# Golf R - subtle or dull?



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Passed a metallic silver 5 door Golf R today and left me in two minds

Its either:

1. A very subtle Q car that blends in to the background and doesn't shout that its cost its owner at least 30k

or

2. The blandest, dullest looking performance hatch ever put on sale

I know VW has a history of going down the subtle route, the Limited was far plainer than the much less special 16V at the time and my old V6 4Motion was subtle personified but the Golf R takes it to a whole new level, almost from subtle to plain 

I'm leaning towards the latter - I could not spend 30k on a car that looked like a 15k one


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

Possibly the wrong colour for it, in white with black bits they do look better, that said its a lot of money and not too different from the mk6 gti, or the MK5 for that matter


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## Mouse (Oct 31, 2006)

Any colour looks good on the Golf R. It's really sutle in any colour. Wouldn't mind one as my next car in a few years, that or a Scirocco R


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

Mouse said:


> Any colour looks good on the Golf R. It's really sutle in any colour. Wouldn't mind one as my next car in a few years, that or a Scirocco R


The golf R was a very good drive :thumb:, but the new model in 2012 put me off a bit, i guess its subtle in all colours but then thats what its about, bit like the similar priced Audi S3


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## chillly (Jun 25, 2009)

Seen them in blue and white. get the thumbs up from me except the £30k


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## PaulGTI (Oct 21, 2006)

I wouldnt call it dull, but very subtle. I had a mark 5 GTI in silver and while the blue subarus and orange STs got all the looks, i felt safe that I could leave it (nearly) anywhere without many more worries than if it was any other golf. It might just be my age, but who wants to drive around in a car that says "when I grow up, i wanna ba a racing driver!"

Perhaps its something in my nature that like the understated approach, especially with a car with the performance of the Golf R.

I expect that the R wouldnt get too many looks, but a fair few "knowing nods" from those in the know. 

If a car has to shout its prsence that it dont really have any.


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Most hot hatches in Silver are quite subtle IMO. 

Focus ST, Megane R26, Golf GTi, Astra VXR...


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

I think it's bland. You can get the focus rs in silver and I certainly wouldn't call that bland (albeit much better in green imo), nor the subaru impreza.

IMHO it's bland in any colour too.


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

PaulGTI said:


> If a car has to shout its prsence that it dont really have any.


Something says I disagree.


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

You can't get the RS in silver dude... Green, Blue and White, or black for RS500.


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

RussZS said:


> You can't get the RS in silver dude... Green, Blue and White, or black for RS500.


Aww balls, it was a model, not a real one  Still, looks good in silver also


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

I worked on a brand new 10 plate a few weeks back in blue, £38k worth with all the optional extras.
It was subtle but asthetically very appealing to the last model which was a complet mess imo.


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

LOL, to be fair though thats not a 30k hatchback is it



RisingPower said:


> Something says I disagree.


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## polsonm87 (Jul 20, 2006)

i would say subtle! but expensive! would rather a 08 plate S3 for half the price!


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

182_Blue said:


> LOL, to be fair though thats not a 30k hatchback is it


Indeed, but the scirocco r is and it's like a gagillion and one times more interesting:










My point however, was that a car can be very shouty and not dull and have massive presence on the road. Whereas something like a golf, simply doesn't.


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

scottbt said:


> £38k worth with all the optional extras.


I beg to differ, it maybe COST 38k...but probably worth 28k....

I'm all for having a nice car....and each to their own......but really......nearly 40k on run of the mill, not very quick GOLF? That's just absurd - a tax on the stupid if ever I saw one!


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## Mike_182 (Mar 22, 2007)

But the new Golf R looks almost exactly the same? Without wanting to be rude, this sounds like the guy with the GTI/GTD who couldn't afford the R trying to justify why he 'didn't want the R' rather than 'couldn't afford the R'.










Fantastic cars, and with the greatest of respect to 182_Blue I'd go for it every day over the Scirocco purely for the fact that when you start tweaking and looking for that little bit more out of that lump, the 4WD is going to be very valuable. Plus the boot is useful, and you can have children without sawing their legs off. And on occasion, if you have to, take 4 passengers.


