Which is best: VW Golf GTI or Golf R?
Is Volkswagen’s upgraded 7.5 Golf R worth the extra money over its cheaper, similarly updated sibling, the Golf GTI?There two schools of thought when it comes to asking which of the two Volkswagen Golf hot-hatch heroes is better: the front-wheel drive Golf GTI or the more powerful, more expensive all-wheel drive Golf R.
I've just driven – back to back -- the upgraded versions of both models, based on Volkswagen’s latest Mk7.5 Golf, and I feel it’s my civic duty to end the debate once and for all.
The Golf GTI is a better car.
Even if the GTI wasn't cheaper I'd still want to drive it more. Even if it wasn't available in a svelte three-door body style I'd still gravitate towards it. Even if it didn't have tartan seats… OK, maybe the jury's out on the last one.
Anyway, I put together 23 reasons why the Golf GTI is the king, but due to evolving online viewing trends (read: you get bored quickly) my editor wanted it culled down to five, so here goes.
1. Price
On any given day the Golf GTI will be roughly $11,000 cheaper than the Golf R. In Australia it's pegged at $41,490 for the six-speed manual. The most affordable Golf R is $52,900. Imagine what you could do with $11,000? I'll tell you what, 2750 Big Macs. You could build a burger gun and fire them at random people waiting for the bus.
2. Weight
According to VW, the Golf R tips the scales at 1450kg, the Golf GTI at 1352kg. The extra 100kg in the Golf R is due to the fitment of a part-time all-wheel drive system, but does AWD overcome the negative effect its extra weight has on its handling dynamics? Would you trade in your rear-drive Ferrari 488 for an AWD GTC4 Lusso? See the next reason.
3. All-wheel deprived
The AWD system in the Golf R is lazy. Like the 49-year-old pool cleaner you just found out was in love with your girlfriend, it's a part-time employee. The Golf R operates in front-drive most of the time, send power to the rear wheels only when necessary, meaning your 100kg penalty is annulled infrequently.
Granted, it adds a modicum of stability in certain situations, but it doesn't make the vehicle significantly more satisfying to drive. And with the GTI’s clever front diff, we doubt the R would be any quicker on any road in the hands of most drivers.
4. Image
The Golf GTI has a sporty, dynamic look, whereas the Golf R looks like a Puma parachute suit from 1993. The GTI's front-end, with its horizontal crimson pin-stripe that runs across the grille and through the headlights, is sporty elegance at its finest, and its new LED front fog lights shrouded by black strakes suggest "my middle name is danger".
The Golf R's front-end, meanwhile, says "I like pin-stripe suits”.
5. Power
The Golf GTI pumps out 169kW and 350Nm while the Golf R does 213kW and 380Nm. But European Golf R customers – even Spanish, Italian and Greek ones on a sizzling Mediterranean summer day -- get the full-fat 228kW/400Nm.
Apparently Australia, where the GTI/R output gap narrows to just 44kW/30Nm, is a "hot climate" market where the Golf R engine will cook quicker than a Webber BBQ if it's cranked up from "underdone" to "normal".
Besides, if you actually play Golf and have the number plates GOLFR on your Golf R, you'll probably get bashed.
Case closed.
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