Golf R Estate

SDK^ · 25 Apr 2015 at 22:28

I've been looking for a car with more space and speed over my current F20 118i for a while. My focus was on the BMW 3 & 5 Touring range but the cost with options was too much.

VW have just launched the Golf Estate and it meets my requirements perfectly; loads of luggage space, four wheel drive, great level of standard kit and 300bhp. so I have placed my order for the R DSG version, Hopefully it should be delivered by August.

SDK^ · 26 Apr 2015 at 08:33

Dangerous Dave said:
The problem with the Golf R is that it is too expensive, an R estate with leather and the pro nav is going to be 35-36k before discounts which assuming are the same as the hatch which is around 13%

If you factor in discounts where 20%+ is possible with BMW they work out around the same price as a well spec'd 3 series touring or a standard 530D or 535i touring which comes with leather and nav as standard (admittedly with the poverty spec small screen)

I've spent a lot of time looking at 535i and 335i costs and they just don't work for me.

The 535i list price is £47k, even with a 20% discount (unlikely) it's £38k. It also comes with a dismal choice of colours (white, black, silver, grey and dark blue) and doesn't have four wheel drive.

The 335i list price is £41k but by the time required options are added it's £44k (£35k possible with discount) and again, doesn't have four wheel drive.
I need a replacement car by August at the latest which means I can't wait for the LCI model due soon.

The Golf R Estate is costing me £29k, so 6-9k cheaper.

[TW]Fox;27960098 said:
Really? Leather isn't standard, it costs a staggering £1700, Nav isn't standard, it costs as much as £1800? It doesn't seem to have a great level of standard kit at all - infact it looks about average.

Leather seats aren't essential for me and Nav is included in the infotainment upgrade from build week 25 (August).
Everything else - xenons, adaptive cruise, elec folding mirrors & seats and privacy glass is standard.

SDK^ · 26 Apr 2015 at 08:53

hillbilly2 said:
Why the must for 4wd?

90% of my driving doesn't need it but the other 10% does.
The road into my estate is a 15% hill with a hairpin corner at the bottom of it. A light frost means a RWD car can't get up it. I've had to park at the bottom and walk up several times last winter which I have no issues doing by myself but with a 3 year old child it's a no go.

Also I do a lot of mountain biking in remote places and tend to get stuck very easily.
Recent examples
February I had to park on a grass verge and got stuck, even with the assistance of 4 people, and had to wait for backup to get us.
End of March I got stuck in a field wet and had to wait 2 hours to get towed out.

SDK^ · 26 Apr 2015 at 13:41

[TW]Fox;27960758 said:
But anyway, moving on, it seems the Golf R is actually quite the bargain. SDK, if you've not signed the paperwork yet you may want to consider this deal:

http://www.stablevehiclecontracts.co.uk/volkswagen-golf-estate-leasing

Works out at £4k a year for a brand new Golf R Estate on 8k a year.

I also spotted that deal this morning and have set the motions to cancel my order and go for it.
Like you said; it's £4k per year vs £4.8k per year going the way I was going to go - three year depreciation.

SDK^ · 26 Apr 2015 at 13:44

Blackhawk47 said:
I'd rather get a nearly new S3 sportback than that Golf estate. It really would be the better car.

I agree the S3 is a better car, but it also costs about £7k more.

SDK^ · 26 Apr 2015 at 13:56

[TW]Fox;27961399 said:
The only catch is that you won't be able to add any options without significantly increasing the price.

The only I have chosen is metallic paint.

SDK^ · 26 Apr 2015 at 15:44

Blackhawk47 said:
.how much space do you need everyday that the S3 wouldn't fulfil.

- I need the option of putting at least one bike in the back without folding the rear seats down.
- Other times - four bikes, kit and gear for a weeks riding with 4 adults. Roof bars obviously used.
- Recycling center runs - I've done up to 20 trips in one day with my current car. Having an estate would cut this to about 5 trips

As you get older priorities change. It would be nice to have the time to vacuum the roof of my car before every trip

p) but in he real world I'm lucky if I get time to vacuum my house.

SDK^ · 26 Apr 2015 at 20:02

The BMW Touring xDrive models are only available in diesel which I want to avoid.

SDK^ · 27 Apr 2015 at 18:04

panthro said:
They're way too expensive.

Dolph said:
The idea of this car is great, but as others have mentioned, it is just so expensive.

Rossi~ said:
I think it looks great (except the usual VAG 4 exhaust thing going on). Rather expensive though.

EdGey said:
I didn't know this car existed. I think it's quite nice but when you put it beside it's competition it's surely not the greatest purchase. There are nicer looking more affordable cars which are available tomorrow.

Gambisk said:
Looks nice and pulls the 4 exhausts off better than the hatch IMO, but that price tag is a lot to swallow.

There are so many comments about the price being high.
Is there another equivalent new car (Space, spec, power and drive) on the market which is cheaper? This is costing me £4.2k a year to own.

The only car which comes close is a used S4 Avant. The facelift (May 2012) starts from £29k

SDK^ · 27 Apr 2015 at 18:14

^..and I've owned the same car with a less powerful engine for 3 years already.

SDK^ · 27 Apr 2015 at 19:03

I agree 4 exhausts are unnecessary on this but people moan when the styling is dull and no different from the SE models.

No pleasing everyone

SDK^ · 27 Apr 2015 at 19:45

[TW]Fox;27966783 said:
Golf is going to feel like a bit of a downgrade though in some respects, the infotainment for example is fairly low rent compared to your 118i and will feel more dated. They still use basic greyscale screens for the DIS in the instrument cluster, too.

It's only 2 years though - just in time for the new 5 Series launch

SDK^ · 30 Apr 2015 at 15:48

So my lease order for this car is confirmed.

I'm being asked if I want to take GAP Insurance. My initial thoughts are no based on the strong residual value on this car. i.e. it's unlikely my Insurance will value the car lower than the outstanding amount left to cover the full cost.

Any other thoughts?

SDK^ · 30 Apr 2015 at 19:35

On your advice Fox i'll take it out, It's only £200 anyway.

SDK^ · 14 May 2015 at 19:28

The lease deals on this just keep getting cheaper.

Initial Payment : £1408
Monthly: £234 x23
Processing fee : £358

Total 2 year cost : £7150 including VAT
The only downside is the October(+) delivery

http://www.freedomcontracts.com/Volkswagen-Golf-R-Estate-2.0-TSI-R-5Dr-DSG-Personal-Lease/2225

Based on 5k miles pa, Extra miles @ 7.2p

SDK^ · 14 May 2015 at 20:56

Tinders said:
5k Pa is insanely low though.

The 7.2 pence per mile is pretty good though.
I do roughly 12k miles per year so around £1k extra over 2 years, £42 per month. Some of this extra mileage is business at 45p per mile.

SDK^ · 14 May 2015 at 21:54

I thought the deal I got was good but that is £600 cheaper (base spec comparison)

SDK^ · 30 May 2015 at 10:43

Delivery is now w/c 5th October

SDK^ · 30 May 2015 at 19:20

[TW]Fox;28103893 said:

Yeah I was expecting a delay.
It's just annoying when two separate dealers and a lease company both confirmed a late August delivery schedule, then fours weeks after the order is placed delivery gets pushed back by over a month.