Golf R 3 door/5 door speculation/information thread

[Caillin]

How soon after release do you think you'll have the full Stage 3 kits ready to go Guy?

If I go with the R, then I'll be looking at doing this almost straight away (after a couple thousand kms on the engine).

[Kwoka]

Just wondering are the front headlights smoked? Seems abit darker..

[Pauly]

IF VW Australia decided to 'reposition the R cars' and start offering them without leather as standard, you could be 99% guaranteed that they'd also significantly drop the price and still offer the leather and recaro options. Australians just expect leather in a '$60k+ hatchback' (which is what the R32 is on the roads).

It may not be that general to to reposition 'R Cars'. They might just be wanting to get more people to the Golf R.

Reasons being:

- Golf GTI are getting waiting lists of 4 - 6 months+, getting people to upgrade to a Golf R will take alot of stress off these GTI orders.

- VW Australia have said that they it will be "price between the GTI and R32". Now you take that as being quite literal, as in, exactly inbetween 40 and 60k. Or it will be slightly cheaper then the R32.

- By making alot of the usual standard kit, optional, its going to reduce the price. Point here is they said "Leather Sports Seats" would be optional. Now im pretty confident that there will be 3 type of seats to choose from in the R:

- Standard Cloth



- Leather Sports



- Recaro


As you can see images all over the web of the Golf R with 3 different types of seats.

And also keep in mind, im pretty damn sure that the VW Rep would know the difference between leather sports seats and Recaro's, and would have said it as such.

Personally I couldnt give a damn about leather, so if they make Cloth an option, and they take a good 3 - 4K off the usual price of a golf R, its definitly going to be a consideration over a Golf GTI. The 3 to 4K saving from excluding leather as standard kit, can eather just be saved, or put towards ACC and Park Assist and alike.

[Corey_R]

- Golf GTI are getting waiting lists of 4 - 6 months+, getting people to upgrade to a Golf R will take alot of stress off these GTI orders.

Since The GTI and R come off the same production line, that will have 0 impact at all.

- VW Australia have said that they it will be "price between the GTI and R32". Now you take that as being quite literal, as in, exactly inbetween 40 and 60k. Or it will be slightly cheaper then the R32.

I'm aware of what they have said. But the situation with the R is different from the rest of the MKV to MK6 migrations. The car is changing from a 6 cylinder 3.2L to 4 cylinder 2.0L, and the Australian public's views on # of cylinders and 'displacement' isn't as 'mature' as that around the rest of the world. This is rumoured to also be a factor in the potential lower price of the R vs R32.

- By making alot of the usual standard kit, optional, its going to reduce the price. Point here is they said "Leather Sports Seats" would be optional. Now im pretty confident that there will be 3 type of seats to choose from in the R:

Please be clear on this point, VW Australia have not said that "Leather Sports Seats" will be optional. Other VW countries, such as the UK, have put them as optional rather than standard, and that means that the 'overseas press cars' which the local motoring news sites have been driving have cloth.

Also note that the R32 had a cloth interior as standard too in these countries like the UK.

So using pictures of overseas models and news articles of test drives of overseas models is not a confirmation of a spec change in Australia, as it was the same situation with the R32.

[Pauly]

Since The GTI and R come off the same production line, that will have 0 impact at all.

I didnt know that! fair enough. However I was refering more to VW Australia's situation where they said there would be none of the delays experienced with the Mk5 GTI happening with the Mk6, and it is.

Therefore if they make the R more affordable, people will be ordering the R into the country instead of the GTI. Thus making the Australian GTI waiting list shorter.

I'm aware of what they have said. But the situation with the R is different from the rest of the MKV to MK6 migrations. The car is changing from a 6 cylinder 3.2L to 4 cylinder 2.0L, and the Australian public's views on # of cylinders and 'displacement' isn't as 'mature' as that around the rest of the world. This is rumoured to also be a factor in the potential lower price of the R vs R32.

That is a really good observation, and something I hope VW Australia have considered with this, not to mention the power loss Australians have to put up with compared to the rest of Europe and New Zealand. That cut in power should = less money for us

Please be clear on this point, VW Australia have not said that "Leather Sports Seats" will be optional. Other VW countries, such as the UK, have put them as optional rather than standard, and that means that the 'overseas press cars' which the local motoring news sites have been driving have cloth.
.

Actually Karl Gehling (who is a VW Australia Spokesperson) has confirmed that "leather sports seats" would be an OPTION.

"Gehling also revealed the Golf R will be offered in only one specification level in Australia but with a number of options available. They will include VW's Adaptive Chassis Control suspension system, leather sports seats, reversing camera, sunroof and 19-inch alloys."

See here:

http://www.carsales.com.au/news/2010/small-passenger/volkswagen/golf/new-vw-golf-r-offers-more-bang-for-less-bucks-18129

Also note that the R32 had a cloth interior as standard too in these countries like the UK.

