12/29/2015

VWGolfRversusAudiRS4comparison|Autocar

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VW Golf R versus Audi RS4 comparison

ThemonstrousAudiRS4AvantshouldslaythenewVWGolfREstatebut
asAndrewFrankelreports,itsnotthatsimple

byAndrewFrankel
25October2015

YouknowhowtheseDavidandGoliathencountersend.
Onelarge,overweight,overpriced,overthehilllummox
meetsalight,litheandagileupstart,receivesaknockout
blowandgetstogohomewithathumpingheadache.We
have,afterall,beenherebefore.
Exceptmaybethistimewillbedifferent.TheAudiRS4Avantis
morethanmerelyagreatlooking,superbsounding,beautifully
http://www.autocar.co.uk/carnews/newcars/vwgolfrversusaudirs4comparison

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VWGolfRversusAudiRS4comparison|Autocar

builtestate.Itsanexcellentcar,too,somuchsothatwe
signedoffourroadtestsayingthelatestRS4willgodownas
notjustonethefastestRSmodels,butalsooneofthefinest.
So,andfortheavoidanceofdoubt,althoughmanyRSAudis
havebeenrightlybashedovertheyearsforpromisingmuch
onpaperanddeliveringlittleontheroad,this,emphatically,is
notoneofthem.Wereallylikethiscarandtheresnothing,not
evenadayintheWelshmountainsinthecompanyofa
VolkswagenGolfREstate,thatchangesthat.
Ahyes,theGolfR.Inhatchbackform,Idsayithasasgooda
claimasanytobethebesteverydaydriverscarthiskindof
moneycanbuy.Asanestate?Surely,itsthesamebutmore
so?Weknowthatwagonsdriveprettymuchidenticallytothe
hatchesuponwhichtheyrebasedthesedays,sowhatwe
appeartohavehereisevenmoreofwhatwasalreadyaworld
beatingproperty.Ifonlythetruthweresostraightforward.
Unsurprisingly,thestatisticalanalysisappearsstackedin
Audisfavour.Itsenginehasdoublethecylindercount,more
thantwicethecapacityandhalfasmuchpoweragain.Ithas
moretorque,too.Butitsheavy:1795kgisproperlyporkyfora
compactestateandmorethan200kgheavierthantheGolf.
TherearedieselEClassMercedesBenzwagons,thebiggest
estatesonsale,thatweighless.SotheAudispowertoweight
advantageisclearbutnotoverwhelming,especiallywhenyou
considerthatintorquetoweighttermsitsactuallytheGolfthat
holdstheadvantage.
Morethanjustrawfigures
Whichismorethanenoughnumbercrunchingfornow.Istart
intheAudiandatoncestepbackintime.Thisisnotsimply
becauseitsinteriorarchitectureisdecidedlyoldschoolAudi
but,morememorablyandsadly,thereisprobablynospecies
morecriticallyendangeredinourworldthanthehighlytuned
normallyaspiratedV8.Ferrarihasgivenuponthemand
shortlysowillPorsche.BMWabandonedthemlongago,
Mercedesonlyrecently.Buttheirdaysarenumberedandyou
needonlyonelookatthat26.4mpgfuelconsumptionfigureto
knowwhy.
Whatthenumbersdontrevealisthehotbubblegumelasticity
ofitspowerdelivery.By6000rpm,ithasbeenpullingsohard
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VWGolfRversusAudiRS4comparison|Autocar

