VW Golf R - Owners views

[T1berious]

Good Morning,

I'm looking at getting a Golf R and was hoping to get a few views on the "Gotchas!" of ownership. I'll be using it as a daily \ practical car.

I'm looking at getting a 2015 / 2016 one as those are nicely falling into budget.

Cheers in advance for any info!

T1b

[Timbo_S2]

I'll get in early...

Had mine for 6 months now, last of the pre-facelifts. Had no problems, averaged about 31mpg, mixed driving, about 6000miles.

Its certainly quick enough, can just about squeeze 3 boys in the back. Boot is a little small due to the 4wd. Missus loves driving it too. Looks good, fits in everywhere (I wanted something fast-ish, that wouldn't stand out in the company car park).

Definitely go for the Dynaudio if you can. I also have the DSG and Dynamic Dampers, both of which are great. I've pro nav, which I'm not too fussed about (particularly if you have phone mirroring), keyless (its ok) and pano roof (nice, but not essential).

[T1berious]

Cheers for the info,

I think Dynaudio is a good shout, I wouldn't say no to heated seats but am seeing it as a pretty rare option

DSG is probably a must but I'm not sure what the chances of dynamic dampers are in a car at my budget, probably looking at getting one later in the year.

Edited by T1berious on Thursday 5th April 10:07

[yellowstreak]

I am in the same boat and looking at one of these as a daily too, ideally manual with adaptive dampers. Its surprising how few listed seem to have the DCC option.

[Steve996]

I’ve just sold my 2015 one after doing 44K miles in it mostly daily commuting. I probably saw about 30 mpg on average, if babied it would do 35 on the commute if pressing on, more like 25.

My one had some odd options as I bought a pre specified one that was in stock from the dealer, it had DSG, pano roof, pretoria wheels and the discover pro sat-nav. I would have had the upgraded Audio given a choice and would have probably spec’d Heated leather too, I wouldn’t have bothered about the upgraded sat-nav with the bigger screen tbh. The standard suspension is very good, I have had DCC before in VW/Porsche’s and rarely found myself feeling the need to move it from standard setting - I wouldn’t make it a deal breaker, there’s nothing wrong with the default set-up.

I loved mine, thought it was a great car. As quick as you would need and for me it was very reliable. In 44K I did the following;

- Routine servicing as per service plan
- Probably onto its 4th set of tyres a few months before selling
- Needed a set of rear pads and discs at last service
- Refurbed the wheels once

Literally nothing went wrong with it during my ownership!

We did also have a Mk7 GTI PP at the same time albeit for less than a year though and it lunched a turbo and a DSG box, both done without question under warranty

[T1berious]

Cheers Steve996,

I've been doing some research on other forums and the only thing that seems to be an issue (?) is the diif oil filter?
The more worrying thing is the targeting they are getting from low lifes (not sure how much of this is alarmist or it's really a high percentage of them are pinched off drives \ people breaking in to get keys etc).

Cheers for the info on your experience, good to hear the standard suspension setup is fine.

Think my ideal spec would be <15K miles (Around the 23k mark) and the following.

5 Doors
DSG
Dynaudio
Heated Seats

Nice to have:

Leather (Heated)
Pro Nav

And that's it

[Jonno02]

yellowstreak said:

I am in the same boat and looking at one of these as a daily too, ideally manual with adaptive dampers. Its surprising how few listed seem to have the DCC option.

Have this, but on a Cupra. The difference in feel is nowhere near justifiable with what the option costs. I wouldn't prioritise it as a must have option.

[eybic]

T1berious said:

The more worrying thing is the targeting they are getting from low lifes (not sure how much of this is alarmist or it's really a high percentage of them are pinched off drives \ people breaking in to get keys etc).

They do seem to be one of the cars of choice to nick now, plenty of thread on here saying the same thing.

[Jdjd1]

1st question I ask is where do you live?

West Midlands
West Yorkshire
Manchester or surrounding area

Any of those do yourself a favour and pick another car

[Steve996]

T1berious said:

Cheers Steve996,

I've been doing some research on other forums and the only thing that seems to be an issue (?) is the diif oil filter?
The more worrying thing is the targeting they are getting from low lifes (not sure how much of this is alarmist or it's really a high percentage of them are pinched off drives \ people breaking in to get keys etc).

