RE: VW Golf R (Mk7) | PH Used Buying Guide
Discussion
I would have to agree with the comments about having no driver involvement. I test drove one and found the experience to be very sterile, capable no doubt, but no fun and no feedback from the steering. In the end I ended up getting a GTI Clubsport, which was a lot more fun to drive and handled like a dream with reasonable feedback. I got it chipped as well, and was more than enough power, especially once rolling, would struggle off the line with traction control off using launch control.
Scottie - NW said:
There seem a lot of comments about it not being great to drive. In the past I've found fitting good coilovers and paying for alignment can make a big difference to driving enjoyment on a car, has anybody tried this on a Golf R and can comment?
Not on a Golf R. Had KW V3 a long time ago on a A3, they were great. Nowadays, I would think the default choice would be Ohlins R&T. Money no object maybe Intrax 4 way if they make them. Scottie - NW said:
There seem a lot of comments about it not being great to drive. In the past I've found fitting good coilovers and paying for alignment can make a big difference to driving enjoyment on a car, has anybody tried this on a Golf R and can comment?
It's the fashion on here. Because it isn't noisy and uncomfortable, it's boring. All the contemporary road tests didn't seem to reach the same conclusions, though, in fact most testers said if it was their money they'd buy it.The answer is to have a go yourself for an hour or two and not listen to anyone else.
Baldchap said:
It's the fashion on here. Because it isn't noisy and uncomfortable, it's boring. All the contemporary road tests didn't seem to reach the same conclusions, though, in fact most testers said if it was their money they'd buy it.
The answer is to have a go yourself for an hour or two and not listen to anyone else.
Yep. There’s a lot of hairy chested stuff here as usual, but have a proper drive (not a ten minute blat down the road with the salesman on board) and make up your own mind. The answer is to have a go yourself for an hour or two and not listen to anyone else.
I’ve driven the equivalent S/RS Audi and despite them having a nicer interior they weren’t any better to drive than the R. And here in Oz the cheapest of them was twice as expensive. Not remotely worth the price differential, IMO.
Of course, each to their own, and if it’s your only car and you want something exciting and edgy it may not be for you. But if you want overall competence, comfort, and speed it’s hard to beat for the money.
Edited by Steve12NG on Tuesday 3rd November 14:02
Had an R hatch for 3 years - only niggles were rubbish dealers, badly scored rear brake discs, inadequate clutch and dodgy bonnet release mechanism. Great everyday car though.
So good I jumped from that into a 7.5R estate which I’ve had for the last 2.5yrs. The estate doesn’t handle as well as the hatch when pushing on but no longer have to worry about clutch slip in the winter months. The bonnet release has failed completely on this one though - good job it’s not doing many miles with wfh so not getting through screenwash like it usually would during the winter months. Oh and the alloy wheels are poor on this one (both poverty spec lease cars so am talking about the standard 18” Cadiz) - lots of white worm whereas my last one had no issues at all. Not had any issues with coolant but plenty of people on various forums seem to have.
So good I jumped from that into a 7.5R estate which I’ve had for the last 2.5yrs. The estate doesn’t handle as well as the hatch when pushing on but no longer have to worry about clutch slip in the winter months. The bonnet release has failed completely on this one though - good job it’s not doing many miles with wfh so not getting through screenwash like it usually would during the winter months. Oh and the alloy wheels are poor on this one (both poverty spec lease cars so am talking about the standard 18” Cadiz) - lots of white worm whereas my last one had no issues at all. Not had any issues with coolant but plenty of people on various forums seem to have.
TimmyMallett said:
So, have you not had one stolen too?
I had one not stolen.
Has anyone here had one stolen?
Yes I did. Lived in the same house for 17 years with many different cars and no issues. Leased a Golf R estate and it was nicked in month 3 of the lease.I had one not stolen.
Has anyone here had one stolen?
Also took the Touareg at the same time - clearly I should have "dominated the stairs" - Yes it originated on that thread!
All that said it wouldn't stop me getting another as a very competent daily, but not much more
Water Fairy said:
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
Water Fairy said:
Is that Menaggio/Lake Como by any chance?
It’s Varenna, waiting for the ferry to Menaggio. Baldchap said:
Scottie - NW said:
There seem a lot of comments about it not being great to drive. In the past I've found fitting good coilovers and paying for alignment can make a big difference to driving enjoyment on a car, has anybody tried this on a Golf R and can comment?
