GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: davidp81 on 14 February 2017, 16:34
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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.
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Nice write up and good to hear. I sold my R a couple of months ago and I take delivery of my GTI Clubsport in a couple of weeks. I haven't driven a MK7 GTI in any guise yet, that last GTI I had was a MK6 Edition 35.
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I previously had manual MK7, now have R DSG - verdict prefer manual, although DSG better in traffic, manual is more involving and I can get much smoother gear changes in manual. SO next time will be manual.
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Interesting thoughts.
Makes me even more certain that the standard Clubsport is almost the pefect package.
Wish I had one :drool:
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Regardless of what car you come from, I don't think you can go wrong with a GTI. In fact I don't think you could go wrong with any of the 3 performance golfs, GTI, R or GTD.
They are not just a great car, they give excellent value for money and serve so many roles.
Whether that is taking your granny for the shopping in one of them and then blasting round the twisties in the same car.
Certainly a great all-rounder.
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Regardless of what car you come from, I don't think you can go wrong with a GTI. In fact I don't think you could go wrong with any of the 3 performance golfs, GTI, R or GTD.
They are not just a great car, they give excellent value for money and serve so many roles.
Whether that is taking your granny for the shopping in one of them and then blasting round the twisties in the same car.
Certainly a great all-rounder.
Excellent summation, spot on :smiley:
And to the OP, nice review and from an unusual angle.
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Interesting thoughts.
Makes me even more certain that the standard Clubsport is almost the pefect package.
Wish I had one :drool:
I have to agree with you... :wink:
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Regardless of what car you come from, I don't think you can go wrong with a GTI. In fact I don't think you could go wrong with any of the 3 performance golfs, GTI, R or GTD.
They are not just a great car, they give excellent value for money and serve so many roles.
Whether that is taking your granny for the shopping in one of them and then blasting round the twisties in the same car.
Certainly a great all-rounder.
True. And they seem to get better with age. Mine has 20K on now and feels better than it did at say 10K. Guess because they are so well made they take a while to fully loosen up. GTi pp is the best all round in my biased opinion.
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Totally get your decision in fairness as I think I made similar comments in author thread about when GTI and R were compared. Have to say DSG has been a revelation but needed the bigger paddles so it was nice to use.
I know you are meant to use the paddles but what I don't like on the DSG box (given the Golf is engineered with a LHD bias) that when you put it into manual the leaver is further away and the changing up and down is sort of counter intuative .
I was worried about the DCT on the BMW and have to say where they have nailed is that it encourages you to use the stick shift as its perfectly centred and works the correct way round so feels more sequential in nature so feels a bit odd when you get in the Golf
I was lucky to get a 7 GTI for a weekend (manual) when they launched and did 300 miles in it and whilst it had about 100bhp less than my Ed35 (Stage 2) it was so much faster point to point
Looks like the GTI is having a renaissance which is no bad thing
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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.
Dammit, I am split between the 2 and thought I made my decision but this didn't help. I'm buying used and my choice is between a 64 plate GTI with 25,500 miles for £20.5k or a 16 plate R with 8,000 miles for £24.5k. To me it seemed like the Golf R was the easy choice in terms of value but most of my driving is in the city so not sure if its worth it, I only do around 4,000 miles a year too.
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Apologies infernox if that makes your decision tougher! I feel your pain having been through the choice between the 2 so recently.
I only do around 8000 miles per year so personally I just found I really wasn't making use of the extra performance. Plus I really fancied going back to a manual as I don't do a lot of motorway miles, I'd have stuck with dsg if I did.
However for me it was all down to numbers, my R was around 35k new just under 2 years ago and the offer I got on this gti was just under 26k, so in my head I was seeing it as a £9000 gap between the 2 cars, and to me there was no way the gti felt like 9k less of a car, for my needs anyway.
However if the values of the 2 cars you are looking at are closer (considering varying mileage etc) then I would never advise against the R to anybody, that near super car performance is awesome when you do get to enjoy it and brings a massive grin to your face, and terrifies passengers for good measure too! :grin:
Good luck with the the decision!
Have to agree about what a great all rounder the performance golfs are as said above. (Had a mk6 gti before the R too.) I've done a lot of miles in a dozen or so hire cars for work in recent weeks and nothing ticks all the boxes for me that either the gti or R did and I couldn't wait to give the hire cars back and get back in the Golf! From performance and the ride to all the driver convenience bits, there really isn't much out there that manages just to get it all right for a daily driver in the way the Golfs do.
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Yeah I think I will go for the Golf R. Did you have DCC in any of your cars? For the cars I'm looking at, the GTI has it but the R doesn't, both are 18 inch wheels though so not sure if there will be a big difference.
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I had Dcc and 19's on the R. I decided against both in the gti as they were low on the priority list and the car I got was already out of the factory when I purchased, doing mainly short trips I never really changed it from normal mode though so definitely don't miss it. It could be going from 19's to 18's but the ride is still great without dcc in the gti.