Ignition1

I've gone from my MK7 R with cloth, to a Kia Sorento with perforated nappa leather (cooled and heated). Obviously totally different styles of car but my experience is: - Cloth is more consistent with temperature no matter how hot or cold it was outside - it was like Golidlock's preferred-porridge. Just right. Leather - albeit I've only experienced in summer so far - gets mighty hot in direct sunlight. Not unbearable since it's designed to not become a frying pan, but much warmer than cloth. - Cloth doesn't look or feel as premium - however the different textured materials and colours did help (a bit). - Leather is far, far easier to clean and I think is more hygienic - yes it picks up oils and grease, but so does cloth! The difference is the grease and grime sits on the surface of leather, letting you wipe it off and make them look as-new again. With cloth it...absorbs. Which is rank when you think about it. Same issue with cloth vs leather sofas (but let's not go there!). - Leather is a little more slide-y but if it's perforated it generally is grippier + if you keep it clean so you aren't sliding around on skin oils then it's fine. Good side bolsters will solve any sliding around which any R definitely has but...and I don't know if the side bolsters on an 8R are electronically adjustable but on the MK7 R the cloth bolsters definitely were not...as a result there was sort of nothing 'inside' of the bolsters to make them rigid. This made it a bit easier to get in and out of (you know) but also not as supportive for really fast driving. But I mean, you had to be cornering to the limit (or be very wide or heavy) to notice that minor issue.

That's a shame - after all the talk of doing an investigation and communicating results etc. - they never shared the official outcome. I guess the issue is if it happens to another 7 or 7.5 owner, they could point to 'official' VW results that showed a clear mechanical failure of stock / official parts - probably imagine that lands them in a wonderful legal hell of liability and cases to fight. We can all guess what they found - manufacturing defect --> dead engine. No doubt if it was something like "user money-shifted" they would be sharing those results as quick as they can type out the e-mail 😂. Hope the BMW is just as fun! 2022 would be the 4-cyl version I guess? Or the beasty B58?

Old thread but I was thinking about this yesterday. Maintained a solid white R for 7 years, and now I have a metallic dark grey car I now understand they both have pros and cons. I have noticed dark grey doesn't show much mud and grime. But it does show water marks and dried raindrops (which leave behind brown spots all over it) but only up-close. It's very confusing - a few metres away I think it's clean, yet up close it's not. With my white R you can see it's dirty straightaway from a few metres away - mud and grime is very visible. But if it looks clean from a distance, then I can be sure it will also look clean up-close as well. I think overall I prefer a white car. When it's clean, it's gleaming - distance or near - albeit perhaps a boring / "standard" choice of colour. My dark car has more character because it's metallic but I can't tell if it's clean or not unless I'm inspecting it lol.

Before I sold my R my insurance went up by £160 a year - I haven't checked but pretty sure Nov 2021 it was the same as Nov 2020, but Nov 2022 it shot up - all companies offered the same increase. At first I thought it was because it was post-Covid so more likely I'll be on the road / more chance of accident. But others I knew who renewed at that time didn't get an increase...albeit they were not in fast cars? I don't know, murky world. Just be grateful you don't have a Ferrari as they are getting nicked left and right in London. Apparently due to a lack of new cars in Russia so they get nicked and sent over, or nicked stripped and the parts sent for repairs of existing Ferraris there. My guess is the Golf R might also be popular out there - or it's just the usual scum who want one for free in the UK. Luckily nobody wants a Sorento 😂

I've had Goodyear Asy3 and PS4 on my R (edit - previous R ) The PS4 had noticably better turn-in performance, but the Goodyears were more stable for cruising on the motorway. Less twitchy. I don't know if the latest Goodyear 18" or Michelin PS 18" have similar traits, but I think: - I'd go Michelin if I want track-like performance, grip and a sporty-feel - twitchy, grippy, quite fun. - I'd go Goodyear if I want all-round performance - stability and slightly less-sporty yet still grippy and makes the R "throwable". Worth noting neither made a difference in average MPG.

I had warranty throughout my time with my R - not the all-in, just the cheaper "Named Components Cover" cover which covers the bits I'm most concerned about and carry the most cost - engine and gearbox for example. Original new car warranty was 3 years, VW threw in a fourth year (or maybe I paid - can't remember) - then I extended it 3 times. As an aside: now my R has gone I can look back and see what was really worth it or not. Warranty definitely was worth it for me - it paid itself off despite only hitting one or two issues that required repairs. Getting DSG and Haldex oil done early - in hindsight I wouldn't have done it since I had warranty to cover me for faults anyway, and I didn't notice any difference in performance when I got them done early. Also glad I never agreed to them doing an AC filter clean / refill (or whatever they offer) - mine was blasting cold air on day 2,396 like it was on day 1 - AC was always kept on anyway even in winter so that may have helped.

