- Hey, can I get the keys to your GTI?
- Yes, sir.
- Thank you.
- [Rick] Can you be sure to warm it up?
It runs rough when it's cold.
(alarm sound)
You want me to warm it up?
- No, no, no, no, I got it.
I got it, I'll be fine.
- [Rick] Do you need me to show you how to--
- Do I have full disclaimer to drive it aggressively?
- I want you to drive it like you stole it
and I want you to pull no punches.
Deal?
- This is gonna be perfect.
Thank you.
Now, before we even get into the video,
I want you guys to drop a comment below
on what type of person would buy a Golf R.
Typically, what's the kind of person?
What do they do?
What do they like?
What do they love?
What's the best, most hilarious story you can tell me
about what you think a Golf owner is all about?
And the best one down there in the comment section below
will get a free sweatshirt,
a free banner, and a kiss from Dakota.
The last one may not be true
and obviously that's a little bit weird,
so it has to be consensual of course,
but drop a comment below and let's see what you got.
A few weeks ago,
we did a video talking about a Honda Civic Type R
and that's eight minute mark in that video.
This car was driving by where I said
that I'd be absolutely able to spank it's ass
in any sort of drag race.
Well, unfortunately, the person that owns this car
also works with us
and now he wants me to try and break his car.
This is Rick Guerrero's 2017 Golf R
and it's the perfect car for him.
He's a dad, it's a dad color.
He's got kids, the car's got four doors.
And of course, if nothing at all else,
it's a safe, practical, reliable,
slightly underwhelming exterior looking car
that makes sense for practically any middle aged man.
But for those that are enthusiasts,
they're wondering if a Golf R is still worth picking up
even though it's worth more now
than what the factory thought it was worth four years ago.
I'm Alex, Alex.FI on Instagram
and today we're gonna be getting behind the wheel
on this 2017 Golf R
and if it's actually worth absolutely anything.
(techno music)
Now, there's a couple things to note
specifically about this Golf R.
One, it's owned by Rick,
which if you guys are wondering,
Rick isn't like, he's not a customer service rep,
he's not a marketing person or a videographer, photographer.
He is our Chief Operating Officer,
and when he came on, when he came onboard,
he wanted to understand the enthusiast lifestyle
and he thought the best way to do that
was to buy a Volkswagen Golf R.
And of course, we asked him for his mods list,
which if you get underneath the dust of the motor,
essentially is nothing more than the tune and an intake,
which is good.
MAP, you can get that over at MA Performance if you'd like,
and a South Bend stage two clutch window tint.
And he also made sure to let me know
that he's got a spare tire kit.
Now, one of the things that is always quite hilarious
is that he is the chief operating officer
and he is a very smart individual
but the mod list failed to talk about, quite honestly,
the aftermarket wheels, tires and suspension
that you can get at fitmentindustries.com.
And not just that, he happened to pick
one of the best setups that he didn't want to talk about,
which are the HRE Performance one piece wheels
wrapped in Michelin tires
that are sport all season fours.
I give him a four for...
I give him an eight for effort
and a four for actually knowing, but that's okay
because the car still looks pretty decent.
As long as you disregard the fact
that this is the most like subliminal dad colorway
you could possibly get on a Golf R.
It's like it is the most basic color way you could...
It's just, you know, it's one of those things
where you could have got a burger with all the toppings
and you just got cheese.
Now, before we even actually get into the car,
I just want to talk about
the current driver position placement,
because Rick is three foot eight
and this is not gonna work for anyone.
So we're just gonna...
So just so everybody's aware,
one of the first things that I ask before anything else was,
I asked my peer group,
what do they like about Rick's Golf R?
Or maybe what do they not like?
And it took about 16 seconds
for our chief procurement officer, Brian,
to essentially say that he hates
that Rick never stops talking about it.
One of the things that...
- Went off a lot faster this time.
- [Host] One of the things
that our chief executive officer, Jake Jones said
that he does like about the car
is that when Rick's in it,
the car still looks way too big for him.
Apparently and according to our peer reviews
from individuals all across the board
is that Rick Guerrero really enjoys driving this thing
a little bit like a high schooler
would enjoy driving a Honda civic
with a fart can on the back.
Now, let's talk a little bit about the car
because the car by all definitions is a fantastic vehicle
and you can probably pick one up right now
for right around $37,000,
which is a little bit,
or maybe a hair underneath
what they were going in with some trims back in 2017.
So, the cars have held their value incredibly well.
I feel like I am in a truck right now.
Can this thing come down?
Now, another one of the things
that you have to remember with these cars
is that you are paying a premium price tag.
You get the GTI.
A lot of people talk about what they like
or what they don't like about the GTI.
And the GTI is a great car.
Hands down fantastic car to snag.
They're well priced.