andforsolongthatyoufeelitmustneedanothergearsoon.
Butitdoesnt.Itkeepsserenadingyouwithitssweet,
fascinatingandmultilayeredvoicepast7000and8000rpm,
too.Onthetesttrack,youllfindfifthgearworksforanyspeed
between30mphand140mphandalthoughsmallcapacity
turboshavemanyadvantages,theydontdothat.
SothesurpriseisthattheGolfmotorcompetesatall.VWs
engineersdeserverespectnotforprisingsomuchpowerfrom
suchasmallcapacity,fortheycouldhavedonethat20years
ago,butformakingtheenginenotmerelyflexibleand
responsivebutalsopositivelyurbaneincharacter.
Youonlyknowitsturbochargedbecausetheresnoother
plausibleexplanationforalmost300bhpatjust5500rpmfrom
just2.0litres.Thereisnolaganditssoundissocleanand
culturedthatyoudthinktherewasnothinginterruptingtheflow
ofitsgasesfromcombustionchambertooutsideworld.
Despitethenotablefallinrevsfromonegeartothenext
necessitatedbythewideratiosofitssixspeeddualclutch
automatictransmission,thewalloftorquemaintainsthrust
regardless.True,itlackstheAudisslightlyderangedpace,
soulstirringsoundtrackandyetmoreslicksevenspeed
transmission,buttheGolfiscloserinalltheseareasthanthe
apparentdisparityinspecificationsuggests.
IquestiononlyVWsdecisionnottomakethesamemanual
gearboxusedintheGolfRhatchavailableintheestate.
Clearly,theresnoengineeringimperativebehindit,suggesting
thedecisionemanatedfromsomeconfoundedfocusgroup.If
thereisachoicetobemade,whynotletyourcustomersmake
it?
Playingcatchup(successfully)
WhateverlittletheGolfmightlosetotheRS4inastraightline,
itmorethanregainsthemomentyouneedtousethesteering
wheel.TheAudiputsahugeamountofrubberontheroada
265sectiontyreevenatthefrontontheoptional20inrimson
thetestcarwhereastheVWstyresarefullyfoursizes
smaller.Anddespitetheirextraworkload,Idnotbesurprisedif
itwastheRS4thatwasultimatelycapableofgenerating
greaterlateralacceleration.Butuphereinthehills,gforceis
notwhatmatters:itsconfidence,andveryfewcarsofany
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VWGolfRversusAudiRS4comparison|Autocar

priceinspiremoreofitthanthisVolkswagen.
TheGolfissodamnquickonroadssuchasthesepartly
becauseitiscompact,hasallwheeldrivetractionandoffers
properchassisfeel,butmainlybecauseitissodamn
accurate.Youdonthavetosetanapproximatetrajectoryand
finetunethereafter.Youaimitgoes.Youneveruseaninch
moreroadthanexpected.
Andyetthereissomethingmissinghere,anditsthelastthingI
expected:unlikemostestates,theGolfRnoticesitsextra
bulk.Itweighs79kgmorethanthehatchandbecauseitsall
hangingouttheback,youmightthinkthecarwouldbemore
balancedandfeelallthebetterforit.Butitdoesnt.Itrunsa
stifferrearspring,too,andalthoughallthehatchsstabilityand
accuracyremain,someofitsgorgeousthrottlesensitive
adjustabilityhasgone.Idoubtthecarissignificantlyslower
pointtopoint,butitislesschuckableandlessfunasaresult.
Mindyou,itstillmakestheAudifeelitsage.Atafundamental
level,theRS4feelslessstructurallyrigidthantheGolf,
providingafloppierplatformforitssuspensiontoworkupon.
Thereislittlesteeringfeel,buttheAudismainissueisthatitis
lesspreciseeverywhere,whichmeansmoreeffortforyouand
lessrewardfromit.Theresnoquestioningtheentertainment
onofferbutitsneverquitetheprecisioninstrumentyoumight
hopeorindeedfeeltherighttoexpectacarofthisspecification
andpricetobe.
WhereitdoesbeattheGolf,andhandsdownatthat,isin
brakingperformance.TheVWsleftpedaldoesthejobrequired
ofit,buttheRS4sanchorsaresimplysuperb.Carbon
ceramicsareanoption,butwithastandardironsetupasgood
asthis,youdonlywantthemforprolongedtrackwork,or
showingofftoyourmates.
Thepracticaltouches
Asestatecars,theresnotmuchbetweenthem.For
passengerspace,theyaresimilar,evenintheback,wherethe
RS4slegroompotentialiseatenawaybyitsvast,superbly
supportivefrontseats.Extendedestaterooflinesmeanthat
headroomisgenerousinboth.Lookatthestatsboxandyoull
convinceyourselfthattheGolfhasafargreatercarrying
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VWGolfRversusAudiRS4comparison|Autocar

