I have been wrestling for months about which car to get, the GTI or R, and having test driven both models I have concluded that the GTI is the superior car. Here's why:
1. The EA888 engine in the GTI is more frugal, more flexible and likely to have greater longevity than the R's EA113 due it having a steel cam shaft belt rather than a rubber one.
2. With the much greater power on offer with the R, it naturally seems to settle at around 38 mph on most roads, whereas the GTI is closer to 30 mph, although both will surge quite happily to speeds well above the national limit with very little lag when asked. The problem with the R is that when you are driving normally, say dropping the kids off at school, you find yourself driving very much faster on 30 mph limit roads than you should be going. The R feels unable to cruise comfortably below this speed.
3. The AWD system adds considerable weight to the R, but in most circumstances drive is only delivered through the front wheels, so you are carrying all that extra weight around and rarely actually use it. As you'd expect, this affects economy.
4. The R's ride and comfort is not as good as the GTI's across the variety of road surfaces we have in this country. The R's settings are much harder and less compliant overall. The balance of the three different settings for the ACC is notably better with the GTI. It is also worth noting that both the GTI and R ride better on 18" wheels, so the R's 19" are a waste of time, even if they look sexier.
5. The GTI is produced on a standard Golf production line, whereas the R is produced in batches, so the order process for the GTI is easier, faster and more certain.
6. The daylight running lights are used instead of the GTI's fog lights, which are actually very good; if you need fog lights in the R, you're stuffed. For this reason, most manufacturers are now incorporating DRLs in the main headlight unit. Until this happens with the Golf, the GTI's fog lights are probably more important than the R's LED DRLs.
7. The AWD system makes the boot much shallower restricting the kind of bags you can put in.
8. If extra performance is essential to you, you can chip a GTI to within a hair's breadth of that of the R for a fraction of the cost, although it looks like a faster version will be offered sometime before the next GTI arrives.
9. Overall, the GTI feels lighter and more nimble with a wider range of capabilities to suit your driving mood, whereas the R is simply a very focused sports car that's also a hatchback.
10. When you add up the differences and compare the prices, the GTI seems to make much more sense. It's hard to tell yet, but I suspect that the GTI may hold its value better than the R.
Having said all that, there is no doubt that both cars are fantastic. I'd be delighted to own either and in truth I still haven't made-up my mind about which one to get. While the GTI objectively seems to make more sense, the R has an emotional quality that defies categorisation. You can't get the GTI in Rising Blue, which is a superb colour, but then you can't get the R in carbon grey which is also very attractive.
What do you think? I'd be interested to hear other members views, especially if you've tested both models.
I was going to post this on the R forum, but it is such a heresy, i'm worried i might be banned.