Evotion

Had a great, great ride in the R today back from the South Coast on a lovely A road and then the A3. Ducking and diving and overtaking all over the place. Full hooligan mode but great fun. Having had the car for a while now and done some 650 miles my first points still hold true. The RS3 engine sounds massively better and the sports exhaust a lot madder. Seats are now comparable. I am getting no jip from the leather R seats with the lumbar our full. Where the R is really scoring for me is the pick-up from a traffic light. RS3 tool longer which was embarrassing as you have to put more revs on at the start. I have put the old RS3 accelerator pedal into the Golf R - straight swap which is a result - seems more of a brutal change even with a lower setting. The biggest win for the Golf R is the steering and handling. It doesnt understeer, like, at all. My confidence to squirt round a bend at insane speeds is really high and is throroughly enjoyable. I suspect I would put in a better time on a short track or a twisty B road the RS3. Remember, I had the MY16 RS3 so the steering was not as good as the facelift (which I have driven). It still leads me to the same conclusion... PUT THE BLOODY RSE ENGINE INTO THE GOLF R !!! Call it the Golf RS. It would be the hatchback to end all hatchbacks.

Umm, I have heard that before but I think a lot of it is people trying to find a fault with undoubtdedly the best hatchback ever built (Er, after the Integrale). It is absolutely fine , indeed, more than fine. It is certainly nothing like 'numb'. The FL is slightly better than the PFL in this regard. Howerver, I do conceed that already I am finding the R better at turning in when flying into a corner. So you just break a little more in the RS3 but once you plant your foot the R is behind you. I know what people mean though. If Audi did an RS3 Competition with a track focused set-up and changed the quattro a bit then it would be amazing.

Ha, I have heard that before... And weirdly, the bird was all over me. Very strange.

Yeah, I have heard of them getting down to 3 seconds flat. Awesome traction as well. Standard they are about 3.7 - much faster than quoted.

Hey? What's that about? Ebay?

Just uploaded this.. I will miss the noise of the RS3

Ah, interesting about the seats. I am super slim and light with a dodgy back so I guess its different for everyone. Aye, the FL RS3 has the new kit but the spec I would have wanted put the car up to 55K!! And stil the higher running costs. I have driven the FL and I couldn't tell any power difference but did notice the sound was not as good as the PFL though that might be because it was a new one. Didnt have the popping drama anyway. Still, FL RS3... Of course, I would have had it if I hadnt already had the previous version and been a bit burnt on running costs. Superb car and you've made the right choice. I'll probably try the next gen A45 AMG in 2 or 3 years time - though still prefer the RS3 on looks.

yeah, not a fan of the new RS4. TTRS is great just not practical. I have 3 kids.

The RS3 is amazing. I have driven all the RS cars and it is probably the pick of the bunch,. There is not a better overall hatchback. However, I had had one so that box is ticked so I can really appreciate how good the R is and it is indeed a better car than the Audi in so many ways. Still, you need to try an RS - enjoy it, giggle like a girl at the sports exhaust, and then come back to the R.

Ah, of course, the other positive is that the car is MUCH cheaper. Cheaper to buy, mcuh cheaper tax, cheaper to insure and mostl likely a shed load cheaper to run. YAY.

Ah, I realy liked the Pretoria wheels but the spec I found available immediately had the standard wheels. Still, they look fine to me.

yeah, well I had to think quickly as the missus wanted a GTE and I had to manoevre her to an R !!! I also told her the GTI only comes with those Tartan seats, hehehe. back of the net.

Ah, thanks. Does this not invalidate the MOT or any warranty? I assume no remap is necessary? Also, does it make the car more droney on a motorway? Cheers.

Just in case anybody is in a dilemma... Don;t worry R Fans - this is GOOD news. My RS3 went at the weekend. Lovely car, AMAZING sound, very fast and looked good. It had to go as the missus was up in arms at how much it had cost us over the year and that we could not justify having two cars that were expensive to run. The other car is FAR more expensive to run but she loves it and the RS3 took the bullet. It sold in hours at the weekend, ordered a new Golf R out of the blue on Tuesday and picked it up this morning! I had never driven one before picking it up. It fullfilled our criteria of being of a quality build, sat nav, good stereo and practical. We were looking at a GTE first, serioiusly.. Managed to get her keen on an R. Of course, the RS3 is another 15K above the R so a comparison is not directly fair... or is it... I drove it for about an hour and a half and decided to join this forum as I had some questions (in another thread). Negatives ------------- * Sound of the engine and exhaust * Seats - struggling with my back but I guess I will get used to it (Had the Supoersport seats in the RS3 and the VWs are the Leather ones) That's it! Positives ------------ * About as good looking. * Stereo!!! Bloody hell. It is GREAT. The RS3 had a Bang & Olufsen and this Dynaudio sounds even better! More punch and a great range. VERY impressed and it might actually be as good as the stereo in our other car which was 7K! * Adaptive cruise control - This should be in every car. Bloody brilliant! I whacked it into ACC after the very first 200 yards and had it in there for a good 30 minutes marvelling at the way ot breaked and accelerated. I didnt have to touch the pedals. Wicked. * Digitial Dash - My RS3 was a 16 plate so it didnt have the new TFT. Loved it. Very versatile. love the Sat Nav being there leaving the usual screen in the middle for the Media * Proper spare tyre - hopefully won't ever need it. zzzz * Little blue strip lights.. LOL. Has these on the jag F-Pace we had. Great stuff, Wish is had the shine down light thing from the wing mirror though. * Centre arm-rest. One can move it around. Genius. * Cooling glove box for the Diet Coke. Marvellous. Here is the apocalyptic statement. I would not swap this new R and have the RS3 back.... Serously. Ah, footnote. I told my oldest son, a car fanatic, that I had sold the RS3 and he was gutted as he loved the drama. I told him I had bought a new Golf and showed him a selfie of me at the dealer. I showed him 3 pics of a standard black TSi. Bless him. He said "Shame it isn't the GTI or R but nice wheels" Cant wait to surprise him

HI all, Just picked up my new Golf R. Firstly, what is this Golf R 7.5 about? I assume it is a minimal revision on the Mk vii? OKay, so I sold my RS3 at the weekend (not my idea ) and bought a Golf R without even driving it, based on rep and practicality - plus I have never had one. The only thing that is nowhere near the RS3 is sound. Now, my missus will kill me if I spend hundreds on a system, never mind 2.5K on an Akrapovic but I am after more sound on a little budget. What is the best value spend to get more sound bearing in mind it must be compliant with MOT and Servicing, etc, down the line. many thanks.