Exonian

Funny you say that about the M135i, I don’t know if you’ve seen the thread on the GTI forum but in all the 7 plus years of the mk7 this car is the first that has been seen as an actual proper contender away from the GTI and R by a mostly pretty dedicated bunch. There’s something about the M135i That has struck a chord with mk7(.5) owners. There was something about it from the off, way before the car was released, that certain something. It’s the only car in many many years I’ve made an effort to go and throughly poke around every detail and drive that isn’t VW group. Yep, the BMW boys (and odd girl) probably hate that BMW sold out but they’ve done a cracking first attempt. It’s no beauty but they’ve done some clever tweaks to the current generic BMW styling, so it’s vaguely palatable to look at (it’ll soon be a familiar sight and blend into the background the same as the mk8 will) with some nice little touches. The engine seems to be a long stroke by the feel of it, very torquey which I like. It doesn’t rev as freely as the R but is very quick in real world acceleration from very low revs. The interior is ok too, I prefer it to the mk8. It’s not a case of shiny new thing either as most in the thread on the GTI forum are as cynical as me! As you say, it’s the first proper opposition to the 7R as far as owners go. When I went in for a test drive there was another mk7 owner looking around them too, a Lapiz 3 door R. I’m normally Mr Anti-BMW and when I announced I was going to view one everyone was in disbelief! I’m far from won over to it but it’s a very good car. It’s a shame, I had really high hopes for the mk8 on a personal level after a tumultuous couple years as something to lift the gloom, but I find it more disappointing than I’d feared.

I can think of one or two current mk7 owners who have been waiting for this car and will soon be singing its praises non stop and photo blogging it at every opportunity having convinced themselves already it’s the new Messiah of hatches, but in all honesty it’s a sows ear of styling and anyone who said the new 1 series was butt ugly now has a new contender as this isn’t even as pretty as “the one” inside. The 7 was a handsome car from most angles but I can’t really see a good angle on this new design yet, inside or out. Yeah, we’ll be bombarded with photo-blogging from certain members next year as we gradually get brainwashed to accept the design and their expertise on the invaluable gimmicks but... ...roll on the first facelift!! Let’s hope Audi, SEAT and Skoda pull off prettier designs. Granted that VW, BMW, M-B et al are constrained by EU (and US) safety laws that demand the bonnet to be a soft landing when you run over the paper boy/girl so we have to have bulging bonnets/hoods. For me historically one of the great things about the Golf was its restrained, discreet but well balanced styling. Classless but a certain elegance. For enthusiasts like me it was a great canvas to add a few simple visual tweaks to give it that je ne sais quoi, adding a sense of purpose and panache. Those little details that make all the difference to enthusiasts. This is an Eos/Scirocco hybrid face that doesn’t sit well on a Golf and the other styling additions (pig’s lipstick) just don’t sit well to these weary eyes. It doesn’t look integrated. The ID is actually a prettier car in my eyes, or at least it has potential from an enthusiasts eye (add decent wheels, bit of a drop) It’ll sell well because it’s a Golf. People on here will buy one because it’s a Golf. Details. Well there are things that irritate me, things I quite like and things that just leave me feeling “meh”. VW may have loaded the run out mk7’s with extras such as the ultra useful self dimming headlights, plus rear camera and other little toys but they’ve loaded the list price accordingly and removed the under Seat cake drawers and various little bits of trim that drop the interior ambience down a notch. Removing the gas lift bonnet stay and the treatment of some of the interior plastics going from the vids is bringing the Golf down to SEAT/Skoda and Ford level. The wrap around screens might have Mercedes style funkiness of graphics but they lack the A-Class’s panache (but hopefully don’t share the M-B’s cheapness of switchgear) yet the screens look like bolt ons either side of the main dial binnacle. No better than the previous gen A3/A-Class in some respects. Cheaping out aside, I do like the fact the rear doors now seem to have LED’s. That’ll help my car interior OCD! The DSG clitoris? The less said the better maybe. Give me a Golfball gearknob any day. What’s it up against though? The Focus is all lumps and bumps and I hate its styling with a passion (it looks ok in white as that shade seems to hide some of the ‘styling’). The A-Class looks like a woodlouse that’s been in the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique for a makeover. The 1 series looks err... better than the outgoing model, nice inside though (but I’m not at all keen on the dials). The previously hideous Civic now looks suddenly ahead of its time rather than an explosion in a video games arcade. The Korean stuff is actually starting to look more German than the German stuff! The GTI has heritage but is probably a bit left behind in certain areas as far as the mk7 is concerned (TCR apart) so there is room for improvement there as far as the mk8 goes. The 7R had its own unique slot in the market and nailed it. We now have a load of heavy hitting German marque cllones who have taken the simple formula - mid range Diesel company car looks, 4wd system and 2.0 300ish PS etc watering down that niche so much there is barely a fag paper between any of them. So, yeah, it’ll sell well because it’s a Golf up against mediocre opposition. VW didn’t exactly have to try hard and so they didn’t bother. I hope it grows on me.

