MK7 Volkswagen Golf R Long Term Review | 75,000 Miles
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- Опубліковано 8 сер 2020
- The aim of this video is to have a comprehensive summary of my experience with the Golf R over the course of 76,280 miles at this point. I’m calling it the 75K review. I intend on covering safety of the car, quality of the components and build quality, I’ll touch on performance and the exciting parts of driving and then talk about everyday livability and my taken the cars reliability. I wanted to dig into what others have said about the car, but I figured I’d rather focus on MY take as I would have more confidence and conviction in telling my unique story
IN TRYING TO be comprehensive, I read my notes here. I want to make cool, seamless entertaining videos, but when we’re talking tech, quality of information, accuracy and thoroughness is the name of the game.
My overall experience has been a very positive one and I would honestly recommend this car to anyone looking for a fun sporty car that can ABSOLUTELY be daily driven!! - Авто та транспорт
I enjoyed your thorough review of your 16 Golf R. I too have a 16 Golf R - it is a manual. I have only 53K miles because I'm retired and put only about 4K a year (since mid-2019). I'm in Florida and love the Haldex for the frequent rains. I've had the same experience with the backup camera and I also had an issue with a coolant leak (covered under warranty). I also had a rear diff leak - the dealer replaced the entire rear diff under warranty - that would have cost me $4K. They also replaced the window switch under warranty due to non-responsiveness to inputs to control partial up & down of the window. When the car was two weeks old, I returned to the dealer (tuner shop) and had an APR Stage 1 tune which really woke it up. I had just come from a Mazdaspeed 3 which actually felt faster with only an intake. A couple years later, I got greedy again and went back for a full APR Stage II along with all of the supporting mods and a new racing clutch. The transformation was startling. The tunes have been completely reliable and have not affected drive-ability or gas mileage for "normal" driving. When the mood strikes, the car instantly turns from Dr. Jekyl to Mr. Hyde - in spades! Anyway, I'm glad to see so many similarities between yours and my experience with our respective Golf Rs. Thank you for sharing yours.
Thank you so much for saying that!! I’m glad the video was good and earned your view! I really do appreciate it and the engagement through the comments. I go back and forth on upgrades or mods and I always settle on factory performance being enough. I do thoroughly love this car. These cars do come with glitches but as with all things, it’s a series of trade offs between performance, reliability and luxury. These Golfs nailed the balance in my opinion :)
Time Stamps
0:23 - Introduction and Video Intent
1:40 - Nine things I don’t think are strong points for the car
1:55 Paint
3:32 Electrical Glitches
5:33 Rear door water seep
6:40 Windshield scratches easily
7:33 Cup Holders
9:00 Shifting Nuance
10:40 Piped in Sound
11:19 DSG eagerness off the line
12:00 Rubber gaskets on front windshield
12:45 Good Stuff
12:48 Safety
15:57 Build Quality & Durability
20:40 Performance (not figures, but how they sum up as an experience). Engine. Transmission (DSG vs Manual). Haldex 4 motion. Brakes. Steering. Winter driving. Tire performance. Suspension.
36:44 Livability (living with the Golf R as a daily). Road trips. Enthusiastic driving. Camping hauler. Comfort. Creature Comforts. Summer vs Winter driving. Outrunning a forming tornado. Mileage.
42:37 FUN FACTOR. Comparison to Audi Driving Experience (TTRS and RS3).
46:41 Reliability: My Take on it.
Been thinking of getting one. This has helped a lot with my research. Thank you
Hell yeah!!! So glad you found the video helpful! Thanks for watching and leaving this comment, much appreciated :)
DCC is beautiful and comes standard on all Golf R's in Canada. Comfort mode is so nice.
I think currently I regret not checking that option, but I still love the feel of the car.
Question: does DCC make the car stiffer or softer than the no DCC optioned cars?
DrivenByPleasure Yes it does. Comfort has a floaty feeling with body roll. Less jarring than race or normal modes. In Custom mode, I like to set everything to race(sport) but have the dampening in comfort.