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## Mike_182 (Mar 22, 2007)

Bero said:


> I beg to differ, it maybe COST 38k...but probably worth 28k....
> 
> I'm all for having a nice car....and each to their own......but really......nearly 40k on run of the mill, not very quick GOLF? That's just absurd - a tax on the stupid if ever I saw one!


That very much depends on opinion though - the Golf R is very easily worth the extra over a GTI. Did you ever price one of those up? By the time you put any kit on it you're into Golf R money (£30k). Oh, and did you look the the Megane RS250? They're not 'cheap' any more, either. At which point I'd sooner have the R's residuals and the R's 4WD. And the R's exclusivity (to a degree, yes - even the rozzers roll in R32s but to be honest I couldn't even walk to the shop without seeing 150 GTIs) is worth a little!

There will be a few exceptions to the rule but not many of us will have been in a position to be buying 'new' GTi and R32 Vs when they were launched some 6 or so years ago - when A) they were actually cheaper (hell, 2 years ago my boss picked his GTi up for £20k with a couple of options) and B) when we came round to looking at them, pre-registered deals made them loads cheaper again. The price of cars has gone up. For a kitted S3, you're looking at a price tag with a 4 at the front. For a hatchback.

Then, don't forget you're comparing the run-out, 'we must shift all of these before the new model is launched' pricing with the new models - they had to shift the R32s for as much as possible but quickly because the day the new model launched, they'd be worthless. When I bought my Pirelli, I got offered a spanking new DSG R32 for £22k with **** nav and MFSW (about 18 months ago, when they were announcing the Golf VI)...

Just some perspective, before starting the 'too expensive, overpriced' bandwagon.


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

RisingPower said:


> Indeed, but the scirocco r is and it's like a gagillion and one times more interesting:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is indeed why i bought the Scirocco :thumb:


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## Mike_182 (Mar 22, 2007)

andy665 said:


> 1. A very subtle Q car that blends in to the background and doesn't shout that its cost its owner at least 30k


I'd sooner my car didn't. I can almost guarantee that just about every Focus RS that's kept outside of a garage will pick up envy stripes. A car that shouts 'flash' and 'cash' attracts lowlife inbreds known as 'council house scum'. If you can make a fast car like the R32 and R look like they do - discernible from the basemodels but not shouty stupid Essex tat - then you've got the recipe for a hot hatch you can use every day without fear of being branded a ******.



andy665 said:


> know VW has a history of going down the subtle route, the Limited was far plainer than the much less special 16V at the time and my old V6 4Motion was subtle personified but the Golf R takes it to a whole new level, almost from subtle to plain


Your old V6 4Motion was a run-of-the-mill, not particularly special car? They weren't designed to be fast (or if someone thought they were, they need their heads examined) - they were for people who needed that 4WD without needing one of these now breeding rediculously out-of-control Jukeboxes and Quishquosh things. The R32 ran along side it in the MkIV! So you're comparing apples and oranges...


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

i have in the past complained about the price of the R, but after looking about generally all cars are more, when the wife bought her old MK6 fiesta you could get a bew one for 8k for a basic model, not the basic model rrp is something like 11K, if you shop around a deal can be done on the golf R



Mike_182 said:


> That very much depends on opinion though - the Golf R is very easily worth the extra over a GTI. Did you ever price one of those up? By the time you put any kit on it you're into Golf R money (£30k). Oh, and did you look the the Megane RS250? They're not 'cheap' any more, either. At which point I'd sooner have the R's residuals and the R's 4WD. And the R's exclusivity (to a degree, yes - even the rozzers roll in R32s but to be honest I couldn't even walk to the shop without seeing 150 GTIs) is worth a little!
> 
> There will be a few exceptions to the rule but not many of us will have been in a position to be buying 'new' GTi and R32 Vs when they were launched some 6 or so years ago - when A) they were actually cheaper (hell, 2 years ago my boss picked his GTi up for £20k with a couple of options) and B) when we came round to looking at them, pre-registered deals made them loads cheaper again. The price of cars has gone up. For a kitted S3, you're looking at a price tag with a 4 at the front. For a hatchback.
> 
> ...


