Golf R -v- Golf GTI

[sabloke]

Top Gears hot hatch of the year..? Golf R.

I guess they didn't mind it.

Wrong, it was the French one. Why would we care what the poms like up there?

[Ideo]

I might get it. It's just a shame Australian car magazines are by and large a bit pathetic.

[WhiteJames]

Canberra Renault Sales Manger Sean Patterson and I argued over whether or not Renault would release the Megane RS250 with DSG box. Patterson states that Renault has not officially made a commitment to releasing this model with a DSG box.

I’m sure I read somewhere that a DSG gearbox was in the pipeline and that it would arrive when the Megane was refreshed a couple of years down the track. If I’m right, you could wait until the refreshed model arrives with the DSG, possible direct injection upgrade and an improvement to the instrument cluster and dials.

In hindsight, I don’t think I would buy a Megane RS250 with DSG. With the reasonably tightly gated & notchy manual gearbox and perfectly placed pedals, a DSG box would detract from the drive experience in the Renault.

When considering my purchase for the current MK6 GTI, I was looking to change from DSG to manual for more driver involvement. I also drive more country miles than city miles as the GTI is not used some much during the week. The Golf manual turned me off due to:

Electronic throttle intervention.
Long and ill-defined throws between gates.
Imo less front end spring rate of the manual GTI –v- DSG GTI increasing comfort, but reduced chassis control.
Clutch replacements every 60-90K km.

The Renault also has the issues of electronic throttle intervention & replacement clutches, although the feel-good factor in the Renault makes up for this.

The seat-belt is a bit of a stretch on the 3 door Megane with Recaro seats, but not as cumbersome as the last 3 door R32 with Recaro seats that I drove. The Recaro seats in the Megane also come with front, lateral & curtain airbags, but not anti-submarining (knee?)airbags.

Can’t say I like or dislike the styling of the Megane RS250. The Sirocco and Golf are better lookers - esp. the Sirocco. The 19” Trophee wheels are far from the most attractive I’ve seen. If it was my turn again, I'd be stumping up for the Megane RS250 Trophee.

Cheers
WJ

[mfl]

Long and ill-defined throws between gates.

WJ like many other I have read your detailed reviews and respect what you have to say,
but as for the manual having a long and ill-defined throws, compared to what ? yes there are rwd sports cars like the MX 5, which have a shorter and better shift. But I have driven a number of Subarus Toyotas, Nissans, Commodores, Fiats, Alfas and Lancias which all had longer and more ill defined shifts. As the GTI is sports hatch, I think the last reason I would pick a DSG over manual would be the quality of the shift.

[Souljak]

I might get it. It's just a shame Australian car magazines are by and large a bit pathetic.

Are magazines even still relevant these days for reviews and the like?

In saying that the only car magazine (or any magazine for that matter) i'll buy these days is Top Gear but only for Clarkson and Co's shenadigans. Anything regarding car reviews and opinions though I prefer to watch youtube .... stupid Gen Y brain

[Justin Fox]

I feel like I'm on a Honda forum! How can anyone possibly suggest that front wheel drive cars are better than AWD cars?!

[Corey_R]

lol hey Justin - I didn't realise you were registered over here!
Are you sure after looking at this thread you still want to leave that link in your signature! hehe

[Lima]

having gone from RWD, to FWD to AWD and now back to FWD, the AWD certainly was an advantage in accelerating through and out of corners in the wet. the first FWD I owned was a V6 Vectra, which threatened to understeer off the road any time it rained and you encountered a corner. The Liberty could go through corners in the wet at speed which would have had the Vectra leave the road.

I was surprised last night in rain, how easy it was to break traction in low speed corners in the GTI and I wasn't travelling fast.

Our Mk5 GTI is like that too. The S3 with quattro is much better, as you would hope/expect.

[dave_r]

+1 me too. No rubbing yet and I've punted.

Mine was due to a lug on the drivers side, just inside the top of the arch which was loose/sticking out a bit. Had nothing to do wit hthe little wings they fit on the car front/back as the rubbing occured with/without them. I tried a hard left into work which has a bump mid corner that rubbed every time before, since pushing the lug back in, no rub.

So R + 19's = perfect match. 18's just look small!

And yeh, AWD over FWD any day. But if they had a Golf R available in RWD as well, I'd be driving one of them!

[WhiteJames]

The Golf GTI Manual is long & ill-defined compared to the Renault Megane RS250. I would buy a manual Megane RS250, but not a manual GTI.

Some owners of manual Golf’s opt to install a short shifter. Most short shifters I’ve sampled on VW Golf’s shorten the gear-throw, but blunt the notchiness in between gates, making for missed or incorrect gears. The extra weight of the counter-weight in the short-shifter mechanism is a bit like the extra weight in the Golf R – it tends to blunt the experience.

The Golf R, like the Renault Megane RS250, has had the sensitivity of the driver controls increased to improve driver feel and give it that ‘racy’ demeanour. Unlike the Renault Megane RS250, the Golf R fails to pull it off in terms of power delivery and suspension tune – racy controls coupled with grand tourer suspension and inert motor under 4,000-4500rpm does not provide the substance for a well executed driver’s hot hatch. A Grand Tourer – yes. A Hot Hatch – no.

A draw-back of the Renault Megane RS250 is fuel economy – about the same as the Golf R in terms of stated fuel use, depsite the Megane being @ 100-120kgs lighter. Out in the real world, I can see the added fuel use in the Megane over the GTI (esp. DSG) and it entices the driver explore more of the rev range, dishing up added fun. With DSG in traffic (Golf GTI), many tend to leave it in D for drive, optimising fuel economy.

Different Magazines target different markets. Wheels is for the all-rounder and Motor is for the harder core. Both magazines are giving victories to the Megane RS250. I put about 80% weight on what they have to say and determine that 20% for myself. In this case, I agree with both magazines. (Not sure what demographic Top Gear covers?).

Best to visit your local Renault Dealer for a test drive so as you can decipher yourself, esp. in light of delays of up to 8 months on Golf GTI, Polo GTI and Golf R orders. Ray is just been told his Golf R order in Dec 2010 doesn't arrive until Aug 2011.

Cheers
WJ