Golf R / R wagon vs GTI vs Skoda Octavia RS - purchase decision

[ReeceR]

Hi guys,

I was in the same position as OP and went with the Golf R Wagon. I based my decision on a few things:

1. I love driving, so if I'm going to buy a new car that I'm going to drive every other day, then why not buy the one I really want to own and will enjoy driving.
2. Having kids is part of life and I didn't want to let that weigh too heavily on my selection, as long as the car ticked all the boxes ie. practicality, size, performance, aesthetics, enjoyment factor (not in that particular order. I also live around the city, so parking was also a consideration.
3. The Golf wagon swallows anything I need to throw into it for a growing family - or worst case, I'll put it on the roof. The Golf looks great with a capsule or bike racks up top.
3. I could have made any number of arguments for settling with the Octavia, but ultimately it came down to whether or not the driving performance, aesthetics and the VW badge was important enough to spend the extra $15-20k. For me it was.

This may all be for nought, because you might be hard pressed to find a Golf R Wagon.

Hope this helps.

Nolte, what did you end up paying for yours? I've been quoted 68k for a white one including sunroof.

[tigger73]

Nolte, what did you end up paying for yours? I've been quoted 68k for a white one including sunroof.

These are pretty much going for the RRP + extras + dealer delivery. Different dealers will charge slightly more or less for the dealer delivery and this is about the only thing that is negotiable on the car.

If you wanted to talk them down on the dealer delivery I'd be asking them what the cost is for delivery on a Golf 92TSI manual and what extra you'd be getting for your Golf for the additional charge.

I know some dealers were charging a serious premium on the dealer delivery on these cars due to the high demand. They can't legally charge more than the RRP so this is how they were gouging the customer.

[Mcsteve]

To respond with my own bias, get a RS. badge cred and awd at a premium of $20k simply isn't needed for a brilliant car when a RS wagon can be had at $45k.
Forget the suv crowd, they drive like buses and lack any practical space. If you've got money to burn, grab the wolfsburg, brilliant, but pricey for a gulf.


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[Aztech]

Just having a read through this and thought I'd chime in as an owner of both a Stage 1 147tsi Tiguan and Stage 1 147tsi Octavia RS hatch. My girlfriend drives the Tig most of the time and the RS is my daily driver. I had them both around 12 months now and driven the tig about 10,000 and the RS about 25,000 so have a good feel for each. I find when I drive one for a while I get in the other and love the way it drives, both have different pro's and con's. Here's my opinion of each one compared to the other:

Tiguan 147TSI Stage 1 - 7 speed auto

Pros:
- nice ride comfort, great in traffic being up higher
- with the stage 1 its surprising quick for an SUV, particularly love the torque in the mid range, recently did a run down the coast road in northern NSW, passing slow vehicles going up hill from 80kmh and got to 120-130 in a matter of seconds, bloke in the x3 diesel behind me couldn't come close
- AWD is great when taking off, even in the wet I can floor it and very confidently stays on the road, barely notice the difference from a dry road
- easily go over gutters and rough terrain etc
- gear box is very smooth and engages the moment you take your foot off the brake

Cons:
- not a lot of luggage space
- a fair amount of body roll around corners
- fuel economy uses around 40% more than the RS with the same motor
- occasionally I find myself on a hill where the car doesnt change down to first at low speed and the car makes a terrible sound, I even find I need to manually change down, if driving up a steep mountain road I will usually use sports mode to avoid this and keep the revs up a bit nicer

Octavia 147TSI Stage 1 - 6 speed auto

Pros:
- performance, handling
- practicality, even in hatch mode absolutely owns the tiguan for storage, moved house recently surprised everyone that was helping at how much we fitted it in
- sound system, I have aftermarket systems in both and the acoustics in the octavia are better to my ears by far
- fuel economy, i do around 50/50 street/highway now, the RS sits around 6.8L/100, the tig about 9.1, when I lived in the city the RS averaged 8.8 and the tig around 12.3
- excellent gear box always seems to select the right gear, flappy paddles are fun but hardly ever use them

Cons:
- much rougher ride, feel every little bump
- low clearance means more care taken in car parks etc
- front wheels drive, hard to get the power down taking off especially in the wet
- gear box has a slight delay engaging when taking foot off the brake, can cause a shudder when not use to it if you give it too much throttle

Overall my recommendation for the kids would be the RS Wagon if you're happy with the firm ride. I find it fine when I drive but does bother me if I'm a passenger.

[tigger73]

Nice review Aztech - pretty much sums it up.

Stick a rear sway bar in your Tig and it'll solve 90% of your body roll issues. Agree on the fuel usage but that is the penalty for running an AWD system and a car that punches through the air like a brick. A DSG tune will fix the gear selection issues and make it a lot more pleasant to drive.

I went for a short test drive in an RS Octavia when I was looking at replacing my daily driver earlier in the year but I've also driven the Mk7 GTI, GTI PP and Scirocco R on VW Driving Experience days. I have to say that the thing I disliked about all these cars is the axle tramp off the line. Now I know you get used to it and have to moderate the application of your right foot, however it's the problem of powerful FWD cars that they just can't get the power to the ground as well as an AWD.

I drive my wife's stock 155TSI Tiguan on VW cruises through the Adelaide hills and people are genuinely surprised at how much get up and go that the car has. The extra weight is offset by the fact that you can get the power down a whole lot better out of the corners. My old stage 2 Tig would leave a lot of FWD cars scrambling to catch up. If you add in a damp road, corner and a bit of an incline and you leave them for dead...

In conclusion it sounds like you need to get yourself a supercharged Audi RS4 Avant with a non-res exhaust

https://www.facebook.com/AdelaideCar...9017170621418/

[Aztech]

I do need an rs4 avant correct! I have heard that the dsg tune would help a lot just haven't convinced the girlfriend its a good use of $1600. I will definitely look into the rear sway bar though. Does that make the ride harsher?

[tigger73]

Yes I think everyone who buys an Octy RS actually wants the RS4...

Regards the rear sway bar, it only stops the boat-like side-to-side motion. If you keep the same springs, the ride comfort (up/down) will be identical. You'll just sit flatter through the corners. You can pick up a rear sway bar for ~$300 (both Whiteline and Superpro do them) and the install is direct bolt on, bolt off for the existing one which is tiny in comparison.

[Aztech]

Awesome, I'm sold, might get one for both cars if its that cheap and an easy install I can do myself.

[donweather]

I thought one of the sway bars (front or rear) on the RS was an absolute dog to install?

[brad]

I thought one of the sway bars (front or rear) on the RS was an absolute dog to install?

Front requires dropping of subframe and requires a few hours to complete

Rear is 6 bolts and fairly easy - triple square heads IIRC so correct tools required.

Personally, I prefer harder springs as I don't like the way heavier sway bars stop the independant suspension being independant but there's more than 1 way to skin a cat.