Is the Golf R a practical family car?

[GTI mk6]

We don't even get the Jetta over here in NZ. No decent spec Tiguan and no Jetta. It's like VW NZ doesn't care!

What about the Passat Wagon? Do you have that over there in the land of the long white cloud hehe (I am ex Taranaki)

[skyva]

We bought a rear facing child seat, safensound meridian I think. It is huge, and a problem we had was that the passenger front seat must be moved forward to accommodate it. We found the 2010 Liberty to have enough leg room in the rear so that the baby seat did not push the front seat too far forward. When we went on holidays interstate we borrowed my mothers car, and hired a capsule. We loved the ability to get the baby out of the car without waking her, but it was too heavy. Bubs is now 8.5kg at 8 months, so they start small but grow quick. Bubs plus capsule and blankets and clothes wouldn't weight 20kg, sorry that was an exaggeration, but it would be around 13 to 15kg, and when you include the nappy bag, there is another 3+kg to haul. Bubs will only get heavier too. We are very happy with the rear facing meridian as bubs seems more comfortable than in a capsule, but we have a long baby, and I know lots of people like the capsules so i would recommend you test them yourselves. In any case it is surprising how much room the rear facing seat and other crap takes up, not only in the back but also pushing the front passenger seat forward.
If I was single I would had bought the Golf mk5 pirelli in 2009, or mk6 R in 2010, but the new Liberty is so much bigger than the old one, with really good rear leg room. It is the sort of car that is a bit of a workhorse so you don't mind the spills, vomit, crumbs etc. If I had a nicely specced R I would be always fretting over Bubs throwing food or vomiting , but now I just smile and wipe. Actually that is pretty much the way to go with a baby, smile and wipe whatever the muck!

[mfl]

but the new Liberty is so much bigger than the old one, with really good rear leg room. It is the sort of car that is a bit of a workhorse so you don't mind the spills, vomit, crumbs etc. If I had a nicely specced R I would be always fretting over Bubs throwing food or vomiting , but now I just smile and wipe. Actually that is pretty much the way to go with a baby, smile and wipe whatever the muck!

I just went from a 2008 Liberty to the Golf, and the teenagers have said that they have more rear leg room in the Golf then they had in the Liberty, yes the 2010 Liberty is bigger and it is also extremely ugly, I just couldn't upgrade from the 2008, to the 2010, whatever the model. Subaru aimed the 2010 at the US market and stuffed it totally. - the Liberty was a sedan and so the hatch is more versatile for carry larger/bulkier objects.

as for the kids, I always found a leather interior very easy to clean all the vomit, spills etc off, compared to a cloth interior.

[Highlander]

Delivery time

Suggestion:

Buy a new car WHEN the baby pops out.

If NZ VW delivery times are anything like those in Australia, the baby would be walking by the time the OP takes delivery of his R.

We have a MK VI TDI and there is plenty of room in the back for two children (grandchildren in my case) with car seats for many years but you definitely need 4 doors.

My kids entry to motoring was via the back of a Porsche and when it was stolen and written off I couldn't convince my wife that we should replace it with another Porsche.

Boot space in the R could be a bit restricted but I wouldn't let it stop me justifying the R as a "sensible family car". Give the boot the "stroller test" If it fits, put your order in just after your big romantic night out and your two new additions to the family should arrive around the same time.

[triode12]

Well, I managed to fit a washing machine and a microwave in my GTI with the back seats down, all while my gf was making herself comfortable in the passenger's seat! At the end of the day, the GTI (or the R for that matter) has been commonly praised for its accessible performance and everyday practicality, it's also what makes it the benchmark in th class!

Yes, it is amazing what you can fit into the back of a Golf esp with the seats folded down. Moved practically 2/3rds of the contents of my home (over several trips) before having to hire a van for the larger pieces of furniture.

[alebonau]

Going from a practical 5 door hatch to a golf gti 5 door hatch and the best part is so damn practical the gti is as an everyday drive, picking up dropping off kids, we have two baby seats in the back and all the kid related stuff fits in the boot never an issue. That the golf has the performance it has and yet is so damn practical is why I bought it and love it so much.

[zbeasty]

I don't know the issue with the rear facing car seat and lack of room. I fitted 1 in my 3 door 2004 Fiesta with no problems and I'm 6'2". Just fit it in the middle seat then it fits between the front headrests and allows you to move the seats further back. Once our second one came along the older kid was big enough to sit in a narrower seat which fitted behind the front passenger. It wasn't our only mode of transport (wife had an XL7 Vitara) but we did trips to the inlaws in Moss Vale and to see other relo's in Newcastle with no issue.

[Beena]

Hi all,

I'm in a pretty similar boat, looking to get something more family friendly.

I'm looking to replace an XR6 ute and Lotus Elise with just one car that will hopefully be able to give me all the fun I need while still carrying bikes, ski's and maybe kids in the future...

I've been for one short drive so far, going for a longer one next week, hoping the dynamics are up to scratch. APR stage 1 seems like the go from the outset, impressive!

I'm hoping the answer to this thread will be a "yes" - it will help with convincing the missus...

