GTI vs R - initial thoughts

[AndyG]

Very nice indeed.I am interested in what what instruction you gave to the dealer regarding the fact your having it detailed soon yourself.Did the dealer do any prep whatsoever or was it untouched by their hands.

[monkeyhanger]

Matchboy: I see you have the dreaded Bridgestones, you'll have to let us know whether the 4WD really overcomes the sh!tty grip these provide on my GTD.

If not and I end up with them on mine, i'll be swapping out on day 1 for some Michelins from Costco and have them sold. Never had a response back from VW Germany relating to my request not to have them, and asking the dealer to swap them only works if there are 2 Rs on Cadiz in at the same time that don't both have Bridgestones fitted.

[carl1]

Nice car mate but to me they feel quite a bit different. The R feels heavy, almost R32 like and the GTi much lighter and nimble.

[wigit]

i'll be honest i didn't find my R when stock that fast given it hasn't got much more torque than the GTI, journalists always make reference to the power figures on GTIs and in reality forget what a torquey motor it is in the real life environment

on the tyre front i'd go Michelin Super Sports as just epic and wet grip is amazing

[Mr Savage]

Precisely what the above 2 posts say. The R has 370NM of Torque compared to the GTI's 350NM at stock, so barely a difference. The R has a bigger turbo so technically should be better in the higher revs. Of course the extra 60-70BHP make a difference too but again not hugely noticeable in my opinion.

I was actually really disappointed when I drove my brothers R as it felt, dare I say it, slower than I expected for it's figures and very very heavy at the back compared to the GTI down to the 4 wheel drive system weighing it down.

I was ready to make an order to the R myself but wasn't all that impressed by it.

I must admit the R does sound much better in the cabin though. Especially the upshifts which are much louder. You had a manual before though which doesn't pop anywhere near as the DSG's. The R does boom better though.

Not trying to steal your thunder as I know you've obviously just spent a ridiculous amount of money changing to the R and it is a great car but just being honest.

[wigit]

if you are going through the gears the stock R feels quick but in gear 50-70 you feel it would be quicker and you just know the chassis can take more, being used to cars running 300bhp it was nothing special

on the move my wife's Stage 1 Pirelli would real it in due to the extra mid range when stock as that is when torque really counts

it took a while to get used to 4wd chassis dynamics on it, what still blows me away is how well these pull out of low speed corners, around some of the twisties by the Ring it was sublime around hairpins

thing i never liked about the GTI was you cannot fully disable traction control and seeing the TG lap where it was trying to find the apex put me off, turn the aids of on the R on track and it is just a nice balanced car and with a bit of room for error actually sweater and more predicable than with the gizmos

they start to get fun with 350bhp

[GolfTi]

Nice review Matchboy. Stunning pics.

Two quick questions.

Does the media display show the R logo on startup similar to the GTI?
How does the boot space compare?

[matchboy]

Very nice indeed.I am interested in what what instruction you gave to the dealer regarding the fact your having it detailed soon yourself.Did the dealer do any prep whatsoever or was it untouched by their hands.

They did clean it, but that's all I wanted. I'd read up on the dealership and read nothing bad, so was happy to let them wash it - but that was it! I didn't want to take home a dirty car 

[matchboy]

Matchboy: I see you have the dreaded Bridgestones, you'll have to let us know whether the 4WD really overcomes the sh!tty grip these provide on my GTD.

If not and I end up with them on mine, i'll be swapping out on day 1 for some Michelins from Costco and have them sold. Never had a response back from VW Germany relating to my request not to have them, and asking the dealer to swap them only works if there are 2 Rs on Cadiz in at the same time that don't both have Bridgestones fitted.

I had the Bridgestones on my GTI and never had a problem tbh - it's the Dunlops that I can't bear - awful tyre!

Saying that, once they're on the way out I'll be putting Michellin PS3's on it.

It was p!ssing it yesterday and I felt safe as houses at speed, so maybe the 4WD has overcome any issues?

[matchboy]

Precisely what the above 2 posts say. The R has 370NM of Torque compared to the GTI's 350NM at stock, so barely a difference. The R has a bigger turbo so technically should be better in the higher revs. Of course the extra 60-70BHP make a difference too but again not hugely noticeable in my opinion.

I was actually really disappointed when I drove my brothers R as it felt, dare I say it, slower than I expected for it's figures and very very heavy at the back compared to the GTI down to the 4 wheel drive system weighing it down.

I was ready to make an order to the R myself but wasn't all that impressed by it.

I must admit the R does sound much better in the cabin though. Especially the upshifts which are much louder. You had a manual before though which doesn't pop anywhere near as the DSG's. The R does boom better though.

Not trying to steal your thunder as I know you've obviously just spent a ridiculous amount of money changing to the R and it is a great car but just being honest.

You can be honest  I completely disagree with what you're saying, but that's fine too!

Having owned 7 GTI's from the 4 all the way to the 7 IMO the R is in a different league performance wise - I drive all my cars hard so trust me when I say I've tested it 

My missus read this and said if you don't think the R is a hell of a lot quicker then you didn't drive it right