Golf R Observations and Questions

[Moz]

Golf R - some questions before final decision

Hi,

Took a Golf R with DSG for a test drive yesterday and have a few questions:

1. What's with the delay when you put your foot down off the line - is that delay just turbo lag? It almost felt more like the throttle-by-wire has a delay or slow response. But dear God it launches hard when it finally does.

2. I'm a left foot braker, I've heard that some of the VW/Audi's don't like it if both are used at the same time and that when braking (even just slightly) it will cut all all throttle. Is this the case with the R? My test drive was in peak hour traffic so I couldn't really stuff hard through any corners.

3. Standard cloth seats - do these have the electric lumber support? The other half, she really liked that feature but isn't fussed on the leather ones.

As for the rest of the R, I thought the build quality was fantastic and the sound of the exhaust was brilliant, best stock sound of any car I can think of. The pop on the gear change is very nice.
The steering is OK. I'm in a MX-5 at the moment so anything else feels vague off center and has too many turns lock-to-lock. You never need to let go of the steering wheel in the Mazda to make a turn.
But that engine is something else. My biggest grip against the MX-5 is the gutless engine and the R with DSG is what I've always wanted in a light(ish) non FWD car.

I plan to take another test drive later this week but would really appreciate any first hand experience before that.
Cheers

[Mr_Bob]

Does anyone here have a manual golf R? i just wanted to know how it drives b/c the only review so far on a manual one is from
http://www.caradvice.com.au/71438/vo...golf-r-review/ how does it compare the other manual cars like a honda s2000 etc

Penrith VW have one.
(Nepean Motor Group)

I drove it, and preferred it to DSG.
(drove S3, MKVI GTi and MKV R32 with DSG as comparison and this is my personal opinion only)

I don't dispute the "speed" of DSG, but for me, i want to be involved in driving the car,
flicking paddles makes me feel disconnected, like a computer game.

Power delivery in the manual definately feels different. I felt a bigger rush of acceleration
Perhaps a contrast to the lack of power while changing gears, this may be a testament to how smooth the DSG is
But for me, this feeling in the manual put a smile on my face

Whilst the 0-100 is unarguably faster, this is partly due to launch control and the prediction of next gear change is clearcut.
It's not always the case when the amount of throttle varies dynamically when you're fully committed in the twisties.
e.g. at high RPM, you back off to half throttle for a kink, preparing to nail it on the exit, it preselects downshift,
when you hit the throttle, it's not ready for the upshift that's required.
the gear change is no longer as fast as the 0-100 tests.
even in such a situation, it may not be slower than a manual.

My other concern is that if i can't predict which gear it'll select mid-corner, then i won't be comfortable committing to 8/10ths or more.
With a manual, i can drive to my full ability, as i know how much compression braking i'll get, and how much acceleration i'll get on exit.

[triode12]

The ideal situation would be to have a DSG gearbox with a gear shift like a manual gearbox instead of flappy paddles. I too dislike how you can't skip gears on paddles.

[Corey_R]

It's still like splitting hairs compared to other mods and against faster/slower cars.

Just depends how much driving involvement you want and if you drive in traffic etc (and laziness).

I don't know about that G-rig.
To get to 100kph, the guy there changes gear twice and that gives him a 6.4, 6.3 and 6.6 second run in the manual. In the DSG it was 5.7 seconds each time. So he's an average of 0.73333 slower in the manual. Lets assume that I'm not as talented a manual driver as he is and say 1 second slower for two shifts or 0.5 seconds slower each gear change.
On the way to work each day I change gear an average of 98 times. That adds up to 49 seconds. So in an entire week we're talking 8 minutes. Across a year we're talking 7 hours! Over 5 years, the time saved to and from work by optioning the DSG has like paid for itself!

*cough*

[PhillipAudiDealer]

I don't know about that G-rig.
To get to 100kph, the guy there changes gear twice and that gives him a 6.4, 6.3 and 6.6 second run in the manual. In the DSG it was 5.7 seconds each time. So he's an average of 0.73333 slower in the manual. Lets assume that I'm not as talented a manual driver as he is and say 1 second slower for two shifts or 0.5 seconds slower each gear change.
On the way to work each day I change gear an average of 98 times. That adds up to 49 seconds. So in an entire week we're talking 8 minutes. Across a year we're talking 7 hours! Over 5 years, the time saved to and from work by optioning the DSG has like paid for itself!

*cough*

I knew there was I reason I liked DSG.. lol... PS I love launch control and the Golf R very cool..

[lincs]

Does anyone here have a manual golf R? i just wanted to know how it drives b/c the only review so far on a manual one is from
http://www.caradvice.com.au/71438/vo...golf-r-review/ how does it compare the other manual cars like a honda s2000 etc

i agree with everything MrBob wrote. i test drove a DSG initiallly, but explained to the dealer that i didnt want to commit to a $55k car without driving it in manual (which i would definitely order because i dont like driving DSG). the dealer ordered in a manual R from their storage allocation for me to take on a limited drive (so then they could still sell as a showroom car, not a demo). came straight back to the dealer with a smile and ordered the manual R.