When I first posted that link when it went live there was a link to the Russian site that posted up the photos originally. The key thing here is that VW have been dropping hints about the full fat GTE (245PS mentioned) which should be released from the off and the GTE being very similar in appearance to GTIs and Rs will give the strongest hint. The GTE on the Russian link might have been photoshopped, we’ll probably know very soon, but my god it was ugly. Pig in lipstick would have been far too kind a compliment. A bigger mouth than the basking shark Fords and more honeycomb than a chicken coop. I’m sure there will be a few R die hards that’ll convince themselves it’s a wonderful step forward but... As said let’s hope it looks a LOT better in the flesh.

https://www.carscoops.com/2019/10/2020-volkswagen-golf-mk8-heres-the-first-official-picture/ https://www.carscoops.com/2019/10/2020-volkswagen-golf-mk8-this-is-it-fully-revealed-in-official-images/

Full review in English

I ran a pedalbox with a manual stage 1 Golf R, albeit JB1 as opposed to OBD map. It actually works really impressively with a modified engine but you need to keep it in a fairly modest setting. It’s still perfectly user friendly in traffic and gives lighting reactions when needed in give and take low to medium throttle applications.

You’ll have 100% of the R’s performance and lighter more fun chassis of the GTI (the latter tuned up a slight notch with similar suspension tweaks to the Clubsport S but less hardcore).

It’s rained non stop for weeks in my neck of the woods so a drive in the rain shouldn’t be too hard to arrange. Have a read of this thread! http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=285772.0 I went for a Clubsport after my R and shock horror the car doesn’t fall off the road every time it rains just because it doesn’t have 4WD!! The VAQ diff works wonders unless you’re a 0-60 drag race regular where the R will romp away. A much more fun car than an R. Less composed and more hot hatch than grand tourer, looks the part too. 9 out of ten people would go for the security and image of the R, when they cost the same, but not everyone wants to be number ten R driver once they’ve already owned one for a while. It’s good to have an alternative option without having to buy another marque.

Not wishing to dampen enthusiasm but having spent many of my younger years scrubbing multi spoke BBS wheels with a soft toothbrush to remove muck and brake dust in the depths of winter on mk2 and mk3 Golfs way back in the day I have a huge aversion to those type wheels! I even carried forward those type wheels to mk5 and mk6 Golfs (BBS CH and CK’s). They’re all a pig to clean in winter and so the delights of Pretorias are not just that they look great but they’re also a doddle to keep looking good. Have a look on felgenoutlet.de for styles of wheels as they have a great configurator and hundreds of styles. Multi spokes are back in fashion with fast hatches like the Cupra Nürburgring replicas and AMG A45’s running them as factory options meaning there are plenty of variations on the theme on the aftermarket.

I’ve not seen that mentioned anywhere yet. Can’t be too long. They were still quoting 16-20 week lead times in August!

As soon as I saw a Pure Grey TCR in my local dealer showroom a few months ago the first thing I thought was the paint is going to be a nightmare for swirls. Flat grey is very unforgiving! I’d get it coated with something very tough once machine corrected!!

VW price increases from 1st November so winter promos will start around then. Expect bigger discounts on Golfs as the builds wind down before mk8 production takes over (but expect worse part exchange prices!). Mk8 unveiling on 24th October...

https://presspage-production-content.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/1397/golfgtitcrbooklet-874416.pdf?10000 Nice choice. The car looks great. I came within a whisker of getting one myself a few months ago in the same colour scheme and wheels (minus side stickers) I drive a Clubsport and the £££ difference didn't justify the purchase in the end for a basically very similar car but the TCR drives really well and has a great spec as standard plus the Reifnitz pack yours has is the icing on the cake. Be interesting to see what you think of it compared to the A45 and other cars you've owned. There's a massive thread on the TCR over on the GTI forum. Very few actual owners, just like the Clubsport before they're nearly all sat unsold on dealer forecourts as they live in the R's shadow, which is a massive shame as the driving dynamics are very different.

