Friday 8th November 2013

Golf R priced from £29,900

300hp flagship just undercuts BMW and Audi rivals (as it should)

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Golf R comes in cheaper than its big rivals

The bottom line? The upcoming Golf R will cost from £29,900 for a three-door manual. As with other Golfs, the six-speed DSG carries a £1,415 premium, making a three-door auto £31,315. The five-door models cost £30,555 and £31,970 respectively.

A quick reminder of the R's firepower: using a 300hp, 280lb ft version of the Golf GTI's 2.0-litre turbo, it sprints from 0-62mph in 5.3 seconds and will hit 155mph. The R uses the GTI's progressive steering rack too, and a fifth-gen Haldex 4WD system. If the adaptive dampers are specced, a new Race mode is available as well.

The price is £4,055 over the equivalent GTI for an R. For another 80hp and 4WD, that seems a reasonable premium. But that's not where the big comparisons lie, is it? Let's have a look through the rivals.

There's a £4K jump from GTI to R

The GTI left our recent battle against the M135iand A45 AMG with its head held high. When compared to the R, an unoptioned manual BMW is another £670 at list price. A five-door DSG Golf R, probably the closest ideological rival to the Merc but down on power, is a substantial £5,875 less.

Crucially too, the Golf undercuts its Audi S3 blood brother by £740 as a three-door manual. The premium is a fraction more with the DSG, at £805.

For a slightly different alternative, what about a Mountuned Focus ST? A ST-3 hatch with the 275hp, 295lb ft upgrade would cost £26,720, excluding any available discounts. You pays your money...

Order are being taken now, with the first deliveries due in March.

[MikeGoodwin]

Its cars like this that get me thinking....

£30k for a Golf?

Because at the end of the day thats what it is.

Im sure its brilliant, mind.

[dave7692]

Only £700 cheaper than an S3 (obviously a basic one) still the gap between VW and Audi seems to be ever decreasing. However if you were already spending £30k why wouldn't you plump they extra couple of grand and get a nicely spec'd S3?

[kambites]

dave7692 said:

Only £700 cheaper than an S3 (obviously a basic one) still the gap between VW and Audi seems to be ever decreasing. However if you were already spending £30k why wouldn't you plump they extra couple of grand and get a nicely spec'd S3?

To turn that on its head, why would you? What does the Audi offer over the Golf?

[HorneyMX5]

kambites said:

dave7692 said:

Only £700 cheaper than an S3 (obviously a basic one) still the gap between VW and Audi seems to be ever decreasing. However if you were already spending £30k why wouldn't you plump they extra couple of grand and get a nicely spec'd S3?

To turn that on its head, why would you? What does the Audi offer over the Golf?

Prestige will be the answer from jo on the street.

[Matt UK]

dave7692 said:

Only £700 cheaper than an S3 (obviously a basic one) still the gap between VW and Audi seems to be ever decreasing. However if you were already spending £30k why wouldn't you plump they extra couple of grand and get a nicely spec'd S3?

Not seen the specs but the headline numbers may disguise the fact that the golf will have more equipment as standard. Would be surprised if spec were similar and vag we're asking for such a small premium for an Audi vs VW.

[dave7692]

kambites said:

To turn that on its head, why would you? What does the Audi offer over the Golf?

Fair point I guess, looking at the Audi UK website its basically the same engine and performance figures. I know its personal preference but I'd pay the extra for the looks of the S3, I love my MK5 Golf but the MK6/7 I'm not so keen on.

[DoctorX]

Thats quite a nice looking motor, more interesting than an S3 IMO. That wheel/tyre combo looks like it would cope with potholes just fine

[jdw1234]

HorneyMX5 said:

kambites said:

dave7692 said:

Only £700 cheaper than an S3 (obviously a basic one) still the gap between VW and Audi seems to be ever decreasing. However if you were already spending £30k why wouldn't you plump they extra couple of grand and get a nicely spec'd S3?

To turn that on its head, why would you? What does the Audi offer over the Golf?

Prestige will be the answer from jo on the street.

I would prefer the VW badge. I don't like the Audi image.

Down to personal preference I guess.

[kambites]

jdw1234 said:

I would prefer the VW badge. I don't like the Audi image.

It wouldn't be part of my decision making process at all. I do think the Audi is marginally better looking but not by enough to make me part with more money for it.

[moskvich427]

MikeGoodwin said:

Its cars like this that get me thinking....

£30k for a Golf?

Because at the end of the day thats what it is.

Im sure its brilliant, mind.

"Golf" is just a name... £30k for 300BHP and 4WD is the reality.

You can't associated it with a Golf S 1.2 TSI...

[red355]

the gap is actually a bit less cos you don't need to Spec the performance pack at £1000 and £1700 for leather to stop it getting delivered with the dreadful tartan seats they keep putting in the GTI

My wife wants a golf not an Audi (S3) so can see us ordering one for the spring

[Dave Hedgehog]

sounds like a bargain

i paid 29k for an R32 golf 7 years ago, the outgoing R to my spec came in at 42k!!!!


will be interesting to see what the options add

[GetCarter]

jdw1234 said:

I would prefer the VW badge. I don't like the Audi image.

I never look at the badge, just the car. Sad that so many seem to think it important.

[Amirhussain]

300 BHP, nice.

[Charlie Michael]

red355 said:

the gap is actually a bit less cos you don't need to Spec the performance pack at £1000 and £1700 for leather to stop it getting delivered with the dreadful tartan seats they keep putting in the GTI

My wife wants a golf not an Audi (S3) so can see us ordering one for the spring

I love the tartan seats in my GTI! One of the reasons I chose the car. Horses for courses really.

[sutats]

Will the weight reflect its high price? It's always cringe-worthy when a small performance compact hatch weighs 1.5tons or more.

[Armen]

Golf R32 forever...

[Rudeboy350Z]

sutats said:

.........It's always cringe-worthy when a small performance compact hatch weighs 1.5tons or more.

That'll be the price you pay for 4 wheel drive - the S3 weighs the same if not more. A bit more trivia for you - Both share the 5th gen Haldex system.

[Oddball RS]

So the VW-Audi product engineering cost saving is now down to 2.55% for Joe Soap - waste of time.

[RacerMike]

That seems pretty incredible for a 300bhp 4wd hatch. I would imagine 320-330bhp is only a remap away which makes the A45 AMG seem very expensive. With DSG this will be a proper weapon, and VW have a much better reputation than Audi recently at making fun hatches. Could be a bit of a stormer this...