I had a day off last week and an excellent opportunity to try out the new swaybar (middle setting) on extended drive on Atherton tablelands in Far NOrth Queensland, covering over 300km of spirited driving on often remote roads, tracks and winding roads, both up and downhill. Tyres were at 39psi front and rear (thanks gavs) and all I can say is GREAT! There was not a moment that I thought bar was too stiff or unpredictable, on the contrary, for that sort of driving it was a perfect combo...to my mind.
I also had the opportunity to try out 3 Golfs on the Volkswagen Open Day roadshow...
GTI: great, little bit bigger, quieter, more behaved on road, better perhaps but not by much and certainly not worth 10K extra.
Scirocco: bit of a surprise, very comfortable inside and the ride, in spite of 19" wheels, very responsive on throttle and endless grunts and farts on up and downshifts, nice engine burble, great DSG gearbox, smoother and more responsive than Polo. Slightly impractical car, but polo should talk...had fun with launch and adaptive chassis controls...(-:
Golf R: more contRolled than Scirocco, bit more sedate (120kg heavier) and better behaved, no doubt also because of AWD...could not get tyres to squeal with launch control, and i tried...engine sound a bit underwhelming after Scirocco, but much more practical and understated. It had the most k's on it, so may already have learned some bad habits...
If I had to choose between the 3..., GTI is just not enough of a different car to polo, head says R...heart says Scirocco...
But, to me the test is always how it feels when you get back in your own car, and...I still love it!
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