New Golf R - 18,000 miles - What It's Really Like
Discussion
Long timer reader of PistonHeads - first time poster (waited till I had something
interesting to say before posting).
Just sold my Golf R.
Thought you might like to hear what it was like to live with.
Bought it in June 2014.
White, 19" Pretoria Wheels, 5 door, Manual, Adaptive Chassis and the 8" Nav
Although it's entirely subjective I have to say I think the Golf R was a great
looking car.
Understated?
Yeah.
But at least it wasn't UGLY. Sadly (to my eyes anyway) - the same cannot be said
of MOST of the other hot hatches on the market.
And I'll take understated over UGLY anyday.
Interior was a pleasure to drive around in. Great quality and A LOT of usable
space. The door bins were 4X the size of the Volvo V40 I'm renting before the
new 335d arrives in Sept (lease deal was too good to ignore on the Beemer, hence
the departure of the Golf)
Anyhow, what was the Golf like to drive?
Well, lets begin with the good...
The 4 wheel drive system was anything but boring.
Driven at 6 tenths you'd just think it was an under-steering joyless steer.
However, push past the under-steer and you'd very clearly feel the system send
the power to the rear and you'd also realize just how fast the Golf was in
the bends. It had incredible grip. In the wet it was awesome.
So as far as the handling went - I couldn't fault it.
It was fun.
Brakes were solid too.
Steering?
Well, electric so not terribly feel-some - but I never had an issue placing the
car where I wanted it. So can't complain.
Engine?
Very effective, throttle response was good - but there was little to be gained from ringing it
out to the redline.
The road test editors who say the rush doesn't drop off as you get into the final
1,000 rpm are talking rubbish.
It noticeably drops off.
For that reason I usually found myself keeping it between 3,000-5,000rpm when I
was really driving it.
It was pretty damn quick in that range though.
As for the noise...
I didn't hate it - but it was definitely not genuine. That said - there are worse
fake noises out there.
Now for the real let-down...
The GEARCHANGE.
For me this was actually a deal breaker.
My previous 2 cars...
A 2010 Boxster S and a 2010 Renaultsport Clio 200 Cup had INCREDIBLE gearchanges.
You could change gear as quick as you like in those cars and never fluff one. Heel-and-
toeing was also EASY and very satisfying.
In the Boxster the gear shift had a really nice mechanical feel and you'd change gear
for no reason other than to feel it.
But the Golf had this slightly vague, notchy gear change and it was easy to fluff a shift
when you were 'on it.'
I drove all 3 cars (Clio, Boxster and Golf) on the shores of Loch Lomond (A82) and had
awesome drives in all 3.
But the standout thing that really sucked was the gearchange on the Golf.
For that reason - to me it's not a 5/5 car.
I give it 4.5.
Probably most telling is the fact that when I sold it - I didn't feel bad walking away
from it. The same cannot be said when I sold the Clio or Boxster.
I don't know why - but the Golf never made me laugh out loud. Instead, it made my
palms and forehead very sweaty (probably because you had to be absolutely 'on it' to
get that power going rearwards and really enjoy it)
Hope the helps anyone thinking of buying one!
Ultimately - I would recommend it. Just don't expect the best gearchange in the world if
you go for the manual
interesting to say before posting).
Just sold my Golf R.
Thought you might like to hear what it was like to live with.
Bought it in June 2014.
White, 19" Pretoria Wheels, 5 door, Manual, Adaptive Chassis and the 8" Nav
Although it's entirely subjective I have to say I think the Golf R was a great
looking car.
Understated?
Yeah.
But at least it wasn't UGLY. Sadly (to my eyes anyway) - the same cannot be said
of MOST of the other hot hatches on the market.
And I'll take understated over UGLY anyday.
Interior was a pleasure to drive around in. Great quality and A LOT of usable
space. The door bins were 4X the size of the Volvo V40 I'm renting before the
new 335d arrives in Sept (lease deal was too good to ignore on the Beemer, hence
the departure of the Golf)
Anyhow, what was the Golf like to drive?
Well, lets begin with the good...
The 4 wheel drive system was anything but boring.
Driven at 6 tenths you'd just think it was an under-steering joyless steer.
However, push past the under-steer and you'd very clearly feel the system send
the power to the rear and you'd also realize just how fast the Golf was in
the bends. It had incredible grip. In the wet it was awesome.
So as far as the handling went - I couldn't fault it.
It was fun.
Brakes were solid too.
Steering?
Well, electric so not terribly feel-some - but I never had an issue placing the
car where I wanted it. So can't complain.
Engine?
Very effective, throttle response was good - but there was little to be gained from ringing it
out to the redline.
The road test editors who say the rush doesn't drop off as you get into the final
1,000 rpm are talking rubbish.
It noticeably drops off.
For that reason I usually found myself keeping it between 3,000-5,000rpm when I
was really driving it.
