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KURT NIEBUHR: On my left is the 2018 Volkswagen GTI.
On my right is the 2018 Volkswagen Golf R.
They both look pretty similar.
So what makes this one the GTI, and what makes this one the R?
Let's find out.
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The entry level 2018 Volkswagen GTI starts off at about $26,500
and goes up to what this car costs, about 36 grand.
All GTIs come with front-wheel drive,
four-cylinder, turbocharged engines.
This particular GTI has the Autobahn trim,
which comes with bigger brakes, the same size brakes
that you can get on the Golf R.
The 2018 Golf R starts at about 39 to 40 grand
with a 6-speed manual.
It's also a two liter turbocharged
four-cylinder engine, but it has all-wheel drive.
This particular one has the DSG automatic.
That bumps the price up closer to 41 grand.
But there aren't really any other trims or options
for the car.
Is it really worth the extra money?
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The GTI has chunked up a bit over the last 20 something
years.
And it tips the scales at 3,216 pounds.
The Golf R weighs about 200 pounds more.
But you wouldn't know it based on the way it accelerates.
We ripped off a zero to 60 time at 4.7 seconds.
Shifts from the DSG were quick and aggressive, even chirping
second gear.
And the engine pulled hard right through the quarter mile.
Try as we might, we just couldn't
get the GTI to hook up.
And our zero to 60 time suffered as a result.
We suspected the Pirelli all seasons as the culprit
and confirmed that suspicion as the day went on.
Braking in the R was impeccable with consistent stopping
distances and a low 106 foot range.
The Golf R is faster for obvious reasons.
It has more horsepower, But what's it like to drive?
That's the important part.
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One of the benefits to all-wheel drive
is that you can use all of the power and the torque
that the engine is making.
The Golf R has all-wheel drive.
So I can come out of a really tight hairpin, like this one,
and I don't have to worry about feathering the throttle,
managing wheel spin.
I can just mash it.
Even though you can get a 6-speed manual
in this car, which is great, I love the fact
that you can get a manual, the DSG is a fantastic gearbox.
It's really fast.
It's right with you.
It knows what I want.
It knows when I lift off not to upshift.
It knows when I hit the brakes really hard like this.
It goes down through the gears for me.
It's a great gearbox.
A great gearbox.
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If I had one complaint about the Golf R is its weight.
It just can't get away from how much it weighs.
The front tires can get overworked and overheated
pretty quickly if you start to push too hard.
That's not saying that they're weak.
You can cover ground at a pretty quick pace
and they'll hold up just fine.
But if you overdrive it, you'll lose the front tire.
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I think the Golf R is the pinnacle
of practical performance.
It's compact.
It's fast.
It has a hatchback.
So if you really have your heart set on that nonexistent Audi S3
hatchback in the US, this is the car that you have to buy.
Oh, it's good.
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So because the GTI isn't as fast,
it doesn't have the raw speed of the R,
you've got to work a little harder to make it go fast.
But that's fun.
And that's kind of always been the point of the GTI.
You work hard and you're rewarded.
I like that.
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So this has front-wheel drive, not the all-wheel drive,
which means you've got to pay attention on slow corner
exits like this one.
You come into it, and you can't just mash it.
You've got to wait.
And you still get wheel spin on the inside.
This car does have an electronic limited slip, which
helps a little bit, but you're still
wasting power with wheel spin.
It's really hard to find fault with a manual transmission
in the GTI.
It's just so intuitive.
It's so easy to just rev match.
Up shifts are positive every time.
The gates are well defined.
The action is right.
There's really no reason not to buy the 6-speed manual.
There really isn't.
There is one knock against the GTI.
I've got to say, it's the tire choice.
These Pirelli all seasons just don't do the car justice.
The chassis feels really good, and even
without a limited slip in the front,
or a proper limited slip in the front.
It's still really playful.
But the tires just give up really quickly.
And they are loud and squealy.
Listen to that.
I wish this thing came with summer tires.
The 2018 Golf GTI, it's got different ingredients,
but it's the same recipe.
What's not to like?
Maybe besides the tires.
Clearly, we love the GTI for the driving experience.
It's fun, it's rewarding.
But as the price climbs with options,
it makes less and less sense.
A $36 thousand GTI is a little hard to swallow,
especially when the Golf R is looming just a few thousand
dollars more.
While the price tag might seem a bit expensive,
the more time we spent in and around and driving the R,
the more we were smitten with its mix
of performance and comfort.
At $40 thousand, we think it's right on the money.
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For full reviews on these VWs, be sure to go to Edmunds.