Jakob Jaworski Hopefully the 2016 model will use the newer head unit that's already in play in Europe...... but yeah, this unit SUCKS, it's seriously the only low point of my 2015 e-golf....
Lots of interesting cars you could buy for that sort of cash, and everyone has different tastes, BUT I’d challenge anyone who has actually driven a Golf R not to come away very impressed! Understated, competent, bullet-proof engineering, high-quality and surprisingly strong efficient performance are usually what people come away with. Comparing this to a Mustang is like comparing Monaco with Majorca!
Unfortunately a lot of manufactures are putting a soundaktor style device in their cars. Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Porsche and Ford to name a few. The cabins and engines are so quiet because of efficiency it can be hard to hear the engines, especially when changing gear manually.
WiseGuy02 What do you mean "because of efficiency"? Hopefully you're not referring to fuel economy but the efficiency of the muffler to cancel out the noise. They're doing it because of noise regulations mostly.
Superfartz Yeah, I know but the new Top Gear isn't going to be funny! Its just going to be: hey this is fast car that looks really badass and this review would have been so much better if Jeremy Clarkson did the review!
Excellent show as always. One thing of note I did not see quickly glancing through the comments is that the Corvette Stingray Brian was referring to is not the Z06 that was pictured which has a supercharger but rather the base Stingray.
Great show BC, as always.. you a rockstar of car tech!! You should do a show on imports like Cherry, Greatwall, Ssanyong and Skoda sometimes to see how they are keeping up with local standards and regulations.
All of the stats given other than the hp rating which is underrated to begin with, was wrong. It does not weigh 3,300+lbs it's actually 3,000lbs without the driver. And it does NOT cost $15,000 more than a gti maybe a fully loaded golf r vs a golf gti with no options does but who compares cars like that. The Msrp for both vehicles varies by approximately 7 grand and it's worth every penny.
Lol that bit about eventually getting the leak fixed made me laugh..the Bose sound system in my dad's 04 XL Denali was leaking power...pulled the fuse...haven't heard music in 4 years...maybe this'll be the summer to replace the amp
i had the battery problem, i use to take the battery out every night, not literally out the car but just pull the terminal off. it was work and the clock needed a reset
2:11 UGLY IS INCLUDED AT NO EXTRA COST! it's funny cuz for a whole season the intro was showing VW's shitty infotainment system, and the STILL didn't get it right :D :D :D
What you two have to understand is that those people that are able to watch the video in 4k should be given the option. So if you don't have 4k then watch it in regular HD or whatever you want. That's all I'm saying
Jaries King You bought into a gimmick for TV manufactures to continue charging $1000 for HDTVs. 4K is pointless as well as 3D TV they tried a few years ago.
Can you please investigate the issue with Ford f150 svt raptor breaking the front half shaft axel during modest offroading. It happen with me twice when I got stuck in the sand and put in 4x4 low and turned the stearing wheel and accelerated to get out. One time it broke the right and the 2nd time the left axel. It happen with many many of the svt raptor owners that I know and we go off road in big groups. Also the issue of steering up right nuckel bending during modest of road. Also the IWE failing frequently. Ford replaces the parts and keeps on failing. What is their obligation to get the issues fixed for good.
Hi Brian and CNET. Nice review of the Golf R. R seems to stand for Refined, since so many journalists use this term to describe the Golf R. I'm a longtime VW fan, having owned six over the years, including a modified GTI VR6 which I still own. But I really wish VW would finally, finally make a car where the R stands for Race. Or better yet, Raucous? The Golf R is marketed as the enthusiast's choice but isn't yet sold with a manual transmission? And it uses a Soundaktor (fake noisemaker) to deliver and engine sound? And the Golf R still has less power than my Evo 10 manual transmission from five years ago!? I'm sorry but that's really lame for an R car. Heck, my wife's Ford Focus ST has more R in it than the VW, and the ST has a manual transmission (and our kids really like that car too). I recently purchased a 2015 Subaru STI and it's a rally-bred blast! And in the real world, with bumpy roads and potholes, I bomb over them at speed in the STI, while my buddies have to slow down in their Tarmac-focused VWs. Sorry VW, other car companies keep earning my money with better cars for us enthusiasts.
I don't know why people rip on the modern Volkswagen head unit. Yes, the fonts are not the absolute sharpest and the screen is not as large as you get in other cars. But the tablet swipes are not slow, the proximity sensing is great, and while I do agree the voice commands are a bit wonky (for some reason my 2016 GTI Four Door Performance Pack SE with DCC and DSG seems to be unable to comprehend names like 'Paul' or 'Holly'), it's miles simpler, easier to figure out, easier to reach, and has way more redundancies than basically anything else on the market outside of the premium brands. So I really don't get the hate.
