Car magazine golf R review

[SilverChariot]

Golf R would be number 1 if it was £5K cheaper and they'd tested a decent spec one (i.e. Leather, DSG, ACC, etc).

by decent spec you mean YOUR SPEC?
 
 

Yeah.

[JonnyG]

As we all know the Golf R is getting some stick for being on the expensive side.

I remember the ED 30 got the same sort of stick when that was first announced.

There are some standard spec differences between the GTi and R, which narrow the gap a bit

Xenons                                     - £1110
18" Alloys as standard on th R      -  £ 450
Flat Tyre Indicator                         - £35

TOTAL                                     - £1595

Have I missed anything else ?  (I know the R also has Rear LED light lenses & front DRL'S which are worth extra too, say £400 )

The rest is then down to a subjective assessment of the more powerful engine and AWD.  Is it worth the remaining £4000 ?

[keelaw]

fair point well made.  i suspect you're able to get more of a discount off list on a GTI than on an R though,  which widens the gaps again.

[p3eps]

Have I missed anything else ?  (I know the R also has Rear LED light lenses & front DRL'S which are worth extra too, say £400 )

25mm lower suspension and natty blue dials that dance when you turn the car on!!
Well worth the £4k extra 

[FamilyDub]

25mm lower suspension and natty blue dials that dance when you turn the car on!!
Well worth the £4k extra 

 

[Tailpipe]

Neither Car nor Autocar tell us anything we don't know already.

I think the most telling criticism of the R is that AWD only kicks in when the extra traction is needed. But even when a significant amount of power is channeled to the rear wheels, it still feels predominantly like a FWD car. Which means that for most of the time you drive an R, the extra power is doing little more than compensating for the extra weight.

Nevertheless, Car concludes that the R is ultimately more capable than the GTI because it can put more of its power down more of the time. While the extra ponies are diluted by an additional 100 kgs of AWD hardware, the R   seems to have an edge over the GTI that the R32 never had over the Mark V GTI, according to the same magazine.

In the end, the Golf R consistently gets 4 stars instead of 5 because of the price. What both articles seems to be trying to do is to send a coded message to VW: ease up on the prices, your badge cannot command the type of premium you insist on charging. I would be surprised if VW didn't offer discounts on the R before too long - unless they're really serious about only selling 250 or 500. If total sales of 250 is the maximum they can achieve with a £30K+ price tag, then I doubt they'll recoup the development costs.

So the $10,000 (£6,500) question is should I buy an R over a GTI? Hmmm. Tough one. 

Very tempted to just get a GTI.

[R32UK]

it sounds like they never turned the ESP off

[FamilyDub]

Message to VW: ease up on the prices, your badge cannot command the type of premium you insist on charging.

^^^^^^^ Exactly. VW are becoming too 'premium' with their pricing policy, I think.

So the $10,000 (£6,500) question is should I buy an R over a GTI?

 

I'd be asking, sorry telling a dealer you want extended test-drives in both cars, over all road types, traffic conditions, etc to see for yourself whether the premium of the R is worth it over the GTI.

Either way you cut it, spending £23k+ (GTI) / £32k+ (R) is a chitload of money.

[Awry]

Well... to help you guys feel better about the price difference between the GTI and R in the UK. I can gladly report that the difference over here is 24,5k.  

[FamilyDub]

^^^^^^^ Where?