Painful............As mentioned earlier:
After the short & sharp hill-climb RNP drive of the Golf GTI and Golf R, both with DCC (a must have on the GTI) - my values moved in favour of the GTI by 80% to 20% for the Golf R. Although it's worth mentioning that the short drive route would naturally favour a lighter & more agile vehicle.
In respect to the fuelling of the Golf R, it feels very much like the MKV GTI, rather than a beefed up version of the Mark 6 GTI. From Golf R to Golf GTI is like going from carburator to fuel injection or old style fuel injection that varies fuel metering every 500rpm as opposed to a modern fuel injection system that can vary fuel metering every 50rpm. This relates to engine feel/turbo responsiveness & general economy, rather than outright power (NSACAR's make heaps of power and run carbies) - Golf R and MKV GTI seem to be more one dimensinal in it's fuel delivery - which does feel more linear in delivery.
After visiting the Sydney Motor Show, my values have changed again:
Golf GTI: 50%
Polo GTI: 40%
Golf R : 10%
Polo is a bit cramped in the rear passenger seats and luggage compartment and I'm told it has torsen beam rear suspension (as does Civic Type R, Megane, Clio), as opposed to the GTI/R mutilink sub-frame rear suspension that should generally cope better on unsettling features around mid-corner. Mid corner bumps are in abundance in NSW so multilink rear suspension should prove it's worth in this regard. Torsen beam suspension imo is not fully independent suspension, but does add rigidity to the chassis. The Golf R at the AIMS wins my vote for best looking hatchback.
Cheers
WJ
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