Golf R iMotor Review

[Goldy]

http://issue.imotormag.co.uk/1X4b505...154.cde/page/4

"Indeed, the Golf R is almost perfect... apart from one rather large problem - the price. Quite frankly, $30,040(GBP) is way, way too much for a Golf no matter how good it is. For $2,000(GBP), you could get an Audi S3, which is effectively the same model only with a better badge. so while the Golf R is VW's most exciting car ever, it's not actually its best. That's still the front-wheel-drive GTI, which is almost as good but, crucially $6,000(GBP) cheaper."

[astro]

Hmmmm... that is a bit scary that the s3 is only 2000 more then it... the golf looks better imo.

[team_v]

Hmmmm... that is a bit scary that the s3 is only 2000 more then it... the golf looks better imo.

There is no way the golf can look better.
They just borrowed bits from audi to make it look different from the normal golf.

Note the large side air dams lifted from the TT-RS and RS3 concept.
Also note the wheels which have taken heavy design cues from the new RS6 wheels
It loozes the exhaust note that everyone fell in love with which makes it even more like the S3.

To me the audi anihilates the golf r20 on looks.

[Goldy]

That's 2000 pounds so roughly $3600AUD. But more importantly 6000 ($11kAUD approx) more expensive than a GTI.

not that Euro prices ever equate to what we pay here.

[coastie]

Hmmmm... that is a bit scary that the s3 is only 2000 more then it... the golf looks better imo.

The S3 is 2000 pound less than the Golf R written in the article. Far too much money.

[MaccaTSI]

Some more Golf R in imotor, against a Focus RS in the snow.

http://issue.imotormag.co.uk/car-news-car-reviews-cool-cars-car-videos/1X4b505529adda6012.cde/page/14

They still reckon you should just buy a GTI

[G-rig]

To me the audi anihilates the golf r20 on looks.

That's fairly subjective and the S3 could look out of date before too long with that sloping rear window (and the interior). The 5 door looks a bit more modern but not as good as the 5 door Golf IMO (looks more like a small wagon, although growing on me a bit).

Another review here:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/10q1/2010_volkswagen_golf_r-first_drive_review

The S3 is 2000 pound less than the Golf R written in the article. Far too much money.

Yeah, there could be a few disappointed people if it is similar money to the Audi, in which case you'd go for a heavily discounted S3 now. VW is getting awesome but still isn't quite up to the same build quality or badge cred (but i'm willing to forego that for a 10k saving and cheaper options/parts/servicing).

Seems like the GTI will be better value for almost the same thing.

[Psyk]

How accurate is this 'same' price between the S3 and the R20?

Would you go a base model S3 or an optioned-up R20? The Audi's get expensive once you start adding options that would probably be standard or cost less on the VW. There's something quite special about driving the premium Golf.

I know which way I would go...

[fourmo]

Wow, that sounds really ghey when given a bit of stick. Induction and exhaust may fix it a bit but for that kind of cash I would be sticking with a GTI and putting the savings towards mods or getting a nice second hand S3LE

[bwen]

How accurate is this 'same' price between the S3 and the R20?

Would you go a base model S3 or an optioned-up R20? The Audi's get expensive once you start adding options that would probably be standard or cost less on the VW. There's something quite special about driving the premium Golf.

I know which way I would go...

I know which way I would go too... the S3. VW can easily have the same engine setup in a normal golf (see: GTI Pirelli) so personally the R has lost its true roots like the R32.

[Psyk]

I know which way I would go too... the S3. VW can easily have the same engine setup in a normal golf (see: GTI Pirelli) so personally the R has lost its true roots like the R32.

I'd go the R20 actually...

The GTI Pirelli was a special limited edition run and not part of the general line-up. It's a good show-case on what you could do with that engine. We all now know the base GTi 2.0 turbo engine could handle that ouput and more. So initially it'd be a good buy ready for tuning work as it's somewhat proven in GTI Pirelli spec.

Factoring in daily-driven scenario's I would think that the R20 should come in under a similarly spec'd and optioned up S3. As a weekend track warrior... I guess we need to wait for the reviews to see which one performs better of the two.