It was pretty damn quick in that range though.
As for the noise...
I didn't hate it - but it was definitely not genuine. That said - there are worse
fake noises out there.
Now for the real let-down...
The GEARCHANGE.
For me this was actually a deal breaker.
My previous 2 cars...
A 2010 Boxster S and a 2010 Renaultsport Clio 200 Cup had INCREDIBLE gearchanges.
You could change gear as quick as you like in those cars and never fluff one. Heel-and-
toeing was also EASY and very satisfying.
In the Boxster the gear shift had a really nice mechanical feel and you'd change gear
for no reason other than to feel it.
But the Golf had this slightly vague, notchy gear change and it was easy to fluff a shift
when you were 'on it.'
I drove all 3 cars (Clio, Boxster and Golf) on the shores of Loch Lomond (A82) and had
awesome drives in all 3.
But the standout thing that really sucked was the gearchange on the Golf.
For that reason - to me it's not a 5/5 car.
I give it 4.5.
Probably most telling is the fact that when I sold it - I didn't feel bad walking away
from it. The same cannot be said when I sold the Clio or Boxster.
I don't know why - but the Golf never made me laugh out loud. Instead, it made my
palms and forehead very sweaty (probably because you had to be absolutely 'on it' to
get that power going rearwards and really enjoy it)
Hope the helps anyone thinking of buying one!
Ultimately - I would recommend it. Just don't expect the best gearchange in the world if
you go for the manual
Hoddo said:
Good write up.
Did you test the DSG?
Thanks.Did you test the DSG?
I drove a Mark 6 Golf R with DSG.
Impression - very effective but soul less.
When I had the Boxster it went it to Porsche twice. They lent me
a 981 Cayman both times.
First one had pdk and I HATED it. Thought it ruined the car. Didn't
drive the car anywhere other than where was necessary.
Second time I got a manual Cayman and couldn't stop driving it! Think
I drove it (necessarily) for 3 hours the night before I had to give
it back.
So that probably tells you a lot about my view on DSG, PDF, auto etc
That said - my new 335 is auto.
Because I've come to the conclusion that it's better 95% of the time (for
every day driving).
And I'm gonna get a 'Sunday Car' next year that will definitely be
manual.
Just proves there's no such thing as 1 car that does it all. There will
always be a compromise.
But I do think a GOOD manual is one of the most important parts of a true
drivers car. Few people have the skill to drive sideways on public roads, but
with a little thought and practice - most people could learn to heel-and-toe
and it's a very satisfying thing
Good write up, only one bit i'm confused about when you say you kept the revs between 3-5k as it's not worth going above that? First and second gear yeah sure but In mine I find in 3rd gear and above you only make decent progress when your above 5k! Peak power in them is 5,5-6,2 so perhaps you missed a trick not ringing it out to the redline or approaching it anyway?
GTID said:
Good write up, only one bit i'm confused about when you say you kept the revs between 3-5k as it's not worth going above that? First and second gear yeah sure but In mine I find in 3rd gear and above you only make decent progress when your above 5k! Peak power in them is 5,5-6,2 so perhaps you missed a trick not ringing it out to the redline or approaching it anyway?
Using different fuel maybe?GTID said:
Good write up, only one bit i'm confused about when you say you kept the revs between 3-5k as it's not worth going above that? First and second gear yeah sure but In mine I find in 3rd gear and above you only make decent progress when your above 5k! Peak power in them is 5,5-6,2 so perhaps you missed a trick not ringing it out to the redline or approaching it anyway?
I see what you're saying. I just found that onceI got into that area of the Rev counter where
it was weirdly half red/half White - the surge
forwards didn't feel anything like what it was
a little lower down the Rev range
That said - I didn't mind working the engine thru
what I felt was the sweet spot at 3-5,000 (or
perhaps 3-5,500)
As I said before - it was the gear change that I
felt was the one real weak point. But it's all
relative - I think my previous 2 steers (Boxster and
Clio 200 spoiled me in terms of sweet gear changes)
DUMBO100 said:
I've got a DSG and am struggling to find anything bad about the car. The pace is dramatic, the gear change and downshift blips are addictive, the brakes are damn effective. I took mine a proper hoon yesterday and it is incredible. I love it
With DSG I imagine there's little that couldlive with it on a WET, UK B-road
ell1985 said:
I see what you're saying. I just found that once
I got into that area of the Rev counter where
it was weirdly half red/half White - the surge
forwards didn't feel anything like what it was
a little lower down the Rev range
That said - I didn't mind working the engine thru
what I felt was the sweet spot at 3-5,000 (or
perhaps 3-5,500)
As I said before - it was the gear change that I
felt was the one real weak point. But it's all
relative - I think my previous 2 steers (Boxster and
Clio 200 spoiled me in terms of sweet gear changes)
You can definitely feel the power drop off quite dramatically just before the limiter which is 6,800 I think. The acceleration or surge as you say is pretty brutal in first and second but I find the mid range, say 3,500-5,500, when your into 3rd gear is lacking a bit. It's by no means slow but think an extra 30lb/ft of torque would of helped.I got into that area of the Rev counter where
it was weirdly half red/half White - the surge
forwards didn't feel anything like what it was
a little lower down the Rev range
That said - I didn't mind working the engine thru
what I felt was the sweet spot at 3-5,000 (or
perhaps 3-5,500)
As I said before - it was the gear change that I
felt was the one real weak point. But it's all
relative - I think my previous 2 steers (Boxster and
Clio 200 spoiled me in terms of sweet gear changes)
Yeah I know what you mean about the gearchange, its not brilliant quite notchy especially first into second. I've looked a right lemon changing up to second but that could be my driving or the fact the gearbox only has 4k miles on it.
