wallysimmonds

If you can look past the interior 'downgrade' then the R is just better value for money. I own a Highline at the moment and have been shopping around for when my lease ends - I really was quite set on a S3 but paying over 60kAUD for one here in AU just didn't make sense when a bog standard R Grid could be had for about 48k. Sure, you miss out on the VC (and better colour choices) but the drive is pretty similar. if cash was no object I'd probably go for the Audi though, as I really like the sedan in blue

Thanks for all the replies guys, really interesting reading. Honestly, I think I will be happy with either, and part of the reason I want to switch it up as I wouldn't mind a move away Golf's in general, but honestly, I really like the interior of the Golf and how things like the steering wheel feels - in some areas the BM was a bit of a letdown there. I agree with you on the GT/Hothatch comparison though, and that's something quite a few other people have said as well. One other thing - I had the opportunity to take out a 2016 GT Mustang last year through NZ's Coromandel, and I have to say I was really surprised at how cool that car is - hell, even the Mrs loved it. This was the first time I had driven a V8 and so was obviously very impressed with the sound coming from a long line of 4 pot turbos. It actually handled pretty well in the twisty hills and I came away thinking of ways to justify owning one. It was a pita to park though, and that's why cars like the Golf R are so great (well, amongst other things).

Thanks for your feedback VWR2018 - that was actually the sort of info I was after. I really think I need to take both cars out back to back, and probably when it's raining to see how bad the M140i can get.

Do you regret getting it? I was really impressed by the navigation/multimedia system, voice street search actually worked. The LCI2 interior is fairly good. It's mostly dry here in Melbourne - I've only test driven the car in dry, so perhaps I need to take both out for a spin when it's pissing down with rain to see how bad it is. My last RWD car was a Toyota 86, and that was reasonably liveable on Melbourne roads. Obviously way down on power and the handling of that car is a massive selling point.

I didn't think it was too powerful, I just questioned whether or not I was being wise in buying something I would likely get myself in trouble with because of our nanny laws. Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I need to test drive the R again. I guess I was hoping to have a very clear 'win' for either car, but I think both are very good cars and it's very hard to choose.

The quality in the 1 series wasn't bad per se (and I certainly thought it was up with the Golf for the most part) but I can't believe they were asking 75kAU for it on release - and they're still asking silly money for everything else in the range. I believe sales are down in Australia as well. Still, the RWD/6 cyl combo is a bit of a treat, otherwise I wouldn't even be looking at it.

Hi guys, Been lurking for a number of months and thought I'd get around to joining and posting as it seems like a pretty good forum. I've been looking to upgrade my Mk 7 Highline for a while now (2.5 years into a 3 year lease) and while its been a great car, for someone who is a bit more used to performance it's a little dull and I'd like to jump into something a bit more sporty. I had always envisaged getting into a S3, but after sitting in one and getting pricing on them I was put off a little - my current Golf was just as good imo and the general consensus is the current R is a better drivers car anyway, so I quickly moved over to setting my sights on a R as a replacement after test driving it a couple of times. I've since recently had the opportunity to take out a M140i for a spin and was mostly impressed. I've driven it twice - first time I was basically 'this is for me' as the engine/transmission combo, and last weekend I took it out for an hour in back country Victoria. The second drive i was less impressed - while the engine, sound and transmission combo are great, I was less impressed by some really minor things (steering wheel seems pretty cheap and I found the dash a bit hard to read sometimes. I also questioned whether the power was really that sensible as in Australia we have very strict road rules and basically going above 100k/hr anywhere is going to land you in trouble. I did think Idrive was pretty good though, and I won't go into looks as that is a very subjective thing =). I like RWD cars too (who doesn't!) but I feel that the R is probably a bit more sensible as it sometimes does get a bit wet here. Additionally, the interior of the M140i feels a bit more last gen, but tbh I don't think that's going to bother me too much. So my question to you all is - have any of you had the M140i previously, did you cross shop with the current 7.5 R and what lead you to your decision? The pricing is very similar here in Australia - basically you can get a fully loaded R for about 60kAU, and the M140i (loaded up with the important options, we get adaptive suspension standard here) is about 64k. I can't say which way I'm leaning towards - I'm truly on the fence with this one! And yes, I realise that I will get a very skewed response here in a R forum, and realise this topic has been covered a great deal already, but I still like to see what people think, particularly with the 7.5 being reasonably new.