There's so many trim options.
You can pick it up for a pretty good deal.
You jump into the R title,
which I think is why Rick had it stitched,
you know, his name is Rick,
could just be a stitching thing for him,
but why you'd pay the extra $15,000 for a Golf R
is for the fact that you ditch that front wheel drive system
for an all-wheel drive equivalent.
And you get a little bit more power.
You get a refined suspension system.
You get a little bit just more.
Now, Volkswagen is still Audi at the end of the day.
So, the more you get is hidden.
It's like little tiny itsy bitsy pieces
that you'll see the increased price tag on the car.
Now, most of it is obviously in the engine,
in the suspension components.
That's really where you're paying for the most of it,
but there are little hints and dabs
of the trim pieces to make you feel
a little bit better about yourself
and the fact that you're paying $40,000 for a GTI.
Now, one of the first things you'll see
is that it has R only in a couple places, right?
Little bit more extinguished,
a distinguished gentleman
versus the Type R that we drove a couple weeks ago
where R was literally labeled
absolutely everywhere on the car.
The car came with right out of the gate, 292 horsepower,
280 foot pounds of torque.
And once you start slapping
a couple miles on these bad boys,
mostly because a lot of their restrictive power
is hiding in their intake, they're exhausting their tune,
you can throw a tune on this thing and get 360 horsepower.
Now that's what this car has.
It has about 360 horsepower,
probably 320 foot pounds of torque,
crank, which means you're still getting
a good chunk of power right to the ground.
One of my favorite things about Golf Rs though
and I will say this with all sincerity,
one of my favorite things about Golf Rs
is that they are styled really well
and they are cool cars.
Volkswagen has done this car, maybe not this trim,
why am I going in a circle twice?
I'm getting a bit dizzy.
They do a really good job with this car.
It looks good.
I do like it.
I think it really does a good job.
Rick did tell me that I can do that.
I just want everybody to be clear.
And so I'm going to do it.
I'm actually gonna do a dig
and hope I don't break something,
but if I do break something,
well, it's Rick, he'll be fine, he can afford it.
It is significantly faster, zero to 60 than a Type R.
Because it's all wheel drive.
(alarm sound) It didn't like that.
It just needs to slip.
Should you buy one?
Gosh, that's a good question.
Getting 300 horsepower, 300-ish foot pounds of torque,
I'm obviously rounding up
because that's what we do on the internet,
for a $40,000 Volkswagen.
That's a tough question that you have to ask yourself
because what are you actually gonna do with this car?
A lot of people do enjoy the reliability of these cars.
They enjoy the mileage they can get out of them
and they enjoy the fact that
even though this is a higher trim option,
it's still a Volkswagen.
It's still serviceable.
It's still accessible.
Come on, baby.
Come on.
Rick, you need an exhaust.
That's a fact.
Only other thing I'll say about the Golf R,
if you are looking to pick one up,
some of the things that you always want look out for
is people that own them that are like me
that just did what I did,
don't buy cars like that.
The second thing I would say
is keep an eye on that infotainment system.
A lot of times the infotainment on these cars
does have a knack for just going out
for no particular reason at all.
And the only last thing that I would say with it
is obviously be careful with rust
and or any sort of maintenance items.
These cars typically get driven all year round.
And while Volkswagen does a great job
trying to keep it rust free,
and they introduce all this technology
or different body components, they still rust.
They still rust.
It's a car.
If you're up in the Midwest, which there's like six of us,
it's gonna rust, I pinky promise.
(techno music)
So, is the Golf R actually worth $40,000?
I'm not entirely sure any car right now
in the used market is worth $40,000,
but what I can say about this car specifically,
this is fantastic if you want a vehicle
that is all around going to do
pretty okay at just about everything.
Plus you get some pretty good looks,
you get a decent interior, it's relatively quick,
it's gonna demolish a good chunk of change
if you go to modify it
and even though it's a typical dad color,
because Rick owns it,
you can do a lot of really cool stuff with these.
I would give the interior a seven out of 10.
Exterior is six.
Performance and modification sevens on both accounts
which gets us up to 27 out of 40, just a nickel.
That's not the right analogy,
but it's just a penny underneath the Type R.
Only difference is
is because I feel like the connectedness of the Type R
is just a little bit more fun.
That's just the hot boy in me, take it as you will.
But if this car was a movie,
it would be The Case of Benjamin Button
and if this car was a one-liner,
it'd be the mom that you met on spring break 10 years ago.
Car is something else,
but let us know what you think
in the comments section below
and of course, if you're looking to have your car reviewed,
let us know on Instagram or at Fitment Industries
and if you're looking for wheels, tires and suspension,
fitmentindustries.com.
I'm Alex from Fitment Industries.
We will see you later.
Peace.
(techno music)