2022 VW Golf R vs 2022 Honda Type R

[Cornercarver]

Golf R: faster to 60, can be driven in more weather conditions, smaller turning radius, true hatchback size. So-so manual, but excellent DSG. Highly competent. Thinking better ride. More subtle - a sleeper.

Type R: better manual transmission, better seat design, better interior than latest VW gen, more exclusive, lighter, more engaging, better track car, even more storage, and more reliable. Generally more focused. Party in front, business in the back. A keeper.

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[Zone47]

If you decide golf r, just make sure you do not get the manual. It’s a fun car to drive, def gives you the confidence to through it around corners. I love the CTR, but as far as city driving goes, golf r makes more sense.
That being said, golf r and type r shouldn’t be same year same price, there is no way that golf r will hold value as well as the type r.

That was one of my considerations because they are a limited run where the GTI and R are easier to find and purchase.

If VW didn't mess the R up with the menu driven everything inside the car, I probably would have gone that route even though I'd probably be wrenching on it more often over 100K miles. The nice thing about the dub is they are quicker than the Honda but still can squeak out 33 mpg if you drive them normal. I don't know why Honda sucks so much gas to do the same thing (other than super fat tires / rolling resistance). Still, Honda will always be the king of the most reliable 4 cylinder engines ever! ...and the magical shifting 6 speeds.

 

[Cornercarver]

The VW is one rare exception to my 'manuals rule, the rest drool'. In the case of the VW, the manual is not their best. Porsche/Audi/VW have amazing dual clutch transmissions. Not as much fun as a good stick, but they are amazing in their own right.
But I love manuals, and insist on a good one, so....Type R it is.
I also love light cars. And edgy cars.
That still work for the everyday stuff. So a class of...one.
The GR Corolla, Elantra N and other contenders are excellent...but the CTR IMO still rules.

 

[Jester04]

The VW is one rare exception to my 'manuals rule, the rest drool'. In the case of the VW, the manual is not their best. Porsche/Audi/VW have amazing dual clutch transmissions. Not as much fun as a good stick, but they are amazing in their own right.
But I love manuals, and insist on a good one, so....Type R it is.
I also love light cars. And edgy cars.
That still work for the everyday stuff. So a class of...one.
The GR Corolla, Elantra N and other contenders are excellent...but the CTR IMO still rules.

The DCT transmissions are no joke. I personally would not own one since I am a purist but damn are they quick. I ran a GTI at the last roll race event with a upgraded Golf R turbo and I barely won and I was shifting as fast as I could to lose the least amount of ground possible against the dsg.

 

[us17094]

Honda at least seems to fix their issues. My 2020 Si has none of the issues my 2017 hatch had.

My buddy traded his 90s GTI cause he got tired of the rear windows leaking water and puddling on the floor. Guess what his brand new 15 years newer GTI did??

GTIs are pretty reliable but I hear complaints about issues they can’t seem to fix.

I totally experienced this with my VW Diesel Jetta Sportswagon. I had a cold starting issue the dealer "fixed" three times. It became clear they really had no clue what to do. Sold that thing back to WV as part of the Dieselgate settlement as quick as I could. Then bought a Subaru (then a Honda).

 

[Zone47]

The DCT transmissions are no joke. I personally would not own one since I am a purist but damn are they quick. I ran a GTI at the last roll race event with a upgraded Golf R turbo and I barely won and I was shifting as fast as I could to lose the least amount of ground possible against the dsg.

I read (on a Vdub forum) the DSG shifts in 8 mS, where as a fast manual shift is typically around 500 mS. If that's true, and it sounds reasonable, in a drag race, shifting from 1st to 4th, a 6 speed manual gives up close to 1.26 seconds in dead acceleration time to the DSG, not to mention losing boost for each manual shift unless you're power shifting which I don't think I'd recommend doing in the mighty Dub! Now that is just a ball park because I don't know how many shifts the DSG is going through in a 1/4 mile... and then there is the argument of lower ratios on the DSG at the start, so that's a plus as well.