capacity,too,andImsureitdoes.Thatsaid,ifyouparkthem
sidebysideandfliptheseatsupanddown,thetwoactually
appeartoprovidesimilarlyproportionedluggageareas.
ButthereisnoquestioningtheGolfssuperiorridequality,the
cleanerandmorecohesivelayoutofitsinstrumentsand
controlsanditssuperiorrefinement,especiallyoncoarseand
concretesurfaces,wheretheRS4ssevenleaguebootsmake
afrightfulracket.
Thenagain,norcanyoudoubtthattheRS4providesagreater
senseofoccasioninitsfrontspoilerthantheblandlooking
Golfdoesinitsentirety.TheAudiscabinmaynowbeold,but
itsstillagenuinelyspecialplacetosit,ratherthanmerelya
clinicallyeffectiveoperatingtheatresuchasthatprovidedby
VW.SeetheGolfparkedoutsideonarainyMondaymorning
andyoullbepleasedaboutyourchoiceofdailydriver.Seethe
Audiandyourheartwillskipabeat,atleastuntilitshorrendous
fuelconsumptionbangsyoubacktoreality.
SotheGolfwins,asofcourseitmust.Thesecarsaimto
combinebothpracticalityanddrivingdynamicsandtheVW
hasalittlemoreofbothandthatsbeforeyouconsiderthe
hugepricedisparitybetweenthem.ThetruthistheRS4isa
dinosaurpoweredbyanengineofnorelevancetotheneedsof
themoderntaxpayingmotorist.
Andyet,tomeatleast,theDavidandGoliathmetaphordoes
notstanduphere.NotonlydoestheRS4haveacharmthatis
bothrealandrare,theGolfRisunquestionablyaless
engagingdriverscarinestateformthaninitsgenuinely
phenomenalhatchbackguise.Whatsleftisasuperbly
effectivedevicebutstilladevice,whereasthankstobothits
looksandthatmonstrousmotor,theRS4isaflawed
character,butarealcharacternonetheless.Inshort,theGolf
isthebettercar,theRS4themorememorablebyan
equivalentmargin.Makeofthatwhatyouwill.

Promotedstories
Recommendedby

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VWGolfRversusAudiRS4comparison|Autocar

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Comments

jer

Ontheroads
26October2015

Thatareusedfortesting,itsallaboutweightandtherewasnochancethe
heaviercarwouldbebettertheyjusttakelongertorespondandstruggleto
controltheextramass.

jason_recliner

41/2NaturallyAspiratedV8s
26October2015

Greatstuff!ItwasasurprisetolearnthatoneofthefewmoderncarsIreally
likehadeffectivelybeensurpassedbyaGolf.But,asyousay,it'snotthat
simple.StilldreamingofausedRS4someday...

Deputy

Old?
26October2015

ThisRS4hasbeenaround3yearsandisdiscontinuedsoyoucan'teven
buyanewonenow!Prettypointlessreview(unlessyouwerecomparinga3
yearoldRS4forGolfRmoney!)

madmac

Bah!suretheGolfisgood
27October2015

Bah!suretheGolfisgoodbutgivemeanRS6Performancewith605PS!!for
practicality,I'llhaveanewTTRSforthetwistystuff.Mac
Madmac

AddyT

Anythingelseyouwouldlike
27October2015

Anythingelseyouwouldlikethat'soutthereorisjustAudi's?!)

eseaton

Yousaythedemiseofthe
27October2015

YousaythedemiseofthehighlytunedNAV8issad,butIcannotrecalla
campaignbeingwagedtosaveitbyAutocar?Themagazinehaslongsince
stoppedbeingangryaboutwhatitlikesandbelievesin.

BertoniBertone

LetMrFranklstandupandbecounted......
19December2015

ComeonAndrew,you'vebeenaroundforages.Isn'titabouttimeyouofall
people(cofounder,moreorless,ofCarMag....Whateverhappenedtothat
augustpublicationBTW?!)makeitveryclearthatwe,you,us....Autocar
people....readthisstuffbecausewecantellthedifferenceandwantto
celebratethedifferencebetweena'device'anda'driver'scar'....?So,why
takeusthroughtheprocesswhenweknowwhatcarwe"really,reallywant"
andwhatonethebureaucrats&politicianscompelustobuy....?
BertoniBertone

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12/29/2015

VWGolfRversusAudiRS4comparison|Autocar

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