Golf R -v- Golf GTI

[adzy]

if it wasnt for poor re sale and poor practicality of the shape, I would be 100% sold on grabbing a 250rs

[MACCAA]

Keep dreaming then... No offense but fact is VW is many years behind RS in chassis refinement and the next Clio will be turbo charged, just like the current Mini and what have you. The mini mini market is heating up and that's a great thing if you ask me

Focus Rs and Megane are highly praised for their handling,YET:
Focus RS is only a couple of tenths faster than the Golf R around Wakefield.
The much lauded Renault Megane is slower than both of them around a track that favours handling....
Just amuses me to see the AWD/Haldex knockers bag the Golf's setup but the stopwatch doesn't lie.That plus you can't turn the ESP off for track use.
End of the day they're all pretty good with bugger-all difference in lap time.

[Corey_R]

Yep MACCAA, and then, even though the Focus RS beat the Renaults to be the fastest they had tested there, a little Polo GTI with some mild suspension/handling and power upgrades, yet still costing less than the Renaults, and $20k+ less than the Focus RS, beats them all! Oh well. I guess VW's chassis ain't THAT far behind. It just needs some Brembo's and KW's too!

[Fab_R]

Got my Motor Magazine last week via my subscription.

AWD all the way...would never go fwd again after having the R...

I still have my MK5 GTI with Stage 1 Bluefin, and its a wheel spin monster!!

[sabloke]

Wow, I had no idea Wakefield is the new world benchmark in hot hatch testing. Silly me, I thought some 23km long stretch of German road was IT, until tonight anyway...
Forget lap times for a moment and think driver involvement. For me that's what matters, that's what I live with every day. Some are after comfort before handling, other are simply brand junkies. Luckily there's plenty of options out there to make us all happy. I'm with Corey though, an A1/Polo GTI class car is the way to go, not mammoths like the 1,600kg Golf Rs or 1,500kg RS250s. You don't need 200kW to have fun, a light car with a balanced chassis and a zippy engine is all you need. Looking forward to the first S1 test drive reports

[Corey_R]

When I was reading the "forget lap times and think driver involvement" part, I started typing up stuff about the interior quality of the Renaults (though they are improving ) But then I saw you'd agreed with me on the A1/Polo GTI comments. So I'll let you off easily

Light, balanced, zippy, AND a nice interior. That's what I want next

[sabloke]

I'm not the one to talk to about interior niceties, not a selling point for me at all. Can't stand Honda Civic Star trek type though... I find Clio's interior neat and functional and after 20,000km and well over a year is rattle free. The Recaro seats are a dream, the admission/exhaust noise intoxicating. What else is there? If VW or Audi manage to make the GTI/A1 drive and feel like the French bugger, I'm in. A nice interior, whatever that means, would only be a nice bonus

[Corey_R]

Well, as I said. Polo GTI is only $28k + onroads. Whilst it's DSG only, you can add the suspension/sway bar and brake package yourself, even using the "premium name brands" if you want and it'll still be cheaper than the Renault Sports models. You can also add the go faster bits if you'd like and still be cheaper than the Trophee.

Whilst I know that you could do upgrades to the Renaults (although, the better models already have the name brand brakes and stuff, so I would presume the gains are more limited), the point is, you can have the nice interior, and "better than Renault track times" for less/similar money.

[triode12]

Does the new Polo GTI have independant rear suspension or a torsion bar?

[Corey_R]

Front Axle: Independent suspension, MacPherson struts and coil springs. Sports suspension lowered approximately 15mm (GTI).
Rear Axle: Torsion beam axle, trailing arms, coil springs. Sports suspension lowered approximately 15mm (GTI).