[to_riffic]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

Did you tune the R?

What don't you like about it?

Thanks for your input!!

No haven't tuned it. Just lowered on KW DDC, HRE wheels, and front lip.

It's not that I don't like it or it lacks anything. The interior is really nice with the full leather seats and all, but I do wish it had a hud and the iDrive screen is way nicer than the smaller touch screen found it the R. And I do wish I had a real handbrake, not the stupid electronic button.

[turbo_joe]

Originally Posted by ra2fanatic

No haven't tuned it. Just lowered on KW DDC, HRE wheels, and front lip.

It's not that I don't like it or it lacks anything. The interior is really nice with the full leather seats and all, but I do wish it had a hud and the iDrive screen is way nicer than the smaller touch screen found it the R. And I do wish I had a real handbrake, not the stupid electronic button.

Every other country gets a much nicer/larger 9" touch screen while we only get the 7" version. I drive my buddy's 16' R and the ebrake annoys me the most.

[billyali86]

Originally Posted by rob24ert

Funny, i had a GTI and went to a 135i. My friend had a Golf R now went to M3.

Golf R is a great all around car. Difference being, the 335 has more sports car roots and feel, while the Golf R can keep up, it is still a hopped up GOLF.

So do you want more all around or something with a sportier feel?

FYI, i raced him stock 135i vs. Apr Stage 2 Golf R, we were neck and neck. When he went Stage 2 +, he walked me hard.

Either way both cars are nice.

An APR stage 2 golf R should destroy a stock 135i, they really are very quick when tuned

[billyali86]

Originally Posted by ra2fanatic

I don't see R owners downshifting and weaving in and out of traffic trying to show off compared to F8X owners...

This is in the UK, and I can attest to it being very true. For a while the golf R could be leased for around between £170 and £230 a month which made it very accessible for alot younger immature drivers

[BKfredE60]

I was on the fence of getting an R32 or a BMW. I am BEYOND content with my decision of getting the E60 535xi

[KingOfJericho]

I'm back on a Golf R kick myself. I just can't find anything reasonably priced that ticks all the boxes like this car does.

Quick
AWD
Manual
Four doors
Reliable-ish

My current CC is plenty quick but I think the reason I dislike it is the fucking DSG. It's my first automatic car and it's starting to wear on me.

My other thoughts were [all pre-owned] IS350 F Sport, Audi Allroad, Audi A6 3.0T sport pkg, Range Rover Sport Supercharged, X5M, or X5 xdrive50i M sport. All can be had in the $30-40k range.

[Nihilation]

VW gave us (RightFootDown.com) a MK7 Golf R loaner. Unfortunately it was an inopportune time and we ended up taking it for a family road trip from DC to Myrtle Beach before handing it over to our EIC off of I-95 for the second stint to New Orleans and back.

Our Golf R was this pewter color and did have the 6MT. It was pretty much loaded with Fender Audio, navigation and every other box ticked.

Granted, 90% of my time behind the wheel was highway, but the Golf R didn't seem to drive any better than the MK7 GTI or offer much more, if I'm honest. The turbo noises and exhaust was cool but it didn't feel much quicker than the GTI. The brakes were also quite grabby and with the right pad I'm sure could take some abuse at a track day. But if you want mo powa with the 6MT plan on replacing the clutch too because owners are burning theirs up with just a tune.

The various driving modes, while gimmicky at first look, do mildly transform the car with each level. With the windows cracked or down, the turbo spooling is audible and the exhaust note can be clearly heard under acceleration.

The materials up front were soft touch in the right places. Unfortunately the rear passengers received no such thing. On the material subject, there were parts of the car where the trim didn't feel secure, such as around the shift boot and the push start button. One thing I will say is that the optional Fender Audio is fantastic and for $40k, I'm afraid it's one of the few things that felt premium. The others were the steering wheel and front seats. As for the navigation and infotainment interface, I personally preferred Mazda's navigation, which is available in vehicles half this price. Granted, 90% of my time behind the wheel was highway, but the Golf R never made me think "Yeah, I could see myself in one of these."

Assuming I had $40k burning a hole in my pocket, I think I'd rather have a GTI with the lighting package, performance package, and a handful of driver enjoyment modifications such as a good engine tune, suspension, stickier tires and sportier seats.

[to_riffic]

Mazda infotainment over the R? Maybe my experience was short lived, but I had a '15 Mazda MX-5 and it was crap. I didn't like it and it doesn't even have real-time traffic updates.

Lower on KW DDC which works with the DCC in the R and you'll notice the difference, immediately.

Highway miles is not a fair comparison to a GTI, imho. Not sure about the whole trim issue you had though since I've had this car for 4 months, 7k miles already and don't feel like anything has rattled.