I had the clio 200 for a few months before the R and it was a much sweeter box. But, again, I don't think the R's is that bad just not quite as good!
Oh and fuel, I've tried BP ultimate, Esso Supreme and V-Power.. V-Power I see an improvement of 1-2 mpg but I can't feel any difference in power delivery between any of them.
Edited by GTID on Sunday 19th July 18:23
GTID said:
You can definitely feel the power drop off quite dramatically just before the limiter which is 6,800 I think. The acceleration or surge as you say is pretty brutal in first and second but I find the mid range, say 3,500-5,500, when your into 3rd gear is lacking a bit. It's by no means slow but think an extra 30lb/ft of torque would of helped.
Yeah I know what you mean about the gearchange, its not brilliant quite notchy especially first into second. I've looked a right lemon changing up to second but that could be my driving or the fact the gearbox only has 4k miles on it.
I had the clio 200 for a few months before the R and it was a much sweeter box. But, again, I don't think the R's is that bad just not quite as good!
Oh and fuel, I've tried BP ultimate, Esso Supreme and V-Power.. V-Power I see an improvement of 1-2 mpg but I can't feel any difference in power delivery between any of them.
Agreed on the Clio gearchange. Was one of those you could changeYeah I know what you mean about the gearchange, its not brilliant quite notchy especially first into second. I've looked a right lemon changing up to second but that could be my driving or the fact the gearbox only has 4k miles on it.
I had the clio 200 for a few months before the R and it was a much sweeter box. But, again, I don't think the R's is that bad just not quite as good!
Oh and fuel, I've tried BP ultimate, Esso Supreme and V-Power.. V-Power I see an improvement of 1-2 mpg but I can't feel any difference in power delivery between any of them.
Edited by GTID on Sunday 19th July 18:23
as fast as you like and never seem to miss gear.
As for the drop off near the limiter...
I guess with these turbo engines it's the future of cars. I'm not so keen
on it though
ell1985 said:
With DSG I imagine there's little that could
live with it on a WET, UK B-road
Apart from a WRX STi (according to Fifth Gear a couple of weeks ago), when the Subaru lapped Anglessey just over a second quicker in wet conditions.live with it on a WET, UK B-road
They attributed it to the better (permanent) all wheel drive.
I've not posted that to be controversial, in fact i owned an S3 DSG for a year and found it to be an incredible drive, it's just that when i was watching fifth gear, it just surprised me how good the STi seemed to behave/inspire confidence.
MattS3 said:
Apart from a WRX STi (according to Fifth Gear a couple of weeks ago), when the Subaru lapped Anglessey just over a second quicker in wet conditions.
They attributed it to the better (permanent) all wheel drive.
I've not posted that to be controversial, in fact i owned an S3 DSG for a year and found it to be an incredible drive, it's just that when i was watching fifth gear, it just surprised me how good the STi seemed to behave/inspire confidence.
Hey man, it's a very fair point.They attributed it to the better (permanent) all wheel drive.
I've not posted that to be controversial, in fact i owned an S3 DSG for a year and found it to be an incredible drive, it's just that when i was watching fifth gear, it just surprised me how good the STi seemed to behave/inspire confidence.
Thing is though...
The Golf does so many things the Subaru doesn't. As in - it's
a really nice place to spend time when you're not 'on it' (which
is probably 95% of the time (at least).
I drove an Evo 9 recently and it was incredible - but I think if
it was my daily driver I'd lose my license very quickly.
In the Golf I drove it in Eco mode - with steering and dampers in
COMFORT when I was pootling around.
Driving in a more spirited fashion I'd set everything to race (unless
the roads were really bumpy - in which case NORMAL was better than RACE)
For what it's worth - I think adaptive suspension is the only
new mod-con that's a great thing to have. Gives a car multiple
personalities, if it's done well.
Everything else - electric steering, turbo charging - it's all a bad
thing for most keen drivers
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