The Golf R lease thread
Discussion
For anyone complaining about throttle response it's not just you. There seems to be a dead inch of pedal travel at the top. It's been talked about loads on the VWROC forum.
Buy a DTUK Pedalbox. I was skeptical until I fitted mine. It totally transforms the car for the better, removes that inch of travel and just livens it up. I would not recommend using the pedal box on it's highest setting as it's brutally terrifying and can cause the car to go into limp mode. Apart from that they're awesome and I'm totally convinced this is how it should have been out of the factory.
Buy a DTUK Pedalbox. I was skeptical until I fitted mine. It totally transforms the car for the better, removes that inch of travel and just livens it up. I would not recommend using the pedal box on it's highest setting as it's brutally terrifying and can cause the car to go into limp mode. Apart from that they're awesome and I'm totally convinced this is how it should have been out of the factory.
Edited by ashleyman on Friday 18th November 15:47
Nearly 6 weeks and 2600 miles. Averaging 33.4 mpg, mainly A road (70%) and town/traffic (30%) .Have used both grades of petrol (95 & 99 ) no difference. It has good poise and plenty of torque. First Auto gearbox in nearly 30 years of driving.... not sure....manual given the choice on the current evidence. Slight rattle from window, disappears if you lower it a fraction. Cabin roomy,well laid out and comfortable. It is a very good car that is pretty quick at a competitive price, replacing it for similar cost will be a challenge when the lease is up.
madmatteo said:
It really is a great car and does so much so well that it can come across as a little staid. I personally haven't found that albeit I have to confess that my previous Fiesta ST (current version) was more exciting to drive but then the golf is a family estate and the Fiesta begs to be bounced down country roads.
I came from a Fez ST too :-)Lot different like you say and pretty dull in comparison but at least the straight line performance is a monster upgrade
Six months in, I have to say I love the DSG gearbox. I don't find it "slow" in the slightest, except occasionally when i come to a roundabout. Other than that it's far faster to change gear than I could ever be, the down-shifts are pretty much instant when using the paddles, and the up-shifts just have a fraction of a second delay after you press the paddle. In auto mode it seems to be well-programmed and work really nicely. Race mode is annoying unless you're really driving it hard (which you really can't do 99% of the time) and in fact I've never used it for more than about 10 seconds.
With the amount of motorway driving I do I'd really be reluctant to go back to a manual now. I'm aware that I'm also getting older and lazier in my driving habits though, which probably has something to do with it.
Also, I just thought it's interesting that people mention a crashy ride. I'm blown away by how well the car rides on the standard wheels and non-DCC suspension. It's really nice. The roads around my local area are generally appalling and the ride is as good as anything I've driven (and far better than the MX-5 I used to own!!).
With the amount of motorway driving I do I'd really be reluctant to go back to a manual now. I'm aware that I'm also getting older and lazier in my driving habits though, which probably has something to do with it.
Also, I just thought it's interesting that people mention a crashy ride. I'm blown away by how well the car rides on the standard wheels and non-DCC suspension. It's really nice. The roads around my local area are generally appalling and the ride is as good as anything I've driven (and far better than the MX-5 I used to own!!).
TeaNoSugar said:
Six months in, I have to say I love the DSG gearbox. I don't find it "slow" in the slightest, except occasionally when i come to a roundabout. Other than that it's far faster to change gear than I could ever be, the down-shifts are pretty much instant when using the paddles, and the up-shifts just have a fraction of a second delay after you press the paddle. In auto mode it seems to be well-programmed and work really nicely. Race mode is annoying unless you're really driving it hard (which you really can't do 99% of the time) and in fact I've never used it for more than about 10 seconds.
With the amount of motorway driving I do I'd really be reluctant to go back to a manual now. I'm aware that I'm also getting older and lazier in my driving habits though, which probably has something to do with it.
Also, I just thought it's interesting that people mention a crashy ride. I'm blown away by how well the car rides on the standard wheels and non-DCC suspension. It's really nice. The roads around my local area are generally appalling and the ride is as good as anything I've driven (and far better than the MX-5 I used to own!!).