I could definitely have used that. No complaints with the car BUT, I’d say maybe 10% of the time I want a slightly softer ride if I’m in an easy mood
I really liked this review, you pointed out many things that connected with. Some examples, when you spoke of a 95 Camry or Corolla I connected with the statement. When you showed the car loaded with stuff. It helped show its able to handle long trips. As well many other examples. I will for sure keep this car in mind. I relate fully that the 2021 Golf R. The more I looked into the 2021 year I felt less for it vs more. As well the 2021 model cost is far to high. The years prior seem more fun as well I feel more connected. I've recently looked into a 2020 JCW All4 Clubman which is another very powerful hatchback. I'll keep this review in mind in my decision. Very well done! 👍
Thanks for and I’m glad it was worth it haha! Any choice you make is the right one honestly. Hopefully the 2021 model year gets some improvements to its looks prior to actual launch, as of now, sticking eith the Mk7 :)
Great review mate. Watched the whole video, keep making more. Makes my decision in buying one a whole lot easier. Good to know what to look out for on a higher mileage one.
Thank you so much for leaving this uplifting comment!! I’m coming up on 77,000 now and thinking of checking the engine for carbon build up, that might give some insight too :)
Great review. Thanks for sharing
The stock Continental 5P was the 1st real performance tire I've owned. A little loud at times on rough surfaces. I though because it's a 19in low profile tire. Always had a little understeer (from new)and felt the side wall rolling away when really pushing in the corners. Tried different tire pressures, same result. Added a rear sway bar, helped but tire still felt not planted under the wheel. 24000kms later they were done.
Then I bought the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Totally different feel to the car. Road noise down half, more planted in the corners with almost no understeer with a lot more grip.
Only warranty was just a slight leak in the thermostat housing.
Changed the hatch, glove box and the Tail Lights to LED.
GolfR is like a Swiss Army knife. Can do a little of everything.
Be grocery getter one day, do an autocross the next to feel like Ken Block in the winter. : )
I always enjoy your comments, so thank you as always!! You nailed it: Swiss Army knife of cars. And what I really want people to know is the saying “jack of all traits expert of none” should be slightly modified because the Golf R is the jack of all traits and pretty damn good at most haha.
As for the tires, yes, 100% hands down the PS4S are noticeably different. Maybe it takes a car of high enough caliber (like the Golf R or higher) for the driver to start understanding what the tires bring to the table, but you are spot on with the rolling of the side wall. I even noticed they had to use more of the tire slip agent to get these in the rims because the side wall is so stiff. I love these tires.
Thanks again for the comments and engagement! I really do always appreciate it.
Looking at a 2016 and this was incredibly informative. Keep the videos coming. Also, I’ll be driving in similar weather conditions. What winter tires do you use?
Thank you for that comment :)!! I’m glad you found the video helpful and informative. I have used Michelin X-Ice for the past 4 winters and they have worked WONDERS!!! Can not recommend enough honestly. I truly out more miles/day in winter than in the summer and that’s down to how amazing the car is coupled with the X-Ice tires. Predictable. Durable. And very grippy in the dead of winter.
Please show more examples (pictures & videos) of what you are talking about ánd also show your photos longer - a good rule of thumb is a minimum of 3 seconds before cutting away again. Please don't consider this as criticism - only as enhancement. Really enjoy your videos.
Thanks for that, I mean it! Feedback is a gift and if I make more videos in the future I’ll be sure to keep that in mind :)
Thanks for watching and for the comment. Hope you found the video helpful.
@@driven15 : thanks for thát - most people start attacking when suggestions are made.
