Used 2016 Volkswagen Golf R Hatchback Consumer Reviews
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BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK!!
LA, 01/20/2016
2016 Volkswagen Golf R w/Dynamic Chassis Control and Navigation 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6AM)
26 of 26 people found this review helpful
Considering the options available for this car, this is definitely the best bang for the buck out there. Especially when considering the other vehicles out there that offer dynamic suspension, automatic w/ paddle shifters, and a 0-60 in under 5 secs (they just don't exist in the Golf R's price range). The Golf R is a total blast to drive. It hangs in the curves like it's on rails. Mine has the DCC suspension. The best part is that the 'comfort' setting dials everything back enough that my mother would have no problems driving it. Most of the time I leave the suspension dialed in to the 'race' setting, which is fine for most of my driving. MPG isn't quite as good as advertised. And will get slightly worse if you add the APR stage 1 kit (even though APR claims otherwise) - my combined MPG is around 22. However gas milage is still darn respectable considering the performance. Adding the stage 1 APR kit drops the 0-60 time to under 4 secs. And keeping the foot off the gas pedal becomes an exercise in will power. One of the things I have come to like a lot about the Golf R is that it is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It doesn't beg for attention from law enforcement like other performance cars do. Yet, it has plenty of thrill providing capabilities whenever the mood strikes. And it's practical enough for grocery shopping and driving my kids. Overall, there is very little that I would have changed about this car. My 1st complaint is the lack of a sun roof on the R model. On the flip side, a sunroof decreases chassis stiffness and moves the center of gravity higher, both of which adversely affect handling. Supposedly the Euro spec model comes with a sunroof. I could have sacrificed a little in the handling dept. for a sunroof. A 2nd complaint is that there is no middle ground for the engine mapping. The DCC provides 2 engine mappings - 'normal' and 'race' which are at opposite ends of the spectrum. VW needs a setting between those two. The 'race' setting would be great if you don't mind frequent visits to the gas station. And the 'normal' setting just isn't quite peppy enough. A 3rd change would be to add an over drive gear for highway driving. At the 80+ mph speeds on many interstates, the Golf R hums along around 3k rpm, well into its power band. An overdrive gear would definitely help with gas milage. Alright, so no car is going to perfectly appeal to everyone. For me, the Golf R is about as good as it gets, especially when compared to the other junk that car makers are putting on the market. BTW - I had been a Honda owner for over 15 years and am glad to be rid of them.
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Incredibly fast and market-dominating hot hatch
Hawkeye, 04/07/2016
2016 Volkswagen Golf R 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
23 of 25 people found this review helpful
Firstly, before I get into the nitty gritty, if you are going to compare this in any way to a GTI, don't. They are both in totally different classes and the golf R is on such a higher performance tier than the GTI, you'd be doing yourself a dis-service. This car is competing with STI's, EVO's, M235i's, CLA45 AMG's, Focus RS, etc. Anyways....I bought the car shortly after it came out, deep pearl black, 6spd manual, no dcc/navigation. Was one of the lucky few that was able to walk into a dealership, find the perfect one, was not being held, bought it same day. Car is incredible!!! Factory performance on these is nothing short of stunning. Judging from the overall looks of the car, it's quite surprising what this thing is really capable of. If I were to compare to others in it's class, it is more refined (excluding the BMW and Mercedes I mentioned above of course). In my honest opinion, there is not a better performance car that you can buy for the money, currently. Power/Engine performance: 292hp/280tq reported by VW. This is very impressive as it sits, coming from a 2.0L. However, after having the car tested on a dyno after the break in period (100% stock) the numbers were far closer to 318hp/310tq (which makes sense when these run against EVO's and STI's and out pace them). Since then, I purchased the stage 1 package from APR (just a tune) and it becomes a completely different predator. With the tune, you'll be looking at 354hp and 379tq (dsg 0-60 mph capable of sub 4 second times). In this setup, much fewer cars can compete in terms of speed, acceleration, agility. Handling: I think the handling is excellent. The model I have does not include the dynamic chassis control, and it still handles on rails (I can only imagine how well the DCC model handles). Traction: Excellent. Uses the exact same quattro system as the Audi S3 (actually the whole car is almost an exact copy of the S3, minus some interior options). I've had this in snow, gravel, ice, mud (not by choice), rain, you name it. Nothing will keep this thing off the road, I would pit it up against the best AWD's out there in terms of traction/grip. Interior: Very impressed with the interior of this car. Everything is either carbon fiber (it's a vinyl like carbon, still looks nice), quality italian black leather (yes it's real leather, not like the crap on Jetta's), and piano black trim. Looks very classy and sexy, feels like a much nicer car than a VW. Gear shift has a quality feel to it, along with all of the interior buttons and knobs. Makes me feel as if everything was well thought out and materials were not skimped on in any circumstance. Exterior: Love it. I personally am a big hatch fan, so this is a little biased. I dig the small, hunkered down, lowered look of the R. Quad exhaust tips are a sporty/sexy addition. I also appreciate how tasteful the body kit is. It's not near as "boy racer" as many of it's competitors, and outruns all of them! Overall, I absolutely love the car. I highly recommend this to someone that is interested in an STI, EVO, M235i, S3, etc. I strongly feel that VW has done an amazing job with this car, very excited to see how the next few R's progress.