I agree with all your points. With the amount of motorway driving I do I'd really be reluctant to go back to a manual now. I'm aware that I'm also getting older and lazier in my driving habits though, which probably has something to do with it.
Also, I just thought it's interesting that people mention a crashy ride. I'm blown away by how well the car rides on the standard wheels and non-DCC suspension. It's really nice. The roads around my local area are generally appalling and the ride is as good as anything I've driven (and far better than the MX-5 I used to own!!).
I'm nearly 22 weeks in, and have done just under 4,300 miles, the car is not slow by any means, I always drive in Eco mode, I know that's not really the point, but on the 4 miles to work everyday the engine doesn't get warm enough to be in any other mode.
Eco mode is fast enough, and with kickdown, it's fine off roundabouts and things like that. I only use race mode for the noise maybe once a tank. And maybe for when a quicker overtake is required.
I'm glad it's and auto, I came from an E39 530iA that wasn't slow, but the extra power is welcomed. I did have a Clio182 previous to that, and this feels so much more planted and bloody fast! Although I do miss the handling.
Overall it is a great car, not my best yet, that's still the E34 525i that I had, but it really is the great all-rounder.
The ride is also really good for a non-DCC as mentioned above. It is a little more rigid than the touring I had, but the Clio was 30mm lower than standard and before that was a panda 100hp. That was the epitome of crashy!
I hope everyone else is enjoying it as much as I am. And I might see some of you at the Pass at Goodwood
The Ride is the most impressive thing on this car imho, even with 19". I have DCC though and it's set to comfort permanently. It just gobbles up any surface.
Only gripes so far are a rattle from the dash, (soundaktor?) and in manual mode it sometimes lurches into second for some reason.
Very good family wagon. Not a car you'd take for a drive for the hell of it though.
Only gripes so far are a rattle from the dash, (soundaktor?) and in manual mode it sometimes lurches into second for some reason.
Very good family wagon. Not a car you'd take for a drive for the hell of it though.
Edited by davyvee on Monday 21st November 11:20
4 more anniversary coming up tomorrow so thought i'd better check the tyre pressures since i'd not done so since I got the car
Thought they might be off a tad as fuel economy has dropped a tad (in hindsight it's probably the colder weather) but nope, checked all 4 and they had exactly 40 psi in each tyre (which i'm assuming is what they had at the beginning).
I used to have to top up my ST tyres every couple of weeks.
Thought they might be off a tad as fuel economy has dropped a tad (in hindsight it's probably the colder weather) but nope, checked all 4 and they had exactly 40 psi in each tyre (which i'm assuming is what they had at the beginning).
I used to have to top up my ST tyres every couple of weeks.
See here regarding Gap123: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Interesting, just been looking at the R Estate deals on Yes Lease and worked out the total cost for various miles and payment profiles. I'd always expected the 1+23 deals to cost more overall but it doesn't seem that way with theirs. Haven't included fees etc in these calcs as it's all from the same broker and is just a comparison. I only do 8k a year in this family car so don't need any more miles, just before someone chirps in with the "why get a performance car on such low miles etc" stuff...
Beefmeister said:
Interesting, just been looking at the R Estate deals on Yes Lease and worked out the total cost for various miles and payment profiles. I'd always expected the 1+23 deals to cost more overall but it doesn't seem that way with theirs. Haven't included fees etc in these calcs as it's all from the same broker and is just a comparison. I only do 8k a year in this family car so don't need any more miles, just before someone chirps in with the "why get a performance car on such low miles etc" stuff...
Are VW accepting new orders for the Golf Estate R? I thought with the facelift due out soon, they weren't?TeaNoSugar said:
Just wondering how all the people who got on this deal early and received their cars a while ago are getting on with them?
I picked mine up on 27th or 28th May from memory, so it's coming up for 6 months now. I've managed to hammer the mileage though (change of contracts at work!) so I'm now on 16,000 and I've just got the service reminder; needs doing in 2,700 miles apparently. That's seems like a pretty decent interval for relatively highly tuned 2.0litre engine?