I'm not 100% sure - but aren't the xenon lights 'sealed' - so you can't just replace the glass front only. I may be wrong though...!

I remember seeing that when I was a (lot) younger in a different car and used to think that's how far we were from the nearest mountain.

I know what you mean - my own theory was it was my phone (as it didn't happen with my work phone or my wife's phone), but it could've been the car misbehaving as well. Given my work phone and wife's phones are both iPhone, and my personal one is an Android / Samsung S20+ - maybe it was that. But you have an iPhone and it does it so...no idea. Actually one thing worth trying is downloading your music to a playlist, then making sure you are playing songs off the downloaded list (by default, if you have an internet connection, I think it'll stream it rather than use the downloaded version so maybe force it by switching airplane mode on). See if that makes a difference?

I had the same with YouTube Music - sometimes the track title is correct but artist and album were the previous song. It eventually updates itself. Usually I found it was my phone being slow, I'm guessing at transmitting the data over - turn it off and on again and see if that helps. Or 'delete bluetooth paired devices (from car and your phone) and then re-pair them. The car's tech was rarely at fault - it was usually worn cables (Android Auto disconnecting or freezing) and my phone just needing a little kick up the *** with a restart to make it behave.

I was about to add you get most of that kit on an R anyway if you spec it out. Can't say an 8R was an option - not because I didn't want one, but I didn't have the choice on shortlists this time round haha.

It still has roof bars although they're in black which hides them better - but yes, can't see myself needing a roof box with the boot space. It is a technically impressive engine in that sense - it doesn't feel like I'm in an Uber / Prius - which was my biggest worry.

😂 now you're asking me to really stretch my imagination here...positives. Erm... But no, in all seriousness there are definitely pluses. Cooled seats are something I'd always want now, and the boot space is very convenient. Some of the conveniences are good with the cameras, ridiculous amount of USB ports, cupholders everywhere. It moves your seat back when you open the driver's door to make it easier to get in and out of you know. I have actually used the "ghost ride" feature (it's called something else of course) but where you can make it go forward and back using the key fob - I was squashed in a little in a parking bay and use it to get it out so I could open the door comfortably. It does spoil me a bit. It's also quiet...some would say too quiet. And it corners like a bean bag. I could turn it into a 90 degree and I'd still be at 45 when I hit the tree. Also it beeps and lights up at me constantly - "oh! you've got into the car with the key - 3 beeps for you! But if you didn't have your key it's 5 beeps and 2 warning lights, no seatbelt gets you 7 different pitch beeps and I won't start" Wait, you said positives right?

Golf R has gone Did a few long drives in the ol' Sorento. It's amazing how much I got used to the R's power after so long - when I first got my R it used to snap my head back. But over the years I could predict it better and it actually just felt normal. On Top Gear they used to say things like "wow you'll never get bored of this power" - but I know that's a lie, any car will feel 'normal' after using it for so long. Even I think a Chiron or Nevera...not that those cars will ever be used as a daily! But I really noticed how much I acclimatised to the R because suddenly, gaps to overtake or change lane on a motorway that used to seem completely do-able with a poke of the throttle now look impossible because of how damn slow the SUV is to pick up speed. The compromise is despite being nearly 2.2 tons unladen and full of people and stuff it returned 43mpg without trying. I reckon if I step back into an R in 3 months, it'll be snapping my head again. Also braking power - even when my R had end of life brakes they were still sharp. The Sorento's are - no other word for it - ***t. There you go. Something you never thought you'd see - a head-to-head review between the Golf R and a Kia Sorento 😂

Thanks @Booth11 and @NRW. Certainly will stick around on these forums and contribute where I can. Though not sure I have the heart to update my signature to "Gone: Golf R. Current: a Kia bloody Sorento" 😂 I have no doubt I'll miss my R a lot. And probably will regret not holding onto it. But if I think it through logically, it is for the best. I'll pour one out, light a candle, create a shrine and set an anniversary reminder for 15th June. I'm looking forward to a more relaxed drive in the Sorento - after years of dodging potholes, parking at least 50 metres away from the nearest car and disturbing the peace in general - I have none of those worries at least. Oh and I found out yesterday (as I've done next to zero research on the thing) it has a windscreen HUD and ventilated nappa leather seats OOOOOoooooo