Wagon R 310bhp
Discussion
So it’s time for another Readers Cars, the last one of these I did documented my bravery by buying a 997.1 Carrera cab through BCA last year.
That thread prompted a lot of discussion around whether I was brave, stupid or both! The 911 was bought to see in my 40th birthday earlier this year and accompany me and 7 others on a trip down to Le Mans to watch the 24h race and what a trip that was!
Having safely returned it was sadly time to wave the Porsche on its way, post purchase the peticoat government had unanimously voted that on my return it should be replaced with something equally as practical and horse able as the L200 Warrior that proceeded it.
I loved the Warrior and in my recent history of cars it’s my longest serving at just over a year! Anyway the Porsche was advertised and sold to a cracking chap from up north who travelled down as promised, fell in love with the car, didn’t haggle and drove it back home.
Money in the bank I started to consider my options, needed the ability to tow the horse box (or so I thought!) space for all of us, comfort and a bit of tech. Having previously owned a 2010 RRS TDV6 Lux I started to browse RRS again figuring they were now good value and I could probably get into a nice SDV6 example, which aside from the horror stories about crank failure, seemed a nice all round proposition. I found one, a 2012 HSE from a driveway dealer who was, let’s say, a shady character had I been clever enough to search for him PRIOR to purchase. Anyway issues arose he was moderately good at sorting them however his after sales left a lot to be desired, this coupled with some bad legs meant Ned could no longer ride shotgun in the trailer.
The RRS was promptly sorted by me with my own money and moved on. Figuring the answer to all my problems most probably laid in another double cab pick up, I got trawling and found myself a 2015 VW Amarok BiTDi with only 1 owner and loads of spec. The deal was hastily done and home it came.
The Amarok was a beast, did a few bits to personalise it (but premature really!) and initially enjoyed it. Then whilst led on a sun lounger on holiday on Oct decided I wasn’t actually getting any ‘enjoyment’ from the big VW. We no longer had a horse box to tow, we weren’t venturing off road, it didn’t have a boot and was useless on a Sun morning blast across the Mendips with the lads.
Time to move it on, advertised and sold in quick succession although the buyer was a bit dubious….he was working in Scotland but living in Leeds. He offered the asking price (alarm no 1!) drove from Scotland to Leeds to pick his mate up and then down to Somerset (alarm no 2!). He didn’t believe in banks so appeared with £15k in a black bin bag (alarm no 2!). I ushered him to my local Post Office who kindly ran the notes through their machine - in it all went. He left happy with his new Tonka Toy…….only to readvertise it the following morning using my pics, advert and the same price he bought it for!!!!!! Who knows!
So I was kindly leant a Chevrolet Avyeo to keep me mobile! Feisty little thing which tried to kill me on more than one occasion, but warm and reliable all the same. Back to the drawing board, criteria hammered out, horseability struck off the list and we go shopping. I looked all sorts from a s*it kicker worth a couple of grand, to a PCP and everything in between.
The car that stood out head and shoulders above the rest was the Golf R Wagon, more precisely the 7.5 R. These seemed to attract praise from everyone that drove or owned one, people that did own them couldn’t find a suitable replacement whilst others had them on a 3yr lease and then bought them from the leasing company as they loved them so much.
Practicality of a Golf estate
Porsche bothering performance when required
Running costs of a Golf estate
Jekyl and Hyde personality
Reliability of a Golf estate
Tuneable (if needed!)
So with little time available to take off work and heading inbound to Xmas at an alarming rate I decided to have a go with Cazoo! The idea seemed a good one and with Auto Trader allow me to price check across the whole country I could see they were priced fairly.
Logged on, instantly found my car (Tornado Red) 2017 estate, poverty spec (in relative terms) 3 owners, 2 keys, 44k miles, FSH, new MOT, new service, two premium brand new front tyres, discs and pads all round and delivered to my door - perfect!
So here it is - they are all over PH and old news now but I love it! Why anyone feels the need to tune these is beyond me, it’s a seriously quick bit of kit; although anything after the Avyeo would most likely feel quick lol!
It feels bang up to date on the inside with virtual dash, touchscreen Discovery media, the headlights are like driving around with the sun screwed into your front grill, audio is great (standard) and it does everything and more we need of it!
There are some updates to follow but the day after delivery it went into System Clenz in WsM to have a Winter Protection detail and they did a cracking job as usual.
I have already bought some NCZ 3D printed paddles, very OEM+ which is what I am about, not great big chunks of metal of plastic faux carbon fibre. These are peachy, illuminated replacements which if I didn’t tell you I had fitted they wouldn’t necessarily jump out. Half an eye on a Royal steering wheel but other than that I am just drinking in its talents in every situation we throw it into.
