Considering purchase of a Golf R

[ttv62008rl]

Started thread in vw lounge. Sorry for double post.

I’m considering a purchase on a new Golf R. A bit of background: Used to own a mk2 3.2 TT and currently drive a 2010 STI. The TT was a very civilized ride, albeit a little stiff for the bumpy ride in Montreal. When I first bought it, I was pretty satisfied with the power. The engine had enough low end torque, and combined with the quick engagement for the haldex AWD, made launching from a stop pretty consistent. The top end was never really anything spectacular, and eventually got pretty boring. Still, I loved the Audi luxury that came with it and it looked fantastic. I felt like the car was not worth the price given the performance, so I decided to look for something that performed better for the price after I sold it. I bought the STI, and that was really something else. Having owned only AWD cars, this was the only one that I was able to kick the back end out in a corner. Launching took some learning, and it was hard not to bog in the beginning. Despite the turbo lag, power is absolutely monstrous after ~3500 rpm. There was simply no comparison in raw performance with the TT in terms of handling or straight line acceleration. Stock, I could absolutely stomp on modded GTIs from a dig and even from a roll. Hell, I could even pull on a B7 S4, which I thought was pretty impressive. Obviously I think the B8 would have been a different story. What I didn’t like was the interior. It was filled with low-quality plastics and the sound system was abysmal. Then there was the dashboard-rattle that started at around ~35k km.

So what I want to know is: Has anyone driven/owned the Golf R that has driven the STI or TT? What do you think about the power? I’m willing to trade a little bit of power for the extra comfort and sophistication of the R, as long as it’s not too much. I also want to know about dyno results from Rs compared to GTIs. If the difference isn’t significant, then I don’t think I’d like to purchase the R. Having driven the GTI, I thought it was a real piece of crap performance-wise, despite all the magazine hype. It was porky and underpowered. If it’s GTI-slow, then I’ll be looking at something else.

Looking for your 2 cents.

[Knight2000]

To me, it sounds like nothing is going to make you happy.

Every car will have its upside and its downside for every driver. I have found it impossible to find a car -- for me -- that combines power, sophistication, and comfort all-inclusive. The closest I ever got was my 2002 Bonneville SSEi, but even that, after time, started to get boring. I had one of the fastest Mustangs around in 1996 -- a Boss modified by Larry Shinoda himself -- and by 2000, it had to be sold.

I used to tell my customers -- forget what magazines say. Forget what everyone else says. Drive what you want to drive, and there is no doubt that you're going to have to give up SOMETHING in the purchase of a vehicle. No vehicle is going to make you 100% happy.

That being said, I have driven the R20 and there is a vast difference between it and the GTI in power. However, everything else is the same. You should probably go drive one, because you're going to get very different answers from everyone.

[deagle]

don't go from prior experience, as a new STI will vary from your old STI

compare test drives from same model yr STI and R