Re : PH Carbituary | Volkswagen Golf R (Mk7)

[Peely999]

rare6499 said:

So much better looking than the BMW. And I’m a BMW fan.

I would love an estate version but you don’t see many for sale.

Would have to disagree, get to a showroom and have a look at the latest M135i in the right colour, not the pics on the internet
or mags. You'll be surprised at how good it looks in the flesh, so much so that I drove one and ordered there and then!

[Jaypc18]

I could never get this new 2.0 litre 4 cylinder m135i when the previous was a 3.0 litre straight six. Shocked that people will, and while it does look a little better in the flesh than it does in pictures, it still looks pretty grim to me.

Also I’m pretty sure the MK 7.5 R will be about to lease from new for a good while yet, before the MK 8 R comes in a year or so. Yeah maybe not from factory as per se but buyers will still find what they want for a while yet from lease companies.

Edited by Jaypc18 on Monday 13th January 16:36

Edited by Jaypc18 on Monday 13th January 16:36

[Court_S]

Peely999 said:

Would have to disagree, get to a showroom and have a look at the latest M135i in the right colour, not the pics on the internet
or mags. You'll be surprised at how good it looks in the flesh, so much so that I drove one and ordered there and then!

It looks less bad, but to my eyes it still looks oddly proportioned and fussy. Some chaps have started adding black grilles etc which helps it a bit further. Seats are nice though.

[Court_S]

Jaypc18 said:

I could never get this new 2.0 litre 4 cylinder m135i when the previous was a 3.0 litre straight six. Shocked that people will, and while it does look a little better in the flesh than it does in pictures, it still looks pretty grim to me.

Also I’m pretty sure the MK 7.5 R will be about to lease from new for a good while yet, before the MK 8 R comes in a year or so. Yeah maybe not from factory as per se but buyers will still find what they want for a while yet from lease companies.

Edited by Jaypc18 on Monday 13th January 16:36

Edited by Jaypc18 on Monday 13th January 16:36

I think the order book for the R last closed in the last week or so, so it'll be dealer stock or used if people don't want to wait for the new one.

[ManiacGT]

I’d love one. But I’ll never get one as i don’t want my house broken into or my family threatened. Too many of these stolen.

[Dale487]

andrewparker said:

Dale487 said:

Gad-Westy said:

900T-R said:

Never really saw the point in cars like this. Appreciate what it does (make vast cross country pace painless to live on a daily basis) - thing is, that pace can seldom if ever be reasonably exploited on the road and the 99% of the time you're left with... well, a Golf; and the times you can go this fast without risking life, license and respectability, surely you would want something that makes doing so rather more of an event?

As for it being so good at the day-to-day stuff, well any modern hatchback is pretty painless to own and drive (and easy to go much faster in than you really should) these days...

Give me slower (in relative terms) and more exciting any day of the week

I agree with you to a large extent and it's one of the reasons I never really gelled with my Cupra 300 but what are the credible modern alternatives that offer day to day comfort and practicality but genuine excitement at sensible speeds? I genuinely can't think of any which is indeed a shame but a sign of the times.

Thanks you two for convincing me that stretching to either a Golf R or Leon Cupra estate wouldn't have been worth the additional out lay over my Leon FR.

Er, I hate to break this to you...

It was meant little tongue in cheek, as the whole article and thread is supposed to be about how great the Golf R is.

[Limpet]

Peely999 said:

Would have to disagree, get to a showroom and have a look at the latest M135i in the right colour, not the pics on the internet
or mags. You'll be surprised at how good it looks in the flesh, so much so that I drove one and ordered there and then!

Our local dealer has one in the showroom in Melbourne Red. Really suits it, IMO.

I recently sold my M140i after just shy of 3 years, and a very enjoyable 40,000 miles. I am currently sitting on my hands and as I don't need another car for 6 months or so. I will be interested to know what you think of the M135i. Although the M140i's best bit (the engine) is now defunct, it had quite obvious limitations in the chassis department, so it's not hard to imagine the replacement being more capable. But that engine was something else....

[John-skoe0]

I'd just like to offer a small mention to the Mk6 R - I had mine until a few months ago. It faultless and better looking than the lower-keyed appearance of the mk7

[hothatchery7]

One of the best cars for talentless point and squirt drivers

[Jim on the hill]

hothatchery7 said:

One of the best cars for talentless point and squirt drivers

Do you not like 4WD Hatchbacks?

[hothatchery7]

hothatchery7 said:

Do you not like 4WD Hatchbacks?

If I’m honest I’m abit bored sitting through the storms up here so was fishing abit.

I have driven a dsg r and it is a brilliant all round car with very accessible performance. Just feels abit boring in a way unless you are taking serious risks on back roads. And by risks I don’t mean the car turning into a widow maker, more the fact of the unknown. Barrelling around tight blind corners etc is running the gauntlet

[Gweeds]

I’ve just changed my M140i for a new M135i.

Yes it doesn’t have RWD or that engine, but the new car is so far ahead dynamically it’s not even funny. On an even remotely damp road my old car wouldn’t see which way the new one went.

