Golf GTI with Extras vs Golf R Base model?

[dirvy]

There is also the old argument of how much power do you need.
There are many threads about gti being perfect all round car.

Will 4 wheel drive make less fun, will it be as we'll balanced.

Will extra weight of 4x4 affect it .

I guess we'll have to wait for proper reviews

[wigit]

Problem with the R pics is it looks a bit normal until you see it next to a normal Golf, i personally think the GTI front looks better, that said the R bumper is deeper and their is extra cooling, the R felt a bit more special.

When it came to the Mk6 the 35 pulled at my heart strings more than the 6R, now i want something a bit different and personally putting 300+ bhp on a modded GTI through the front wheels does not appeal and i'd rather have 4wd. Personally i'd only ever buy an Anniversary or Limited Edition GTI anyway.

My wife wanted a Mk7 GTI but detests the Austins so when I have compared R v GTI there is about £1,600 difference and I have agreed to pay the difference, why, really she wants an Ed40 but Pirelli is getting on a bit, she will take a hit on the GTI if she changes it in a couple of years for a ED40 so in reality may as well have the R as she will get 5 years of ownership.

I've never been one for raiding the options list so would take the better base car

[Jimmy Filth]

I am absolutely torn at the moment.  Since my last post on the matter I have spec'd up a car that is identical, apart from one being a Golf GTi PP and the other an R.  As soon as I've made that decision I'm ordering the car.  Forms are here waiting to go!

As it stands, there is £10pcm between the two (three year PCP with £4500 down, 6% APR and 9% discount).

It would seem obvious to some that the R should be the one, but the reality is that I prefer the look of the GTi, my missus prefers the Jacanta interior and there is just something about the name 'Golf GTi' that wil always make me want it.  On the other hand I absolutely love the understated looks of the R.  I love that only someone who really knows the car will realise what it is when out on the road.  the 4WD also appeals to me.

other factors are the drop in MPG and the fact the R is twice as much in tax.  Normally running costs like that wouldn't factor in, but when I am so closely torn between the two. 

[JBirchy]

I've never been one for raiding the options list so would take the better base car

Interesting that you say you would take the 'better' base car...

Yes, the R will be faster and yes, it will be more stable in all weather driving conditions but does this mean it's better?

In that case, the GTI is 'better' in the economy, looks, handling (maybe, depending on the weight penalty of 4WD), and tax aspects.

Personally, the whole experience of owning one of these cars is in how it makes you feel. A higher spec car with a few toys enhances the ownership experience rather than thinking 'I wish I'd have gone for ACC & Sat Nav' etc... I'd pick the GTI and load it up with options!

[Brenbo]

I was just about to type the same about the experience of owning the car and how it makes you feel when you both look at it and drive it, being one of the important factors when deciding about which car. 

Not ruling out the Golf R myself, but a specced up GTI does make it that extra bit special to own and I know I will not be saying what if.  I know the GTI is not 4WD but the e-diff must make a difference in compensating for not having 4WD.  I know it will not pull as well and grip will be less on certain conditions but all in it must be better than not having a diff at all.   

[dubber36]

Personally I'd wait a couple of years and buy the highest specced used car that I could afford, once it's done the most of it's depreciating. Many of the pros and cons in this thread relating to new cars become irrelevant then.

[Brenbo]

If it were a high specced used Golf R you may have to do a lot of looking as I suspect there may not be many of these around due to the price speccing it up when it was new?

[Exonian]

If it were a high specced used Golf R you may have to do a lot of looking as I suspect there may not be many of these around due to the price speccing it up when it was new?

Looking at the R forum and going from the used 6R's available from VW I'd say R buyers were somewhat less financially constrained than GTI drivers 

[GrahamFR]

I sense this is going to be one of those never ending threads.

My £0.02/final thought would be, if you buy a mk 7 Golf R now with its 0-60 in under 5secs, what do you change it with in 3 years?

A M3 or 911?

What is going to be able to give you that excitement buzz jump next?

Why not buy a GTI now, enjoy the buzz off that, and then buy an R/S3 in three years after more kit comes as standard.

Im 26 and thats what im doing, by the time I get I get to the end of owning a R for 3 years i'll probably have to get a diesel estate (VRS comes to mind, im no badge snob i come from a Leon after all ) due to boring practicallity reasons that will come with age and the wifes no doubt broody nature.

[Jimmy Filth]

Aren't 3 or 4 year old R's about the same value as a new GTi?  They seem to hold their value really rather well...