2019 Golf R

[john_pifer]

Former WRX owner here.

Congrats! Awesome car.

Props for getting the manual!

Now go find the crooked'est road you can find and have some fun!

 

[john_pifer]

I have to say, though, if I were in the market for a hot hatch today, I'd be taking a hard look at the Civic Type R.

Did you consider that car?

 

[JOD]

I can't speak for the OP, but I certainly considered it when I bought my R. If max performance around a dry Nurburgring where my main consideration, I'd have gone that direction... It's a really nice car for what it is, but I wanted a car that was going to an all-duty car. I got the R for the following reasons:

-cargo space is more useable. Yes, technically the Civic has more, but that's with the floor in the higher position on the R. The strut towers and sloping roof make the Civic less usable for me. The R is like a small wagon
-for road trips, noise levels are several orders of magnitude less in the R, especially once you turn off the fake noise. Most of my driving is actually on road trips and on the highway, so this was a biggie. The Civic is LOUD
-interior cabin refinement. For me, this is pretty important. I just enjoy the setting in the R. The Civic felt more like living in a video game
-exterior styling... I mean, I don't actually care that much about how a car looks, but to my eye the Type R is one of the ugliest cars I've ever seen. I know it's purpose-built and all, but I find it horrid. It also looks like a ticket magnet
-4 drive wheels vs 2. A lot of my driving is in the rain. I know the differential on the Civic is magical and all, but having AWD really does help in my weather.

Like I said, both great cars, but the R fits what I'm looking for much better.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted by john_pifer
I have to say, though, if I were in the market for a hot hatch today, I'd be taking a hard look at the Civic Type R.

Did you consider that car?

The Civic is laughable; it's a child's car.

 

[MCompact]

To each his own; for the price of a Civic R I think I would be looking at a CPO M235i or else I'd get a Veloster N and pocket the difference.

 

[wings&wheels]

Hi, no we didn't consider the Honda. Nothing against Honda, my S2000 was one of my all time favorite cars, but AWD vs. FWD, our taste tends toward the European makes and we had a number of VW's when we were younger. I also like the more subdued look of the VW.

As much as I enjoy driving it, from a practical perspective, I am impressed by the layout of the gauges and center display; it makes sense and is easy to use. I like it better than my DD Range Rover. I especially like the way they integrated the compass and other information into the main display.

Brakes are still too initially grabby for me, but you get used to them.

 

[john_pifer]

Originally Posted by JOD
I can't speak for the OP, but I certainly considered it when I bought my R. If max performance around a dry Nurburgring where my main consideration, I'd have gone that direction... It's a really nice car for what it is, but I wanted a car that was going to an all-duty car. I got the R for the following reasons:

-cargo space is more useable. Yes, technically the Civic has more, but that's with the floor in the higher position on the R. The strut towers and sloping roof make the Civic less usable for me. The R is like a small wagon
-for road trips, noise levels are several orders of magnitude less in the R, especially once you turn off the fake noise. Most of my driving is actually on road trips and on the highway, so this was a biggie. The Civic is LOUD
-interior cabin refinement. For me, this is pretty important. I just enjoy the setting in the R. The Civic felt more like living in a video game
-exterior styling... I mean, I don't actually care that much about how a car looks, but to my eye the Type R is one of the ugliest cars I've ever seen. I know it's purpose-built and all, but I find it horrid. It also looks like a ticket magnet
-4 drive wheels vs 2. A lot of my driving is in the rain. I know the differential on the Civic is magical and all, but having AWD really does help in my weather.

Like I said, both great cars, but the R fits what I'm looking for much better.


You make some great points. The Golf R is a really cool car. I guess, being a performance junkie, I just usually go towards the lightest, fastest option.

 

[john_pifer]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by john_pifer
I have to say, though, if I were in the market for a hot hatch today, I'd be taking a hard look at the Civic Type R.

Did you consider that car?

The Civic is laughable; it's a child's car.


Eh, the looks aren't for everyone. My fiance has the standard Civic Hatchback LX with the 1.5 turbo engine and 6-speed. She hates the wing on the CTR. But, to me, the CTR has the performance that "sort of" legitimizes that wing. It's one thing for a 20-year-old kid to stick a wing and a [censored]-can exhaust on a standard 115-HP Civic.

But the CTR is an actual, legit performance car:

- 306 HP, 295 FT-LB torque

- 0-60 MPH acceleration of
- 60-0 braking of
- >1G on the skidpad (no other front-drive production car can do this)

- true 170-mph top speed (drag-limited)

- Holds the Nurburgring record for a FWD production car

So, if you want to say it's not your cup of tea, fine, I can understand that. But, to say it's a laughable child's car is just willfully ignoring the performance this car has been proven to be capable of.

 

[john_pifer]

Originally Posted by MCompact
To each his own; for the price of a Civic R I think I would be looking at a CPO M235i or else I'd get a Veloster N and pocket the difference.


I'd love to test-drive both of those!

 

[john_pifer]

Originally Posted by wings&wheels
Hi, no we didn't consider the Honda. Nothing against Honda, my S2000 was one of my all time favorite cars, but AWD vs. FWD, our taste tends toward the European makes and we had a number of VW's when we were younger. I also like the more subdued look of the VW.