So far I love it; easily the best car I've had (I've had some boring cars though). Does everything fairly well, I regularly spend ages in it (6hr journey yesterday for example) and it's really comfortable and easy to drive. Over the first 16,000 miles it's averaged 31.5mpg and last week I drove from Dartford to Yorkshire and averaged just over 41mpg on a 200 mile journey. On the other hand I've also taken it out for a few drives where I've averaged <10mpg though!!
Also, despite many people not liking the sound, it's quite loud and I like the overall sound when you're giving it 100% through the gears. With the estate being a long body with a correspondingly longer exhaust pipe and the cabin being a bit more of an echo chamber I think that maybe makes it sound louder inside and outside (compared to the hatch).
Another good thing is that 6 months in, I've still only seen 2 other R estates (red one near Ikea Nottingham, and LSG one in Sheffield).
There are some negative points;
stop/start is a pain in the arse
I never want another black car - impossible to keep clean for more than a day.
The front radar occasionally goes berserk for no reason, and once it shutdown entirely, but reset itself when I turned the ignition off and back on again.
Some a
hole scratched all down the side (another vehicle, not a key) recently. Left no details and no wotnesses so I'm waiting for a quote on repairing the damage.
I still can't get used to the quad exhausts. Fortunately the "active" pair are totally black now and you have to look quite closely to see there are 4 tips rather than 2. I think it would look better with the quad tips being replaced by something like a slightly smaller version of the Audi RS dual oval tips (but they'd have to be real exhausts not just fake tips). Anyway, I'm not fitting any aftermarket parts, it's just an observation.
Well that's just a few thoughts. Overall for an initial payment of £740 and £280pcm I'm very happy with it. I'm already sticking a bit aside for the excess mileage sting though!! Could be a couple of grand at this rate!!
How is everyone else getting on with their estates??
Edit: apologies for such a long winded post!!
The red one you spotted out at Ikea was most likely me! Overall enjoying the car just the same as yourself also had the gripes with the radar going batty now and again, also have a rattle in the drivers door which can be annoying until I turn the radio up. I picked mine up on 27th or 28th May from memory, so it's coming up for 6 months now. I've managed to hammer the mileage though (change of contracts at work!) so I'm now on 16,000 and I've just got the service reminder; needs doing in 2,700 miles apparently. That's seems like a pretty decent interval for relatively highly tuned 2.0litre engine?
So far I love it; easily the best car I've had (I've had some boring cars though). Does everything fairly well, I regularly spend ages in it (6hr journey yesterday for example) and it's really comfortable and easy to drive. Over the first 16,000 miles it's averaged 31.5mpg and last week I drove from Dartford to Yorkshire and averaged just over 41mpg on a 200 mile journey. On the other hand I've also taken it out for a few drives where I've averaged <10mpg though!!
Also, despite many people not liking the sound, it's quite loud and I like the overall sound when you're giving it 100% through the gears. With the estate being a long body with a correspondingly longer exhaust pipe and the cabin being a bit more of an echo chamber I think that maybe makes it sound louder inside and outside (compared to the hatch).
Another good thing is that 6 months in, I've still only seen 2 other R estates (red one near Ikea Nottingham, and LSG one in Sheffield).
There are some negative points;
stop/start is a pain in the arse
I never want another black car - impossible to keep clean for more than a day.
The front radar occasionally goes berserk for no reason, and once it shutdown entirely, but reset itself when I turned the ignition off and back on again.
Some a
hole scratched all down the side (another vehicle, not a key) recently. Left no details and no wotnesses so I'm waiting for a quote on repairing the damage.I still can't get used to the quad exhausts. Fortunately the "active" pair are totally black now and you have to look quite closely to see there are 4 tips rather than 2. I think it would look better with the quad tips being replaced by something like a slightly smaller version of the Audi RS dual oval tips (but they'd have to be real exhausts not just fake tips). Anyway, I'm not fitting any aftermarket parts, it's just an observation.
Well that's just a few thoughts. Overall for an initial payment of £740 and £280pcm I'm very happy with it. I'm already sticking a bit aside for the excess mileage sting though!! Could be a couple of grand at this rate!!
How is everyone else getting on with their estates??
Edit: apologies for such a long winded post!!
