Mk7 Golf R Discussion Thread

[godzilla_110TDI]

Caught a quick glimpse of a white R coming toward me on the road. Must say, those double U running lights look sweet.

Car also sits nice and low making those 19's fill every inch of those guards.

I like the look of the black highlights on the white. I know it has been done 6.8M times, but throw some gloss black rims on too and you've a vey staunch looking car.

[K1W1]

So I decided to look at some cars today. Here's what I tested today. It is only brief as I am no motoring journalist.

1. Golf R.
2. S3 SB.
3. a45.
As it stands, I am not particularly excited about getting the R or the S3. If I were to wait for the a45 I might as well wait for the confirmation of RS3. I think with its pumped guards the RS3 will have the visual appeal to go with its porformance.

My son said he likes the a45 best as it was the loudest! lol.

We drove the same three plus the M235 when looking for a new car for SWMBO (a.k.a. Ms Leadfoot)

The BMW was great to drive and was fast (and over $100k by the time you add some extras that are standard on all the others) but left both of us feeling that it was very bland and just too "nice".
The Audi is really only a glorified R and there are no 3 doors in the new model and the Sportback looks like a family wagon from the side.
The Golf R was great, but ultimately still a Golf to look at and we have a Mk6 Golf here for son to drive anyway.
The Benz has a rawness and out there feel about it that none of the others did. No it's not as well integrated inside as the Golf dash and the Golf dash doesn't come close to the BMW one, particularly the screen on the ICE/GPS but it's a car that feels like it's straining at the leash and wants to do something naughty when you are behind the wheel. The back seat on the A45 is a plank compared to the R back seat but will get very little use these days. In a sea of relative blandness and safety first corporate design it's different and somewhat exciting.
In the end it came to a choice between the R and the A45.
Ms Leadfoot is a manual driver which you can get in the BMW, VW and Audi although dealers don't really want to sell them so it came to "if I have to have an auto I may as well have one that does not come in manual at all then I won't regret buying it" (like she did about 3 BMWs ago).

We also got the "early 2015" story for the A45 but when it was time to order low and behold magic happened. The new black A45 with black wheels will be arriving to replace the black 3 door S3 in late Sept / early Oct this year. The A45 will not have the spoiler kit.
Now the SWMBO has finally decided on her new car I can start thinking about something for me and I may just go for an R. My tastes are somewhat more pedestrian than hers.

[andrew7]

Interesting observations K1W1: good to see the R holds its head up in such company. Incidentally this excellent review compares the R v S3 v A45 and the R (as it has done regularly in other comparisons) comes up trumps (sorry dont how to embed the link)

VW Golf R vs. Audi S3 vs. Mercedes A45 AMG (English subtitled) - YouTube

[lenojd]

We also got the "early 2015" story for the A45 but when it was time to order low and behold magic happened. The new black A45 with black wheels will be arriving to replace the black 3 door S3 in late Sept / early Oct this year. The A45 will not have the spoiler kit.
Now the SWMBO has finally decided on her new car I can start thinking about something for me and I may just go for an R. My tastes are somewhat more pedestrian than hers.

Nice and I am sure you'll love the A45.

My only word of warning is that from reading other forums, some members were quoted 'sensible' delivery times only for the car to be delayed over and over and eventually pushed out to 2015.

Congrats mate

[K1W1]

IMO the R is the best package taking into account fit and finish, performance and bang for buck and in that respect it wins hands down.
SWMBO was looking for something with a bit of a wild streak and something a little out of the ordinary and that is where the A45 fits in. I could at this point mention she also owns a Ducati which might give an insight into her thinking.
If you think like an Accountant (I'm not) or you use the sensible side of your brain nobody would go past an R IMO but different things float different people's boats and that is why we don't all drive Corollas.

As far as wait times are concerned we can cross that bridge when it happens. AMG are having trouble making the engines fast enough which is where the backlog is occurring. We waited 9 months for a BMW once and even my Skoda took close to 4 months to arrive so waiting for cars isn't anything new.

[Dutch77]

If you think like an Accountant (I'm not) or you use the sensible side of your brain nobody would go past an R IMO but different things float different people's boats and that is why we don't all drive Corollas.

The accountant in me says grab the S3 to avoid LCT.

But point taken on choosing the R over all else. All I can say is thank you to Europe to their high fuel costs which has resulted in the evolution of two categories (the GTI/Focus ST cheaper level and the R/S3/A45) of hot hatches (and a few hot sedans/coupes now based off them) that all float my boat in form or another.

[Fab_R]

This guy does pretty good vids..

Note the exterior and interior colors of this R MK7

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5NiTRRTaISE

[Brissienew]

I echo Kwv1's sentiment. BTW if you can afford an a45 why did you go for kwv1 and not v2 or v3?�� I went for another drive of the a45 again. Undoubtedly the golf r is the best buy, 95% of the performance of the a45 at 20 to 25k less depending on options. The DSG IN THE A45 is also inferior to the VAG's one. But the a45 feels a bit more special. In day to day driving there is little between them.

[Bigboboz]

This guy does pretty good vids..

Note the exterior and interior colors of this R MK7

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5NiTRRTaISE

Lots of detail but he wont win awards for a steady cam! I like the rims better on this display model better than what VAG has decided for us, plus is that the larger screen option? The screen we're stuck with is rubbish. If the car is ordered from the factory, why do they care what options you tick? I guess they have to support options if they're included so perhaps there is a technical issue with the screen, but rims?

[wasabiz]

Lots of detail but he wont win awards for a steady cam! I like the rims better on this display model better than what VAG has decided for us, plus is that the larger screen option? The screen we're stuck with is rubbish. If the car is ordered from the factory, why do they care what options you tick? I guess they have to support options if they're included so perhaps there is a technical issue with the screen, but rims?

I think the larger screen will come at a later date. Maybe a year or two, hoping for the dealer to allow the option of retrofitting it.

From my experience of buying new cars here is that Australia don't seem to release everything all at one go. Like my old jazz, the facelift model came with the full options of those like in Asia I.e. Folding mirrors, auto climate control and temperature reading for outside.