Quick Drive: 2017 Volkswagen Golf R

Love the Hatch design, space and while not a fan of DOHC engines with high HP and low Torque, at least it has AWD.

Body Style and Dash are my hang ups with this. Traditional Bland VW style. Does nothing for me, ignites no passion or excitement. I look at the Dash and see an IRS audit. BLAH, ARGhhhhhhh. Body Style is like dating a nune.  

There's a lot of misinfo here that needs to be adressed-

1) The Golf R and GTI engine differ in many ways. In addition to having a larger turbocharger, the R has some upgraded internal components, as well.

2) It's a subjective matter I suppose, but in the plushest setting, the R rides better than the GTI. Also, the DCC is standard and NOT a $3,000 option. Nav and DCC both are standard for MY 17, which is part of the reason the price increased. That, and DAP became a forced option.

3) There are no changes to either the grille or the exhaust on the R for 17. Only the wheels were changed.

4) There are no difference to the seats or the steering wheel in comparison to the GTI. They both share the same design of each feature. 

5) The price gap between an R and a base GTI is MORE than 10 grand. But it's only a 4 grand gap between a GTI with similar equipment. 

You can't make the case for the car being worth the extra money on paper stats alone. You're paying extra for the greater exclusivity, unique touches, greater potential, and better resale. 

There's no right or wrong answer, they're both great cars. I will say however, that the DSG really makes the R. It's another animal altogether. I've had a lot of diehard manual lovers be swayed by the DSG after experiencing it. 

  On 2/28/2017 at 5:57 PM, Frisky Dingo said:

 You're paying extra for the greater exclusivity, unique touches, greater potential, and better resale. 

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OK, Your gonna have to help out with a side by side photo comparison as I question the exclusivity other than lower production numbers of the auto. Unique touches? Where, as all I see in the existing photo's is the same bland VW formula used in all their other auto's. Greater Potential? Very subjective. Better Resale, maybe. Again very subjective.

  On 2/28/2017 at 7:58 PM, dfelt said:

OK, Your gonna have to help out with a side by side photo comparison as I question the exclusivity other than lower production numbers of the auto. Unique touches? Where, as all I see in the existing photo's is the same bland VW formula used in all their other auto's. Greater Potential? Very subjective. Better Resale, maybe. Again very subjective.

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The lower production numbers are exactly what I'm referring to by mentioning the exclusivity. That's the very definition of the word.

The R has totally different facsias, lights, trim, and other pieces from the GTI. It's intended to look low-key. It's not supposed to be boisterous and draw attention.

The tuning potential and resale are not subjective at all. They're both very easily measured. The R has a much higher power ceiling due it's upgraded engine and larger turbo. It also enjoys easily a 5-7% advantage in residual value. 

  On 2/28/2017 at 7:58 PM, dfelt said:

Better Resale, maybe. Again very subjective.

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That's not a subjective metric. It can be measured by looking at the used market and book values.

  On 2/28/2017 at 8:28 PM, ccap41 said:

That's not a subjective metric. It can be measured by looking at the used market and book values.

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Not totally, I can look at resale values here in Washington state and VW has piss poor resale and trade in value. Elsewhere it might be higher or even lower. Yes there is the range on the auto, but specific areas especially in a High Tech city like Seattle, VW is considered bottom dwelling auto's and as such, there is very little demand or desire for them. This shows up in how cheap they are to purchase here. 

Like all auto's even MB, BMW, Cadillac, all resale is subjective to the market forces and the specific areas of where demand might or might not be. Market forces and desires will affect this no matter what KBB or the auto association might say resale prices are.

  On 2/28/2017 at 9:12 PM, dfelt said:

Not totally, I can look at resale values here in Washington state and VW has piss poor resale and trade in value. Elsewhere it might be higher or even lower. Yes there is the range on the auto, but specific areas especially in a High Tech city like Seattle, VW is considered bottom dwelling auto's and as such, there is very little demand or desire for them. This shows up in how cheap they are to purchase here. 