[bwen]

The GTI Pirelli was a special limited edition run and not part of the general line-up. It's a good show-case on what you could do with that engine. We all now know the base GTi 2.0 turbo engine could handle that ouput and more. So initially it'd be a good buy ready for tuning work as it's somewhat proven in GTI Pirelli spec.

The UK also received the ED30 which had exact same engine configuration as the Pirelli which is also quite similar to the S3 and TT-S. If the ED30 was brought to Australia while the MKV GTI boom was going strong I would expect Australia to have way more MKV GTIs roaming our streets. We all know that the TFSI motor is great to produce huge power. The thing with the S3 is that it's been refined to the AWD system and the TFSI k04 turbo setup whereas the only AWD VW we've had in the recent times is the R32, I guess time will tell which is a better drive when comparisons come out.

If we get the Golf R (hoping we do) I personally think it is still a bit bland for what you're paying for. Rumours and pricing have been popping around the internet for a while but it seems like a relatively well optioned R would roughly be around the price of an S3. I just think the price difference between the S3 and the R doesn't justify my opting out for the 'cheaper' option.

Sort of the reason why I bought a Pirelli instead of a normal GTI (the price I got my Pirelli for brand new was actually less than a normal MKV GTI optioned to the same level) mainly because I personally thought that the price difference was actually worth it for what I am getting in a car. I don't think your decision is wrong or anything in choosing the R over the S3 but I guess that's why the R is released, people all around the world want this car

[Corey_R]

Thanks for the link to the review.

As for all the talk on price, I don't know why we all keep going into this in SO MANY different threads.

- Overseas pricing is completely irrelevant to Australian pricing!
- Overseas models have different standard inclusions / options to Australia
- VWA and their dealers have not released official pricing on the R as yet, but state it will be either the same or pretty damn close to the R32
- The Audi S3 has a much higher RRP than the R32
- Audi being 'priced' as a premium brand but not quite as premium as others, means that they have decent margins, and are not afraid to discount, so you can get an S3 for a decent price, but not as low as an R32
- Audi's options are significantly more expensive than the equiv VW option, though note that the prices for the S3 options already include LCT whereas that needs to be added to the GTI/R32's options to figure out the true comparison.
- The S3 is getting rather long-in-the-tooth so you'd expect Audi to be more ready to discount.
- The R32 3dr Man is just under the LCT at $55,490 (although there is a few hundred by the time it is on-the-road.
- The S3 3dr man is only $11k more at $66,500. But since all of that difference is subject to LCT, that ends up being $15k difference between the stock R32 and stock S3.

So to summarise.
In Australia, if VWA are correct, and the Golf R comes in at R32 prices, Audi needs to give you a $15k discount (19.5% !!) on a stock S3 to match a stock R, and that's before you negotiate any discount on the R, or add options to either car.

No one here argues that the S3 options are far more expensive than the Golf options, so this $15k discount only needs to get larger the more you add options.

[bwen]

I think the difference here is not 'bang-for-buck' value, I just think we need to wait for the R to come to Australian shores before we can even start to do a comparison against it's rivals because we forget that the STI/EVO are also in the bracket of 'hot hatch' AWD 2.0L Turbo.

If we were comparing getting a discount to get the S3 as cheap as the R because of the pricing, there is a reason why people chose the MKV GTI or even the Passat 147TSI over the Skoda equivalent yet they are basically the same car, people buy a particular brand for a reason.

Don't get me wrong, I think the R will be a great car but in my opinion if we posted this thread in the Audi forums there would be a different view on things.

[Corey_R]

Oh I totally agree - some people will prefer the Audi S3 for particular reasons, other people will prefere the Golf R. I just don't think that because of the fact the LCT sits in between these two cars in Australia, whereas it doesn't in any other country, the S3 will never be as low cost as the Golf R will be here.

As for STI/EVO. I'm not really sure anyone discussing a Golf R or S3 would be seriously looking at one of them. I mean the WRX is already, as another member here says, a $20k car with a $20k engine. The STI / EVO is a $20k car with a $30k engine and another $10k in a handling package. The interior quality of those cars doesn't even compare to the base model Golf imo.