My Mk7 R drive

[MAW73]

My sisters other half who's a master tech for vw/audi picked up his new R this week. So he took me out for a spin this afternoon and I had a good drive afterwards.

So my thoughts on the R with some comparisons to the M135i

Interior

The driving position is good in the R. You feel like your sitting up a little higher than in the M135i. No real complaints with the interior. The quality is what you would expect from VW although it does fell less premium than BMW. The standard R seats although maybe a bit marmite looks wise are very comfortable and the bolsters keep you very well supported. The seats give you more of a hot hatch feel than the M135i leather seats. I prefer the iDrive way of navigating menus etc than using the R's touch screen which feels a little dated.

Engine, drive and handling

The R I drove had VWs adaptive suspension and the car had the 18" standard R wheels. The standard wheels look better in the flesh from what I've seen in photos. I'm not a fan of red cars but it did really suit the R. After all, red is really the classic GTI colour. The wheel contrast against the red bodywork looks nice. I think the R could have been more aggressively styled though which I think they got spot on with the Mk6 R.

The first thing that pleasantly surprised me was the engine noise from inside the car. In sport mode when accelerating hard the sound level and tone was very similar to the sound the M135i generates. So from inside the car the 4 pot / 6 pot argument went out the window for me. The DSG box was excellent and very smooth and compared well with BMW's auto box. The exhaust burps in the R when up shifting under high load as you would expect. But overall it didn't sound as good as the M135i. Although I have the MP exhaust and the 6 pot argument does come into play here.

The R felt very quick on acceleration and your up to silly speeds in no time again feeling all very comparable performance wise to the M135i.

It was cold afternoon and slightly damp but you really could give the R pretty much everything and it always felt in complete control. You could pretty much floor it round the corners with no need to lift off.  I'm no driving god and I certainly wouldn't risk driving the M135i to that extent in the same conditions as there would be a loss of traction (and my own confidence). The 4 motion aspect of the R Is what I came away liking the most.

The lack of steering feel/feedback is a common gripe with many of the M135i drivers including me. The R felt very similar also in this respect. Modern car syndrome unfortunately. The steering in the R feels very accurate and is reasonably well weighted.

Still I'm very happy with the M135i and the R drive hasn't given me any immediate urge to look to change. There both extremely good cars and I would be more than happy with either.

[Exonian]

Excellent mini-review Martin.
Interesting reading.
It's good that it was a DSG too so directly comparable.
I'd expect the higher torque to give the 135 the edge in everyday driving but the auto boxes probably disguise that. Manual vs. manual I'd expect the BMW to easily win the performance stakes having had a fair crack in a manual M135i a month or two ago.
And the noise the M135i makes is just superb.

Both cars pretty much modern classics (or as close as you get with today's disposable 'people's' cars).

 

[am1w]

Nice and balanced min-review, Martin.
I am so glad you like Tornado Red and the 18" Cadiz alloys as this is what I am getting.
We'll have to meet and take a picture of our toys together.

[am1w]

I was close to getting an M135i but decided against it for the following reasons:

(1) I felt it had a rather difficult to love face and the refreshed version would not be available on time
(2) Disliked the design of the dashboard
(3) It did not have 4WD (though xDrive is available in LHD versions)
(4) I wished to lease this time and it cost too much
(5) Preferred driving the R
(6) Preferred the looks of the R

Don't get me wrong, the M135i is a great car. However, I prefer the R this time round. So please don't take offence.

[MAW73]

Nice and balanced min-review, Martin.
I am so glad you like Tornado Red and the 18" Cadiz alloys as this is what I am getting.
We'll have to meet and take a picture of our toys together.

Yes mate. Happy to meet up in London for a drive and some car pics.

[am1w]

Nice and balanced min-review, Martin.
I am so glad you like Tornado Red and the 18" Cadiz alloys as this is what I am getting.
We'll have to meet and take a picture of our toys together.

Yes mate. Happy to meet up in London for a drive and some car pics.

Will text you to arrange. Looking forward to it.

[fredgroves]

A good review and comparison there!

I prefer the iDrive way of navigating menus etc than using the R's touch screen which feels a little dated.

I'd totally agree with that - touch screen is ok when you are stationary, but useless when you are moving.

Seem to remember when I looked at the Audi A3 it had a similar twiddly commander to the I-Drive (if you spec'ed it high enough)

Which probably means VAG see it as a "premium" feature reserved for their premium marque and thats not VW.

[wigit]

i think you sum the R it well with regards to where it excels, traction and confidence

not used mine much for the last month as been using the Polo which is on winters, the R is still on super sports and is still amazing on wet roads in 4 degree temps

[am1w]

Yes, the BMW iDrive (I have the Pro Media System) is brilliant and much better than having a touch screen. However, I hardly use it on the move as it is still a distraction. In fact, whilst in Nav mode, I seldom look at the main screen but just listen to voice navigation and look at the Black Panel Display in the binnacle in front of me.

[MAW73]

A good review and comparison there!

I prefer the iDrive way of navigating menus etc than using the R's touch screen which feels a little dated.

I'd totally agree with that - touch screen is ok when you are stationary, but useless when you are moving.

Seem to remember when I looked at the Audi A3 it had a similar twiddly commander to the I-Drive (if you spec'ed it high enough)

Which probably means VAG see it as a "premium" feature reserved for their premium marque and thats not VW.

Yes my Mrs Audi A1 S-Line Black Edition has the twiddly commander control knob which is very similar in operation to BMWs iDrive.