I quite agree Dr Mike, but it’s the way society is going in general. Despite all the positive noises coming out of people during “lockdown” all this new found humility was forgotten the instant the entitled masses decided it was safe to burst out of their front doors again.
To be honest the face lifted Mini F56 JCW “leaked” at around the same time as the R photos above appeals as a far more engaging driving machine. All these spy shots come from the ‘Ring so chassis development is honed there no matter what marque we choose. Hopefully not at the expense of B road comfort.
I don’t need a car that corners flat at 150 mph, I need one that can take the local roads to me feeling like I’m doing a controlled 150mph when I’m actually staying at sane speeds.
Having hit a badger at 60mph very recently
I think doing much higher speeds is not a great idea as modern car bumpers aren’t very strong and cost a lot to replace! I’d rather be having fun legally than swanning about in something that is acceptable to the entitled middle classes idea of social status.
Having said all that, I royally buggered up my back a few months ago so thought it a good idea to check out a T-Roc R. Do you know what? I loathe SUV’s almost as much as those stupid 1980’s window deflectors that seem to be all the vogue, but it’s actually a really good car.
Yeah, the plastics are a bit low rent but the fit and finish are good and at the end of the day there are still bits of painted metal viewable around the Golf’s doors so it ain’t ‘that’ high a quality in a Golf really (a 1 series has proper trims to hide the painted metal in the front for example).
Weight wise it’s not massively heavier than a Golf and I like the way they’ve put DRL’s in the bumper as a nod to the mk6 R (albeit vertically not horizontally).
There’s still a sizeable market for cars that appeal to those that actually enjoy driving as opposed to playing with modes and apps whilst bombing along at 90mph in cocooned silence on the local dual carriageway before relying on park assist to get them into a space that’s far too small for their vehicle.
Much as I dislike the rest of the mk8 range (and there’s no way a mk8 GTI mesh is going to survive a badger attack!) I actually do like the 8R styling. Plus, aside from the GTE, it’s the only model in the range revealed so far that seems to have any tangible improvement over its predecessor as far as likely performance stats go.