It's the fashion on here. Because it isn't noisy and uncomfortable, it's boring. All the contemporary road tests didn't seem to reach the same conclusions, though, in fact most testers said if it was their money they'd buy it.The answer is to have a go yourself for an hour or two and not listen to anyone else.
It's still an outstanding car for what it can do and how it does it - but it's very hard to become attached.
I'm very conflicted still about my Mk7 R. I had it for 2 years on the Happy Meal lease deals back in 2016 and was more than happy to hand it back by then end of the lease, bored and underwhelmed at the performance.
It's only now a few years later that I really would like one back. I think the confusion comes from it's expectations. Being a 'hot hatch' it's assumed it'll feel like a Go Kart and be fun at all speeds. It's not.
If you view it like an a nippier Audi S5 with better dimensions and lower running costs then it's a joy. Comfortable, fast, practical but never going to get your gherkin jerkin.
It's only now a few years later that I really would like one back. I think the confusion comes from it's expectations. Being a 'hot hatch' it's assumed it'll feel like a Go Kart and be fun at all speeds. It's not.
If you view it like an a nippier Audi S5 with better dimensions and lower running costs then it's a joy. Comfortable, fast, practical but never going to get your gherkin jerkin.
Scottie - NW said:
There seem a lot of comments about it not being great to drive. In the past I've found fitting good coilovers and paying for alignment can make a big difference to driving enjoyment on a car, has anybody tried this on a Golf R and can comment?
I fitted some Bilstein B16's to 7.5R, had it lowered slightly (15mm) and the geo tweaked slightly.Absolutely transformed the car. Cut out all the wretched underdamped wallowing on B roads, reduced body roll and generally a much more compliant ride. 2 months later I sold the car, so have some nearly new Bilsteins for sale, lol.
Thwe car which I had had from new, cooked its clutch at 15k iles. I had the VW garage fit a proper clutch assembly in which was a million times better than the blancmange pedal as standard. It also had a leaky water pump/thermostat housing under warranty which, like the clutch is pretty much standard failure points.
Overall, a lovely car, but I guess lacking the character and handling of the Boxster S before it and the Cayman S which is its successor.
burty39 said:
TimmyMallett said:
So, have you not had one stolen too?
I had one not stolen.
Has anyone here had one stolen?
Yes I did. Lived in the same house for 17 years with many different cars and no issues. Leased a Golf R estate and it was nicked in month 3 of the lease.I had one not stolen.
Has anyone here had one stolen?
Also took the Touareg at the same time - clearly I should have "dominated the stairs" - Yes it originated on that thread!
All that said it wouldn't stop me getting another as a very competent daily, but not much more
I had a 7 estate for 2.5 years, with no issues.
I have had a 7.5 wltp estate for 18 months now.
The day I picked it up (from new and with only a couple of hundred miles on the clock) the engine management light came on. My local dealer (who I did not source it from) had it for nearly a month, before VW finally realised that the flywheel hadn't been machined properly. Prior to that VW told them to replace wiring looms and god knows what else. Engine out and back in and all sorted. I agreed some compensation and moved on.
I was back in the dealers a few months ago due to the digital cockpit apparently having a dead pixel which was throwing up an error message. As I couldn't see the dead pixel I asked them to code it out if they could. They replaced the whole unit under warranty.
It's had a few annoying cabin rattles which the dealer wasn't interested in looking into at it's first service so I sorted them out myself.
The tailgate stoppers were also very badly adjusted from new resulting in some chipped paint. Again the main dealer wasn't interested despite my best efforts so I adjusted the stoppers myself and sorted the minor chipping.
I think my car was possibly built last thing on a Friday.
The paint is about as durable as soft cheese so medium to large insects may well take chunks out of the bonnet and bumper paint at higher speeds.
martin12345 said:
I really thought I wanted one of these until I drove one. Absolutely brilliant in every way except for driver involvement. Needed to drive so fast before feeling any excitement would have been a real licence risker.
I bought a Seat Leon Cupra which is much the same thing but 2WD which in objective terms is a worse car but in involvement terms is much better. I just fitted winter tyres on the Cupra loosing a bit more dry grip and the fun has gone up again as I have to drive to the tyres limits and the traction light is on nearly as much as a 2000's V8 AMG supercharged car !!
