Firdaus Asri's POV: Volkswagen Mk7 Golf R - Best Hot Hatch ever?
Saturday, December 12, 2015
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Most of you folks out there know that here at motoring-malaysia we have a whole lot of original posts that you can never find on other Malaysian automotive websites. This time we get Volkswagen Golf R Mk6 owner Firdaus Asri to tell you what he thinks of the latest Golf R Mk7 as I had arranged for him to bring out his Mk6 R to tango with the Mk7 R.
Now according to him, the BEST HOT HATCH ever, is the Mk7 Golf R.
Firdaus. I told you, you bought the wrong R!
VW Mk7 Golf R - The best hot hatch ever? I can't think of a better one. By Firdaus Asri
Now having lived and breathed my Volkswagen Mk6 Golf R for almost a year, I have come to a conclusion that my Golf R experience is in general all about being conservative, clinical and a wee bit cold. It has this uncanny ability of maximizing its abilities on almost any type of road condition in a neat and tidy manner (i.e super clinical and a bit souless - Ed). It is not everyone's cup of tea for sure but this recipe has allowed the target market to be broadened from yuppies to granddaddies. Now that I had a short fling with the Mk7 Golf R thanks to Mr. Editor, has the new one added anything to this recipe?
Let’s starts with the looks. The Volkswagen Golf is quite possibly the only iconic hatchback and it has gotten here without completely reinventing its design and identity for every generation. VW continues to stand by its own mantra over the past forty years. The Mk7 Golf still comes out with a clean, simplistic shape with only a slightly sharper styling theme. Boring it may be but it is hard to deny that simplicity provides for a design that doesn’t age quickly.
Similar to the Mk6 Golf R, the means used for differentiation are familiar too. The Mk7 Golf R gets a bumper with bigger intakes, tweaked grille, bigger Cadiz wheels, LED lights and this time, quad tailpipes (first in a production Golf). You need to look it in real life to appreciate that additional sprinkle of hotness especially when the front LED lights turned on at night. If I didn’t know any better, I would say it is akin to Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant ill-hearted psychiatrist with a pair of eyes cannibalized from an owl roaming the street to hunt his prey.
But unlike the Mk6 Golf R, the car drives like it got boosted with a can of Red Bull. And here’s why. The combination of the heavily reworked EA888 2.0liter TSI engine, a reconfigured DSG box, suspension and Haldex all-wheel-drive system has been honed close to perfection. When ignited and you give it some revs, the engine will greet you with this deep and synthetically amplified bellowing growl (via the sound system). This can be an acquired taste. Some will sees it as absolute fakery while some like Mr. Editor here wouldn’t mind at all as the sound it makes from the inside of the Mk7 R reminds him of old school Subaru Impreza, as added drama in how the car practices its craft.
VW engineers have been smarter this time with the all-wheel drive in the Mk7 R. While I admit the car has gone through a weight loss regime but most importantly the engineers had tweaked the Haldex system so that it only kicks in whenever slip being detected. You can immediately sense its eagerness on-the-go unlike other conventional AWD systems.
For a forced fed engine, the throttle response is great and feels significantly sharper than the old Mk6 R. It responds very nicely with grunt from 3,500 rpm. It is worth taking it beyond 7,000 rpm because it keeps on revving. It is just the best of both worlds really, you will get sizeable amount of torque to mask its weight and the ability to rev the engine right out as well.
I have driven the latest Impreza WRX STI. Even though the Scooby has more engine power at its disposal, stock to stock, I can tell you upfront, the Golf R is the more rapid car in the real world because of the superb calibration of its engine and DSG shifts. As you are approaching the rev limiter, flick the right paddle, the upshift is so darn fast and smooth and makes this car rocketing forward as though practically weightless.
It is a bit of a shame that I couldn’t take the car to winding roads for more in depth understanding on the car, but by rotating the steering left-right-left even at moderate speed gives broadest hint of how much responsive and sharper just after off-center turn. The harder you push, this car will rise up to the occasion and becomes even more alive just at the point where my car (yes my car, that Mk6 R) will fall into pieces (Your Mk6 R my friend, feels like a boat compared to this - Ed). There is a crispness and purity to the steering, a sense of lightness and agility to the way it darts towards the edge of corner and, masterminded by its all-wheel drive system and fantastically judged suspension.
However, I have never been a fan of 19 inch wheels with 35 series tyres. While the work very well on track or a buttery smooth surface, everywhere else they will be a liability to your pocket. Every time you go over the bumpy roads in some places in Petaling Jaya it feels like you are driving on roads that have been bombed by ISIS militants. It is that bumpy at normal speeds. But take it to slightly higher speeds, the Mk 7 R remains composed and rides almost like a gentle giant over lumps and bumps. You can feel the impact but it is absorbed and dealt with efficiently, with no shudder or after-bounce, almost like some extremely expensive Ohlins DFV high performance dampers. (So in other words you have to drive it fast all of the time. - Ed)
For all its worth, the Mk7 Golf R is just amazingly accomplished car. It can be a boring thing to say but the truth is that it just is. The only problem with this car is that its limits are so high, its talents so great that when you always try to find the limit and you can’t most of the time on normal day to day driving. Volkswagen have made a genuinely rapid car with that rare feeling of being totally secure and, at the same time, fantastically engaging to drive. As if it were always working out the best way to extract the most pace from any given input on any given road.
Imagine a Golf GTI developed to be as good as it can be, with no downside apart from a higher price. This Golf R is that car. The best hot hatch ever? I can't think of a better one.
Volkswagen Golf R Mk7 5 door with Tech Pack
Price as tested
Volkswagen Golf R (5-door Tech Pack) 206 kW (280PS) TSI - RM291,888.00
2.0liter TSI turbocharged
Power: 280ps
Torque: 380Nm
Unladen Weight: 1495kg
0-100kmh: 5.0seconds
Max Speed: 250kmh
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