Cheers for the info on your experience, good to hear the standard suspension setup is fine.

Think my ideal spec would be <15K miles (Around the 23k mark) and the following.

5 Doors
DSG
Dynaudio
Heated Seats

Nice to have:

Leather (Heated)
Pro Nav

And that's it

Sounds like you’re narrowing down well on a good spec there. My one had its diff oil service at about 40K if I remember right, at the same time my discs and pads were done, I think I had about an £800 bill for that one.

I sold my one back to the supplying dealer for 17250, they advertised it a few days later for 19950 and it went in under 24hrs!

Like I said - great cars, you will not regret buying one, I loved mine.

[BrittasBay]

They are amazing cars, the only thing p!ssing me off!! is how VW managed to get such rapid performance from a 2.0 litre engine!!
I'm shopping round for a 2006 2.0 TFSi Audi A4 - and even the 220bhp engine will only get the sprint done in around 7sec compared to the current R's mind blowing 5sec!! Insane!

[Adrian E]

If you've got kids then they'll thank you for the adaptive damping, if a jiggly ride sets them off (mine isn't terribly keen on the ride in our S5 on 20s and complains a lot less in the GTI PP with DCC)

If you want specific options then be prepared to be patient - we got lucky with ours when a privately owned one turned up within 20 miles with more spec than we wanted.

Worth noting that dynaudio and pro nav were available together as a 'tech pack' which made them cheaper, so you might find one of those, like ours has. I find the pro nav fine for the times I need it - I connect my phone for data and it then uses live traffic info to plot the route.

[va1o]

Steve996 said:

I’ve just sold my 2015 one after doing 44K miles in it mostly daily commuting

What money did you get for it out of interest, if you don't mind me asking?

[Jdjd1]

I sold my 2015 23k miles, 3dr lapis,DSG,prets,leather

£20,000 last September

[neil-1323bolts]

I've had mine 7 months now I got a bit fed up with it last month and fancied a return to a Renaultsport product , so I put it up for sale , I could not sell it for anything like a decent price , (it is a manual transmission pretty base spec car ) I then read that changing the tyres can make the R a much better drive so I decided to keep it and stuck on some michelins PS4 and sure enough it's so much better to drive now than when it was on the crappy bridgestones , they've made a real difference , the radio in my car is rubbish and I'm not a fan of the electric handbrake , adaptive cruise is good , it does feel a quality product if a little vague at times , it's quick though so silly speeds can be done without realising , it's a good car , trouble is everyone else has one also , which bugs me a little bit , a bit 2 a penny , VW must have sold loads , I guess when the new Renaultsport Megane is available I may well be tempted then , it will have to stay for now !

[randomeddy]

BrittasBay said:

They are amazing cars, the only thing p!ssing me off!! is how VW managed to get such rapid performance from a 2.0 litre engine!!
I'm shopping round for a 2006 2.0 TFSi Audi A4 - and even the 220bhp engine will only get the sprint done in around 7sec compared to the current R's mind blowing 5sec!! Insane!

All down to speed of gear changes.

[Steve996]

va1o said:

What money did you get for it out of interest, if you don't mind me asking?

I sold my one back to the supplying dealer for 17250, they advertised it a few days later for 19950 and it went in under 24hrs!

[Super Slo Mo]

randomeddy said:

BrittasBay said:

They are amazing cars, the only thing p!ssing me off!! is how VW managed to get such rapid performance from a 2.0 litre engine!!
I'm shopping round for a 2006 2.0 TFSi Audi A4 - and even the 220bhp engine will only get the sprint done in around 7sec compared to the current R's mind blowing 5sec!! Insane!

All down to speed of gear changes.

Or not. It’s mostly due to the extra 80 or so horsepower the Golf R has.

[anonymous-user]

Jdjd1 said:

1st question I ask is where do you live?

West Midlands
West Yorkshire
Manchester or surrounding area

Any of those do yourself a favour and pick another car

Oh behave. I’ve owned performance Golfs (currently both a 65-plate manual R hatch and a 67-plate R estate) for 15 years, live in West Yorkshire, and have never had any trouble with them, nor have any of my friends who also have Golf Rs and GTIs. They get stolen just as much as any other desirable car.