RE: Volkswagen Golf R: PH Fleet

[nunpuncher]

Maybe press cars come on decent tyres like the MPSS on the M135i. The cars for us mere mortals come on Bridgestones. Which we all know are utterly ste.

[nickfrog]

The irony being that the Supersports are hardly more expensive retail. But there might be a bigger delta on oe prices, like £1.43.

[andrewparker]

nunpuncher said:

Maybe press cars come on decent tyres like the MPSS on the M135i. The cars for us mere mortals come on Bridgestones. Which we all know are utterly ste.

As far as I'm aware all the press cars come on Bridgestones.

[cerb4.5lee]

nunpuncher said:

The cars for us mere mortals come on Bridgestones. Which we all know are utterly ste.

I have always liked Bridgestones personally but appreciate Michelin are the favoured tyre by everyone, the issue I have with Haldex 4wd and twin clutch gearboxes is that after about five minutes you lose interest and the driving experience gets very boring very quickly.

I am guessing from the reviews that the set up in the Golf R is a world apart from the Audi TTS we had going from how highly everyone seems to rate the Golf and I would love a go in one to see what all the fuss is about.

[NJH]

I reckon there is a certain amount of context to that though along the lines of wow isn't this good and it looks/rides much like a normal golf and wow isn't this good for only £27K (discounted internet price base). Or better still of one was lucky enough to get in on the mega lease deals a few months back.

[Ali_T]

nunpuncher said:

Maybe press cars come on decent tyres like the MPSS on the M135i. The cars for us mere mortals come on Bridgestones. Which we all know are utterly ste.

Maybe VW press cars come with more power than standard. VAG used to be notorious for it.

[Ali_T]

St John Smythe said:

I hope you never encounter an R beast out on the road as it will show you who's boss.

I'm hoping you're being sarcastic. I'm REALLY hoping you're being sarcastic.

[EricE]

Ali_T said:

Maybe VW press cars come with more power than standard. VAG used to be notorious for it.

Golf R in the sport auto supertest also had -2° front camber, far more than what can be adjusted in the production version without modifying the suspension.

Edited by EricE on Tuesday 21st July 19:31

[Ali_T]

HarryW said:

No2 son has one, seems pretty quick to me and the selectable exhaust is not that muted, pretty good all round package IMHO.

You mean the selectable pretend engine noise generator, surely?

[andrewparker]

Ali_T said:

HarryW said:

No2 son has one, seems pretty quick to me and the selectable exhaust is not that muted, pretty good all round package IMHO.

You mean the selectable pretend engine noise generator, surely?

Race mode opens valves, it's not entirely through the speakers.

So much st talked about this car, both by the people who like them and the people who don't.

[Ali_T]

Probably because owners talk so much ste about it, including calling it a beast, and thinking the 0-60 is the be all and end all. Still the most disappointing test drive I've had in the last decade. So much hype, so bloody dull.

[andrewparker]

I think there is also a little bit of reluctance from some people to accept that a humble Golf could be a good car...

[Ali_T]

andrewparker said:

I think there is also a little bit of reluctance from some people to accept that a humble Golf could be a good car...

It's a good car, just not the epically, amazingly awesome beast of a car that some owners, who can't have driven much performance metal before, seem to think.

[SturdyHSV]

I'd imagine some people probably take issue with labelling a 4WD automatic hatchback a 'beast'.

Beast just sort of implies something a little more, I don't know, dangerous? A bit more raw and less friendly?

[nunpuncher]

Ali_T said:

It's a good car, just not the epically, amazingly awesome beast of a car that some owners, who can't have driven much performance metal before, seem to think.

Agreed. But in contrast I'm always a bit taken a back when people who have driven plenty of performance metal praise the car. It's actually very hard to find a journalistic opinion saying it's anything less than very good.

[Ali_T]

nunpuncher said:

Agreed. But in contrast I'm always a bit taken a back when people who have driven plenty of performance metal praise the car. It's actually very hard to find a journalistic opinion saying it's anything less than very good.

The Evo X I had when I test drove it, would have run rings round it. Maybe that's the problem?

[nunpuncher]

If you were expecting it to be like the Evo because of a few shared traits (4wd, 2l 4 cylinder turbo) then yes, that definitely was the problem.

[scherzkeks]

EricE said:

Golf R in the sport auto supertest also had -2° front camber, far more than what adjust in the production version without modifying the suspension.

Very interesting. You have a scan?

[davey68]

Thats what I was really getting at, it sounds like the car tested was 'prepared' by VW for the press. The figures don't stack up for the power to weight, 4WD and DSG only go so far. I think if it was my money i'd be looking at a 135 or even a 235i. Smooth six cylinder with rear wheel drive (and even more grunt).

[EricE]

scherzkeks said:

Very interesting. You have a scan?

Test car measured -2°21´
VW recommended range is -1°14´ to -0°14´

The maximum you can get from a production car without modifications is around -1°30´ according to some guys with modified 7 Rs that I met at a trackday.

PS: oops I accidentally a word.