Is the Golf R a practical family car?

[REXman]

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

LMAO!
So true I hate trading in. I actually sold my last car privately (first time) and I saved a solid 4-6k for sure and that's on a derelict 40k car.!!

DCD when the time comes, try private mate and just keep servicing it well for the records... Good luckmwith the fam

[ethosguy]

I've split the performance car from the family car duties with the Tiguan TDi/WRX hatch and couldn’t be happier, well unless the R. replaced the WRX...Patience reqd. here for me.

Children temper driving enthusiasm for their safety.
Wives 'cos they don't like going quickly, well at least my wife has a different definition of quick.
Cars loaded up for 'the holiday' aren't worth punting either.
Prams'n'kidstuff seem to be permanent content and fly all around the car making a nuisance of themselves when the rare chance presents of a good road and no parental responsibilities.

Use the fun car yourself and for incidental family transport. Get a family wagon your wife will like and use it for the majority of family duties...removes temptation and frustration.

$15k and change over into an R. depending on who's resale argument you accept goes a long way into a nice sensible, practical family wagon AND you get to keep what is arguably a more desirable motor...

[tinto]

I haven't read all the responses, and I'm commenting on a MKV GTI.
I have my son's seat in the middle rear of my GTI - he's almost two now and when he's sitting there he kicks the **** out of my (faux) leather backed seats and the AC vents. No damage, but it makes me anxious as I'm fairly pedantic about using not abusing the car
I think that will only get worse as he gets taller.

I haven't tried him in the side locations as the seats are a bit deeper so will meddle with how well grounded his seat feels. PLus I like the idea of a seat's worth of crumple either side of him.
He likes the middle as it has a great view and he get to shout GO DADDY GO GO! and have a good view when.... accelerating safely up to the speed limit.

If I put his relatively compact pram (bugaboo C) in the Golf boot it is all over - not much else is going to go in there except some wet wipes.
If this was our only car (My Wife has a Volvo V50 Wagon), I'd be considering selling it and getting something bigger like a Passat or an XC Volvo.
The V50 isn't huge, but when space is at a premium every little bit counts.
I question whether the V50 will be able to cope with two kids... the space just isn't there.

As a second family car it is fine - as the primary it is a little lacking IMO.

[DCD]

Ha yeah I almost always try to sell my cars privately. Problem being the 135 is quite a high end car I'm not sure how it will go on the private market, but I may throw it up for sale in the near future for a "dreaming" price and see how it goes since I'm in no real hurry.

Haha yeah I'll start a regime of stretching! Might be time to get back into yoga!

Thanks again for all the help and recommendations guys they have been great!

[kik128]

Hi there,
no first hand experience on this one......but my boss owns a Beemer M3 convertable and a GTI V Pirelli 5 door.
They have just had their first little one a couple of months back and are now reluctantly selling the GTI.
I asked him why and he said because they have a baby capsule that faces towards the back, the passenger seat has to be
moved forward and they both feel like they are too close to the front dash now, he said the beemer is almost worse.
BTW they are not overly tall, both average heights. They are now looking at an R36 wagon as one option.
Ahh keep it in the VW family hehe

Hi DCD,
I am responding to you with my own experience with two kids. FWIW, we downgraded so to speak from a Subaru Forester to a Golf GTI mkvi,

The GTi is roomier inside than the forester, the boot space is a little smaller but suits us fine as we can fit a Pram, shopping and other incidentals without complaint.
In regards to the above post from GTi Mk6, I would argue that a capsule is a VERY short term inconvenience to cause someone to sell the car. In my experience with two children, you will end up using the capsule for only a few weeks or months depending on how quickly your child grows. We did not even opt for a capsule and went straight to a convertible car seat that suits babies from birth.

My children are 18 mnths and 6 years Both are still in car seats and we are comfortable and happy with the GTi. (We are both of Asian descent and average sized 175cm tall and 172 respectively)

the thrill of driving a capabable car is more than worth the inconvenience for a few months/weeks if you decide to use a capsule.

[Pook]

GTI mk6, I'd tell your boss to check the child seat in the R36 before he sells the GTI. I've got a CC and a MKVI GTI and have rear facing seats in both, the GTI front seat is about the same distance forward as the Passat front seat... In fact the GTI may have a little more space... The boot is where the extra room is, not the cabin.

[GTI mk6]

GTI mk6, I'd tell your boss to check the child seat in the R36 before he sells the GTI. I've got a CC and a MKVI GTI and have rear facing seats in both, the GTI front seat is about the same distance forward as the Passat front seat... In fact the GTI may have a little more space... The boot is where the extra room is, not the cabin.

