Thursday 2nd April 2015

VW Golf R: PH Fleet

After a brief and less than glowing road test, can the uber Golf impress long-term?

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There's simply no escaping the Golf R at the moment. Whether it's a group test, a car of the year feature or, dare we say it, a leasing thread, the flagship Golf has been making quite a name for itself. Quick, composed and classy (or should that be classless?), it appears to be all the hot hatch you could ever need.

See, look - definitely not blue

Similarly to the BMW M135i in fact, whose £30K glory the Golf has rather usurped, it can be considered in so many potential buying decisions. Now we have six months to discover just how good the fastest Golf has become - it seems nary a bad word has been said against it just yet. Well, apart from Dan's PH road test...

Surprise number one: it isn't blue. Despite what internet rumours may suggest, other colours are available. We're told this is the only Tornado Red Golf R on the press fleet, and rather sharp it looks too. The appearance is no doubt helped by the 19-inch 'Pretoria' alloys, an additional £895 over the standard 18s but arguably worth it given how plain the regular wheels are. And besides, blue is £540 and we've saved that by opting for the only standard colour.

KX15 PWV is a five-door DSG Golf R, much to the glee of the MaxiCosi huffing dads on the PH staff and one that will make an interesting comparison with our three-door manual Leon Cupra 280. Just in case that car needed its job made any harder... As for the other options, we have the Discover Pro sat nav (£1,765), the £815 Dynamic Chassis Control dampers (standard on a £25K Leon, it should be noted), the Winter Pack and a couple of other bits. We don't have a full spec yet but even with those it's up above £35K. At least nobody can say "you could have Golf R for that much!" in this thread...

Blimey, it is quick

First impressions are, predictably and annoyingly, very good. The R is one of those vehicles that will impress many on a short test drive. It looks cool, the interior is excellent (the seat and wheel in particular are great) and it will go very fast with the minimum of fuss. It is, for want of a better phrase, just like a Golf but a little more exciting. Is there deep-seated substance behind the VW style? And can it prove charming in a way VW Group cars so often fail to?

With less than 1,000 miles on the odo, it's impossible to tell just yet. There is plenty planned to ensure it's a rigorous long-term evaluation though. It will have to be tested against that BMW 1 Series, plus the soon-to-depart Leon Cupra and the imminent Golf R estate. Then of course there's just driving the thing, from B-road to track to daily commute, to see just where the Golf R really ranks in the hot hatch hierarchy. The wing of Dan's WRX STI looms menacingly too. Should be an interesting few months.

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FACT SHEET
Car: 2015 Volkswagen Golf R
Run by: Everyone's having a go!
On fleet since: March 2015
Mileage: 924
List price new: £32,220 (£36,055 as tested including £895 for 19-inch 'Pretoria' wheels, £1,765 for Discover Pro Nav, £815 for Dynamic Chassis Control dampers and £360 for Winter Pack).
Last month at a glance: A Golf R arrives and it isn't blue. Really.

[Pics: Ben Lowden]

[court]

Mine arrived Tuesday - Still getting used to how tractable it is. Very impressive

The red looks great with the 19" wheels I have to say.

How many owners cars are we going to see below...I'll start.

[Cupramax]

court said:

The red looks great with the 19" wheels I have to say.

Nope, that looks blue to me?

[Axionknight]

It's red, seek help.

[eybic]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 02 April 2015 at 10:28

[EricE]

Cupramax said:

court said:

The red looks great with the 19" wheels I have to say.

Nope, that looks blue to me?

All I see is a white car with gold wheels on my screen.

[aarondbs]

The red one does look nice. A work colleague has one in white, well a GTD DSG one anyway, and the interior is a nice place.

[Marwood79]

Yes but can you tell me how to make it play my downloaded Spotify audio from the Spotify app from my LG G2 via bluetooth connection WITHOUT muting the sound every 5 seconds?

Lovely car besides - now had mine 4 months and not a blemish (bar the above)

R

[Mafffew]

No doubt this is a fantastic car, but it just doesn't appeal to me. It isn't bad looking, but it does look a bit boring.

[georgeq]

I am having one hell of a time trying to decide between a used M135i, a Golf R and a Golf GTI PP.

The Golf R has AWD and additional power, but the GTI has the same torque, the miracle diff and its significantly cheaper with the same interior. I think the GTI looks better too. Looking forward to read a comparison of the R vs Leon Cupra (roughly the same as the GTI PP I believe?) in the future.

And the M135i... well, it's a junior supercar, what more can I say.

PS: You could get a E92 M3 for that money!!!

[Tuvra]

Wish I went for the 19" Wheels :

Edited by Tuvra on Thursday 2nd April 11:42

[phil121081]

Red 5dr manual arrives 1st June.

I can't wait!

Lease.

[selym]

This is going to be a loooong thread.

[Ruskins]

I think I will stick with my understeer-y slightly mental GTA.

[Uncle John]

So not much of a review then (Even after 1000 miles) just a lease lovers spech sheet.

[Dynamic Turtle]

Just have a mental block about the Golf. It has always been, and will always be, a £17k car to me.

Technically perfect and perfectly invisible too? Yawn. Give me massive flaws and huge presence any day of the week.

[Matt Bird]

Uncle John said:

So not much of a review then (Even after 1000 miles) just a lease lovers spech sheet.

Good job we've got it for six months then, isn't it?

[Fattb]

Probably a very capable car, but those 4 pipes ROFL just reminds me of one of those 12 year old Mercedes that somebody has added extra exhaust's to in order to make it look like an AMG hahhah

[Tuvra]

Dynamic Turtle said:

Just have a mental block about the Golf. It has always been, and will always be, a £17k car to me.

Technically perfect and perfectly invisible too? Yawn. Give me massive flaws and huge presence any day of the week.

£17k car? I'd suggest getting your self along to 2015, a basic Fiesta ST costs you that these days

I actually like the mundane looks of it, its one of them cars you can park up anywhere and forget about it. You can also drive it places without having a Subaru Impreza nailed to your back bumper the whole time like the Focus RS

[neil1jnr]

aarondbs said:

The red one does look nice. A work colleague has one in white, well a GTD DSG one anyway, and the interior is a nice place.

No, your work colleague doesn't have one then! Come on, that's the type of thing you read on the thread 'stupid things what non pistonheads say'

[gregd]

court said:

Mine arrived Tuesday - Still getting used to how tractable it is. Very impressive

The red looks great with the 19" wheels I have to say.

How many owners cars are we going to see below...I'll start.

Mine came 3 weeks ago, exactly the same as that.. Loving it so far!