I have one of the last pre facelift Golf R's produced in 2016. So I can safely say I have driven one and can second your comments apart from the fuel consumption. As my Golf R isn't much less on MPG than my GTI PP when i owned it previously. Also I would like to say the gearbox on my Golf R is sublime. it is the best gearbox of any car I have owned so far and I have owned a fair few.. it is not like a tractors gearbox. I will be keeping this car until the MK8 Golf R is launched which is looking like a few years yet.
[/quote]
I wish i'd had your gearbox, maybe they fixed it just in time for yours being built, but mine (May 15 Plate), a colleague's (Jan 15 (64 plate) and a car at the local dealership's forecourt (also a 15 plate) had the same immediately obvious feel - the throw feels gritty, like the cogs are just skimming each other in the gearbox. a few times a month (enough to annoy, but not enough to replicate at the garage, short of paying for them to run around in my car with my fuel for a fortnight) i'd have stopped in traffic or at a busy roundabout with my clutch dipped and then go to slot first home when it was time to move, and the stick didn't want to slot in, to the point where I felt it would crunch the gear if I forced it, so I would have to slot it into 1st and then back to 1st to go. Similarly, on occasion, doing 40-50mph in 6th sat behind one thing hogging the outside lane doing 45mph that then gets out of the way, I go to drop to 3rd from 6th, and again it doesn't want to slot home without feeling like you'd force it. Seriously f**king annoying at the critical moment. Then I've had clutch slip on my stock R with only 23k miles on it during the 2 coldest days of the year (in March).
The dealership claimed the gritty throw was characteristic for the car, and considering trying out 2 other cars and experiencing the same, I had no reason to disagree. Worst gearbox ever for m. My colleague never claimed that they'd had the difficulty in slotting the gearstick home in any gear. 1 and 3 have the worst feel, 2 and 4 are better, 5 and 6 are fine.
The dealership's refusal to investigate further on the assumption that it meets VW's standards just sickened me. I'm in my first DSG ever with the Polo GTI+ because it only comes in DSG, but part of me is glad it has DSG rather than potentially getting another gearbox like my R has. If it weren't for that box, my R would be by far the best car i've had.