Apologies for abandoning this thread, but I decided that the pressure of making a decision on spec etc. to place an order for a car that couldn't be guaranteed for March 31st, all to save £1000, was not for me. Looking at other options atm. Current favourite is an S3 Sportback. Reckon it beats the R on spec and price, plus Audi finance works better, due to interest rates and future values.
Comments? 😳
Oops, sorry! Happy New Year to you all!
If you want leather on either car then there's not a lot between them at RRP, the R gets £2700ish worth of equipment that is optional on the Audi. Most could live without leather on the VW, but not much of the standard equipment on the Golf that would be essential on the Audi. The equipment levels on the Audi are shocking for a range topping car of its price. You get nice seats, a MFSW, non-adaptive Xenons and that's about it. The very open design of the front grille leaves the intercooler very exposed to stone damage and Audi hasn't acknowledged this design flaw or fixed it despite a fair few people falling victim to it on the forums.
If you're not interested in leather then that Audi will end up costing about £4.5k more than the VW, between the options, the £1000 loyalty payment (if you get the R in time) and the £1250 deposit contribution. It's a cert the S3 will be worth more than the R at trade-in, but likely to be worth £20k in p/x at 3 years old vs a realistic £17k for the R.
Are Audis screwed together any better than VWs? I seriously doubt that - many shared parts, same building techniques and factory tech (paint shops, welding etc) across the VAG European plants. Might get an Audi next time if VW residuals do take a hammering and don't recover from the emissions scandal that affects Audi engines as much as VWs (although the press have tarnished VW more than any other VAG marque), or just to feel like i'm in something different.
The reviewing press also unanimously decided that the R has sharper handling than the S3 and externally it looks better (the S3's seats look better though), but would you notice the handling differences if not flinging either car around the track? Between the 2 cars it's six and two threes IMO on ownership costs IF you don't want leather in the R.
