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I was given a lend of both for a day or so each by a friendly dealer.
I tried to compare to my mkV R32 but not that easy.
All 3 cars have there own unique feel and characteristics.
The gti felt fast and nimble, the suspension was very tight with lots of compression damping. Wheel spin was an issue on fast take offs and torque steer in the wet annoying. A lot better in the dry but still required a feathered throttle to take off over stop lines quickly. Once on the move a very nice "sporty" drive with a great exh note..
The R felt more like my current mkv R32, steering a bit woolly but still went where the wheel was facing. Im guessing they have adj the electronic weighting to feel similar.
Traction was never an issue. The gti felt fast but the R was noticeably quicker once on the move. The dsg changes in both the mkVIs was very fast and clean. (must get my giac put back on)
The exh note was not as stirring as the gti but "nearly" the same. There is a sounder in the plenum to give a diff aural tone.
It was let down by what seemed to be turbo lag, even more than the gti. Hopefully it was just the low ks'. That required you to accel earlier than in the mkV coming out of a fast corner.
On my private test track up a very steep hill from a rolling start the gti got to 100kph, the R to 105 and my R32 to 110.
Would I trade.......hmm, if the R felt like the gti with the same awd drive train maybe but not as it currently is.
I know you can pour money in and make them go harder but that's a diff story. One I wouldn't contemplate on a new car.
Bazzle
I tried to compare to my mkV R32 but not that easy.
All 3 cars have there own unique feel and characteristics.
The gti felt fast and nimble, the suspension was very tight with lots of compression damping. Wheel spin was an issue on fast take offs and torque steer in the wet annoying. A lot better in the dry but still required a feathered throttle to take off over stop lines quickly. Once on the move a very nice "sporty" drive with a great exh note..
The R felt more like my current mkv R32, steering a bit woolly but still went where the wheel was facing. Im guessing they have adj the electronic weighting to feel similar.
Traction was never an issue. The gti felt fast but the R was noticeably quicker once on the move. The dsg changes in both the mkVIs was very fast and clean. (must get my giac put back on)
The exh note was not as stirring as the gti but "nearly" the same. There is a sounder in the plenum to give a diff aural tone.
It was let down by what seemed to be turbo lag, even more than the gti. Hopefully it was just the low ks'. That required you to accel earlier than in the mkV coming out of a fast corner.
On my private test track up a very steep hill from a rolling start the gti got to 100kph, the R to 105 and my R32 to 110.
Would I trade.......hmm, if the R felt like the gti with the same awd drive train maybe but not as it currently is.
I know you can pour money in and make them go harder but that's a diff story. One I wouldn't contemplate on a new car.
Bazzle
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