Cheers
Si
That thread prompted a lot of discussion around whether I was brave, stupid or both! The 911 was bought to see in my 40th birthday earlier this year and accompany me and 7 others on a trip down to Le Mans to watch the 24h race and what a trip that was!
Having safely returned it was sadly time to wave the Porsche on its way, post purchase the peticoat government had unanimously voted that on my return it should be replaced with something equally as practical and horse able as the L200 Warrior that proceeded it.
I loved the Warrior and in my recent history of cars it’s my longest serving at just over a year! Anyway the Porsche was advertised and sold to a cracking chap from up north who travelled down as promised, fell in love with the car, didn’t haggle and drove it back home.
Money in the bank I started to consider my options, needed the ability to tow the horse box (or so I thought!) space for all of us, comfort and a bit of tech. Having previously owned a 2010 RRS TDV6 Lux I started to browse RRS again figuring they were now good value and I could probably get into a nice SDV6 example, which aside from the horror stories about crank failure, seemed a nice all round proposition. I found one, a 2012 HSE from a driveway dealer who was, let’s say, a shady character had I been clever enough to search for him PRIOR to purchase. Anyway issues arose he was moderately good at sorting them however his after sales left a lot to be desired, this coupled with some bad legs meant Ned could no longer ride shotgun in the trailer.
The RRS was promptly sorted by me with my own money and moved on. Figuring the answer to all my problems most probably laid in another double cab pick up, I got trawling and found myself a 2015 VW Amarok BiTDi with only 1 owner and loads of spec. The deal was hastily done and home it came.
The Amarok was a beast, did a few bits to personalise it (but premature really!) and initially enjoyed it. Then whilst led on a sun lounger on holiday on Oct decided I wasn’t actually getting any ‘enjoyment’ from the big VW. We no longer had a horse box to tow, we weren’t venturing off road, it didn’t have a boot and was useless on a Sun morning blast across the Mendips with the lads.
Time to move it on, advertised and sold in quick succession although the buyer was a bit dubious….he was working in Scotland but living in Leeds. He offered the asking price (alarm no 1!) drove from Scotland to Leeds to pick his mate up and then down to Somerset (alarm no 2!). He didn’t believe in banks so appeared with £15k in a black bin bag (alarm no 2!). I ushered him to my local Post Office who kindly ran the notes through their machine - in it all went. He left happy with his new Tonka Toy…….only to readvertise it the following morning using my pics, advert and the same price he bought it for!!!!!! Who knows!
So I was kindly leant a Chevrolet Avyeo to keep me mobile! Feisty little thing which tried to kill me on more than one occasion, but warm and reliable all the same. Back to the drawing board, criteria hammered out, horseability struck off the list and we go shopping. I looked all sorts from a s*it kicker worth a couple of grand, to a PCP and everything in between.
The car that stood out head and shoulders above the rest was the Golf R Wagon, more precisely the 7.5 R. These seemed to attract praise from everyone that drove or owned one, people that did own them couldn’t find a suitable replacement whilst others had them on a 3yr lease and then bought them from the leasing company as they loved them so much.
Practicality of a Golf estate
Porsche bothering performance when required
Running costs of a Golf estate
Jekyl and Hyde personality
Reliability of a Golf estate
Tuneable (if needed!)
So with little time available to take off work and heading inbound to Xmas at an alarming rate I decided to have a go with Cazoo! The idea seemed a good one and with Auto Trader allow me to price check across the whole country I could see they were priced fairly.
Logged on, instantly found my car (Tornado Red) 2017 estate, poverty spec (in relative terms) 3 owners, 2 keys, 44k miles, FSH, new MOT, new service, two premium brand new front tyres, discs and pads all round and delivered to my door - perfect!
So here it is - they are all over PH and old news now but I love it! Why anyone feels the need to tune these is beyond me, it’s a seriously quick bit of kit; although anything after the Avyeo would most likely feel quick lol!
It feels bang up to date on the inside with virtual dash, touchscreen Discovery media, the headlights are like driving around with the sun screwed into your front grill, audio is great (standard) and it does everything and more we need of it!
There are some updates to follow but the day after delivery it went into System Clenz in WsM to have a Winter Protection detail and they did a cracking job as usual.
I have already bought some NCZ 3D printed paddles, very OEM+ which is what I am about, not great big chunks of metal of plastic faux carbon fibre. These are peachy, illuminated replacements which if I didn’t tell you I had fitted they wouldn’t necessarily jump out. Half an eye on a Royal steering wheel but other than that I am just drinking in its talents in every situation we throw it into.