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

the power issue is one thing, although mine now has 308bhp and is more than capable of handling it imo, as for space then its just the same inside as the golf (slightly less headroom, but im 6'4' and fit in back fine), plus the boot has a bigger litre capacity than the golf too, ETTO though, as i have said i would have had the golf but its replacement is on its way and i didn't want to be outdated before i started



Mike_182 said:


> But the new Golf R looks almost exactly the same? Without wanting to be rude, this sounds like the guy with the GTI/GTD who couldn't afford the R trying to justify why he 'didn't want the R' rather than 'couldn't afford the R'.
> 
> Fantastic cars, and with the greatest of respect to 182_Blue I'd go for it every day over the Scirocco purely for the fact that when you start tweaking and looking for that little bit more out of that lump, the 4WD is going to be very valuable. Plus the boot is useful, and you can have children without sawing their legs off. And on occasion, if you have to, take 4 passengers.


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## Mike_182 (Mar 22, 2007)

182_Blue said:


> the power issue is one thing, although mine now has 308bhp and is more than capable of handling it imo, as for space then its just the same inside as the golf (slightly less headroom, but im 6'4' and fit in back fine), plus the boot has a bigger litre capacity than the golf too, ETTO though, as i have said i would have had the golf but its replacement is on its way and i didn't want to be outdated before i started


It's that stupid lid that puts me off the boot - the 3-door Megane is the same, style over function. Too high up, too narrow and would have played havoc for getting DL785s in and out! Litres are one thing, how you use them is another...

And power/handling capacity, hmm - I'll reserve judgement as in the brief time I had my TT I was grateful for it putting power towards the back in certain situations, plus the more you ask the fronts to do, the more they ask for tyres... And the inside isn't the same, otherwise the boot capacity would be smaller. Rear legroom is slightly reduced (think it's an inch or two) because they don't plan on doing a 5-door like they do the Golf so they don't need to make it 'too' comfortable for seating adults in the back, as they're aimed at the midlife crisis blokes in families with 2 cars and 2 children...


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

The legroom looks identical to me, i have had both a 5 door golf and this now, no midlife crisis here either, anyway its a golf R thread so best we keep on topic


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## Mike_182 (Mar 22, 2007)

182_Blue said:


> The legroom looks identical to me, i have had both a 5 door golf and this now, no midlife crisis here either, anyway its a golf R thread so best we keep on topic


Indeed - all I can add is that the Golf legroom is epic. Short, fat torso and long legs and my granddad with a similar affliction can sit behind me, Scirocco not so. However...

On the Golf R, to compare it to the MkIV 4Mo reeks of not knowing what it's market placement is. And as far as visual differences go, the Scirocco has one less bar on the grille through a longer bonnet, and one less bar in the bumper through being shorter at the front. Backwards of there, yeah it's different because one's a Golf and one isn't, but it's not the massive difference that has been made out to suggest the Golf is hideously boring to look at and the Scirocco is capable of making a grown man ejaculate.


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

haha, im off out to wash it in fact LOL


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## Mike_182 (Mar 22, 2007)

182_Blue said:


> haha, im off out to wash it in fact LOL


I want my car back so I can wash it. The sun's even come out, and the best I've got is the neighbours 3-series or 3-cylinder Polo. 

Actually, you're from Nottingham. Fancy giving me a lift to Nottingham Audi? :wave: :lol:


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

To me subtle can equate to being boring to some extent. 

I've no doubt they are great cars, built superbly and a great drive. For me personally I wouldn't spend £30k on a Golf, regardless of how good it is. I just spec'd one up on the web site and got it to £39k!!! :doublesho

I would rather have the Scirroco over the Golf as I think it is more interesting to look at in general. But I can see the appeal of the Golf R.

If your hot hatch is also your family car you don't want some lairy, bright green rally replica like the Focus RS. You want something you can park up and not have to worry about it drawing the wrong attention. 

