VW Golf GTI, Golf R

[MarkS650GT10]

Just curious if anyone has experience driving either the Golf GTI or Golf R ? Happened to watch a couple Youtube videos on them and look pretty quick, especially the R with the AWD and more horsepower. The interior and seats look real nice also and Harman Kardon stereo. Still the R seems expensive for a 4 cylinder turbo. do they share some of the same parts as the Porsche? the shifter looked the same as the one in the 911. I know VW owns Porsche and a lot of other brands too.

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[Cz_Ziemniak]

They share very few parts with the 718 if any, as far as I know.

718 is a 4 cyl boxer, Golf R is an I4.

New Golf R is incredibly refined compared to older ones in regards to chassis dynamics, power, etc. My Mk4 GTI had a heavy tendancy to understeer, the new R is more neutral.

With that being said, the interior on the new Volkswagens is sort of a hateful thing. Better than it was at the start of the 8th generation, but still not great.

It's a very competent car, fast on back roads, but not for me. No longer the hero it was, very much feels like VW lost the plot in recent years, especially with the engineering under the hood. Its yucky, not great.

 

[Puddinpop]

Had a 23 Golf R and ended up trading it in for my 24 GT. Drove fine but hated the start stop function it came with. Touch controls for everything which didn't really bother me but I can see how it would someone else. Power was good for a 4 banger but it's no V8 and would taper off on the top end. Wheels are on the weak side. Hit a small pothole and bent the front passenger wheel. I've hit this pothole with several other cars with no issue. Overall not a bad car but I missed daily driving a V8.

 

[Ryunker]

Ignored.

 

[Puddinpop]

Here are some pics of it before I got rid of it.

 

[MarkS650GT10]

so there isn't a button to push to turn off the start stop like the Mustang has? yeah the spokes on the R wheels looked thin, probably to save weight. they said on youtube they updated the controls some for 2025 so you can control more from steering wheel buttons. thanks for the info. yeah think I will stay with Mustangs, it is fun to research other cars though and watch videos on them. how was the stereo? think it said has a sub under the front seat?

Had a 23 Golf R and ended up trading it in for my 24 GT. Drove fine but hated the start stop function it came with. Touch controls for everything which didn't really bother me but I can see how it would someone else. Power was good for a 4 banger but it's no V8 and would taper off on the top end. Wheels are on the weak side. Hit a small pothole and bent the front passenger wheel. I've hit this pothole with several other cars with no issue. Overall not a bad car but I missed daily driving a V8.

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[robvas]

They can go 11's with just a tune but they don't have a lot up top. They still only trap 114-115

 

[TonyP66]

I currently have a 2016 GTI Autobahn as I await my Dark Horse. It has been a great car for what it is. Handles nice, great interior/ gauges/etc. the manual transmission is a bit flaky off the line sometimes. Not the worst but certainly excited for the Tremec.

It is pretty fun dropping to 4th and flooring it to pass

Going to keep it even after the the new car arrives.

 

[Puddinpop]

so there isn't a button to push to turn off the start stop like the Mustang has? yeah the spokes on the R wheels looked thin, probably to save weight. they said on youtube they updated the controls some for 2025 so you can control more from steering wheel buttons. thanks for the info. yeah think I will stay with Mustangs, it is fun to research other cars though and watch videos on them. how was the stereo? think it said has a sub under the front seat?

t

You have to go through the infotainment to turn it off but every time you restart the car it comes back automatically and you have to go back in and turn it off. Stereo wasn't half bad for me but I'm not really an audiophile and most the time I drive with the stereo off to listen to the exhaust of the car. For a family car I'd say it's perfect but I'm happily single and don't need that much space so it's just me and my 6th gen Camaro and Mustang.

 

[LouG]

I had a Seat Leon Cupra, that's a Golf GTi clone with the Golf R engine. It did 0 - 100kmh in 5.7 and was limited to 250kmh. It easily stayed with an LS3 Commodore up to 210 kmh, then we both got sensible.
It was a fantastic twisty road weapontoo. I sometimes wish I had kept it.

 

[Nace.Oh]

I actually had a 17 GTI Sport for a few years. It was honestly a great machine for what it was. I miss it all the time. Relatively cheap to mod too. I would 1000% get one to daily in a heart beat. I will add it depends on perspective as well. My brother had a big turbo/full built FiST and seen how much I like my vw. He bought the R and traded it for a TYPE R 4 months later. Hated the transmission. Now has the CT5BW

 

[davidkwpg]

Traded in my 24 R 6 speed. VW had me for years but the new MK8 lost its soul. Lack of steering feel, downgrade in interior and a ton of hard cheap plastic, touch sensitive steering wheel buttons, temp and volume sliders that don’t light up, paint thickness seems to have dropped since the last gen, rims are way too easy to bend, the dampening system was too harsh.

used to love the R ( had 4 of them) but I don’t miss my 24.

the interior in my 25 5 litre is 10x what the R is in terms of fit and finish and that’s a bold statement for a ford vs a car off the production line in Germany.

now that I have gone back to muscle, sticking with it for life.

 

[TonyP66]

I have a 2016 GTI manual as my winter/rainy/places I do not want to park the DH ride. It is fun to drive, gets good gas mileage but there is no comparison with the experience of my DH. I would rather own the gti manual as my fall back car versus a Nissan or Toyota.

 

[Rocket Man]

they are nice, kind of cheap semi performance cars. Toy car compared to a GT.

 

[robvas]

Golf R is like $45k, not quite cheap

can run 11's with basic mods though

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