Golf R -v- Golf GTI

[Ryan41]

, I'd probably opt for the the Megane RS250 with Perfo-hub front strut isolators and proper mechanic LSD.

Cheers.
WJ

Yeah, lets buy a car that the dealership cant even sell.. let alone trying to sell it privately.. unfortunately for Renault Australia... no one wants them!

[adzy]

Yeah, lets buy a car that the dealership cant even sell.. let alone trying to sell it privately.. unfortunately for Renault Australia... no one wants them!

I would love one, but the rear looks kind of weird and the re-sale sucks for Renault Such a mental little 'drivers' car though.

[Andych]

Sirocco R (DSG) with SATNAV, Bluetooth, MDI, 19" wheels and DCC all standard for 50K + orc makes a compelling case over that of the Golf R 3 door

They were just a little off in their pricing... The $50K includes ACC & 19" Talladega's but Satnav is a $2500 option as is Dynaudio ($1100) and Panoramic Sunroof at $1800. No other Factory Options other than colours... and the usual suspects are there including Viper (green) and Indium Grey. The only interior offered is Kyalami black cloth with San Remo grey microfibre inserts...

So pricing... fully loaded with Euro Plates in Sydney $61,137.00.

[WhiteJames]

Renault Megane RS250 -v- Sirocco R : Service Centres

Here's another initial review of the Sirocco R, albeit with a bit more detail in terms of driveability -v- Renault RS250.

Volkswagen Scirocco R - First drive: Scirocco pricing sets scorching pace | GoAuto

I'm hearing you on the Renault Megane RS250 and sales/services centres. Overs in Botany/Mascot have disappeared and inner west dealer Rick Damilion at Leichhardt has just gone bust. Wollongong doesn't have a Renault dealer AFAIK - which means servicing a Renault and living in Cronulla area means travelling to Manly or Liverpool (35km min or 1 hr+ drive). The local VW dealership is like 2km away from my home with another dealer 12km away. Renault resale will more than likely to be crap esp. compared to the Sirocco, but as Byron of goauto.com.au says, probably the more involving drive. My Golf GTI cost me 50K and is starting to look expensive compared to the Sirocco R with 19" wheels, Bluetooth, MDI and DCC standard (my GTI doesn't have Bluetooth and it still cost 50K). The forthcoming Ford Focus with DSG and a host of safety & media upgrades could land in OZ for around 40K, instead of 50K that the Golf GTI cost me.

Cheers.
WJ

[Ryan41]

Here's another initial review of the Sirocco R, albeit with a bit more detail in terms of driveability -v- Renault RS250.

Volkswagen Scirocco R - First drive: Scirocco pricing sets scorching pace | GoAuto

I'm hearing you on the Renault Megane RS250 and sales/services centres. Overs in Botany/Mascot have disappeared and inner west dealer Rick Damilion at Leichhardt has just gone bust. Wollongong doesn't have a Renault dealer AFAIK - which means servicing a Renault and living in Cronulla area means travelling to Manly or Liverpool (35km min or 1 hr+ drive). The local VW dealership is like 2km away from my home with another dealer 12km away. Renault resale will more than likely to be crap esp. compared to the Sirocco, but as Byron of goauto.com.au says, probably the more involving drive. My Golf GTI cost me 50K and is starting to look expensive compared to the Sirocco R with 19" wheels, Bluetooth, MDI and DCC standard (my GTI doesn't have Bluetooth and it still cost 50K). The forthcoming Ford Focus with DSG and a host of safety & media upgrades could land in OZ for around 40K, instead of 50K that the Golf GTI cost me.

Cheers.
WJ

The think i like about the renault is the fact the leather recaro's are included in the 52k drive away price.. but the rear end does look to "big"..

FYI, I bought a my12 Golf R.. 5 door.. manual.. $51,900 drive away in QLD.. Thats with the black 19's also.. and bluetooth/mdi included because its a my12.. yeah its not DSG/leather/sat nav..but all that crap is a waste of money and when I on-sell it in 2-3 years it wont go for any less money than what a fully blown one would go for..

I cant wait too see the Scirocco in real life though... too me it looks like it has been "crushed" by a compactor..but real life could tell a whole different story..

