Thoughts on the R

[Booth11]

A year already!  Time goes fast in a fast car.   

I must agree.  Absolute love my Golf R, just as much as when i picked it up almost a year ago.  So glad I put extended warranty on it as I have no plans to change it until the MK8 is released at the earliest.     

Lol.  There's a good chance I'll keep mine until an 8R shows it's face and the early teething issues are out of the way.  Such a good car it would be a crime to get rid of it even at 3 years old which is roughly when I normally switch although I keep me second mk7 gti for 4 years as that was such a good car.  The R is in that league and more.

I'll be honest I hope the 8 isn't a great departure from the 7.5. Although I can see areas of design that could be improved. Point is the performance and ability is dare I say almost impossible to improve on in this package. Especially at the price, Porsche would struggle to match it ,maybe on a boxster châssis at £50k +

I intend to keep for 7++? Years regardless, especially now I have pedal box+ fitted
Everyone was right, a revelation , like an extra ?BHP on tap.

Am off to Cornwall tomorrow 500 mile plus trip. Will have in City mode as have passenger

Trust will not end up hedgerows.  sensible head on.

R the ultimate driving machine !

Well Golf development is almost always evolutionary but it's an interesting juncture for the future of such cars, so will be intriguing to see what the mk8 does bring forth. Aside from changes under the hood, the design will not be too much of a departure I shouldn't think but sadly performance Golf design seems to be heading into a more generic era, which is a shame imo.  But time will tell, and the mk7R original and facelift is a winner on many many fronts and will be a very hard act to follow.

I only feel like I've had my R about a year rather than 2 which is a good thing and it still gives me thrills everyday.  Great great car.

Take it easy with your new pedal box - don't want to be reading about any more R's crashed into living rooms.  And enjoy your trip to Cornwall. 

[JoeGTI]

My R also recently turned 2 and I also had it in for its 2nd service last week. Like Rebecca, it doesn't seem like 2 years. The car is still like new inside and out.
I briefly contemplated changing it a few weeks ago. I guess a vandalism/theft incident prompted it. I even had a deal on the table for a Clubsport. But several people ("car" guys and my wife!) talked me out of it 
The R would be a very very hard car to replace. I sat into a new 7.5 recently. Sure the new tech is nice, but the wedge it would cost to change up to what is essentially mostly the same car would be extremely hard to justify...

[Booth11]

My R also recently turned 2 and I also had it in for its 2nd service last week. Like Rebecca, it doesn't seem like 2 years. The car is still like new inside and out.
I briefly contemplated changing it a few weeks ago. I guess a vandalism/theft incident prompted it. I even had a deal on the table for a Clubsport. But several people ("car" guys and my wife!) talked me out of it 
The R would be a very very hard car to replace. I sat into a new 7.5 recently. Sure the new tech is nice, but the wedge it would cost to change up to what is essentially mostly the same car would be extremely hard to justify...

It's good to hear you've decided to keep the R Joe.  I'm glad the 'car' guys and your wife talked you out of it (made you see sense, lol).  It's such a good car in either version, why would you want to let it go and what else out there matches its offering?  Not a lot. The new tech in the facelift is not enough to make me want to change, nor is the 7th gear which is not something I would hugely benefit from anyway.  At this point in time I feel quite happy waiting for a mk8R and catch up with new tech then.  One of my main hopes (purely aesthetic) is that VW resist the temptation to put geometric or enclosed tailpipes on it.  Fingers crossed they leave that to the other hothatch brigades!

[CHB100]

My R also recently turned 2 and I also had it in for its 2nd service last week. Like Rebecca, it doesn't seem like 2 years. The car is still like new inside and out.
I briefly contemplated changing it a few weeks ago. I guess a vandalism/theft incident prompted it. I even had a deal on the table for a Clubsport. But several people ("car" guys and my wife!) talked me out of it 
The R would be a very very hard car to replace. I sat into a new 7.5 recently. Sure the new tech is nice, but the wedge it would cost to change up to what is essentially mostly the same car would be extremely hard to justify...

I totally agree with not needing to change to a 7.5. It was timing for me And I changed from a 6 GTI.
Horrible what happened with yours, don't let them win.
Only an 8R should maybe tempt you into parting.

[JoeGTI]

Yeah I'm kinda glad I saw sense now tbh! My logic was ludicrous in any case. The vandalism thing got me thinking of changing but the car I was looking at - a Tornado red Clubsport - was hardly going to solve the "unwanted attention" issue 
Almost everyone I asked thought I was insane to even consider it lol.

Now I need to get 2 new tyres for the R. (Man maths was also telling me I'd "save" on tyres by changing the car  )

[Booth11]

Yeah I'm kinda glad I saw sense now tbh! My logic was ludicrous in any case. The vandalism thing got me thinking of changing but the car I was looking at - a Tornado red Clubsport - was hardly going to solve the "unwanted attention" issue 
Almost everyone I asked thought I was insane to even consider it lol.

Now I need to get 2 new tyres for the R. (Man maths was also telling me I'd "save" on tyres by changing the car  )

Lol Joe.  Replace an R with a red Clubsport (nice!) to make your driveway less attractive to thieves?  What were you thinking.    Forget the man maths, get the tyres.  What tyres?   

[JoeGTI]

Probably PS4-S's although I'm only changing 2 for now. I can't justify binning the 2 tyres that still have plenty left. So I wouldn't rule out like for like conti's either. I'll just need to bite the bullet in next few weeks and price them up.

[Booth11]

Probably PS4-S's although I'm only changing 2 for now. I can't justify binning the 2 tyres that still have plenty left. So I wouldn't rule out like for like conti's either. I'll just need to bite the bullet in next few weeks and price them up.

On the rear I presume Joe?  If you can somehow stretch to it, go PS4S all round.  How much tread is remaining on your Contis?  Might be able to shift them on eBay or forums.

[JoeGTI]

Ya there's about 4mm left on the 2 rears. I've never bothered rotating them so my fronts have obviously worn much quicker. But not as quick as they wore on the GTI. I reckon the 4WD is actually a little kinder to tyres, more even weight distribution and less scrabbling for grip at the front I guess.

So I think I'll just replace the front 2 and do the rears again in 6 months or whatever... assuming I still have it 

[Booth11]

Ya there's about 4mm left on the 2 rears. I've never bothered rotating them so my fronts have obviously worn much quicker. But not as quick as they wore on the GTI. I reckon the 4WD is actually a little kinder to tyres, more even weight distribution and less scrabbling for grip at the front I guess.

So I think I'll just replace the front 2 and do the rears again in 6 months or whatever... assuming I still have it 

That's my observation too.  On my GTI I got 12k out of 2 sets of Conti 5Ps with about 3mm tread left. On the R I got 14k out of them with a bit over 3-4mm left, so definitely seems better on the tyres than sole FWD.