Time flies when you're having fun.
It's 12 months I've had the R now.
It's now had its first service and I can happily report that it didn't need to go back to the dealer once during its first year. I've probably cursed it now by saying that and I did have a random front radar error message pop up on screen the other day but I'll put that down to the torrential rain a few minutes beforehand (despite the fact I was stopped) touch wood.
To celebrate its first birthday it has acquired its first stone chip this past week.
Grrrrrrr.
Considering I've hardly used it this last week I'm not sure whether it happened in the dealership (it was raining when I collected it) or as a result of some comedy road resurfacing near the dealership. The local council seems to have decided that throwing some gravel in the rough direction of the ground is an acceptable way of their contractors repairing roads, no doubt at huge cost. I suppose you don't get potholes in loose gravel so that's one tick box on the council's list

Can you sue the council for damage resulting from crap "repairs"?
Anyway, twelve months in, what do I think of the car?
Pretty amazing really.
On the one hand it's a Golf and does just what a normal Golf does.
And on the other hand it's a 4wd 300PS sports model that has incredible traction and poise.
If Superman kept his Clark Kent outfit on he'd be a Golf R.
As to the future, I'm being asked to do a training job soon, I think, which will mean lots of miles on the road potentially. It'll be a drop in salary with a business mileage allowance which won't be a lot. Therefore I'll have to consider something that requires fuelling from the black pump. A GTD would be the front running option if that's the case unless I can minimise travel and get work to hire cars in when I need one.