Like all auto's even MB, BMW, Cadillac, all resale is subjective to the market forces and the specific areas of where demand might or might not be. Market forces and desires will affect this no matter what KBB or the auto association might say resale prices are.

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But there can always be a number assigned to the vehicle even though that number will vary by zip code. Even if it does have a piss poor resale for an area a number can still be put to that.

  On 2/28/2017 at 9:26 PM, ccap41 said:

But there can always be a number assigned to the vehicle even though that number will vary by zip code. Even if it does have a piss poor resale for an area a number can still be put to that.

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Yes, a number can always be assigned, but that does not mean is is a factual in the sand number. Like everything, life is very subjective be it a number on an auto, a expert chef's view on seafood or even polling info on presidents. Someone will always find the info to be subjective and will interpret the results in their own mind. 

After all the biggest crowds for inauguration happened for the POTUS, they had millions there to see him brought into office.

What? We're not talking about life or a chef's opinion(which are both subjective) we're talking about a price of a vehicle.  So, to you, vehicle prices across the board are completely subjective 100% of the time?

  On 2/28/2017 at 10:17 PM, ccap41 said:

What? We're not talking about life or a chef's opinion(which are both subjective) we're talking about a price of a vehicle.  So, to you, vehicle prices across the board are completely subjective 100% of the time?

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Yup, So far, have you ever really paid the price stated? I have never paid the price stated on any auto. The price on KBB gives you a range / ball park price that you can get or pay for something but it does not mean you only pay that price as does everyone else.

  On 2/28/2017 at 5:57 PM, Frisky Dingo said:

There's a lot of misinfo here that needs to be adressed-

1) The Golf R and GTI engine differ in many ways. In addition to having a larger turbocharger, the R has some upgraded internal components, as well.

2) It's a subjective matter I suppose, but in the plushest setting, the R rides better than the GTI. Also, the DCC is standard and NOT a $3,000 option. Nav and DCC both are standard for MY 17, which is part of the reason the price increased. That, and DAP became a forced option.

3) There are no changes to either the grille or the exhaust on the R for 17. Only the wheels were changed.

4) There are no difference to the seats or the steering wheel in comparison to the GTI. They both share the same design of each feature. 

5) The price gap between an R and a base GTI is MORE than 10 grand. But it's only a 4 grand gap between a GTI with similar equipment. 

 

You can't make the case for the car being worth the extra money on paper stats alone. You're paying extra for the greater exclusivity, unique touches, greater potential, and better resale. 

There's no right or wrong answer, they're both great cars. I will say however, that the DSG really makes the R. It's another animal altogether. I've had a lot of diehard manual lovers be swayed by the DSG after experiencing it. 

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6

Allow me to take on these points aside from 1 (since I talked about some, not all of the changes) and 5 (talking comparable base prices, not a similarly equipped Golf GTI, for which I agree)

2: On Volkswagen's consumer's site, it may show the Golf R DCC as the only model. But I had the base Golf R (no DCC, navigation, etc).They built a small number of these models. You can find this in Volkswagen's PR materials and the window sticker.
3 and 4: I should have made it clearer, but I was comparing the Golf R with the standard Golf.

  On 3/2/2017 at 7:20 PM, William Maley said:

 

Allow me to take on these points aside from 1 (since I talked about some, not all of the changes) and 5 (talking comparable base prices, not a similarly equipped Golf GTI, for which I agree)

2: On Volkswagen's consumer's site, it may show the Golf R DCC as the only model. But I had the base Golf R (no DCC, navigation, etc).They built a small number of these models. You can find this in Volkswagen's PR materials and the window sticker.
3 and 4: I should have made it clearer, but I was comparing the Golf R with the standard Golf.

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Makes more sense.

As for non-Nav and DCC cars, those must be press/demo cars only. No such cars were available for sale to the public afaik. At least we were never able to order any.