As much as I enjoy driving it, from a practical perspective, I am impressed by the layout of the gauges and center display; it makes sense and is easy to use. I like it better than my DD Range Rover. I especially like the way they integrated the compass and other information into the main display.

Brakes are still too initially grabby for me, but you get used to them.


I love the S2000. And I love a set of brakes that have great initial bite!

Please update us on how you're liking your new Golf R, especially after you get it out on some crooked backroads!

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted by john_pifer
You make some great points. The Golf R is a really cool car. I guess, being a performance junkie, I just usually go towards the lightest, fastest option.

Speed at the expense of everything else is juvenile. The Golf R is a better car.

 

[Dave Hess]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by john_pifer
I have to say, though, if I were in the market for a hot hatch today, I'd be taking a hard look at the Civic Type R.

Did you consider that car?

The Civic is laughable; it's a child's car.

Fast but kind of ugly.

I saw one at a traffic light and they look silly.

 

[john_pifer]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by john_pifer
You make some great points. The Golf R is a really cool car. I guess, being a performance junkie, I just usually go towards the lightest, fastest option.

Speed at the expense of everything else is juvenile. The Golf R is a better car.


I wouldn't say juvenile. It depends on what you're looking for. The CTR is simply more focused...and cheaper. The CTR's base price is $4100 less than the Golf R's.

Being several thousand dollars more expensive and having more options doesn't make it a "better car".

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted by john_pifer
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by john_pifer
You make some great points. The Golf R is a really cool car. I guess, being a performance junkie, I just usually go towards the lightest, fastest option.

Speed at the expense of everything else is juvenile. The Golf R is a better car.


I wouldn't say juvenile. It depends on what you're looking for. The CTR is simply more focused...and cheaper. The CTR's base price is $4100 less than the Golf R's.

Being several thousand dollars more expensive and having more options doesn't make it a "better car".

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted by john_pifer
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by john_pifer
You make some great points. The Golf R is a really cool car. I guess, being a performance junkie, I just usually go towards the lightest, fastest option.

Speed at the expense of everything else is juvenile. The Golf R is a better car.


I wouldn't say juvenile. It depends on what you're looking for. The CTR is simply more focused...and cheaper. The CTR's base price is $4100 less than the Golf R's.

Being several thousand dollars more expensive and having more options doesn't make it a "better car".


What is better car? Honda is faster, in dry.
Golf R is fast, faster than most things on the road, more usable, and several steps up in assembly quality, material quality etc. It is not that VW cannot make something "focused," but then Audi....

 

[dareo]

Civic Type R has some flaws IMO. 1. Scarcity, dealers sell for sticker or more. 2. Looks bad subjectively to me. 3. Too much power for front wheel drive. I don't care if some professional drivers in ideal conditions can lay down great numbers in a CTR. The rest of us want to put power down on real roads in all conditions. CTR could have been legendary with AWD.

Golf R is the whole package for grown ups.

 

[wemay]

I see a LOT of "grownups" driving Type R Civics. I actually see more Type R than all the iterations of the Golf R, R32 put together. Although I too would pick the R, I'm not delusional in knowing the comparison for these two halo performance cars is...performance. In that regard, the Type R trounces the R. The gap in performance is a lot wider than the refinement one. I'd pick the R over the Type R because I'm a VW fan and the vehicle looks.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted by wemay
I see a LOT of "grownups" driving Type R Civics. I actually see more Type R than all the iterations of the Golf R, R32 put together. Although I too would pick the R, I'm not delusional in knowing the comparison for these two halo performance cars is...performance. In that regard, the Type R trounces the R. The gap in performance is a lot wider than the refinement one. I'd pick the R over the Type R because I'm a VW fan and the vehicle looks.

Not really. Honda wanted to build image vehicle, so invested a lot in it. Golf R is full package. If VW was going same rout as Honda it would have 5cyl engine, different AWD etc. But then, Audi.....
I would for example go Golf R route if it was bit cheaper used as I cannot justify third car that expensive and there are some great used options much cheaper that are still fun.
It is small to park in garage with other cars. It has decent trunk, AWD, inside is big. It is really compelling package for daily use, skiing for example, quick drop off of kids in daycare etc. unless one needs more seats or cargo. And I think that was exactly where VW was going. Honda was going to show what they can do. Civic fell into boring category with Corolla etc. They needed to make things interesting again.

 

[dareo]

Stock for stock the only place a CTR beats a Golf R would be on a high speed track doing laps.

Simple flash tune? Golf R becomes a monster. Show up at an APR dealer and have a 12 second car before you can eat lunch. Bolt ons? Golf R is in the 11 second range. CTR will never be able to compete modified because physics and front wheel drive.

Golf R also have the option of a DSG trans so anybody can drive it and rip a great 0 to 60 time. A great 0 to 60 in a CTR is very difficult and wheel hop makes it abusive to even try.

 

[wemay]

CTR has tuning options too. Again, I'd take the Golf R every day of the week but there is no way it beats the CTR in any performance comparison.