Thanks Pook I will pass your feedback onto my boss. Their little bub is just over 3 mths old now, they are still using the rear facing
capsule (I havent actually seen it) & they do still have their GTI Pirelli.
Will ask him tomorrow if they have looked at the R36 wagon yet.
He used to race rally cars (was at the Targa meet where Brocky had his fatal crash) so loves his cars...I reckon they would also
be wanting more boot space as his Beemer M3 soft top convertable wouldnt compare to say an R36 wagon?

[GHW]

Hi DCD,

There is nothing wrong with the Golf as a family car. I bought one for my wife (Gti, same body as the R) because she refuses to drive the "big, ugly, noisy" R36.
We have a capsule in the car that fits no problem at all (babies are supposed to be in a rear facing capsule up to or over 6 months old size / weight dependent here in Aus) and it will fit a Strider stroller (HUGE as strollers go) by simply removing one wheel (a latch, takes 2 seconds) plus can still fit all the other crap in the back associated with a child.
The Golf doesn't have more space in the cabin than the R36, it is more than just the boot space there is much more room in the Passat (sorry Pook )
It's not the ideal family car by a long shot but if your wife (to be) isn't comfortable with a larger car it's a good option.
The Passat is better.More room, less effort.

[Beaker]

I asked him why and he said because they have a baby capsule that faces towards the back, the passenger seat has to be
moved forward and they both feel like they are too close to the front dash now

I came from a hot Falcon to the GTI - I have two kids under 10. A backward facing capsule will need the front seat to be moved forward in just about everything - it certainly did in the Falcon and also in my Patrol.

The capsule only stays that way for about 6 months and then gets turned around, buying a car based on such a short period is probaby overkill IMHO.

The first couple of years you do tend to carry a lot of crap with kids, but I'd be surprised if you couldn't fit it into a Golf (unless you get one of those gigantor prams - but they are hard to get even into a Falcon boot (I know). If its just two adults and two kids the Golf should be fine (it is for us), unless you plan on going on really long trips and need to carry camping gear etc - then it won't.

[Pook]

GHD, I agree, probably used the wrong words, the cabin is bigger in the Passat, but in terms of knee room (with a rear facing seat in) I think they are pretty close.

[booya]

If you need to carry two prams (even small ones), its game over in a Golf. For one thing, you need to remove the parcel shelf if you want to put a weekend bag, portacot or weekly shopping. Not to mention two child seats at the back. You can't fit an adult in between at the back so no way to carry your mum-in-law (waiting for tongue in cheek comments.....).
I have thought of a way to go on that weekend holiday with all of that, its to have a roof rack and a wide roof capsule +/- a tow bar which can carry bikes / tricycles or whatever. I'm not sure of Golf GTI towing capacity though (anyone done it?).

Oh BTW, I was at my sons school pickup yesterday. The car park is half capacity due to building works and all the SUVs were struggling to do 3 point turns or acute reversing out of cramped car parks. NO PROBLEMS FOR GTI!!!! Smoothly in and rocketted out!!! Even my kids can climb into the car on their own (they dont have strength to open the doors yet) which there's no way they could do it with an SUV's height.........so yes, its VERY PRACTICLE.

[AlpineM3E92]

I have owned a 135i and a couple of MKVs (and just ordered an R yesterday) and can honestly say that a 5 door golf anything (any 5 door model) will be far more practical than a 135i. Both ingress and egress ++, boot capacity ++, seating flexibility and removal of parcel shelf just means you now have a mini van ++.

You will loose that rear wheel drive feeling and be slightly down on grunt but that's ok cause with the price differential $20 plus K 135i versus Golf R, an APR massage will address that. Oh yeh, it will probably be more frugal too, driver attitude dependent of course

[DCRL]

i currently have a BMW 320 and replacing it with a Golf R. The boot space is smaller but once you fit pram into any sedan or hatch back, youre not goint to be left with a lot of room. we also have a 8 month old child but luckily for us we have honda CRV if we need to cart a lot of luggage around. i am hoping by the time i get my Golf R that i can put out daughter into a smaller stroller and put more luggage in the golf R and dont have to take the CRV around too much. My suggestion would be to get a golf R if you want a fun and quick car to drive and that you will enjoy. However get the wife another car which has more booth space and that you will enjoy driving once in a while. I cant wait to get rid of the CRV and get my wife a Touareg in 3-4 years.

[shakespeare]

FYI I have a wife and two kids (10 and 8 ) we took the Golf R down south for the Easter weekend and managed to fit luggage for all of us, fishing gear, kids scooters, easter eggs etc into the R! The boot was packed down tight and had to remove the hatch lid/cover thing, however it all fitted which surprised me and changed my perception on how much you can actually squeeze in. The big bonus it was also great fun on the twisty roads between wineries and kid stops

[SilvrFoxX]

Hey Shakespear that is great news, I woould only ever have the one billy lid but have to pack up just as much good to hear