So using pictures of overseas models and news articles of test drives of overseas models is not a confirmation of a spec change in Australia, as it was the same situation with the R32.

I am using images from overseas because well... its not released here yet. However the news I am providing you (see the link above) is from an Aussie Website, talking to Aussie VW Staff. You cant get more offical then that.

[Sharkie]

Actually Karl Gehling (who is a VW Australia Spokesperson) has confirmed that
"leather sports seats" would be an OPTION.

See here:

http://www.carsales.com.au/news/2010...ss-bucks-18129

Could well be referring to the Recaro sport seats that have always been an option .... std seats could very well still be leather ....

[Corey_R]

Exactly Sharkie!

@Pauly - I read that article the day it was released, and I knew you would quote that one! Please note, they DID NOT quote Karl Gehling on the options list. They quoted him about the price, but the options Carsales have just written in their own words. As Sharkie has said, they didn't mention the Recaro's in that list, so they may have meant the Recaros, or they may have just been listing a random selection of options which are on the overseas cars.

What I do agree with you on Pauly, is that IF VW Australia did change the R to have only cloth seating, they'd need to drop the price by at least the $3300 to compensate.

[elisiX]

Which is what I imagine happening also.

No STD leather and turbo vs the 6 means a price reduction IMO.

[Pauly]

Could well be referring to the Recaro sport seats that have always been an option .... std seats could very well still be leather ....

As I said in my previous post. If they were going to be Recaro seats, wouldnt have the VW Rep have said "Recaros will be an option".

Im pretty sure he would know the difference between normal leather seats and Recaro's.?

Thats just my personal opinion, not going to know for sure.

Please note, they DID NOT quote Karl Gehling on the options list. They quoted him about the price, but the options Carsales have just written in their own words. As Sharkie has said, they didn't mention the Recaro's in that list, so they may have meant the Recaros, or they may have just been listing a random selection of options which are on the overseas cars..

There was no direct quote with "". But they clearly said:

"Gehling also revealed.....bla bla bla bla". So that means the VW dude clearly said something to them about it.

However I am also going to eat my own words here, but looking at the VW UK Website they list the Recaro's as:



The Recaro seats are clearly listed as: "Recaro Leather Sports Seats". So maybe coreying is correct!!!!

[WhiteJames]

You guys are looking at the incorrect carsales review.
This review appears to be an updated version of what has been posted previously ... it clearly indicates that leather & racing style seats will be an option.

See link:

http://www.carsales.com.au/reviews/2010/small-passenger/volkswagen/golf/volkswagen-golf-r-18184

Volkswagen Australia has confirmed it will offer the Golf R in one trim level but with a number of options available. They will include leather seats, racing-style seats, sunroof, 19-inch alloy wheels and reversing camera.
Cheers.
WJ

[elisiX]

Yup we've discussed that article also WJ.

Basically there's no point discussing the seats further as we've read contradicting reports.

[Sharkie]

You guys are looking at the incorrect carsales review.
This review appears to be an updated version of what has been posted previously ... it clearly indicates that leather & racing style seats will be an option.

See link:

http://www.carsales.com.au/reviews/2010/small-passenger/volkswagen/golf/volkswagen-golf-r-18184

Volkswagen Australia has confirmed it will offer the Golf R in one trim level but with a number of options available. They will include leather seats, racing-style seats, sunroof, 19-inch alloy wheels and reversing camera.
Cheers.
WJ

Which is an article about the INTERNATIONAL launch of the R in Austria. Nothing specific about Australian spec in it. So like elisiX suggests, I also suggest we wait until we get the official spec from VWA..... which I still believe will include leather seats (not the Recaro Sports) as standard ....

[WhiteJames]

After seeing specs in most other countries, including New Zealand who don't have the manual version of the GTI or R for sale, I'd be inclined to think that a standard R may well come in with cloth interior, pitched a bit closer to the GTI ... perhaps more of a GTI-R as some reviews suggest. Of course, options list could well see it much much closer in price to the Audi S3. This change in approach has been across the board. It is clearly evident with the GTI that also offered with greater variety of options list compared to the previous model. Still only speculation, but come March/April, we may know fo sure. I wouldn't spec leather, rather go for ACC or sat-nav or sunroof. Had leather before. If the leather seats had a cooling option, rather than seat heater, different storey.

Cheers.
WJ

[Corey_R]

*sighs*

Again, the R32 came standard with cloth is all these other countries that you guys are looking at.... it's still beyond me about why you guys think that since they have KEPT THE SAME spec in those countries for the release of the R means that they will CHANGE THE SPEC for Australia is beyond me!!

How about we all not say ANYTHING more on the seat issue until there is literally an ACTUAL QUOTE from VWA or an official specs list provided!

hehe

[elisiX]

+1.....