I personally would save myself at least £5k and buy myself a Megane 250. Only 20bhp difference but more interesting to look at, no doubt as good to drive and build quality far improved over people's perception of Renaults. :thumb:


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## Mike_182 (Mar 22, 2007)

Alex_225 said:


> I personally would save myself at least £5k and buy myself a Megane 250. Only 20bhp difference but more interesting to look at, no doubt as good to drive and build quality far improved over people's perception of Renaults. :thumb:


They said that about the last shape Megane, and they filled my dash up with foam to stop it rattling... And as for saving £5k - how much is a Megane worth compared to a Golf now? It's not 'saving', because it costs you it in the long run. And there's the fairly blatant blunders that Renault have made - the iPod connectivity being in front of the gearstick on display, for example. The complete lack of integration of bits - everything is all over the place. On a Golf, the sat nav displays on the speedo and the stereo's screen. As does the stereo and all of that. The Megane, it's all discrete, all over the place. If you change the stereo in the Megane, you get a big useless display. You can't change it for anything interesting, because they don't do anything interesting for it...

It's a car, it works, it's good handling and a good powerplant - it's not really a good all-round package...


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## Gruffs (Dec 10, 2007)

Golf R - subtle or dull?

What you call subtlety, i call class. I don't want my cars to look like i've handbrake-turned them through the demon tweeks catalogue.


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## wylie coyote (Jul 15, 2007)

Threads like this tend to get me wound up - particularly the price issue. I agree it is maybe £2k over priced, but why are people supposedly mentally unhinged for paying that for a Golf R (I have one)? It's no different to paying how much was it, extra £5k for a RS500 Focus rather than a normal RS. What extra are you getting for your money there? More power I know, but some plastic film over the paint and a badge...

Most of those who say it's boring either haven't seen one close up or don't appreciate the subtle body extras. I'm certainly delighted with my Steel Grey R.

When discussing the price, at least compare it to current models - don't forget, Seat want £25k for the new Cupra R which used to be the bargain performance hatchback when I had one 5 years ago. 

Times, prices and people's needs change. Don't assume VW didn't research the market (for idiots like me) before launching the R.

Rant over.:doublesho


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

LOL, and relax :lol:, as i said i did think it was overpriced but then opened my eyes and looked around and realised the world had moved on LOL, post up some pics of your R please or point me in the direction of some pics :thumb:



wylie coyote said:


> Threads like this tend to get me wound up - particularly the price issue. I agree it is maybe £2k over priced, but why are people supposedly mentally unhinged for paying that for a Golf R (I have one)? It's no different to paying how much was it, extra £5k for a RS500 Focus rather than a normal RS. What extra are you getting for your money there? More power I know, but some plastic film over the paint and a badge...
> 
> Most of those who say it's boring either haven't seen one close up or don't appreciate the subtle body extras. I'm certainly delighted with my Steel Grey R.
> 
> ...


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## wylie coyote (Jul 15, 2007)

Feeling better now. 

Will give it a clean and take some pics this weekend to post.:thumb:


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Mike_182 said:


> They said that about the last shape Megane, and they filled my dash up with foam to stop it rattling... And as for saving £5k - how much is a Megane worth compared to a Golf now? It's not 'saving', because it costs you it in the long run. And there's the fairly blatant blunders that Renault have made - the iPod connectivity being in front of the gearstick on display, for example. The complete lack of integration of bits - everything is all over the place. On a Golf, the sat nav displays on the speedo and the stereo's screen. As does the stereo and all of that. The Megane, it's all discrete, all over the place. If you change the stereo in the Megane, you get a big useless display. You can't change it for anything interesting, because they don't do anything interesting for it...
> 
> It's a car, it works, it's good handling and a good powerplant - it's not really a good all-round package...


Hence why I said PERSONALLY I'd rather save myself the £5k and buy the RS250. As much as I've no doubt the Golf is better put together, maybe even better designed in places, RenaultSport make fantastic drivers cars and for ME, it wouldn't justify the price difference.

Yes it's a cheaper car but for me, the R doesn't offer enough to warrant a £5-10k variation in price.


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

182_Blue said:


> That is indeed why i bought the Scirocco :thumb:


Whoops, I honestly didn't even notice that 

Least you got taste


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

Gruffs said:


> Golf R - subtle or dull?
> 
> What you call subtlety, i call class. I don't want my cars to look like i've handbrake-turned them through the demon tweeks catalogue.