On a car note - I live in South Africa and I drive the new Volkswagen POLO VI in 1.0 TSI 70 KW petrol Comfortline manual guise (what a mouth full.. Hehehe) I am a rep and do 60 - 80000km's (50000 miles) per year. Thís is by far not my ¹st Volkswagen, but with the Turbo, most definitely my liveliest VW product : the midrange pick up (80 - 160km/h) is amazing for such a small engine (3 cylinders) ánd it is quiet ánd frugal : I once got 24.86km/L! That is 58 mpg! For a petrol, not even a diesel (diesel engines tend to be more economical). We've even travelled with it to Swakopmund, Namibia (my country of birth) which is 2000km (one way) from where we live. During thát holiday (December 2019) I averaged between 16-19km/L at an average speed of 130km/h (our speed limit is 120km/h.. But hey who cares right.. Hehehe). The highest I got on it was 220km/h (on the speedo). A colleague of mine reached 235km/h - both our cars are stock. Next I wanna try the GTI! (POLO GTI)
PS : don't you find the GOLF R to be a little bit noisy - a friend of mine has one and the acceleration is AMAZING! He took it up to 260km/h to show me what the car was like - he said his personal highest in the car was 320km/h! But I found it to be a little bit too noisy for me. (no criticism - only my personal taste - most sports car owners like some noise - I prefer high speed combined with quietness)
Sorry for the looong response.
I test drove both. Both engaging, DSG was more practical. Wish I had both though.
You nailed it. I don’t want to get rid of / not live with the DSG, but I ALSO wish I had the manual. It’s annoying because I want both
@DrivenByPleasure thinking on trading my 2019 GTI for a 2016 R due to trade in market being so high. Would be a 16R with 33K miles, anything I should be concerned about? I think these are Gen 3 engines and very reliable. Nervous getting something with little warranty but fully stock. Watched all your previous videos great work!
No concerns honestly. I will say the cars aren’t bullet proof but my current example is a hair short of 80,000 miles. Just about 2/3 the way through a 2400 mile road trip with A LOT of hard mountain road driving (Smoky Mountains). The cars are pretty solid honestly. The 16R seems to be a pretty solid car. I’d make sure to ask about the water/coolant pump. It’s gaskets seem to have been an issues in 15 and early 16 models. Good luck with the purchase :)
@@driven15 thank you sir! Checked it our today looked great! Sucks it's not a loaded one just a base... so no DCC, nav, or Fender, also surprised Android Auto didnt work on it?
But I could always pick it up, install the newer infotainment unit from the 18+ and have it all just no DCC.
That’s pretty much my car :P. I actually enjoy the “simplicity” of the car. With all that said I will mention: the R is an amazing car but as is the GTI. The R is maybe 20% more performant but the biggest lead it takes is in winter performance. If you don’t live in an area that requires 4 motion, then maybe the GTI might be enough (as I said, hell of a car). The R is an amazing companion, a car I don’t think I’ll rid myself of any time soon, especially with the MK8 being the way that they are.
@@driven15 I believe we are in the same region. I'm in northern IL and winters can get rough so the AWD would be a bonus. Now looking at the base 16R more so would upgrade to the 8" MK7.5 screen, and hopefully frameless homelink mirror too from MK7.5 and I'd ne happy, was surprised the R seats felt less bolstering on the sides compared to my 19 GTI.
I’m surprised by the seats as well!
Yes we’re both in the Midwest then :). The R will do you well then and I’m in full agreement with you, the 4 motion will be nice in our Midwest winters. I agree with the upgrades you mentioned. I’m not sure if it’s laziness or complacency on my part but I guess I just got used to the R’s features as they were when I got it and never looked into the 7.5 updates.
Common coolant leak with the MK7 R's
It is, as I dug in more it seems prevalent in the MK7s primarily
After driving the 458, the Golf R, felt sooo slow. wonder why hehehe ; )
Hahahahaha YES, this reminds me of a time where my friend and I went out and drove / got rides in Ferrari FF, the new Porsche Panamera Turbo, a 991.1 GT3 and GTRS and a Ferrari 430 Scuderia. After the Porsche GTs I remember getting in the golf and flooring it and it felt SSSOO underwhelming that we both looked confused and laughed!
DrivenByPleasure totally relate 👍
You don’t drive a lot 😭 if I owned it would’ve had 300k lol
Awesome comment!!! I agree, I should drive it more. 8 yrs in and it’s still a lovely car and puts a smile on my face, DAILY!! 112,000 miles, I’m 188,000 miles short of the 300,000 ;)