Spot on mate, more manufacturers (and buyers) need to think like this. I bought a Seat Leon Cupra which is much the same thing but 2WD which in objective terms is a worse car but in involvement terms is much better. I just fitted winter tyres on the Cupra loosing a bit more dry grip and the fun has gone up again as I have to drive to the tyres limits and the traction light is on nearly as much as a 2000's V8 AMG supercharged car !!
Its funny how all the wonderful reviews of VW build quality etc never mentions these flaws. Seems that now this is no longer flavour of the month now PH would list its woes and shows it isn't that much better than the competition.
One thing I would disagree is that saying it looks tired is unfair. Love it especially in this colour.
One thing I would disagree is that saying it looks tired is unfair. Love it especially in this colour.
andygo said:
Scottie - NW said:
There seem a lot of comments about it not being great to drive. In the past I've found fitting good coilovers and paying for alignment can make a big difference to driving enjoyment on a car, has anybody tried this on a Golf R and can comment?
I fitted some Bilstein B16's to 7.5R, had it lowered slightly (15mm) and the geo tweaked slightly.Absolutely transformed the car. Cut out all the wretched underdamped wallowing on B roads, reduced body roll and generally a much more compliant ride. 2 months later I sold the car, so have some nearly new Bilsteins for sale, lol.
Thwe car which I had had from new, cooked its clutch at 15k iles. I had the VW garage fit a proper clutch assembly in which was a million times better than the blancmange pedal as standard. It also had a leaky water pump/thermostat housing under warranty which, like the clutch is pretty much standard failure points.
Overall, a lovely car, but I guess lacking the character and handling of the Boxster S before it and the Cayman S which is its successor.
It seems from most of the comments on this thread that the Golf R is ideally suited as a daily driver if you accept what makes it so means it won't be a weekend thrill.
So ideal for those wanting something as a main car that have another more compromised option as a second car
Only reason i don't have one is living on an A road on the outskirts of Liverpool I want the garage extended first so it wouldn't be left on show on a driveway.
PH said:
Most direction-injection engines are susceptible to carbon buildup on the intake valves but we think that the gen-3 EA888 in the Mk 7 Golf R may have had port injection to help counteract this problem.
WTF? At the risk of seeming obtuse, I assume the above is sarcasm?https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CB5ThYfX7ag
There's a bunch of reasons why the combination of port and direct injection can be a good thing
1) Helps clean the inlet valves
2) Reduces particulate emissions
3) Slightly improves fuel economy
There is no real downsides to this type of fuel system except
a) Cost more for the OEM - which either puts up the cost of the car or they save money somewhere else
b) More effort for the OEM to calibrate the engine - which also either puts up the cost of the car or they save money else where
c) More to go wrong as more bits and more electrical connectors
On balance I am OK with it, but in fairness there are plenty of GDI only engines that are absolutely fine
More important is the combination of how much oil is pulled through the engine breather and the temperature that the valves run at
Get both of those OK and then GDI only is fine unless you are a "grandma" and regularly drive 1 mile to the shops once a week and no where else, in which case you will trash pretty much any modern engine eventually
1) Helps clean the inlet valves
2) Reduces particulate emissions
3) Slightly improves fuel economy
There is no real downsides to this type of fuel system except
a) Cost more for the OEM - which either puts up the cost of the car or they save money somewhere else
b) More effort for the OEM to calibrate the engine - which also either puts up the cost of the car or they save money else where
c) More to go wrong as more bits and more electrical connectors
On balance I am OK with it, but in fairness there are plenty of GDI only engines that are absolutely fine
More important is the combination of how much oil is pulled through the engine breather and the temperature that the valves run at
Get both of those OK and then GDI only is fine unless you are a "grandma" and regularly drive 1 mile to the shops once a week and no where else, in which case you will trash pretty much any modern engine eventually
I will soon be in the market for a new daily and on top of the list is the S3 8V or mk7 Golf R. Seems really close between the two certainly less S3's for sale but their interior does look better with leather as standard (good for the kids) and roof rails were an option. Where as the R's seem to be easier to find with more equipment.
Guess it's a case of trying both
Guess it's a case of trying both
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