sacherel

Any real life owners here? I've been reading on Vwvortex, but would like independent observations. Would you get one, any other fun compact hatch would be better?

geko29

I didn't actually buy, but came close, before finding a never-titled 335d for about the same price. Here were my thoughts:

Looks amazing in Rising Blue. The other colors are ok, but RB is gorgeous. Fit and finish was pretty good. Some of the most comfortable, supportive seats I've ever sat in. Huge backseat in the 5 door means its actually practical. Oodles of power for a car this small, which seemed to get down to the pavement pretty well (more on that later). Great clutch and slick-shifting 6-speed. Optional nav screen is TINY, but fast and works well. There's the cache of being rare, since an R is only made every 4 years, and only for about a year--this one split the 2012/2013 model years--which should also help with eventual resale (2008 R32s are still going for mid $20k range, amazing for a $35k sticker car that's 5 years old). Fuel economy is ABYSMAL for a small 4-banger compact--17 city, are you kidding me?

On doing my research, I found a few things that I'd likely want to change about it had I bought it. First, there are some complaints that the haldex awd can betray its fwd roots. Fortunately, for about $1100, you can get a competition haldex controller that turns it into a rear-biased awd monster. And of course, a chip tune/fuel pump/intake/possibly exhaust would be necessary to bring it closer to 400hp than 300. I probably would have wound up replacing the tiny nav system with a Dynavin Android head unit, but the rest of the audio seemed good enough for me. And the "has-no-business-being-in-a-$36k-car" flimsy rearview mirror would be the first thing to go, replaced for about $300 by an aftermarket autodimming one with homelink.

I can't think of any other compact hatch I'd look at. Maybe an A3, but they're DSG-only, and I kind of want to row my own, especially in this space (335d gets away with being auto only because with 402lbft at the wheels, it really doesn't matter what gear you're in). Everything else is either underpowered, or has an awful, cheap interior (WRX, I'm looking at you!) that I couldn't stand to deal with day after day.

I'm happy with my decision, but was probably a day or two away from pulling the trigger on an R, and would not have regretted it. Except for the V8-style fuel bills.

spwolf

new Golf is coming out soon, as well as WRX... better wait if you can a bit, or 1 year from now you will regret that you got "old" model.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I concur. There will be many improvements for both. Including a power jump on the R

whoster

There's a guy on here who just bought one!

geko29

This will always be the case. The R is only released (or only brought to the US, at least) in the final year of a generation of Golf. If you want one, best get one now, because if you wait for the MKVII, you'll have to wait until 2016 for the R, and at that point the MKVIII will be just around the corner. Rinse and repeat until you've been waiting 2 decades and STILL haven't bought a car.

spwolf

well, it is especially the case when Golf VII already started production in Europe.

bagwell

nice...I'm looking for a certified GTI and will call it a day...for around $20K

Koma

iTrader: (3)

I have one but my requirements may differ than yours.

I needed something that wasn't abysmal in fuel economy, two doors, AWD or RWD and manual.

Had the FR-S/BRZ been a hatch it would've made a tougher call but I'm very happy with my decision. The interior is entry level luxury, feels solid and materials are quite nice for the most part.

The nav is small but I can live with it, you can install a larger OEM one but it's fully touch screen, I kinda like that I have ***** and buttons that make it easier to scroll through things. The rearview mirror does suck but I can live with it, auto-dim can be annoying too (sometimes it dims too much).

Here's some pros and cons I posted (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/7231624-post28.html):

Pros:
-Love the turbo
-Interior materials are great, decent sound deadening. The seat is much more comfortable for a guy my size (5'6", 160lbs slim/athletic) my tC while I loved the material didn't offer support on my lower back and was just too wide.
-Slick shifting manual (no squishy vagueness, no notchiness, no stickiness). My old tC would sometimes be a little sticky and didn't always provide a positive feel for if the gear was solidly in gear. I've driven my friends WRX and 335xi for comparison. The WRX is vague sometimes hard to tell what gear you're in, hard to tell when the gear is fully engaged, just felt weird. 335 shifts great, if you can shift it quickly enough, you literally have to slam gears the revs drop off so quick.
-Handles like a dream for stock tires (Pirelli all seasons). Suspension is adequate for Boston potholes, responsive, stiff but doesn't shatter your bones and shake all your interior panels. I actually took it to a big get together of VW Rs (R32s and Golf Rs) on the Tail of the Dragon in NC. Makes any amateur (me) seem like they've seen some track time.
-Xenons, they do a little auto-leveling dance when I start up the car and they are SO clear. I had a drop-in kit for my tC with stock projectors, the bixenons put that to shame (I had custom HID fogs too on the tC)

Cons:
-Turbo. I can't stay out of boost. I know it's a personal problem but fuel is a bit more expensive with this car. On top of that, the 6th gear is badly geared, could be better for highway cruising.
-Soundaktor. Ugh, essentially a vibrating puck that's controlled by engine input to make the exhaust sound throatier on the interior.
-No LED tails, we get the same ones as any other Golf.
-Exhaust could be throatier stock. I miss my overrun pops and burbles on my tC with the TRD catback. The turbo hushes a lot of the noise.
-Leather seats standard (I really miss my Alcantara material).
-The premium sound system (Dynaudio) could use a sub-woofer it lacks some bassy punch, otherwise clarity is good makes me wish I had higher quality music files.
-Buffeting. If I have the roof open I get horrific buffeting at 30mph. I need to crack the window a bit.

Since that last post I got the OEM LED tails (makes the car so much more aggressive looking), a pendulum motor mount (really improved the shifter engagement, much more crisp shifts) and a Forge intake (if you like turbo noises you really need an intake to hear some of the awesomeness).

Currently saving up and contemplating my exhaust choice.

Koma

iTrader: (3)

The new Golf (VII) is rumored to be produced in Mexico instead of Germany so holding out for the next Golf R (if they even bring another stateside) may not be the best idea.

bagwell

Nice, please post pics!!!!!

also your link is bad above... so here's the complete thread https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...r-content.html

EDIT...this it?

Koma

iTrader: (3)

Those are the LED tails but that isn't my car.

I have some pretty crappy cell phone pics I can share though.

bagwell

did you have to re-code to get rid of 'bulb out' warning?

Koma

iTrader: (3)

Yup, but a friend of mine has VAGCOM so it wasn't very difficult.

stlgrym3

iTrader: (4)

it's way over priced for what it is. if i'm not mistaken, U.S. version doesn't have the kick-a** suspension Euro version does. for $35k there are more options out there: EVO X, WRX STi, Volvo S60 T5 AWD just to name a few.