Golf R -v- Golf GTI

[lincs]

thought i might add something to the thread just to give the tiguan topic a rest for a minute (poor old sharkie.. still dirty that the dealer took your money yrs ago for this car and failed to specify to VWA HQ before VWA did their first fleet ordering... actually i'd be pretty dark too... but then i probably wouldnt preorder a $55k+ car without driving it! ) and with that little segway, i can say that yesteday i took the gti and R for a 75min spin each. including a hills run, freeway run, suburban putt around etc..

have had my mkv gti since 06 from new and done 50k in it. took the mk6 gti first. black, manual, stock. mk5 vs mk6 has been done to death eons ago so not much point going into that, but i was impressed with its improved cornering and punchier low end throttle. exhaust tone also impressive as many have said. first impressions were "why would i need anything more than this?". thought the comfort of my nicely worn in mk5 interlagos seats were more comfoertable with more lumbar support than the 6's.

having driven 80min to the dealer, then 75min in another gti, i really needed a break but took the R striaght away anyway. R had dsg, 18s, dynaudio, leather, sunroof, satnav. the question is how much is that turbo lag gonna piss me off? it was more than id expected. i know id buy a manual though, not a dsg. im in the 0.9% category that despises dsg. i know its smooth, i know its so technologically advanced, i know its consistant, i know everyone shoots all over it.. i also know that i cant stand it and i actually like to change gears with my left foot and left hand only. flappy paddles do nothing for me either. like i said i know im in a big minority here... i thought the ride was much smoother than i anticipated and now doubt whether ACC would be necessary. i thought it felt better than the gti over our ****ty roads and would now lean towards ACC in a gti before an R (especially considering 18s are a lock for a gti). but anyway, the handling of the R was just on a whole new level, and i love the ballsier tone of the R. i thought the dynaudio was ok, but i wouldnt get it personally. i'd save the premium audio equipment for my lounge room and would rather listen to some compressed mp3s thru my ipod through stock speakers and head unit and over the delightful tone of the exhaust. leather was nice.. but it is winter afterall. i dont know why anyone in our climate would buy leather, unless they didnt drive their car from december to march, or likes keeping a spare towel in the backseat, or wears thick jeans even on the hottest days. (yep ive had leather before, and ive had high end car audio before and those days are behind me!). on the other hand, i havent had a car with as much power, stabiltiy and joy to drive as the R before. but yes... how bout that lag... soliatire VW are trying to get me in a manual R that they have in stock that hasnt been allocated, for me to drive next week before i make any decisions. oh and that united grey was really growing on me, despite having my heart set on the blue for the last 15mths.

so yeh, at this stage if i was putting around town and lived in the city, id get a gti manual with 18s and ACC. but i live out of the city with hills and 100 zones, so im currently leaning towards the R. tough call and both magnificent pieces of machinery.

[emack]

Now that is a well balanced evaluation!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with us, you make sense!!!!!!!

[VWR032]

Hey lincs,

Your thoughts on the dynaudio, did you think it was good but just not worth paying the extra for, or were you not that impressed by it? Going in to drive one myself on Friday but not sure if I will be able to sample one with the dynaudio.

The stereo set-up in the R32 was one of my main complaints about the car so was thinking about optioning the dynadio but have been told that there are pretty much none in the country unless you want sat-nav and leather to go with it. So options are to either get one without it and live with the standard stereo or place an order for one and wait. Not sure its worth waiting for though...

[iBoost]

Depends how much of an audiophile you are really. I've been quite impressed with the standard system in my GTI, but I'm sure some would say it was hopeless. I can say it's the best standard system I've had in a car before, better than the Bose in my MPS.

I'm not sure I would wait for a car based on sound system. You call of course though...

[Corey_R]

Yeah, on the other hand I was not impressed by the standard system in the GTi but thought that I could live with the Dynaudio! (You could of course go aftermarket and get an even better Dynaudio installation, but you know, you could spend $5k and it still won't be as good as a nice home system as the main limitation is the fact you're in a damn car! hehe).

But anyway... everyone is different, do not take anyone else's opinion one which is good, make sure you listen for yourself.