[Corey_R]

I don't like the rear of the Scirocco, and I'd never buy a Renault.
I don't mind the Scirocco, but the limited options in Australia is a bit of a bummer. It's great (IMO) that they have the ACC/DCC as standard. The 19" wheels is possibly a negative (more expensive tyres, worse ride quality on public roads, slower lap times on the track, and makes the brakes look smaller ). But not having the RVC (ok, so I've never been in the Scirocco, no idea if it's as bad as the Golf for rearward vision) which seems insane considering the RCD510 is standard and RNS510 is an option, and no leather... come ONNNNN

Volkswagen Group Australia, listen up! If you're not going to bring in the cars with all your options, at least bring them in with a "basic" and "luxury" (or whatever you wanna call it) spec levels so that the cars are available with all the equipment. Where's our Scirocco with RVC, leather, recaros, etc? Why not have split the options into basic and luxury models (with the RNS, Dynaudio, Sunroof, RVC, and Leather) and then just have recaro's as the only option on either? etc

[Andych]

But not having the RVC (ok, so I've never been in the Scirocco, no idea if it's as bad as the Golf for rearward vision) which seems insane considering the RCD510 is standard and RNS510 is an option

Most likely because RVC is not available on the Scirocco in any Country.
I went through all the options available in Europe today with my Sales guy (from a European Brochure) and it just isn't there.

Standard fitment is Optical Parking System in the radio display.. which is better than nothing.

As for Leather... it really isn't an issue for me...but I can see your point... same with Recaro's.. I simply wouldn't fit in them...

[Corey_R]

Yeah... I personally wouldn't put in Recaro's either... but still. This is meant to "replace" the 3dr Golf R in this country, and I don't see it from a specs point of view.

You know, you offer the manual, you make 19's standard, and then don't have Recaro's as even an option. So like, who is it targetted at? Not the boy racers obviously...

Then they have ACC as standard, and options for Panoramic sunroof, RNS510 and Dynaudio, yet, then it don't have leather... so they're not targetting the luxo/comfort peeps either...

I don't quite understand. Anyway, just my opinion

[Andych]

I think they were trying to keep it under the Luxury Tax threshold fully optioned... which it does... but only just....
As well as keeping a limit on Options makes it easier to get the quantity of vehicles they wanted... my dealer has 4 in their allocation with build dates ranging from week 42 to week 49.
He showed me his allocation but he could not search what other Scirocco's are on order for other Dealers.

Personally the spec they have released suits me to a Tee....

[elephino]

If I was going to buy a hot hatch that I was going to take on a race track reasonably regularly, I'd opt for the Megane (resale be damned). For normal use, I'd go with the Scirocco or Golf R or GTI (without specifying which to avoid arguments (with myself)).

[triode12]

Most likely because RVC is not available on the Scirocco in any Country.
I went through all the options available in Europe today with my Sales guy (from a European Brochure) and it just isn't there.

Standard fitment is Optical Parking System in the radio display.. which is better than nothing.

As for Leather... it really isn't an issue for me...but I can see your point... same with Recaro's.. I simply wouldn't fit in them...

The reasons why is because was released with the MkV was still in production i.e. the MkVI with the RVC option wasn't a reality yet. and because the rear door emblem does not double as a release catch unlike those on the Golf . So one can't retrofit the RVC that come with MkVI even if you wanted to...although an aftermarket one might be possible.

[brad]

In today's daily grind of traffic jams - DSG is the way to go. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maclaren and Polo GTI all come to mind. 1-2 hrs of peak hour traffic makes owning a manual a real chore, not to mention changing the clutch every 40,000km if the vehicle is frequently used in heavy stop'n'start traffic.

you just write these things to get a reaction, don't you.

[adzy]

you just write these things to get a reaction, don't you.

I agree apart from replacing the clutch every 40k ??? Thats a bit exaggerated

[brad]

I agree apart from replacing the clutch every 40k ??? Thats a bit exaggerated

i'm not an automatic biggot. Of the ~50 cars we've had at home, probably 40 of them were Autos (and most of them were better cars with an Auto).

The M6 VW drivetrain would have to be one of the easiest manuals I've ever driven. I can understand people choosing DSG but the manual doesn't cause me any heart-ache in my daily 1.5-2hr commute on the M5.

As for a clutch every 40,000km - maybe if you were a driving instructor? I've never known anyone to go through clutches at that rate.

[Ideo]

i'm not an automatic biggot. Of the ~50 cars we've had at home, probably 40 of them were Autos (and most of them were better cars with an Auto).

The M6 VW drivetrain would have to be one of the easiest manuals I've ever driven. I can understand people choosing DSG but the manual doesn't cause me any heart-ache in my daily 1.5-2hr commute on the M5.

As for a clutch every 40,000km - maybe if you were a driving instructor? I've never known anyone to go through clutches at that rate.

My S3 was at 160k with the original clutch which was showing little signs of wear.

If you are replacing a clutch at 40k, I think that James, or Ray, or whichever alter ego is being used, should learn to drive. Maybe to and from the dealership, as that seems to be where the most kms are racked up.