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Golf R - The Best All-Around Car I've Owned
Daniel, 08/02/2016
2016 Volkswagen Golf R 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
10 of 10 people found this review helpful
This is definitely one of the most stunning and surprising cars that I've ever driven that has a high-quality Porsche feel to it when you're driving. I also love the fact that it is purely a sleeper car. For a mere $800 you can get a stage 1 tune and add almost an extra 100 HP and beat 2015 M3s, Porsche Carreras, and all sorts of muscle cars from Mustangs to Camaros and Dodge Chargers/Challengers. What's even more amusing is when you add some turns to the track and the Golf R will compete extremely well against anything you throw at it. Even with all the power, the gas mileage is pretty high around 25/26 combined mpg (80% city, 20% hwy).
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26000 Miles and Going
Buffalo Tom, 10/27/2016
updated 05/02/2017
2016 Volkswagen Golf R w/Dynamic Chassis Control and Navigation 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6AM)
15 of 16 people found this review helpful
Had the 2016 Golf R for 13 months now. Overall I don't find myself left wanting for anything. Wish the German version of a Nav system worked faster, it shows your at a intersection well after you've passed it (at any speed). Also when seeking back roads hoping for a challenge/new sights by selecting shortest distance it always sticks to more major roadways - boring! Inputting addresses to search has more effective results if done one way v.s. another (starting w/ street v.s. town). I did catch it being down a couple qts. of oil in one oil change, others were ok, maybe garage didn't top it off, not sure. Stock tires were shot in 10 K miles, but they had v good grip. Not trilled with 35 sidewalls especially w/ soft tires, any edges on the roadway over 1.5 inches over 35 mph and you're flirting w/ bent rims. I think the 235 45 tire size would be better overall. Clutch seems strong in the car, hasn't showed signs of weakness (unlike my previous 2005 Mitsu Evo). The ride selections are very nice and effective although I usually leave mine in race mode but the wife sometimes complains which is easily resolved. Interior design is plush, but they shouldn't disable the center console lid/compartment - plain BS. I'd like to see it more aggressive with proportioning more drive to the rear tires when it's needed, having driver control over that like the ride selection would be a blast. I had a 2005 Mitsu Evo and put 175000 mls on that car. Between the 2 I'd choose the Golf R, biggest reasons are: interior comfort/fit and finish, seats, cruise control, radio, less road noise. Of course this isn't fair as my Evo was a 2005. I think the Golf R is a little faster but that my be the gear boxes. I do miss the engine sound feedback the Evo provided, the Golf R isn't as good which compromises your driving abilities. Update 5/2/2017: +36000 mls and going. I don't park the car in the garage. I've noticed on occasion that the clutch will slip at first use until things warm up. Could be moisture or temp related seemed to act up when v cold or wet out. Runs low on oil at end of 10 k oil changes 1-2 qrts, isn't leaking, probably just normal burn off. Engine noise just isn't loud enough for driver feedback, it's v easy to hit the rev limiter especially in 1st gr. Gas mileage runs 26 when ran hard, 32 in ideal conditions. Brakes on the car are holding up really really well. The car's driver interface (radio, nav, etc.) freaks out on occasion at 1st start, sometime it'll recover, other times I need to restart the motor to get it to come around, it locks up or ignores driver input for several minutes happened 4-5 times so far.
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Great little rocket hatchback thats fun
R, 06/25/2016
2016 Volkswagen Golf R w/Dynamic Chassis Control and Navigation 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6AM)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
I have owned it for a month with only 1500 miles and I must say I love this car. I love the DCC and the ability on how it controls the suspension. I honestly thought it was going to a small improvement, but comfort really sorts out the bumpy roads quite well. Race mode makes things fun and tight. You can also custom Taylor the individual mode to how you like it too. Driving this car is very fun and I never want to get out of it. I also have a new BMW 328xi which use to be fun, but now drives like a boat compared to the R. If you have the chance to buy one just get it. It's a fast fun rocket that sits 4 comfortable with a very nice refined interior. The DSG transmission shifts awesome and keeps the revs up high while in sport mode. I initially tested out a bunch of performance cars at first, but once I drove the R it was a solid choice that ticked all the boxes perfect. All this package for under 40k was a great choice.
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