Factor in more space, hilariously better interior build quality and materials and some really impressive tech and it’s a far easier decision than many who’ve never set foot in the new model would think.

It’s a better car and massively capable. I had a 200 mile cross-country trip in a variety of weathers yesterday and it’s a total cross-country weapon. For all the same reasons the Golf R is.

I’m 50. I want a car that does everything. I’m a self-employed photographer so it gets me to shoots with no fuss and like any regular hatch. The drives home on quieter roads are where it can switch character. The old one did it. This one also does it, and it’ll be quicker and more composed getting there. Let’s not pretend the old 140i handled that well. It was all about the engine and drive. This new car is far more rounded. I suspect it’ll also reveal its real strengths more over time.

[Court_S]

Gweeds said:

I’ve just changed my M140i for a new M135i.

Yes it doesn’t have RWD or that engine, but the new car is so far ahead dynamically it’s not even funny. On an even remotely damp road my old car wouldn’t see which way the new one went.

Factor in more space, hilariously better interior build quality and materials and some really impressive tech and it’s a far easier decision than many who’ve never set foot in the new model would think.

It’s a better car and massively capable. I had a 200 mile cross-country trip in a variety of weathers yesterday and it’s a total cross-country weapon. For all the same reasons the Golf R is.

I’m 50. I want a car that does everything. I’m a self-employed photographer so it gets me to shoots with no fuss and like any regular hatch. The drives home on quieter roads are where it can switch character. The old one did it. This one also does it, and it’ll be quicker and more composed getting there. Let’s not pretend the old 140i handled that well. It was all about the engine and drive. This new car is far more rounded. I suspect it’ll also reveal its real strengths more over time.

Funny how perceptions differ...

I liked the digital dash of the R but the rest of the interior did sweet FA for me. Maybe some of it was too familiar after four years in a vRS but I genuinely thought the F20 1 series has a nicer interior. The idrive is better than the VAG alternative, I prefer the seats and the driving position and like the ZF8 more than the DSG.

The M140i isn’t the last word in dynamics but I don’t find / or think it’s quite as bad as the internet would have you believe, well it’s certainly not in my experience to date.

The Golf is a better packaged car though. We’re just lucky that there are so many options.

[cerb4.5lee]

Court_S said:

The idrive is better than the VAG alternative, I prefer the seats and the driving position and like the ZF8 more than the DSG.

I echo this too. idrive is the best on the market for me and I also much prefer the ZF8 to the DSG.

[nickh2007]

Had mine for 2 & half years, manual gbx and 19" Pretoria wheels. Absolutely loved it, did a 1500 mile trip to Scotland and back, could have done more if had the time. Went on track, used it for family, in the wet and damp was just solid. Curious thing though a lot of people saying it's boring, I would disagree, i liked the engine noise, the handlind feedback etc, coming from a gti, the thing that got me was 300hp and normal roads meant that you'd be going more than the speed limit way to easily. Okay yes I stage 1 mapped it but still it will be sorely missed. Let's see what the new one is like...the world's gone power mad. Seriously my mk2 gti years back was fast enough for the road. Byebye 7R ,happy days...

[Court_S]

cerb4.5lee said:

I echo this too. idrive is the best on the market for me and I also much prefer the ZF8 to the DSG.

The VW system is very good, but I just think the idrive does it a bit better. It’s come along way from the early iterations that were hopelessly slow and complicated.

[Carl_Manchester]

John-skoe0 said:

I'd just like to offer a small mention to the Mk6 R - I had mine until a few months ago. It faultless and better looking than the lower-keyed appearance of the mk7

the 6 is certainly the prettier car, hopefully VW will return the exhausts and blue colour back into the mix for the new one.

A blue mark 6 with full APR conversion is a really useful looking piece of kit.

[Jon_S_Rally]

Jaypc18 said:

I could never get this new 2.0 litre 4 cylinder m135i when the previous was a 3.0 litre straight six. Shocked that people will, and while it does look a little better in the flesh than it does in pictures, it still looks pretty grim to me.

Also I’m pretty sure the MK 7.5 R will be about to lease from new for a good while yet, before the MK 8 R comes in a year or so. Yeah maybe not from factory as per se but buyers will still find what they want for a while yet from lease companies.

I'm not sure it's that difficult to understand is it? The transverse 4 means more interior space, more efficiency, while the 4WD means more of the performance can be used more of the time. Outside the perverse world of PH, most people don't care what configuration the engine is, they just want a car that meets their needs. The new car will meet more people's needs more of the time. It's that simple.

ManiacGT said:

I’d love one. But I’ll never get one as i don’t want my house broken into or my family threatened. Too many of these stolen.

Depends where you live. I could have left mine on the drive with the engine running and no one would have touched it. I'd love to know what percentage of them have actually been stolen. If you believe the hysteria on the internet about this sort of thing, it must be at least 80%.

[Debaser]

I've got one, and it's a fantastic all rounder. For me it's a great combination of good economy, low running costs, practicality, performance, handling.

It's good fun to chuck about, it doesn't feel boring at the limit.

[benjidog]

I've got a Golf R DSG and a Civic EP3 Type R.

They're both great cars.

Digital v Analogue.

Long live hot hatches!