My GTD soon departs after a happy two years, is it time to get a Golf R ? R mpg?

[monkeyhanger]

mpg is relative to how you drive it. Unless you gave the GTD a nun's run-in, if your trips have you average 43mpg in the GTD, i'd expect about 25mpg if I was you. I averaged about 48mpg in the GTD I used to have, now its around 31mpg in the R. Short trips are around 28mpg and longer ones (my 20 mile commute) you are talking about 32mpg. The R has a big penalty for cruising at 80mph as opposed to 70mph due to the lower gearing. The difference in mpg between 70 and 80mph cruising in the GTD is negligible, in the R it's the difference between 30mpg and 36mpg.

As someone that has come from a long line of VAG TDIs, the R is an amazing car - mine has been a bit troublesome, not for number of faults, but the number of visits to the dealership per fault before they got fixed.

[AdmiralGant]

Thanks for the replies all, better than I was thinking then for the R and quite right - perhaps I should give the GTI some thought, but the sound of the R seems very additive and I am not sure the GTI is as good??

Think I could live with 25mpg 

[remlapeel]

Thanks for the replies all, better than I was thinking then for the R and quite right - perhaps I should give the GTI some thought, but the sound of the R seems very additive and I am not sure the GTI is as good??

Think I could live with 25mpg 

No it's not. I had one and traded it in for an R. The GTI is a good car, but the R is a great car.

[monkeyhanger]

Thanks for the replies all, better than I was thinking then for the R and quite right - perhaps I should give the GTI some thought, but the sound of the R seems very additive and I am not sure the GTI is as good??

Think I could live with 25mpg 

The GTI isn't as quick as the R, with a small spend on a tuning box you could get your GTD running quicker than a stock GTI in gear.

Of course you could buy a GTI and get it boxed or chipped to be a 2WD car with almost the same output as a stock R (think of it as a VW Leon Cupra). Or you could buy an R. More incentives for the GTI at the moment, but around half of the R's premium is mitigated by better residuals.

I had a DTUK box on my GTD and it really gave it a shot in the arm, but the R is noticeably quicker again.

I do a performance test close to home with every car I get, leaving a roundabout slipway at 20mph and accelerating hard to pass a certain road sign and see what speed I am at - I tried this tonight on my R.

140TDI Golf 5 PD= 70mph

170TDI Golf 5 PD= 80mph

140TDI Scirocco CR = 78mph

170TDI Scirocco CR = 81mph

MK7 GTD = 80mph (cold) / 82mph (warm) - the first time I have seen a limit for a cold engine

MK7 GTD with DTUK box (warm) = 89mph

MK7 R (warm) = 101mph (was 97mph when there was only 800 miles on the clock - it has improved with age, or perhaps the new turbo)

I'd hazard a guess that it'd be about 86mph for a warm GTI doing the same.

[remlapeel]

I had my GTI mapped to 320bhp with revo and in gear it is quick! Quicker than a stock R on a dry road, rolling with decent rubber. Unfortunately that's also the problem. You need all of your ducks in a row to get the most out of it. Throw part worn tyres, rain or a standing start and watch the traction light goes mental.

Traction when standard is alright, but it's a different league.

For me it's like comparing a 2.0L diesel GT to a GTD. The GT is a is a class below, similar to the GTI and R

[JoeGTI]

Are you a manual or DSG JoeGTI ?? And are you using the RACE setting a lot ?? 

Mine is a DSG with about 2k miles on it. I do use Race a bit for sure but mostly in Indivudual mode with a mixture of Sport/Normal settings. The DSG in sport mode is fine for 5 minutes but would drive you mad after that. So it's mostly in D or manual.
I tried Eco for the first time on the motorway yesterday. When cruising the difference isn't all that noticeable.

[monkeyhanger]

I had my GTI mapped to 320bhp with revo and in gear it is quick! Quicker than a stock R on a dry road, rolling with decent rubber. Unfortunately that's also the problem. You need all of your ducks in a row to get the most out of it. Throw part worn tyres, rain or a standing start and watch the traction light goes mental.

Traction when standard is alright, but it's a different league.

For me it's like comparing a 2.0L diesel GT to a GTD. The GT is a is a class below, similar to the GTI and R

Traction (or lack thereof) is why I chopped my GTD in for an R. Even though my R came with crappy Flintstones, traction when hoofing it is fully taken care of by the haldex system.

Asking 320ps from the stock turbo and clutch on the GTI is asking a lot. The turbos used in the GTI and the R don't seem to have a high margin of over-engineering like the GTD does - by that I mean some people have popped a turbo or cooked their clutch in a GTI/R here and in the R forum, haven't heard of a GTDer doing the same yet.

[AdmiralGant]

I agree MonkeyH, the GTD does struggle to get its power down on a hard throttle standing start and even worse in wet. I guess the R just leaves the line with no fuss.

My main concern with the R is people saying they get about 20mpg or less, but no one has shouted that out, so sounds another reason to get one.

I see the GTD/GTI now gets sat nav, keyless and heated seats as std, yet the top of the range R still needs all that added as options.

Am I right in saying the R also has no front fogs? Not a major issue, or are they in the headlight units somewhere?

[Booth11]

I agree MonkeyH, the GTD does struggle to get its power down on a hard throttle standing start and even worse in wet. I guess the R just leaves the line with no fuss.

My main concern with the R is people saying they get about 20mpg or less, but no one has shouted that out, so sounds another reason to get one.

I see the GTD/GTI now gets sat nav, keyless and heated seats as std, yet the top of the range R still needs all that added as options.

Am I right in saying the R also has no front fogs? Not a major issue, or are they in the headlight units somewhere?

You'd have to be driving like a nutter to be getting 20mpg or less!

Certainly does get the power down with NO fuss at all.

Yes keyless, nav and heated seats (only on cloth) are all still extra on an R.  BUT, the build week 45 changes some stuff might get included as standard??

That's right, no front fogs on the R. Haven't missed them thus far and well, when you see the lovely deep intakes in their place you'll forget all about front fogs.

[Hawaii-Five-O]

Pretty disgraceful to read that your GTD only achieved 43 mpg (long term avg). My GTI DSG is giving me 38.5 mpg (long term avg). Not that far off your diesel!

Good luck with your decision AdmiralGant. Would you consider the GTI (a relatively rare sight on the roads) instead of the R. Runs on the cheaper 95 RON fuel too