I've got to say that whilst the "R" does look nice, VW have opened themselves to a LOT of competition imho.
The harsh reality is that the NEW car market is still on its ar$e. Consumers are very cautious about what they're spending their money on, including those with enough disposable income to buy this type of thing.
The USED car market offers SO much more at the moment. IMO, very few people in the right mind will spend £36-40K on a hatchback. Especially a sporty one.
Just a quick trawl through Autotrader with the £35-40K price bracket, 170 pages, but here's a few of the cars that came up -
BMW M6 (MY10) - £35K
LOADS of M3s and 335i, M5 - circa £36K
Bentley Continental GT - £35K
LOADS of Porsches (Carrera - £3K
Ferrari 355
(£35K)
Audi RS4 saloon & convertible AND Avant - £36K
BMW M5 Touring - £40K
Porsche GT3 - £40K
Loads of Ferrari 360s & higher spec 355s
LOADS of Audi A5s & S5s
Not including the droves of RangeRovers, Mercs, Jags etc.
All about 12-18months old (with exception of the Ferraris) & 99.9% Traders.
My one point being that there is SO much more potent machinery out there for the same money. And let's be honest, whilst this is a great Golf site, as petrol-heads, IF we had the money, would you turn down the machinery on offer above? I know I would gladly kick my GTI into touch for nearly any of the above
Granted, some aren't daily drivers, that's what a NORMAL Golf is for!!!
And this really is my other point - VW (People's Car) - the GTI/Ed30/R32 pushed the limits for what could be perceived as a regular "sporty" car.
(FWIW, I've just spec'd up a new Focus RS with all the toys - £28.5K) The "cheaper" Golf is attainable in relation to the company's ethos. Anybody remember the Phaeton? What a great success that was (despite being a good car) - stick an Audi badge on it, and you'd got an S8
In other words, the Golf R is just too much money to justify itself in the market - yes WE want an uber-Golf. Something that will blow the competition away. Sadly at this price, that's going to be a tall order.
I'll stick to my Mk5
Dan (phew!!! THAT was hard work!
)