Spotted on the GTI forum http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=285753.0 Apologies if a repost. New R logo. Not keen on it myself.

My attention span didn’t last that long! 👍🏻

It's tyre squeal as the traction control is switched out and he's going hell for leather! The TCR has the VAQ front diff so won't wheelspin on track unless doing a standing start. The TCR will probably have Pirellis on as it has the Reifnitz alloys which seem to come with those tyres. Also available with Pretorias wearing Michelin semi-slicks as an option same as the ED40 Clubsport was but standard is 18" forged wheels wearing Bridgestones (same as the ED40 Clubsport). Which brings me to the fact the Renault is supposedly running the much hated (by R drivers!) Bridgestones proving that they're not that bad after all!! (so long as they're on track and very very warm).

It’ll be great to have the choice of car in the household rather than two R’s. It’ll be interesting to hear your thoughts back to back. I’d been keeping an eye out myself for A35 deals for a colleague of mine who fancies a lease on one. Nothing has caught his eye yet, they’re too expensive for him at present.

Are you limited on which dealers she can use? There are definitely blue R's in stock at the moment as I was offered two recently by dealers down here in backwater Devon alone. One with just Prets and the other with Spielbergs and Dynaudio. There must be dealers around the country with showroom stock. The A35's and A class in general seem very popular with women. From reading posts from a couple of ex R owning A35 convertees the turbo boosts a bit higher than the R so not as flexible low down but pulls a bit better higher up.

Maybe the question could be put to @george@BMS as I’m sure these guys have seen examples of both on the same rollers and in drag racing.

A workmate of mine owned one for a few years. In summary, it’s all about the noise. It sounded sublime. however it’s not particularly quick and you need to absolutely thrash it to get it to go fast. Do that and it drinks fuel, sub 20mpg is a regular occurrence if you’re enthusiastic. Handling wise it’s ponderous next to a mk5 GTI, it doesn’t have the torque to liven the competent but inert chassis around the bendy bits. I live in Devon and it’s all bends! The thing cost him a bomb to run in repairs as bits wore out and he wanted to keep it mint. We are talking thousands here. It wasn’t even modified, just replacing VW bushes, brakes, oil seals, suspension components, water pump etc etc with like for like VW stuff via a highly respected local indie. Then there are the mk5 bodywork maladies. The car tax alone is phenomenal on the later ones. If VW had fitted the R36 engine it would have been the perfect car. Alas it wasn’t.

They do state that the cars are all standard but the R has at least a res delete plus Akrapovic exhaust. The 140i has loads of visual mods so maybe had a tuning box disconnected(?). The S3 in the Carwow comparison vid that was loads quicker than the R was allegedly standard but had at least a res delete, most likely a map or box too.

for those that haven’t yet

Sounds like it’ll be a long time before there’s going to be a proper infrastructure for ev’s then. We are always years behind everyone else down this way anyway and it gets worse the further west you go.

Do IKEA make you pay to recharge? There’s always something plugged in when I’ve been there. Sainsburys have chargers too, do they take a payment? I’ve never taken any notice to be honest. Electric cars are a bit of a novelty down this way but seem to be increasing. Company car drivers dodging tax?

Check the transport pucks aren’t still attached to the dampers. The R isn’t uncomfortable compared to similar cars. It’s a 300PS (310?) sports hatch so bound to be a bit jiggly. The springs on DCC and non DCC are likely exactly the same and these will have far more of an effect on initial impact to irregularities than the dampers which just try and smooth out oscillations after the impact. So Performance Golfs can be a bit crashy occasionally but the damping is far from over firm. Everyone has different tolerances though and if used to comfy soggy cars then the R can be a bit firm. I’ve had three mk7’s on non-DCC and 19” wheels, I do wince at the occasional suspension knobbliness but generally it’s very good compared to the opposition and I’ll sacrifice Citroen comfort for Golf handling dynamics any day.