 

[Jester04]

I read (on a Vdub forum) the DSG shifts in 8 mS, where as a fast manual shift is typically around 500 mS. If that's true, and it sounds reasonable, in a drag race, shifting from 1st to 4th, a 6 speed manual gives up close to 1.26 seconds in dead acceleration time to the DSG, not to mention losing boost for each manual shift unless you're power shifting which I don't think I'd recommend doing in the mighty Dub! Now that is just a ball park because I don't know how many shifts the DSG is going through in a 1/4 mile... and then there is the argument of lower ratios on the DSG at the start, so that's a plus as well.

yeah manual is a huge disadvantage in terms of being fast compared to auto cars. Honestly the GTI surprised me how quick it was. I won but I feel like it could have gone either way from how close it was. If it weren’t for the time slip at the track I would have given him the win or if it was a longer stretch of road I think he would have passed me.

 

[fredzy]

I totally experienced this with my VW Diesel Jetta Sportswagon. I had a cold starting issue the dealer "fixed" three times. It became clear they really had no clue what to do. Sold that thing back to WV as part of the Dieselgate settlement as quick as I could. Then bought a Subaru (then a Honda).

I skimmed over your comment without seeing who posted it and figured it was my own comment I was reading until I came back to the "sold back to VW" part. I traded my JSW in for a Subaru in April 2014, a good year and a half before dieselgate broke. It still stung a little seeing that they would have bought my car off me for $1000 more than I traded for, 2 years later

Were you also despondent that Subaru didn't bring us a manual WRX wagon/hatch for the VA generation? haha.

I haven't driven the mk8, but a good buddy of mine has a 7.5 R which I have driven. Of course the VW has that premium feel like it's a rebadged Audi. DSG is fast and positive. The fake noise maker sounds pretty good. The driving experience overall is too sterile though. He has a manual Tacoma also and I think he has quite a bit more fun driving that haha

 

[us17094]

I skimmed over your comment without seeing who posted it and figured it was my own comment I was reading until I came back to the "sold back to VW" part. I traded my JSW in for a Subaru in April 2014, a good year and a half before dieselgate broke. It still stung a little seeing that they would have bought my car off me for $1000 more than I traded for, 2 years later

Were you also despondent that Subaru didn't bring us a manual WRX wagon/hatch for the VA generation? haha.

I haven't driven the mk8, but a good buddy of mine has a 7.5 R which I have driven. Of course the VW has that premium feel like it's a rebadged Audi. DSG is fast and positive. The fake noise maker sounds pretty good. The driving experience overall is too sterile though. He has a manual Tacoma also and I think he has quite a bit more fun driving that haha

My wife and I were upset that a manual WRX wagon was not in the cards. Not even an Outback manual option at that time. We had to go with the Forester. Very few manual wagon options anywhere aside from VW (which I was not going back to). I was further disappointed that you could not get the turbo-4 Forester with the manual. Only the naturally aspirated 2.5L. It was a fine engine for our needs, but slow. At the time my 2018 2.0L Accord Sport 6-speed was the fun car in our garage. Now it is the CTR.

 

[Zone47]

If you decide golf r, just make sure you do not get the manual. It’s a fun car to drive, def gives you the confidence to through it around corners. I love the CTR, but as far as city driving goes, golf r makes more sense.
That being said, golf r and type r shouldn’t be same year same price, there is no way that golf r will hold value as well as the type r.

That's true considering the low production numbers of the Type R. So really it's a much better investment. After driving mine for more than a year, I really like the character of the Type R engine response over my particular Vdub. They are both good but the Honda feels a bit more edgy ... more like a nicely tuned race car (at least over a Stage 2 Mk 7 GTI).... I don't know about the Golf R though...

 

[katch922]

Golf R is a beast honestly, just get extended warranty for a piece of mind. Its very fun to drive especially in snow and rain. If someone was giving me both to choose one, I would still pick CTR, but i think my main reason would be exclusivity and reliability (or quality of build).

 

[Zone47]

The DCT transmissions are no joke. I personally would not own one since I am a purist but damn are they quick. I ran a GTI at the last roll race event with a upgraded Golf R turbo and I barely won and I was shifting as fast as I could to lose the least amount of ground possible against the dsg.

Yeah, that's a bummer, every time you shift the manual you lose boost unless you power shift it and VW won't take too much abuse on a stock clutch... plus I don't know if keeping it floored really keeps the boost maximized or not ... technically it should but hard telling what the computer does with no load for 1/2 second or so. I test drove a DSG and nope, it kills the driving experience.

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