Ah but cars which have no subtlety whatsoever have huge amounts of class. Take the aston martins for example 

There is interesting with class, interesting as brash as can be and no class whatsoever, then there's dull.


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

Just going to add my thoughts about the 'R' (yes I'm resurrecting an old thread but so what.)

To me it is a nice car & it is subtle on the looks front, but if I'm honest I don't think it is 'value for money'.

As a £30k car what are you really getting for the dosh? Ok, it's got more power than the GTI/GTD & has a sporty bodykit but are we really just paying for the badge & bodykit?! :lol:

A nice car as I've said but not worth the £30k - it's just that at the end of the day, only a *Golf*!


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## OvlovMike (Jul 19, 2011)

Golf R is bland as sin. And a stupendous amount of money for not much.

Oh, and:


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

OvlovMike said:


> Golf R is bland as sin. And a stupendous amount of money for not much.


I wouldn't say it's bland, it looks nice & is eye-catching.

But yes, crazy amount of money in terms of what you are actually getting.



OvlovMike said:


>





VW Golf-Fan said:


> *Yes I'm resurrecting an old thread but so what.*
> 
> Your just as bad posting in it.


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

VW Golf-Fan said:


> I wouldn't say it's bland, it looks nice & is eye-catching.
> 
> But yes, crazy amount of money in terms of what you are actually getting.


of course its bland, and slow and overpriced.

Now stop this fecking golf fetish at once!!!


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## Grommit (May 3, 2011)

I'm on the fence on this one for a couple of reasons.

Theres a dude in my estate (mid-twenties) that has the Golf R in white with black alloys, sat nav, DRL's etc and looks the berries. Love looking at it.

If I saw it in silver, I honestly don't think I would look twice at it.

Another thing in the back of my mind is, I am all for a nice car and each to their own etc, but there is no way on this earth I would spend 30k or more on a bloody hatchback car. No way whatsoever.

Same goes for the new RS3, 40k for a fecking hatchback? no chance. Don't get me wrong, they look great and will go like stink, but it's a hatchback. Also think the RS3 in 5 doors looks wrong. Like someone in a midlife crisis, has a wife and 2 kids but still wants to rip the **** out the car and race the young team. Again, sorry not my bag.

I have said it above, it's each to their own and all that but c'mon. You could do better for your money.


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## OvlovMike (Jul 19, 2011)

Grizzle said:


> of course its bland, and slow and overpriced.
> 
> Now stop this fecking golf fetish at once!!!


It's not fast, is it... And it's very bland. The Mk4 R32 looked 'different' (although the inside looked like a prison cell), the Mk5 R32 still had a bit of a look about it. Barring the exhausts and the rear lights, there's very little to make an R jump out at you.

Besides, the R32 wasn't fast but sounded like Jesus having a crisis. This R thing is just another 4-pot drone.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

It's not a bad looking car. 

The price for one is just crazy. Never in my life would I pay that kind of money for a VW. 

Not that I particularly like the Audi S3 either, but I'd buy a used one of them long ahead of a VW.


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## OvlovMike (Jul 19, 2011)

And besides, where has all this £30k talk come from?! Last time I looked by the time you'd put the equipment it needed on it (like the one Grommit is talking about, assuming it has the decent seats too) it was _forty thousand pounds_ for a Golf. A Golf.

I got offered a spanking new R32 Mk5 towards the end of the run for £20k with the Recaros and Xenons. First registered keeper, and all that jazz.


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## wylie coyote (Jul 15, 2007)

I won't go through the pros and cons again - or tell you all that the new A class AMG Merc is ringing my bell at the moment. I'm being drawn in and you don't want to know the mooted price of that.......:doublesho

But it will be 4wd and 335bhp. Hang on, it's only a Merc hatchback!


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## Teddy (Dec 15, 2007)

Gruffs said:


> Golf R - subtle or dull?
> 
> What you call subtlety, i call class. I don't want my cars to look like i've handbrake-turned them through the demon tweeks catalogue.


Exactly. Less really is sometimes more.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Hmmm I'd go with subtle, it's quick for something that looks so ordinary,


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

It's an over priced snore fest, nothing much to distinguish it from the rest of the range considering it's the flagship and nearly £40K with decent spec, £40K on a golf :doublesho


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