Golf R... Why buy a Golf GTI?

[Daz Auto]

I am interested to know why people here, on the GolfGTIforum, decided to buy a GTI instead of a Golf R?

I have looked at a few reviews and noticed that some of them concluded that the Golf R was a better choice.

[kelvyn29]

Company car tax was silly on the R so decided on a GTi which is cheaper than my current focus mk3

[Watts]

Firstly I'm in no doubt that the 'R' is a great car, fast and grippy. But the GTI is also a great car if not as fast. It's not exactly slow, has better economy, has a tartan interior which is more fun and overall I think is a bit less, serious. I love mine and I'm very pleased with it. Would I change it for an 'R'? Tempting yes, the extra speed sounds exciting but for now I'm happy with my choice.

[monkeyhanger]

The (standard/PP) GTI isn't particularly "hot" as a hot hatch these days - the Clubsport is where the MK7 GTI should have been to keep up with the Focus ST and Megane Cup in the BHP stakes, and the Civic R type wipes the floor with it.

Giving cheap access to the R via leases and (in the early days) very high GFVs for PCPers gave the GTI a right pasting - who it their right mind would want to pay £50-100pm more for a 220ps GTI than a 300ps Golf R?

If VW want to kill off the GTI as a serious hot hatch then they've been going the right way about it the last few years. The highest output variant of the Golf used to be a niche model, not any more (Clubsport S excepted).

The MK8 GTI should be packing at least 270ps to be taken seriously by anyone who isn't already a dedicated VAG fan on the lookout for their next hot hatch.

If the Focus RS remains as rare as hen's teeth, and if it had an interior worthy of a German motor, i'd probably be getting one of those next - if the residuals are healthy, the RRP looks an absolute bargain,

[GTI_Ant]

Because I don't need 4wd where I live.  The GTi pp has the great lsd and the same brakes as the R.  It weighs 100kg less so will stop quicker and is significantly more economical day to day.  The R has a better power to weight and faster off the line but I don't think there is enough to make driving enjoyment a decider.

[The ANT]

It depends what you want, why by a g60? Why not get a 1.8t mk2 or go the whole hog with a rallye?

Why by an rs500? An ordinary 3 door is rare too and can easily be as fast as the rs500

All depends on what you want. What you need is rarely what you want.

[buddfridge]

Nobody has yet mentioned the styling, yes I have some agreement with all the other posts but for me the gti is better looking than the R or the new clubsport and that was my deciding factor.

Mine is the gti pp I have added a peddle box and now I have the package of looks, performance and economy as well as being an iconic model, I have wanted a gti for 30 years and maybe the kids of today will want an R in 20/30 years time, so I guess another very good reason would be which golf first give you that itch that one day you had to scratch.

The last thing I would say is that the gti gets up to speed limits so quickly that it's almost impossible to utilise all of the performance on offer, so with speed restrictions and speeding enforcement the benefits of a faster golf are a little diluted, I can see positives in owning a clubsport for exclusivity or an R For four wheel drive but I still prefer the gti, it's just a really good all rounder.

[Exonian]

As Monkeyhanger says, it's the value of the R that makes it an attractive buy/lease/PCP compared to the GTI when looking at it in the cold light of day.
The GTI PP is an incredibly underrated car and performs better than the 70bhp deficit would have you believe.
Traction is the R's great asset in a damp and soggy country.

I really liked my GTI and I really like my R too.
Both have quite different characters bearing in mind they're just variations on a theme.
If you don't use the upper end of the rev range then the GTI is as quick as an R so driving style and looks will play a part. Mind you, if you don't use the upper rev ranges you'd probably be better off with a stage 1 GTD (with decent tyres) than either of the hot petrols. At least you'd then be able to use 90% of the lower gear performance a lot more of the time and have lower running costs to boot.

Incidentally, I ran some insurance quotes for all three performance Golfs (ignoring the ClubSport) and there was only a few quid between them all.

I'd quite like a go in a ClubSport to see if it really does offer the best blend of GTI nimbleness and R performance.

[kalimon]

Nobody has yet mentioned the styling, yes I have some agreement with all the other posts but for me the gti is better looking than the R or the new clubsport and that was my deciding factor.

Mine is the gti pp I have added a peddle box and now I have the package of looks, performance and economy as well as being an iconic model, I have wanted a gti for 30 years and maybe the kids of today will want an R in 20/30 years time, so I guess another very good reason would be which golf first give you that itch that one day you had to scratch.

The last thing I would say is that the gti gets up to speed limits so quickly that it's almost impossible to utilise all of the performance on offer, so with speed restrictions and speeding enforcement the benefits of a faster golf are a little diluted, I can see positives in owning a clubsport for exclusivity or an R For four wheel drive but I still prefer the gti, it's just a really good all rounder.

Perfectly put and exactly why I bought a GTI.
Add in the relative rarity of the GTI compared to the R and there you have it.
Nobody in their right mind can criticise the R's abilities, but it's not for everybody.

[Brenbo]

When I first bought my GTI PP, the Golf R was not available.  There was not even any confirmation of the Golf R being released at the time.  I absolutely love my GTI PP and to date it is the best car I have ever owned.  This is going on the history of Civic Type-R's and other hot hatches. In photos, the styling of the Golf R when it was released was a lot more understated and ordinary looking than the GTI from most angles, I for one was unsure of the styling.  However in the flesh the Golf R looks fantastic.  The Golf GTI PP has great performance and the e-Diff is something else, it's like the car is on rails.  But there are still times when I get tramping in wet weather pulling away from a junction and feel there could be more grip.  This is mainly due to the bridgestone tyres VW fits to the wheels and can be fixed to a degree with different tyres.  But I still feel the Golf R will provide greater traction on the same tyres (Bridgestones) with it being AWD.  Also I feel ready for a change and upgrade in power. 

I have always wanted to own a Golf R since seeing the MK5 and MK6 variants but it was just too expensive and out of reach financially.  Don't get me wrong my GTI PP is a fantastic car but I am on the 3 year mark of ownership and feel ready to try a Golf R.  When the MK8 GTI is released I may go back to owning a GTI as it is such a great car and I would prompt anyone to own one.  It just I want to see what all the hype is about the Golf R and be able to say I have owned one....   Which I will be able to do in just a few short weeks as my Golf R on order, is at Emden right now waiting to come across the channel to the UK.