Golf R -v- Golf GTI

[G-rig]

Will you be tracking yours Sharkie?

Also which is more fun to drive your Polo or Tig?

[sharkablue]

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.

Well said, I have nothing against drivers going to race tracks, and I think the state and federal governments should make it easier for drivers to go to these places to race their cars, which takes these people off the public roads.

But at the same time, I cant understand the people in this thread with the whole GTI vs R ****. for 99% of the time which is on public roads, both cars will perform pretty much exactly the same. The GTI has the advantage imo as it is slightly cheaper and uses less fuel (not that the R uses that much anyway, but for the sake of the argument). The R only ever really comes into effect on a race track... which for most people will never happen.

I think this R launch hype is getting to people.

[emack]

..............................especially those that own a GTI

[sharkablue]

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 ....

haha im not trying to justify anything, I personally cant afford a Golf R, so the GTI is the best thing I can afford and im very very very happy with the purchase. Good luck with the Golf R Sharkie.

But as I said ultimately on a public road I think 95% of VWA's customers will be at pains to see the difference between the GTI and R. As you said it all comes down to braging rights and how much power they have between each other, which can only really be seen on a race track, which for most people will never happen.

I would use the argument against a WRX vs a STI, Ralliart vs a EVO etc etc.

If you can afford it, thats great! but for the people who cant afford the R, STI, EVO style of cars, their smaller brothers do just as good a job on public roads and day to day use. In some cases some might say they are easier to live with day to day.

After all I have read alot of reviews that have said, if you can only afford 1 car and want to have a great Day to day car but with great well balanced performance, the GTI is the winner there.

However some might recall the comparison of the R32 vs the 135 on Top Gear with Jeremy clarkson, and the R32 came out in front according to Jeremy.

It all comes down to what you want.

[Sharkie]

... for 99% of the time which is on public roads, both cars will perform pretty much exactly the same. The GTI has the advantage imo as it is slightly cheaper and uses less fuel (not that the R uses that much anyway, but for the sake of the argument). The R only ever really comes into effect on a race track... which for most people will never happen.

And again thats were you are incorrect ....

There isn't a single performance element ON THE ROAD where the R is not better than the GTI .... .... it is better in every single aspect .... traction, accelleration, braking, handling and any other you'd care to mention .... more importantly every 1 of those will enable you to better survive/escape an accident ON THE ROAD compared to GTI under the same conditions ....

and BTW fuel consumption is not a performance element, if thats important to you, you'd be better off in a GTD ....

and if you want to argue it on the basis of price then your'e also in the wrong thread ...

EDIT: it does not make the GTI a bad car by any means, its just less good than the R .... and I won't be buying either .... I'll be buying a blue BMW 135i (after Van is sorted) .... it is simply in a different league yet again ....

[G-rig]

But at the same time, I cant understand the people in this thread with the whole GTI vs R ****. for 99% of the time which is on public roads, both cars will perform pretty much exactly the same.

I think this R launch hype is getting to people.

Agree, everyone is getting carried away with the hype. Both are great cars and either would be good. If the budget allows it get the R so at least you know you have the best and can tell everyone.

I spend money getting the top of the range Golf R32 last time when a GTI would have been enough, and it will be enough this time too. Stock for stock the R32 is quite similar to the R.

Surprisingly the GTI is just as fun if not morso, and dont consider it a big downgrade. I also don't track the car and wouldn't get the most out of the R on the streets (even the GTI is very easy to speed in but the speeds aren't as high as what you'd have to do to get your thrills out of the R).

[sharkablue]

EDIT: it does not make the GTI a bad car by any means, its just less good than the R .... and I won't be buying either .... I'll be buying a blue BMW 135i (after Van is sorted) .... it is simply in a different league yet again ....

The 135i is an awesome machine. My mate got one in January and this weekend I have helped him chip the car to get 400bhp!!! its an insane car!!! I love it.

I was personally looking at getting the 125i with the M Sport Pack but ended up not being able to afford it, so the GTI it is!!!

But good luck with the 135i, you will not be disappointed, I can guarantee you that.

[G-rig]

I think you'd be happy with a 135i sharkie, would be worth the bit extra over a highly spec'ed R. A basic R for 55k would be a good saving though, but can't realy beat BMW twin turbo six & RWD.

[Sharkie]

The 135i is an awesome machine. My mate got one in January and this weekend I have helped him chip the car to get 400bhp!!! its an insane car!!! I love it.

I was personally looking at getting the 125i with the M Sport Pack but ended up not being able to afford it, so the GTI it is!!!

But good luck with the 135i, you will not be disappointed, I can guarantee you that.

Thanks mate, the 135i is an awesome machine ....

To be honest I can fully understand the "best car I can afford principle" as I have been and am still there ... I have always purchased what I believed to be the best within budget, but have never let that cloud my perception upong the ranking order both in prestige and performance of what I'm buying .... (in contrast to some others here)

Applying that principle .... Is the 135i better than an M3? (and I'd love to buy another of those) ... by no means ... is it good/close enough considering what I'm paying ... YES

Same with my VWs in Australia .... was the Polo GTI that I bought 4.5years ago "better" than the Golf GTI .... by no means .... did I feel envious every time I stopped next to a Golf (even though once I'd finished with it, was on par performance wise)... yes, to some extent, but it was the best I could afford as a car for myself at the time .... its only recently that I've been able to afford a $80K car for myself and the best car for that money is the 135i ...

Does not change the fact that in this case the R is by far the better car overall, and the GTI the best value at $40K ....

if you're spending $60K+ on a GTI no amount of justifaction will help as come resale time a $60K R will be worth so much more ...

and to stir the pot some more .... do I believe a GTI (@$40K) to be better (and better value) than my wife's Tig ... No, not in any of the performance criteria I have for the road and certainly not in any of the "softer" criteria she has either .... do I like the image of the Tig over the GTI, not really either LOL

But yes, Greg, looking forward to the 135i once I'm past the Multivan purchase ....

[Ideo]

haha im not trying to justify anything, I personally cant afford a Golf R, so the GTI is the best thing I can afford and im very very very happy with the purchase. Good luck with the Golf R Sharkie.

But as I said ultimately on a public road I think 95% of VWA's customers will be at pains to see the difference between the GTI and R. As you said it all comes down to braging rights and how much power they have between each other, which can only really be seen on a race track, which for most people will never happen.

I would use the argument against a WRX vs a STI, Ralliart vs a EVO etc etc.

If you can afford it, thats great! but for the people who cant afford the R, STI, EVO style of cars, their smaller brothers do just as good a job on public roads and day to day use. In some cases some might say they are easier to live with day to day.

After all I have read alot of reviews that have said, if you can only afford 1 car and want to have a great Day to day car but with great well balanced performance, the GTI is the winner there.

However some might recall the comparison of the R32 vs the 135 on Top Gear with Jeremy clarkson, and the R32 came out in front according to Jeremy.

It all comes down to what you want.

I disagree. After going from AWD to FWD to RWD and back to AWD the R is a far better road car for all conditions than the GTI.