$ 26,415.
$ 36,470.
$ 43,395.
jumps in the price of the four-door Volkswagen Golf GT I on the Volkswagen Golf R to the Audi S3, three cars are closely related, are not negligible. Yet, despite the differences of dollars, or maybe because of differences of dollars, the trio inevitably suffers the comparison of the value proposition, as if the "value" is the reason 460 buyers per month to spend about $ 40,000 on a Volkswagen sedan.
I have now had the privilege of spending a week with each car. Unfortunately, Lapiz Blue 2016 Volkswagen Golf R has just left my driveway to make room, as fate would have it, a 2016 Toyota Prius.
And I have no trouble making the case for the Golf R as VeeDub fasting to possess.
as the Golf R cost significantly more than a GTI four-door equipped similarly should come as no surprise. Volkswagen USA on products that offer all-wheel drive option, namely the Tiguan, it is an option $ 1.975. (All-wheel drive is a $ 2,100 option on the Audi Q3 and A4, the only Audis that adding Quattro is not related to an upgrade of the engine or transmission.)
In other words, an all-wheel-drive GTI, if such a thing existed, would cost $ 28,30, cutting the difference between the GTI and R up to $ 8,080.
But that base four-door Golf GTI is not only missing all-wheel drive. The equipment list is missing the automatic climate control, keyless access, and the seat of power driver. Not until you upgrade to a Golf GTI SE with Ensemble Performance - a car that has the basic features Golf R has not but lacks the components of the Golf R - made datasheets begin to appear more similar. In this case, factoring in the cost of $ 1.975 faux-AWD GTI, the price difference drops to just $ 3,555.
$ 3,555 for an additional 72 horsepower? Ill take it, especially since the official EPA fuel economy ratings show little difference between the pair, especially since our real-world tests resulted in greater consumption with GTI .
72 horses is just a number, but it is a number that can be experienced both in everyday driving and backroad barnstorming. To be clear, the GTI is by all accounts an impressive device. In fact, it is a car that I nominated for 10 Best Cars List of Today TTAC earlier this month. But that was before I drove the last Golf R, before it became clear that the GTI turbo lag is, in comparison, more than a little noticeable. That was before I fell for raucous (moderate) engine note of the Golf R. Before I enjoyed switching between the comfort of the Golf R well differentiated and damping according to road and sport modes age of my passengers. Before I bathed in the sober light of the bunk seems Golf R - red exterior pieces GTI caused passersby to notice that the car than the Golf R. I named the GTI before I cast the 19-inch shod Golf R in a corner and rediscovered fast GTI steering - 2.1 turns lock to lock. - Only with more bite
The 2016 Volkswagen Golf R is not perfect. The manual six-speed transmission, you part of the process and helps you maximize the power and opportunity in the real world, but it is far from being the most accurate lever. As Golf course on which it is based, the R does not offer the kind of space for rear seat leg that will be available in a sedan Honda Civic Type R. And given the price level, a passenger seat would good.
The Golf R is still an exceptionally well-balanced for the money. Performance above and beyond the GTI is tangible from the get-go. It seems the company. It is more user-friendly winter. It is several cars in one, depending on how you configure and individualize the DCC configuration.
DCC selector Mode / Driving the Golf R allows the driver to skip past Comfort, Normal and Race install a hodgepodge personalized damping, steering, engine , adaptive cruise control, forward lighting, and interior engine. Familiar? The Audi S3 can do that, too, that you handle these adjustments though Audi MMI superior S3.
Just how much higher is the overall S3? The Audi S3 is a superb piece of kit, one of my favorite cars in my fleet of $ 2.2 million in 2015, but the S3 cabin does not feel a cut above the Golf R. Under the gun, standard two direct pedals S3 gearbox change makes the c ar faster, Im sure. However, there is palpable shift change in the ratios below diet low in everyday driving six-tenths of S3 who felt in a manual-shift Golf R, which comes standard with a manual transmission Audi has even not offer.
badge-four rings of S3 also garnered attention in a way the Golf R can not. Of course, connoisseurs know everything about Volkswagen R, but I did not get a single question on the Golf of my neighbors, none of them seemed to recognize that, under his clothes, it was the same car that made them go weak in the knees when he wore an Audi badge it a year ago. There is a car buyer who wants his neighbors to notice the logo of his new car, to guess the price paid, to ask how he was promoted at a young age. For the buyer, the S3 could be the answer. But I drive a Honda Odyssey, so, you know, Im not that guy.
In the end, the victory of the Golf R on the GTI comes down to performance. As for the victory of the Golf R on its sister Audi S3, well, its a hatchback problem. The Golf R offers 85 percent more cargo capacity than the Audi S3. With the rear seats folded, the cargo area of ​​52.7 cubic feet of the Golf R is almost as large as that of the Tiguan.
With greater accessibility and availability, Volkswagen USA reported sales of 7,085 GTI in the first four months of 2016, nearly four times the 1,851-unit performance of the Golf R. Audi releases not a breakdown of the A3 / S3 sales, but the percentages provided there is more than a year suggests about 15 percent of A3s sold in America are S3 saloon, approximately 1,550 sales so far this year. To be honest, I want to place my driveway one 7085, one 1851 and one 1550.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net , which obsesses on free and frequent publication of US and Canadian sales figures of automobiles. Follow us on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and Facebook .
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