[Corey_R]

Hi,

Took a Golf R with DSG for a test drive yesterday and have a few questions:

1. What's with the delay when you put your foot down off the line - is that delay just turbo lag? It almost felt more like the throttle-by-wire has a delay or slow response. But dear God it launches hard when it finally does.

2. I'm a left foot braker, I've heard that some of the VW/Audi's don't like it if both are used at the same time and that when braking (even just slightly) it will cut all all throttle. Is this the case with the R? My test drive was in peak hour traffic so I couldn't really stuff hard through any corners.

3. Standard cloth seats - do these have the electric lumber support? The other half, she really liked that feature but isn't fussed on the leather ones.

As for the rest of the R, I thought the build quality was fantastic and the sound of the exhaust was brilliant, best stock sound of any car I can think of. The pop on the gear change is very nice.
The steering is OK. I'm in a MX-5 at the moment so anything else feels vague off center and has too many turns lock-to-lock. You never need to let go of the steering wheel in the Mazda to make a turn.
But that engine is something else. My biggest grip against the MX-5 is the gutless engine and the R with DSG is what I've always wanted in a light(ish) non FWD car.

I plan to take another test drive later this week but would really appreciate any first hand experience before that.
Cheers

Hi mate. I merged your thread in here because this thread was created for the same reason (of someone having questions on an R before/after purchasing) and we can't have all 2000 prospective R customers having their own individual threads. There is also the official "R Specs and Prices" thread, as well as numerous other R threads here (observations, reviews, vs threads etc) where you'll find your answers. Or someone might be nice enough to reply soon in here... but I have to run to a meeting so can't reply now...

[oshuyi]

i agree with everything MrBob wrote. i test drove a DSG initiallly, but explained to the dealer that i didnt want to commit to a $55k car without driving it in manual (which i would definitely order because i dont like driving DSG). the dealer ordered in a manual R from their storage allocation for me to take on a limited drive (so then they could still sell as a showroom car, not a demo). came straight back to the dealer with a smile and ordered the manual R.

that's good to know, thanks for the info.

i mean no doubt the dsg is faster from 0-100km/h but how often do u get a chance to do that.
has anyone got any figures on the in gear acceleration 80-120km/h for the dsg and manual one

[G-rig]

I don't know about that G-rig.
To get to 100kph, the guy there changes gear twice and that gives him a 6.4, 6.3 and 6.6 second run in the manual. In the DSG it was 5.7 seconds each time. So he's an average of 0.73333 slower in the manual. Lets assume that I'm not as talented a manual driver as he is and say 1 second slower for two shifts or 0.5 seconds slower each gear change.
On the way to work each day I change gear an average of 98 times. That adds up to 49 seconds. So in an entire week we're talking 8 minutes. Across a year we're talking 7 hours! Over 5 years, the time saved to and from work by optioning the DSG has like paid for itself!

*cough*

Yeah not disputing that it's faster but a lot of people here aren't concerned about getting the best quarter mile or 0-100 time, it's about which one you prefer driving. You make manual sound like a lot of work lol.. Still more fun ripping through the gear than just steering, but I also like some of the benefits of DSG, and it's a nice fast crisp box. I'd never get an auto, but DSG yes. Must be getting lazy.

[PhillipAudiDealer]

I also like the shifting noise of the DSG .. When under load. The THUNK noise. Very NICE

[elephino]

The ideal situation would be to have a DSG gearbox with a gear shift like a manual gearbox instead of flappy paddles. I too dislike how you can't skip gears on paddles.

Um...no. Mercedes-Benz had that option on the A-Class for a while (not the first but the only I've driven). It was very disconcerting as for smoothness you still needed to lift off the accelerator (not fully, though). Also, as long as you're thinking about it, it's not a problem but as soon as you're distracted or on auto-pilot for gear changing, you'll hit the brake when you go for the clutch accidentally. And yes, it didn't help in general that it was a Merc A-Class. Plus it then also negates the benefits of the faster gear change.

[hooba]

Having driven both the Mk6 GTI in DSG and manual and the R in both guises, the answer to the question on whether to get DSG or manual on the R remains the same.

It comes down to how you intend to use the car and whether you can live with the down sides of either option - that is personal preference.

Either way, you are going to get a pretty nice car.

[rath]

Manual v DSG will always be a personal preference, I can appreciate DSG from an engineering standpoint but I was board with the novelty in no time. A stick made me feel infinitely more connected to the driving experience than the auto. I will say this though I would always option an automatic if I drove in heavy traffic often, since traffic is almost never an issue in Canberra I'll be sticking with the stick.

[G-rig]

I also like the shifting noise of the DSG .. When under load. The THUNK noise. Very NICE

Yeah, i wouldn't get it if it didn't make that rev-matching sound.

[oshuyi]

Yeah, i wouldn't get it if it didn't make that rev-matching sound.

the honda jazz the previous model, the cvt makes that rev-matching sounds as well