Help from you Mk7 boys. R or GTi

[mark@vorny.co.uk]

Morning all.

The time/opportunity has come to replace the wife's Mk6 GTi.

Having specced up a GTi and compared it to an R with discount, there isn't a great deal in it cost wise.

I would be interested to hear from those of you that faced similar dilemma's and which way you went in the end.

Spec wise would be (for the R). 3 door, DSG, ACC, Pretoria's, Nav, Roof, carbon leather

So far, the downside of the R is a lack of colour choice, wife wanted the dark grey, doesn't look so special as the GTi, not as quick as I thought versus the mapped car she currently has. A remap of the R would therefore be done...

Open up and tell me what you think, which way you would go, what options are essential, and best colour as it looks like white or black at the moment.

Cheers

Mark

[Booth11]

Hi Mark

I'd go for the R, and as said you can map it to your requirements.  Am ordering one myself early next year, having looked at both.  For the small difference in price it's an easy choice for that extra power, 4 wheel drive and superb sound.  I like the sleeper look of the R (from the front) and its intent from the rear.  Who cares if people mistake it for a lowly golf, you'll know what it is as will others in the know.

Has your wife/you seen the carbon nappa in the flesh?  I was going to opt for that until I saw it in the flesh and tbh, it looked a bit tacky, so I will be choosing plain black leather.  Agree, it's a shame there's no carbon grey option as it's a beautiful colour.  That said it'll be black for me (2nd choice would be Lapis blue).

My chosen options are:
5dr DSG
Deep black pearl
19" Pretorias
Black Vienna leather
DCC (the artist formerly known as ACC on mk6)
Dynaudio when available
Discover Nav
Keyless
Rear camera

Possibly high beam assist

[mark@vorny.co.uk]

Thanks Booth, that sort of sums up my thoughts.

The leather is a bit Marmite, she is not so keen, so it may be the plain leather option yet.

I think I may be looking for reasons 'not to' go for one and there just aren't any compelling ones......

I just need to make sure she doesn't start looking at anything else, she keeps mentioning Evoque, but where is my fun in that 

[Steve78]

I can only speak from my own perspective, but I prefer the look of the GTI compared to the R, the R looks very plain and understated, which could also be a good thing.  But when you add a few options there's very little difference between the price.  I imagine the R drinks a lot more fuel, especially if you plan to boot regularly, but when you are spending north of £30k on a car, then is spending a few extra quid on fuel such a big issue?  Whatever you choose you can be guaranteed a great car!

Why not test drive both and then decide?

[Booth11]

Thanks Booth, that sort of sums up my thoughts.

The leather is a bit Marmite, she is not so keen, so it may be the plain leather option yet.

I think I may be looking for reasons 'not to' go for one and there just aren't any compelling ones......

I just need to make sure she doesn't start looking at anything else, she keeps mentioning Evoque, but where is my fun in that 

Nooo, don't get an Evoque.  Too much of a woman's car (and I speak as one), especially in white  . It might suit your wife, but can you really see yourself in it? 

Yes the fuel consumption is a little lower on the R but you don't buy it (or the GTI for that matter) for economy.  That's what GTDs are for, although sounds like they are turning out to be little thirstier than some anticipated.

In terms of remap, wigit on here has mapped his R and iirc, is impressed with it in conjunction with DSG and 4 wheel drive.  Might be worth asking his opinion on that matter.

[mark@vorny.co.uk]

This is where I lament the lack of a 'Thank You' button on the forum 

Economy, whilst important is secondary. I only use the car to go to clients and tend to be stuck on the motorway enjoying mid to high 30's mpg currently. I have to say both the Mk5 we had and the Mk6 were better following a remap on petrol as you just surf the torque.

Of course the odd blast will crucify anything in terms of consumption, but it's always worth it.

I just can't see an Evoque on the drive, I would have no desire whatsoever to use it and that would mean me relegated to using the Abarth more, not ideal on a long trip 

Ideally I want an R with GTi trimmings, but that is not going to happen. Decisions, decisions........

I may even have to ask for the wife's thoughts in all this and then any colour/spec would no doubt have to match interior decor or the like 

[JBirchy]

Personally, I think the R looks fantastic, really subtle and understated but with a real mean edge to it, especially with the 19" Pretorias on there.

Have you had a look at an R in Limestone Grey? It's a bit of a Marmite colour, but I love it and I personally think it suits the R incredibly well.

With the standard Black leather it would look amazing, especially in 3 door.

Option wise, over and above what you've already said I highly recommend the Reversing Camera and Keyless Go. In my opinion it gives the car a much more premium feel. Not too expensive either so for little outlay, you're getting some lovely extra features.

My ideal spec for an R would be:

3-Door
Limestone Grey
19" Pretorias
DSG
DCC
Keyless
Nav
Reversing Cam
Winter Pack
Black Leather

Wonderful car!

[Booth11]

Re the winter pack.  I initially added this to my list but took it off.  Now I could be wrong, but my understanding is that heated seats are standard with leather anyway and low washer fluid warning is standard. So if that's right you're paying £250 quid for heated windscreen washer jets which are useless anyway.

[monkeyhanger]

Go for an R in Lapiz blue - in thst colour, everyone will know it's an R and not a Golf SE/GT when you're briefly in their rear view mirror. If you like maps, why buy a GTI to map close to stock R power when you can get an R up way beyond that. With that kind of power, you'll be glad you have 4WD too.

I've got a real hankering for power right now, and the GTD I bought just didn't impress me at stock (compared to my Scirocco GT 170), the box makes it a lot more usable, but i'm nigh-on certain the GTD will be gone at 2 years old.To hell with the mpg! The GTD has been a real mpg disappointment for me.

[JBirchy]

Re the winter pack.  I initially added this to my list but took it off.  Now I could be wrong, but my understanding is that heated seats are standard with leather anyway and low washer fluid warning is standard. So if that's right you're paying £250 quid for heated windscreen washer jets which are useless anyway.

Yes you're absolutely right, sorry.