Just popped in to my local dealership to collect my car and when I was in they had two lapis blue R's sitting outside. Asked if I could test drive one which they where only too happy to oblige. The car I test drove was an automatic 5 door on standard 18"s.
Now I have never driven an automatic before so was a bit apprehensive so I sat in the passenger seat for the first few minutes while the salesman drove.
The result: Oh my god
this thing is massively quick. So much so that my heart was in my mouth when the salesman was flooring it. The acceleration was just on another planet from my GTI and really does knock your head back in the seat. I'm not sure if it has the same brake set up as the GTI PP but if it does then the salesman demonstrated to me how amazing the brakes are.
And the sound - well it just sounds epic and you could hear the burble of the exhaust on the downshift. I went through a tunnel and floored it and the sound just boomed
When it was my turn I took it a bit easier than the salesman and it took a bit of getting used to with the automatic box but I just loved it. The changes felt very smooth and linear.
The verdict: Looks wise its still too understated for my liking but based on its unbelievable performance it would definitely make me consider it for my next car and I would without hesitation go with the dsg box.
On a side note - picked up my own car after two weeks at the dealership and drove it 100 yards and the noise I've been experiencing was still there. To say i'm not happy is an understatement. So the car has been left with VW until its resolved. I'm kind of hoping they will just say its not fixable and offer me a discounted R
