VW Golf R or Civic Type R
Discussion
Joscal said:
W8pmc didn’t you have an M5 before? I’m thinking of doing the same move if so. I assume you would recommend the R?
Yes. Had an F10 M5 for just over 3yrs & that went in Feb/March this year.Took delivery of a brand new FFRR A/B in March, but that turned out to be a huge let down & after several issues/failings the car was rejected at the end of June. Then needed a car sharpish & all the Golf R deals had been snapped up, so acquired an in stock D4 A8 Black Edition. Although a fabulous cruiser, i felt i was missing that element of fun that the F10 had given me, so the A8 wasn't fulfilling all my driving needs, just most of them. I then stumbled across a Golf R Estate that was already in build & could be had for a steal on one of these mega cheap lease deals, so i jumped at the chance & collected it 2 weeks ago.
Best comparison i can give is it's a Junior RS6. Does everything you need it to do, while given it's size & weight, still being epic fun.
To date the car that's impressed me the most against expectations. So much so i can see me doing a deal with VWFS at the end of the Lease & trying to snap up a bargain.
Joscal said:
Great thanks for the reply! I haven’t driven an R yet but can’t help thinking it will be a better car than the M5 for a daily. Look forwards to trying one soon.
High praise indeed!
As much as it pains me to say, the R is most certainly a better all round daily driver & at a fraction of the cost.High praise indeed!
Like i said, best viewed as a Junior RS6 & with a light tune would be as quick in most situations. Only thing that lets it down & that's of course due to its much lower cost are the interior materials, which are just your regular plastics, so certainly feels a lot less luxurious than the M5, but the Tech's up there & they really are a very quick & accomplished car.
I'm coming up to 3 years in my M5 and although it is a serious bit of kit I'm a bit bored with it and fancy something thats a bit more fun at 9 tenths. I'm also thinking of getting a manual, I've been driving different pool cars in work and had forgotten how much a manual adds to the experience.
Joscal said:
I'm coming up to 3 years in my M5 and although it is a serious bit of kit I'm a bit bored with it and fancy something thats a bit more fun at 9 tenths. I'm also thinking of getting a manual, I've been driving different pool cars in work and had forgotten how much a manual adds to the experience.
It's most definitely more fun.A good watch if you've not seen this already. Bear in mind this head to head is the 7 & not the current 7.5, so has more power & a host of other advantages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3jWVTKYcP0
bigvanfan said:
I’ll be seriously looking at the Civic next time , as the golf has been a huge letdown for me , really boring car unless your on it , mega capable but dull
Really? That surprises me. Saying that, i'm very new to the R so of the mindset it is over delivering in every dept.I really couldn't live with the styling of the Civic. Am at least 30yrs too old to be seen driving one of those.
w8pmc said:
bigvanfan said:
I’ll be seriously looking at the Civic next time , as the golf has been a huge letdown for me , really boring car unless your on it , mega capable but dull
Really? That surprises me. Saying that, i'm very new to the R so of the mindset it is over delivering in every dept.I really couldn't live with the styling of the Civic. Am at least 30yrs too old to be seen driving one of those.
andrewparker said:
I find that soft of criticism really strange for a car that is supposed to be the consummate all rounder. Part of it's appeal for me is that I can blast down a road and have a bit of fun, or I can whisk my kids back from Manchester airport in the middle of the night in comfort whilst having three suitcases in the boot. It's about minimal compromises, and the Golf it great at that. Depends what you want from a car I guess.
I just find that to get any buzz from it I have to be doing silly speeds, at 70 mph it could be any golf 7 .but yes agree it depends on what you want from it just wish it had a little of the mk5 gti magic, maybe a clubsport was a better optionbigvanfan said:
andrewparker said:
I find that soft of criticism really strange for a car that is supposed to be the consummate all rounder. Part of it's appeal for me is that I can blast down a road and have a bit of fun, or I can whisk my kids back from Manchester airport in the middle of the night in comfort whilst having three suitcases in the boot. It's about minimal compromises, and the Golf it great at that. Depends what you want from a car I guess.
I just find that to get any buzz from it I have to be doing silly speeds, at 70 mph it could be any golf 7 .but yes agree it depends on what you want from it just wish it had a little of the mk5 gti magic, maybe a clubsport was a better optionbigvanfan said:
I just find that to get any buzz from it I have to be doing silly speeds, at 70 mph it could be any golf 7 .but yes agree it depends on what you want from it just wish it had a little of the mk5 gti magic, maybe a clubsport was a better option
It's a good point & totally valid as in some way every car is a compromise somehow.As examples, i had a Stage 2 tuned F10 M5 up until March this year & that was a close to perfect all-rounder, looked good (some may now agree), fairly discreet which i like, went like a rocket ship, was dynamic, luxurious for the longer journeys & had bang up to date tech, however it wasn't the best (better than you might expect though) at being chucked around more exciting roads & although i purely modulated my progress when conditions for RWD were not as you'd like, you were always aware that all the power/torque was going to the rear wheels only, so had to quite often make allowances.
Its nemesis is of course the C7 RS6 & most of what i liked about the F10 M5 apply also to the RS6, with the exception of dynamic which i found the RS6 to seriously lack, however it was better when the conditions were not perfect & i'd be taking more care in the M5.
Now the new Golf R is much like the RS6 as in it does everything well, however being 1/2 ton lighter due to it's reduced size, it does feel dynamic & alive when you want to go nuts on the back roads, with traction & chassis composure not appearing as issues. Also it's very discreet in Estate form & assuming i avoid Birmingham it will blend in with the millions of other Golfs on the road, which for me isn't a bad thing.
OK, it isn't as luxurious as either the M5 or RS6, but it is less than half the cost & i've so far completed a couple of 500 mile round trips, so believe me it's a very capable place to spend 3-4 hours of a drive. I've also got the new A8 for when i just must have 90% luxury & 10% excitement, but again being honest, the Golf R so far has made sure the A8 has stayed in the garage since its arrival.
andrewparker said:
Yeah, I loved my MK5 GTI, still the longest I’ve owned any car, 7 years in all. I think part of the problem (if it can be called that) is that cars are so competent these days, and often things need a character trait or two to remain endearing.
I agree totally, the r Is 10 times better than the mk5 but I won’t be asking for first refusal on it when it goes like I did with the 5bigvanfan said:
I just find that to get any buzz from it I have to be doing silly speeds, at 70 mph it could be any golf 7 .but yes agree it depends on what you want from it just wish it had a little of the mk5 gti magic, maybe a clubsport was a better option
It's not all about outright speed though.The acceleration is dramatic (on the DSG, that does depend on a degree of planning and, it seems, luck!) at moderate speeds and the ability to turn understeer into neutrality with a stomp on the accelerator is something that's not to be underestimated, imo.
I do agree, though, to a degree - There's definitely a feeling about the R that, for thrills, it's just a bit too quick for UK roads!
M
Golf R HB 3 door in manual flavour, because DSG lag in auto mode is utterly diabolical.....almost dangerous in certain over-taking scenarios.
I'd prefer the dynamics of the Type R, but as Honda appear to have gone out of their way to deliberately make it look as ugly, cheap and tacky as possible, I'm not even going there.
I'd prefer the dynamics of the Type R, but as Honda appear to have gone out of their way to deliberately make it look as ugly, cheap and tacky as possible, I'm not even going there.
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