

I dont know if its just my age, but all these guys talking about "Well on a race track the R and GTI Bla bla bla" really has me 'pfft'ing at the screen and rolling my eyes.

[Sharkie]

You'll have to ask Guy which is more fun to drive.. (the Stage 3 GTI is very quick but no doubt the Stage 3 R/S3 could put a bit more of the power down).

I did drive both of them .... and prefered the S3 .... minimal fuss, just awesome forward motion .... GTI was more "entertaining" but ultimately much slower ....

In the nanny states that Australians live in, a tyre smoking FWD hatch is a sure way of attracting unneccesary police attention ..... and in a powerful FWD there is no way around it ....

Some might say ... modulate the throttle better .... LOL .... sure, if you want to move forward VERY slowly in comparison to the AWD dissapearing in the distance ....

[Sharkie]

Please correct me if i'm wrong

I dont see the point of the AWD system in the R. It is FWD biased. So for 99% of the time (when you are on normal roads driving it) it is only spending power to the front wheels.

It is only when it senses loss of traction or whatever that it will send power to the rear wheels.

Actually all incorrect .... upon starting off it starts with a 50:50 split F>R .... only moved to a FWD bias when you exceed a speed of 40km/h ....

And the R has the latest Haldex in it, which is better than any before it and moves power around before it detects traction losses ....

I'm not the biggest fan of the 4Motion Haldexes .... prefer the Torsen permanent AWD setups .... but it is much better than FWD ....

The only real difference between them will be seen on twisty PUBLIC roads, and even then by all accounts the GTI is better and more fun in the corners going from other peoples reviews.

Also a clear indication of a lack of understanding .... going into a corner theres not going to be much into it ... HOWEVER ... depending on how sharp the corner is ... coming out is where the difference comes in ... FWD powerdown issues and torque steer is very evident coming out of a corner .... whereas the AWDs just get on with the job .... AND this applies on the road and on the race track ...

Again, unless you have experience of these things ... don't knock it ... or believe all you read .... some posters on here may have good experience in certain areas however, I have yet to see any evidence of any actual experience or understanding of what it takes to make a car go well ....

[G-rig]

Please correct me if i'm wrong

I dont see the point of the AWD system in the R. It is FWD biased. So for 99% of the time (when you are on normal roads driving it) it is only spending power to the front wheels.

It is only when it senses loss of traction or whatever that it will send power to the rear wheels.

So whats the point of it?

That's what i found with the R32, acts as a FWD most of the time and by the time it engages to AWD it could be too late and would still understeer. The R should be a bit better though with the newer haldex Gen IV and better weight distribution to start with.

Full time AWD would wear out your tyres, drivetrain quicker and worse economy.

Agree with your point anybody fanging it that hard should be on a track, not on public roads. I've been to a skid pan day at Mount Cotton, and all the FWD cars still went quite well. The AWD cars could drive around like normal and it was amazing how composed they are.

[Tux]

SNIP

I dont know if its just my age, but all these guys talking about "Well on a race track the R and GTI Bla bla bla" really has me 'pfft'ing at the screen and rolling my eyes.

With you 100% there mate... My wife used to work at a race circuit so I got to spend a lot of time there. The number of blokes with the flashest of cars who couldn't drive a nail was incredible. I was glad though they went to the track to do their fast driving because they'd be a menace on public roads.

[Treza360]

I prefer AWD to the FWD (not that it helped me ultimately) and that was a system two generations old. I've had Dad's GTI on loan for nearly 5 weeks now and the slight tugs on the wheel and the wheelspin when you need to pull out of a driveway or side turning quickly or a quick jump at the lights is very annoying.
That said I'm still struggling to find anything that I like in the GTI in comparison to my old R32.
As an additional comment, my next car is going to be FWD.
Cheers,
Trent

[Sharkie]

As usual this thread has degenerated in uselessness .....

Nobody said anything about a R v GTI on the track and none of posts related directly to that ... in fact I have been at pains to show how much better the R is over the GTI ON THE ROAD ....

Bottom line is .....

If you are an enthusiast driver the R wins by a significant margin ......

If you purely wanted bragging rights and couldn't really care about how much better the 1 is over the other .... the R, being the top of the Golf range, is the only 1 to get ....

If you bought a GTI (for whatever reason) and now want to justify that position see the previous 2 points .... .... no amount of justifcation will get you past those 2 fundamentals ....

[emack]

Oh I'm sorry hooba..........I thought this was a "forum" where you were allowed to express an "opinion" (which I clearly stated in my post was my OPINION!)

Chill out bud............go get laid or something!