03-20-2015, 08:44 AM | #1 |
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Nick's an R sole.........
Had a drive in a Golf R this morning
Spec was DSG, 19" alloys, adaptive dampers, 5 door, nav, blah blah... Initial impressions. Lapis blue is a very pretty colour. Personal preference is for the 3 door. Purely on look. I won't comment any further on looks as it's a personal matter. Just to say, I think it looked great. Inside. I felt the quality was more or less on par with my F30. What was very noticeable was that the Golfs interior design is far more cohesive than my F30. The driving position was fine, albeit a little " higher" than my F30, even with the seat on it's lowest setting. The room in the back, after adjusting the driver's seat for me, was more than adequate. Drive First time I've driven a VW with the DSG. I felt the flappy paddle's could have been a little larger, but I'm aware that there are aftermarket options to solve this. In the 'normal' mode for the suspension, throttle and box mapping, the DSG does a very good impression of a torque converter auto such as the BMW 8 speed. Not quite as smooth and you don't get the 'creep' at parking speeds, but nevertheless, very manageable and impressive. The DSG in "race" model with the steering wheel paddles is great fun, quick going up or down the box, lovely blip on down changes. I couldn't catch it out. Ride Even on 19" rims and the chassis set to "race" the ride is better than my F30 on 18" rims. This really surprised me as my F30 is far superior to the E90 LCI I had previously. Also far quieter. Very pleasing. All of this down some quick A and B roads, with not the best surfaces. Performance A little quicker than my 328i, but not night and day. To be fair, my F30 has 30k on the clock and has never felt faster (always 98RON fuel),"whilst the Golf only has 600 miles on the clock. Even though the two cars are similar weight, the Golf has a shorter wheelbase and more compact overall dimensions. You notice this when pushing on. The conditions were bone dry at 10•C, so traction was never going to be an issue with the Golf and frankly the chassis could easily handle another 100 bhp. Not something you could say of my F30. What really, really impressed me was how neutral the Golf is. Some detractors say it's FWD lead. Well I say 'bollocks' you haven't driven one! You can get the car set up for the corner, go in on a neutral throttle and plant it at the apex and get a wonderfully balanced feel, with no corruption to the steering. Highly enjoyable. I can only imagine the fun it would be in the wet, when you can get the chassis really engaged! Fuel economy. No idea. But it must run on 98RON to get the full 300 PS. Conclusion Frankly, I don't see the Golf R as in a different "class" to my F30. The Golf has a wide repertoire allowing it to hoon one minute and cruise in a relaxed manner the next. I really love my F30. But the Golf R is better. Very high up on my list of possible now. |
03-20-2015, 08:52 AM | #2 |
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Nice review Nick .... sounds like a fair appraisal.
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03-20-2015, 09:00 AM | #3 |
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That's a nice appraisal.
Two points- 1. Your 328 is still on runflats? If so then change those and see how they compare 2. Your 328i has an engine to compete with the Golf GTI more than the R so the performance gap is to be expected.
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03-20-2015, 09:11 AM | #4 | |
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I guess the 328i sits between the GTI ppk and R in performance |
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03-20-2015, 09:15 AM | #5 |
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Hi Nick,
Can I ask; assume you didn't have a salesman next to you? I can never drive spritely enough when there's someone next to me banging on about finance for this, deal for that b@ll#x! |
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03-20-2015, 09:20 AM | #6 |
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Better ride on 19's because of the dampers maybe? But RFTs are no help on your 18's.
I've not driven it but I bet it's a nice lil pocket rocket! The styling doesn't work for me though, I personally prefer the GTI/GTD styling but ETTO!
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03-20-2015, 09:30 AM | #7 | |
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But ETTO as you say. |
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03-20-2015, 09:34 AM | #8 | |
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This meant that when we were out in the car, he let me get on with it and encouraged me to give it the beans. He also was in no hurry to get back to the showroom so was out for a good hour. |
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03-20-2015, 09:47 AM | #9 |
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I'd never go out if there was a salesman next to me. If they can't let me go out in one on my own then they lose the sale.
That's any car, not just the golf. BMW and Merc were more than happy to throw me a car for the afternoon to get a good feel of. |
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03-20-2015, 10:12 AM | #10 |
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Great, balanced write-up.
Glad you liked it. It's not too bad for a people's car.
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03-20-2015, 10:29 AM | #11 |
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FWIW our Golf has improved a lot over 3000 miles. Performance is noticeably better and fuel economy is up by around 3-4mpg.
I agree with all your comments. Its not loads smaller than a 3 series but it feels it when you drive it....in a good way. |
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03-20-2015, 10:33 AM | #13 |
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03-20-2015, 10:36 AM | #14 | |
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We have guards on the border to stop this sort from entering the county..... |
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03-20-2015, 10:43 AM | #15 | |
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03-20-2015, 11:35 AM | #16 |
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Great appraisal of the car, from someone independant...
Not really considered a VW as 2nd car tbh. On test drives, usually first time round have a salesman, The young lad that came out on my first BMW test drive, hastily declined coming out with me on the 2nd lol. |
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03-20-2015, 11:41 AM | #17 | |
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03-20-2015, 11:43 AM | #18 |
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They have a culture shock and faint when the toe rags attempt entry. We then run them over.
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03-20-2015, 11:44 AM | #20 |
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So Village People!!
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03-20-2015, 12:49 PM | #22 | |
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Quite the reverse. It's going to take a lot to get me out of the BMW. But, as above, I was really impressed with the R. If you haven't driven one, you should. |
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