Think i've only seen 3 or 4 other estates from memory another red one in the Lake District a lapiz around the local Tesco and a black one on the motorway racing an Audi estate
Oh and I drive around in custom drive mode 99% of the time which is basically normal mode with some of the sporty features but the soundaktor won't turn off at all.Also got hit with Gap123 'liquidation' letter but according to rufmeisters thread that will hopefully sort itself out.
R0B3RT said:
Finally BW43 have a delivery date next week. Will more or less have been 5 months from order day. Good job I wasn't in any rush...
I was originally BW36, that slipped to BW43 which it stayed at. My last update was that it was in transit. But it feels like everyone else is getting their cars now while I've still had no news.Got mine in June, one of the early adopters and have just ticked over 4k miles. Averaging 32mpg, which must be acceptable to PHers everywhere, and generally consider this one of my Top3 cars ever. Absolute bargain at £260pm all in.
What I love:
Performance
Looks
Sound
Rarity (even with all of the leases around I have only seen 4 or 5 and 1 of those in a few streets down from me)
Price (!)
What I would change:
DSG - Hesitant at the wrong times, but I've got used to switching to manual with the paddles when I know I want to maintain the right gear and be ready to accelerate away.
Start/Stop - needs to be switchoff-able as part of drive mode. It's ok to live with, but there are times when I want to leave the engine running as I know i'll be off again shortly and it's a bit too intrusive. I also looked at ways of moving the button to the other side of the gearstick so it was more visible and easier to press quickly, but it's too much work.
CarPlay - only works sometimes, others it won't recognise the phone and the only solution is to restart the car. THe voice control is utterly st and when asking Siri for directions to somewhere I seem to always get cinemas, and nothing else (I know that's a phone problem). CarPlay itself though is as good as normal SatNav and the text message function is very useful.
Overall a superb car, even Mrs Steelflex likes it although she does refer to it as a bus seeing as it is a red estate.
I managed to take a lump of paint off of the bumper while I was at the dump a few months ago (all the way down to the plastic), so that'll need fixing but no point until it is due to go back by which time I'm sure I would have damaged it some more.
What I love:
Performance
Looks
Sound
Rarity (even with all of the leases around I have only seen 4 or 5 and 1 of those in a few streets down from me)
Price (!)
What I would change:
DSG - Hesitant at the wrong times, but I've got used to switching to manual with the paddles when I know I want to maintain the right gear and be ready to accelerate away.
Start/Stop - needs to be switchoff-able as part of drive mode. It's ok to live with, but there are times when I want to leave the engine running as I know i'll be off again shortly and it's a bit too intrusive. I also looked at ways of moving the button to the other side of the gearstick so it was more visible and easier to press quickly, but it's too much work.
CarPlay - only works sometimes, others it won't recognise the phone and the only solution is to restart the car. THe voice control is utterly s
t and when asking Siri for directions to somewhere I seem to always get cinemas, and nothing else (I know that's a phone problem). CarPlay itself though is as good as normal SatNav and the text message function is very useful.Overall a superb car, even Mrs Steelflex likes it although she does refer to it as a bus seeing as it is a red estate.
I managed to take a lump of paint off of the bumper while I was at the dump a few months ago (all the way down to the plastic), so that'll need fixing but no point until it is due to go back by which time I'm sure I would have damaged it some more.
I ordered my R DSG 5 DR from National Fleet in July time and was given a build of late October and delivery of late November.
I've asked for an update on delivery and the guy says he will get back to me with an update and will keep me abreast of developments every 7-10 days.
Is there anything I can do to complain / discount or am I just swallowing up the Ts & Cs I signed up to with NFS being tied behind VW build times?
Still can't believe it's almost 6 months on and I'm still without a car with no sign of when it's going to be delivered!
Thoughts on this, I'm not sure if I'm over-reacting or this is the norm with leasing as it's my first lease car.
I've asked for an update on delivery and the guy says he will get back to me with an update and will keep me abreast of developments every 7-10 days.
Is there anything I can do to complain / discount or am I just swallowing up the Ts & Cs I signed up to with NFS being tied behind VW build times?
Still can't believe it's almost 6 months on and I'm still without a car with no sign of when it's going to be delivered!
Thoughts on this, I'm not sure if I'm over-reacting or this is the norm with leasing as it's my first lease car.
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