Sorry for the long post! Just thought I would share my thoughts as I didn’t find much info about moving from an R to a GTi when I was looking in to changing cars. (Most people seemed to be moving from the GTi to the R understandably)
I had a Night Blue DSG R until 3 weeks ago when I traded it in for a DBP GTi PP Manual. My main reason for changing was financial, due to the facelift coming along I was able to get over 6k discount on a in-stock GTi meaning my monthly payment is lower and with no deposit. (Put a large deposit on the R).
Biggest difference is going back to manual from DSG, I would say both are fantastic gearboxes so this is all down to personal preference. I really miss the DSG in the morning traffic crawl, but I definitely feel so much more involved in a manual when I go for a spin on some favourite B roads. I wanted the manual as I thought going like for like might feel more of a noticeable downgrade after the DSG R but I definitely don’t regret it as yet.
Power wise, there is obviously a noticeable dip in power after the R, but I only really notice it from a standing start, the GTi is so responsive through the rev range that I don’t feel down on power if wanting to do a quick overtake in the GTi and on normal motorway running. Also even in the dodgy weather I’ve not had any loss of traction in the GTi so far, though it has only been 3 weeks. It’s not as planted at high speed as the R of course but also there is more than enough grip for every day driving.
Finally I find the GTi cabin a more satisfying place to be than the R, obviously the quality is superb on both but with the addition of the tech pack in the GTi, the Dynaudio and larger nav screen are a nice upgrade to have. Also got a few extra bits such as key less, park assist, app connect which weren’t in the R, but these are probably just a bit of novelty value. I had leather in the R and have gone back to the classic tartan cloth in the GTi and it just has that bit more character when you are sat in it in my opinion.
In summary I was very nervous making this switch but after 3 weeks I definitely don’t regret it. The R is a sensational car and inspired so much confidence driving it, but in the real world I never needed the extra performance over the GTi. So if you are split between the 2 then my personal opinion is the GTi just edges it for me taking everything in to consideration.
