A quick and mini review as I have only driven the car for 10 miles today. Plus, I have not been feeling too well. But you guys deserve a write-up.
The car is everything and more than I thought it would be. I made the perfect choice especially by choosing Tornado Red.
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THE HANDOVER:
Better than with the BMW.
The handover by Andrew Wood, Fleet Manger, West London VW, took about 1.5 hours. He had set the car up perfectly for me. I cannot thank him enough for the excellent 3 year lease deal he gave me and the superb service I have received over the last 5 months of waiting. All I can say is that it was well worth the wait. The car is something else and then some. Yes, in this case the rave reviews were not spot on. The car is even better IMO than they purported it to be.
FIT & FINISH:
R wins by a significant margin.
Not a single fault!!!!!
This car is the best made and finished car I have ever owned and the list includes BMWs, Mercs, Audis, Porsches, Maseratis, Jaguars and even an Aston Martin (which blew up!). It has been beautifully prepped by the Dealer and carefully supervised by Andrew Wood. Not a single swirl make, paint defect in both sunlight and under fluorescent lights. Oh next to no orange peel. BMW take note.
The doors hang perfectly, close with an expensive thunk (unlike my BMW), the panel gaps are minuscule unlike BMW, the interior is much better made than a BMW and it is definitely quite jewel-like IMO. The seats are supremely comfortable. I chose cloth/Alcantara which I preferred to any of the exorbitantly priced and cheap looking VW leather of which 40% is faux!
There is not a single ill-fitting panel, inside or outside. Pretty perfect IMO.
THE SOUND SYSTEM
Better than the BMW Harmon Kardon.
And what a system! It needs special mention.
The Dynaudio is quite amazing even with the non-runin speakers and is a significant league better than the BMW Harmon Kardon system. Dynaudio is beautifully balanced with very tuneful bass and silky highs, even though the speakers have not been in use for any length of time. Most impressive and worth every penny. In a word, wonderful.
ENGINE & DSG GERABOX
On par with BMW.
In a word they work in perfect harmony from the brief run I had today. The DSG seems very clever. The fake engine sound is bit overwhelming at first but is rather addictive. It produces a deep race-like growl which at first was a bit off putting, but then after 10 minutes I began to love and enjoy it. The flappy paddles are very small, plastic, hence cheap looking and not in the BMW league. Love the petrol engine. What have I been missing? Torque is the only thing but not the rev happiness that a petrol engine brings. This is how cars are meant to be IMO.
RIDE, HANDLING, STEERING FEEL, NOISE:
Overall better than the BMW and by some margin.
The car feels so planted and chuckable. Not like a wallowing BMW whale. The suspension does not crash on bad tarmac like the BMW and the steering has much more feel than the BMW. With the brief drive today, I can categorically say that the R reigns supreme.
DCC is truly excellent and does what it says on the tin. I can't imagine driving a non-DCC car especially with 19" Prets.
The car is very quiet at speed (only 50 mph today) and has less road roar than the BMW Tyres are Bridgestone S001 types but thankfully non-runflat. Not the best, but good enough. Cannot comment on wind noise yet but I have a feeling it will trump the BMW.
LOOKS:
I now feel that the R and BMW are on par.
I would, would I not! Only natural.
These are different cars for different purposes. I love the BMW saloon shape but not its size. So easy to park the R! The R is not a photogenic car. In reality it looks quite wonderful for a hatchback. Love the OTT quad exhausts. The BMW had rather minuscule pea shooters which belied its performance potential.
THE R NEGATIVES:
(1) Tiny boot, but big enough for me. Car is no good for the family man. Advice: stop breeding!
(2) R Touchscreen is so last Tuesday compared to brilliant BMW iDrive which is head and shoulders better than the R setup. In fact, iDrive is incomparable. I miss it hugely.
(3) Stupid flappy paddles. Plastic and tiny. But I will hardly use them as I hardly used the BMW paddles. So no loss.
(4) The Sat Nav has horrid graphics. I chose the cheaper system.
(5) Too many bewildering functions on the steering wheel. I'll get used to this eventually.
(6) Miss the crawl of the BMW Auto ZF gearbox. But I'll get used to this.
Oh, you can sync or unsync the air con for passenger and driver which you cannot with the BMW. The R has many useful touches. So does the BMW.
Pictures to follow. I promise.
Which do I prefer? I like them both. What I do not like is BMW's lower quality of fit and finish. So overall, I prefer the R. That's why I got one.
Guys and gals who are still waiting for their Rs: When you get your cars it will be like entering Heaven and will be well worth the wait. I promise!