VWR032, I see you're in Sydney. I'm almost positive that one of the two Golf R's they have in stock for testing at Parramatta Denlo has the Dynaudio system. But even if it wasn't in the R's that I remember seeing it, it's in one of the Golfs. It doesn't matter which Golf it's in, as the upgrade is the same. Give them a call

[lincs]

Hey lincs,

Your thoughts on the dynaudio, did you think it was good but just not worth paying the extra for, or were you not that impressed by it? Going in to drive one myself on Friday but not sure if I will be able to sample one with the dynaudio.

The stereo set-up in the R32 was one of my main complaints about the car so was thinking about optioning the dynadio but have been told that there are pretty much none in the country unless you want sat-nav and leather to go with it. So options are to either get one without it and live with the standard stereo or place an order for one and wait. Not sure its worth waiting for though...

to be honest i only had the delights of commercial radio. i took my ipod with me but there was only a USB port and AUX in jack (no ipod jack) so i couldnt play it.. and i had no CDs on me.. (who does these days?!). so i couldnt test it to its full potential. the exhaust tone was much more thrilling than talkback and triple Ms rob thomas via dynaudio. im going back next week (hopefully to retest the manual) and i'll duly take some pearl jam CDs with me to check for sure. for a stocky stereo i actually think the mk5 gti is excellent. (was the R32 the same one? i assume it was?)

[REXman]

Hey lincs,

Your thoughts on the dynaudio, did you think it was good but just not worth paying the extra for, or were you not that impressed by it? Going in to drive one myself on Friday but not sure if I will be able to sample one with the dynaudio.

The stereo set-up in the R32 was one of my main complaints about the car so was thinking about optioning the dynadio but have been told that there are pretty much none in the country unless you want sat-nav and leather to go with it. So options are to either get one without it and live with the standard stereo or place an order for one and wait. Not sure its worth waiting for though...

Hey, I test drove a car R and GTI both with the stocka in them and Im sure they were the same.

To me they almost sound as good as a standard BMW system which I think is pretty good. Its not shaking bass but its punchy and more than enough. To be fair Im going the DYNAUDIO cause Im going to order what I want, and I cant be bothered getting another Kenwood deck, JL audio AMPs/Sub etc with this car.

Verdict: Stocka is a very solid sounding system. Dynaudio might be a bit better and easier to resist upgrading. But if the car you want is in stock with everything but the radio.. pull the trigger cause Im waiting till oct and it hurts. very much!!

[AdamD]

Yeah, on the other hand I was not impressed by the standard system in the GTi but thought that I could live with the Dynaudio!
[snip]
But anyway... everyone is different, do not take anyone else's opinion one which is good, make sure you listen for yourself.

+1. Nothing substitutes for hearing for yourself, as everyone's tastes are different.

I personally am glad I spent the extra on the Dynaudio. I've read other comments on this forum by posters who listened and couldn't hear an appreciable difference.

(FWIW, as this is a forum for opinion, I will tell you that I've listened extensively to the stock system, and now have had a good opportunity to listen in detail to my Dynaudio setup with the RNS-510. I like the highs and the mids (good crisp detail to my ears), but find the lower detail a little lacking, and the lows are certainly not as pronounced as I'm used to - resulting in a colder and weaker sound. I am considering a small sealed sub to add a bit more warmth.)

[G-rig]

Hey lincs,

Your thoughts on the dynaudio, did you think it was good but just not worth paying the extra for, or were you not that impressed by it? Going in to drive one myself on Friday but not sure if I will be able to sample one with the dynaudio.

The stereo set-up in the R32 was one of my main complaints about the car so was thinking about optioning the dynadio but have been told that there are pretty much none in the country unless you want sat-nav and leather to go with it. So options are to either get one without it and live with the standard stereo or place an order for one and wait. Not sure its worth waiting for though...

I had an R32/MK5 and agree the sound system sounded plain awful. The stock setup in the MK6 GTI is a fair bit better IMO, and doesn't even have an amp. Don't know if the speakers are any different but the placement of them is a lot better.

I wouldn't bother getting Dynaudio personally but then again haven't had the chance to hear VW Dynaudio in a demo car so take it with a grain of salt. It still wont be a big system (ie volume) like with after market stuff but probably good for $1300 (or whatever it is) as $1300 doesn't go that far with car audio gear/installs and saves taking your car apart (not that it matters too much if dont properly).

[REXman]

Quick question, what is DYNAUDIO Excite and other deriviations of the DYNAUDIO that I see people with? Whats the difference compared to normal dynaudio?