RE: Volkswagen Golf R: Review
Discussion
Actus Reus said:
Lots of things actually conspired on this one - my wife is pregnant, so a new arrival on the way meant my Cayman S and an old snotter for commuting seemed like it would be a waste, as I figured I wouldn't get much time to be in the Porsche, so that meant I was in the market for a quick family car. I looked at all of the Golf sized cars - so GTi, S3, M135i, A-class... And went for the 'R' as I just wasn't mad keen on the BM's styling, nor the A-class' quite claustrophobic interior. So tested the Golf and the Audi and quite liked both - Golf seemed sharper than the S3, and when I saw the lease prices that was a done deal.
Also briefly considered the 3-series, but decided I'd like to keep costs down with a view to putting a weekend car in the garage 'just for me', hopefully next year. I should also add that my initial impressions didn't really agree with Dan's - I thought it was a good car to drive, maybe not as tactile or exciting as my Porsche, but then I never seriously expected it to be.
I too have come from a Cayman S......and I'm not disappointed at all.Also briefly considered the 3-series, but decided I'd like to keep costs down with a view to putting a weekend car in the garage 'just for me', hopefully next year. I should also add that my initial impressions didn't really agree with Dan's - I thought it was a good car to drive, maybe not as tactile or exciting as my Porsche, but then I never seriously expected it to be.
Sure the Porsche's handling and engine are 100% pure,and the 'R' is not up there in those dept's, but the 987 is let done by many other things.
smiffy555 said:
I too have come from a Cayman S......and I'm not disappointed at all.
Sure the Porsche's handling and engine are 100% pure,and the 'R' is not up there in those dept's, but the 987 is let done by many other things.
It was your post over on the Porsche forum that pointed me toward these lease prices in the first place. And I agree - the Golf has the 987 licked in many many areas. iPod connection for your £55k car, sir? That'll void your warranty and cost £500...Sure the Porsche's handling and engine are 100% pure,and the 'R' is not up there in those dept's, but the 987 is let done by many other things.
I've just re-read this:- http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyI...
Come on Dan - have you had a fall out with VW??
Come on Dan - have you had a fall out with VW??
smiffy555 said:
I've just re-read this:- http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyI...
Come on Dan - have you had a fall out with VW??
I think a quick glance at this (the R-related content within) goes a long way toward explaining this "review.":http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1396880Come on Dan - have you had a fall out with VW??
Just a thought.
OldBob said:
Test drove a Leon Cupra 280 and it performed really quite well. Some track tests have shown it to own a Golf R and it's considerably cheaper.
Correct, think one was Auto-express from memory. Was faster than the R back to back on the track due to the FWD weight savings.20bhp down, FWD and still faster? Impressive stuff.
Johnnytheboy said:
That does seem a bit luke warm.
I also noted that the R isn't hugely torquey for its BHP when I read the Autocar review.
The R400 will push the R further up the scoville scale.I also noted that the R isn't hugely torquey for its BHP when I read the Autocar review.
300hp with 280lbft says to me, a nice linear torque curve.
220hp with 260lbft for the GTI PP says to me, a massive boost spike in the midrange to fool people into thinking it's massively faster than it really is.
It seems strange to me that the M5 lost 2 cylinders and Formula 1 is back to 1.5 litres again, because wanton consumption and high CO2/kgs were deemed un-pc..... and now we have 300+hp Hatchbacks tearing up the highways, with 400hp ones on the way. WTF?
Something else VW have done here is potentially kill off the aftermarket tuning industry. Why waste £1000s getting an R up to 400hp when you can have one already done with a warranty?
Blackpuddin said:
IMO Dan gets to the nub of a car as well as any car journo out there, and rather better than most.
I agree I like his writing, I can always relate to it, but this paragraph reads like a pc mag comparing 2 mother boards......translated from Spanish"To make accurate comparisons between GTI and R models you have to pick your way around the spec sheet very carefully. Bear in mind, for instance, the 81kg variance between a three-door manual Golf GTI and a five-door DSG equipped GTI Performance. The 30kg penalty extra doors bring. And the 125kg difference between that basic GTI and entry-level R. An extra 80hp sounds like a big step up but the R's 280lb ft of torque is only 22lb ft more than the GTI's 258lb ft. The only real number you have to make an objective comparison is 0-62, which is 6.5 for the manual GTI three-door and 5.1 for the equivalent R, dropping to just 4.9 with DSG"
Maybe that's testament to the mood the Golf R left him in?
Dagnut said:
this paragraph reads like a pc mag comparing 2 mother boards......translated from Spanish
Taken as intended! But it is quite a complicated equation when you factor in, effectively, six different specs on the same car and some, VW included, try and pick and choose the best ones to make the differences sound more impressive. I was particularly shocked that depending on your spec a Golf GTI could be anything within an 82kg range!If my goal was to demonstrate the complexity of the comparison I guess I at least succeeded in that!
And ref. the Subaru story, yep, I blogged about that too the other day.
Cheers,
Dan
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