[Dubya]

The Golf is an extremely practical family car, especially with young children - perhaps a Jetta would be even more practical with its cavernous boot - but either should accommodate a typical stroller and a portable cot and all the other things.

The Golf is roomy yet compact and when we need extra storage for longer trips we simply put the roof box on top.

An excellent choice and a smart compromise between a sports car and a soft roader, for example.

[alebonau]

The golf gti is deftly pretty good family car, one thing about the R though is that with it's central twin exhaust. You can't fit the golfs factory tow bar as far as I know. Bit of a bugger for those needing a tow bar on their practical family car...

[DCD]

Ah sorry for being MIA for a while from my own thread, been a bit busy. I went and looked at the Golf R again on the weekend. Took it for another spin it's a fun car! Certainly doesn't accelerate like my current car but it's no slouch.

Was explaining to the salesman I'm still very much just looking, but he offered to get a quote on my car and give me a change over figure. Wow. I knew the 135 would depreciate but I've taken a HUGE hiding on it. The dealers would only offer me half of it's sticker and it's not even 2 years old. Apparently since it's manual and specced up (a few expensive interior options, exterior CF BMW performance parts etc) the car is "too special" and is too big a risk so they were only willing to offer a very low price incase it sits on the yard for a while. he said that out of 3 local BMW dealerships they all indicated a sale price of around $60K but would only offer me $45K for it.

So it looks like I'll be holding onto it for a while and then when we need to get a bigger car I think I'll be either upgrading my partners car or selling the 135 privately.
I had expected a bit of depreciation, but the dealers are asking too much, I can't possibly trade it for that kind of money.

Oh well i still enjoy this car so it's not the end of the world, just looks like I'll have to put up with the lack of space for another year or so until it becomes a necessity to change.

Oh and yes VW NZ take a fairly long time to deliver. I think I was told I could get a white one towards the end of the year since it's already in production, but if I wanted to spec one out myself I'd be waiting a while!

[RSOK]

Hi DCD, just my 2 cents for what it's worth... I have a 3yr old and a 6 month old, so have a booster seat and a rear-facing restraint... after months of searching, test-driving and deliberating (including Golf wagon, Tiguan, Mazda6 wagon, Outlander, Mondeo) I went with the Skoda Octavia RS wagon... would have loved a Golf GTi or R, but boot space was a big concern, those hatches just don't offer me the flexibility to load 2 suitcases and a pram and bags when all 4 of us go away for a weekend... the RS swallows all that easily, I highly recommend it... I went past the Tiguan for the same reason, small boot space... I've had the RS for 4 months now, and absolutely love it, down the track a bit the APR upgrade is definitely on the cards (shhh, don't mention it to the missus!!)... I have to say that overall I am highly satisfied with the driving experience, the grin-factor is huge, build quality is on par with the VWs I tested, and my wife loves it as well.

[shakespeare]

Ah sorry for being MIA for a while from my own thread, been a bit busy. I went and looked at the Golf R again on the weekend. Took it for another spin it's a fun car! Certainly doesn't accelerate like my current car but it's no slouch.

Was explaining to the salesman I'm still very much just looking, but he offered to get a quote on my car and give me a change over figure. Wow. I knew the 135 would depreciate but I've taken a HUGE hiding on it. The dealers would only offer me half of it's sticker and it's not even 2 years old. Apparently since it's manual and specced up (a few expensive interior options, exterior CF BMW performance parts etc) the car is "too special" and is too big a risk so they were only willing to offer a very low price incase it sits on the yard for a while. he said that out of 3 local BMW dealerships they all indicated a sale price of around $60K but would only offer me $45K for it.

So it looks like I'll be holding onto it for a while and then when we need to get a bigger car I think I'll be either upgrading my partners car or selling the 135 privately.
I had expected a bit of depreciation, but the dealers are asking too much, I can't possibly trade it for that kind of money.

Oh well i still enjoy this car so it's not the end of the world, just looks like I'll have to put up with the lack of space for another year or so until it becomes a necessity to change.

Oh and yes VW NZ take a fairly long time to deliver. I think I was told I could get a white one towards the end of the year since it's already in production, but if I wanted to spec one out myself I'd be waiting a while!

Ouch that's massive depreciation Probably best to hold onto it for another year or so then. FWIW we got by with a 1995 Honda Civic when our son was born and had this until the second child came along, by then we upgraded to a Mazda 6 hatch.

So if you can live with two doors when you're putting the baby in and out of your car (not too hard, just need to stay flexible and have enough room to open your door fully when you park), I'd keep the 135i for a while and enjoy what a great car it is

[dave_r]

but he offered to get a quote on my car and give me a change over figure. Wow. I knew the 135 would depreciate but I've taken a HUGE hiding on it. The dealers would only offer me half of it's sticker and it's not even 2 years old.

When has a dealer ever offered a decent price on a trade in? It's another avenue for them to pickup a tidy profit from people who don't want to sell the car themselves.

Check the private sales, they're not going to have taken a 50% hit in 2yrs, unless there is something else wrong with NZ that we didn't already know about

[blanch0b]

either way ur gunna lose ALOT of money... why delay the glory that is the R?

anyway u better start doing some stretches and get ur flexibility up to scratch DCD!