Cheers
Si
RTPT said:
Lovely colour on the Golf R though OP - looks mega!
Thanks bud, the colour really caught my eye, back in the day I had a TR MK5 GTi not long after the MK5 first came out and it was one of those colours that looked stunning if you put a bit of effort in -
The R is a wicked car and looking forward to what lies ahead.
Si
Here's a question: is it possible to 'De-R' the Golf R estate?
I'm thinking of one of these as my next car, as I'm running out of ideas for a decent, fast, reliable car with enough room for the family plus luggage.
The trouble is, Golf Rs seem to attract the wrong sort of attention. The sort that might decide to follow Mrs Magnum home when she's driving it to relieve her of the keys.
So I'm wondering if it's remotely possible to remove the quad exhausts and replace them with something inconspicuous, and general tone down the looks of the whole car?
I'm thinking of one of these as my next car, as I'm running out of ideas for a decent, fast, reliable car with enough room for the family plus luggage.
The trouble is, Golf Rs seem to attract the wrong sort of attention. The sort that might decide to follow Mrs Magnum home when she's driving it to relieve her of the keys.
So I'm wondering if it's remotely possible to remove the quad exhausts and replace them with something inconspicuous, and general tone down the looks of the whole car?
Magnum 475 said:
Here's a question: is it possible to 'De-R' the Golf R estate?
I'm thinking of one of these as my next car, as I'm running out of ideas for a decent, fast, reliable car with enough room for the family plus luggage.
The trouble is, Golf Rs seem to attract the wrong sort of attention. The sort that might decide to follow Mrs Magnum home when she's driving it to relieve her of the keys.
So I'm wondering if it's remotely possible to remove the quad exhausts and replace them with something inconspicuous, and general tone down the looks of the whole car?
I believe you can swap the tips out on the wagon...but you can't do so on the hatch.I'm thinking of one of these as my next car, as I'm running out of ideas for a decent, fast, reliable car with enough room for the family plus luggage.
The trouble is, Golf Rs seem to attract the wrong sort of attention. The sort that might decide to follow Mrs Magnum home when she's driving it to relieve her of the keys.
So I'm wondering if it's remotely possible to remove the quad exhausts and replace them with something inconspicuous, and general tone down the looks of the whole car?
Nice choice sounds like it will fit your needs well. Interesting how you got there.
We had a well spec’d Mk7 R estate, pic below, similar miles bought from a VW main dealer. It was a great all rounder and was rapid enough. Ours had issues with the loom shorting against the steering rack and went back to VW a number of times and the water pump was next (consumable item on a R). In the end due to it not being used during C19 and strong prices it made way for a house extension, boring I know! I’d have another now as they combine performance, practicality at such a reasonable price both in terms of purchase cost and running, though if I were to have another it would have to be a Mk7.5 and I might address the ride it was a bit too harsh around the terrible roads where I live. Yours looks great the red is lovely, enjoy
We had a well spec’d Mk7 R estate, pic below, similar miles bought from a VW main dealer. It was a great all rounder and was rapid enough. Ours had issues with the loom shorting against the steering rack and went back to VW a number of times and the water pump was next (consumable item on a R). In the end due to it not being used during C19 and strong prices it made way for a house extension, boring I know! I’d have another now as they combine performance, practicality at such a reasonable price both in terms of purchase cost and running, though if I were to have another it would have to be a Mk7.5 and I might address the ride it was a bit too harsh around the terrible roads where I live. Yours looks great the red is lovely, enjoy
Took delivery of a MY18 7.5 in the summer and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Have had some issues with the HVAC not functioning properly on long drives, and the thermostat housing is leaking again despite being replaced in March this year prior to my ownership (warranty claim here), but other than that all good.
The idea of a car that will crack 60 in 5 seconds yet still do all of the household duties never fails to make me smile. I plan to debadge next year and invest in some different wheels and winter tyres to add to the unassuming look of the wagon. The itch for a Stage 1 Revo tune isn't going away either...
The idea of a car that will crack 60 in 5 seconds yet still do all of the household duties never fails to make me smile. I plan to debadge next year and invest in some different wheels and winter tyres to add to the unassuming look of the wagon. The itch for a Stage 1 Revo tune isn't going away either...
Lovely! The thermostat seems to be a bit of a weak point - is there anyway if identifying when it’s on its way out or does it just fail!
Always maintained there was no such thing as the perfect car however that opinion could change over the coming months I think.
Looking forward to calling it into duty for Christmas ferrying over the next week.
Si
Always maintained there was no such thing as the perfect car however that opinion could change over the coming months I think.
Looking forward to calling it into duty for Christmas ferrying over the next week.
Si
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