If there is a good argument for getting an Audi S3 over the Golf R, is probably the interior & infotainment. Yes the Golf is a nice car, but not ~$40k nice. Also Audi's MMI is state-of-art, even on the 'entry-level' A3 which has high processing speeds & a beautiful graphical interface. Also you miss out on niceities like full-range LED headlamps and Magnetic ride control dampers vs. fluid-controlled adaptive dampers.
I'm surprised the C7 doesn't get well above 30mpg if it can run on just 4cyl while cruising. The car is extremely aerodynamic and lightweight. Can anybody explain?
Turbo4Life1217 well, for one thing, it does not run as a four cylinder all the time. Similar to Audi's 4.0T v8, it onlyruns on this mode if the car is in comfort or normal setting, and when the car is cruising under 3500 RPMs....
Not always, especially during hard acceleration or passing maneuvers. Plus, the transmission in the C7 is not geared towards fuel economy. It is geared towards performance and geting the most torque out of each gear ratio, which is not all that great for fuel economy. But regarding this, it still gets respectable fuel economy.
In combustion engineering, that one second uses quite a bit of fuel, especially for the amount of compression that the Corvette's V8 engine has. Again, the transmission is geared for performance, so even though it might be cruising in 7th gear (manual) or 8th (automatic), there is still a lot or torque in such a sport geared setup, which is great for performance and road times, but not so great for economy, even if the engine can run as a 3.1 liter 4 cylinder. (which like you said is still too large of a displacement for a 4 cylinder to be very efficient)
If people are messing with this stuff while driving, no wonder a lot of car accidents happen Why not develop a system that disable all the touch interfaces when you go over... 5 mph? Then go old school with some physical sound system buttons? And then... Install a a sensor that messure wether the driver is using a phone or not...
The question here is if the Golf R is a better car than the Subaru WRX Sti. Higher quality materials, faster, and more functional? Picking a car that's all wheel drive and under 40 grand, wouldn't this be the best option?
Why can't manufacturers get the head unit UI's right? Android is open source, they should have been using it years ago, skinned to suit a car, even if it's only for google maps.
40 grand for a golf R isn't to bad. But I much rather step down to a GTI sure you'll lose a chunk a horse power and AWD it's worth though at a better price
40K for a Golf? VWs have always been expensive but when did they become a luxury brand. At that price I'd just save up a little more or borrow a few extra and get an Audi S3 so I also look like I spent 40 large (inside and out)
I agreed with Cooley about almost everything but the way he rips into the head unit of the golf is bit insane. He has always had it against vw head units for some reason. I mean how can you prefer the Lexus system over this! This is by far easier to use than that stupid mouse system!
So the Corvette's V8 is fuel efficient only when you turn of half of it's cylinders and run it as a V4? And actually not fuel efficient as a V8? The whole idea is to build a V8 with modern tech to make it fuel efficient. Otherwise you can turn of even more cylinders and run it as a 2 or 3 cylinder engine to make it even more fuel efficient. Some of the European manufacturers are using cyl deactivation on their already real fuel efficient V8s to make them even more efficient.
Michael Leibowitz sure i can answer that. Firstly the gulf I'd a great car and has been lauded and voted car of the year by a few different publications. The problem i have with it is the pricing structure. For this t variant its high performance which is great. But at 40 grand you can get into mustang gt fully loaded for about 40k, i wouldn't get that either though, i could also start getting into the luxury brands like the c class and 3 series decently specd for and 40k, but what id personally get isn't a performance car, the new hyundai genesis sedan is high 30s with th a few options 40k and that's what id personally get for a new car.
ray britton I agree completely regarding the Mustang and Genesis. They're both great cars for the money. Now, regarding the C-Class and 3 Series, in order to stay under $40k, you would have to order bare-bones models with substantially less power. The C300 starts at $38,400 with 241 hp. The 328i starts at $37,500 with 240 hp.
Michael Leibowitz agreed, have you driven the 328i though, that thing is powerful in my opinion. I personally anything more than that. And to me the 335 is a rocketship. I don't think I'd get an m3 or anything anymore. Then Again this might be a reflection of my age. I'm 35 so my tastes are changing
"The most durable brand..." Huh?? You do realize VW (including Golf's) has a very poor history with regard to reliability, right? Ahh, you must have meant they've been making them for a long time.
Brian Cooley is the man
CNET on cars is high quality show. Thumb up! Thanks to Brian Cooley and team.
As for this headunit,
this is THE BEST
...
reason to use a smartphone.
I laughed so hard... xD
Haha yeah he got me good
Haha I knew I wasn't the only one
Jakob Jaworski its simple though...thats what i like about it..
Jakob Jaworski Another example of where a manufacturer should simply defer to Android Auto? When will VW do this?
Jakob Jaworski Hopefully the 2016 model will use the newer head unit that's already in play in Europe...... but yeah, this unit SUCKS, it's seriously the only low point of my 2015 e-golf....
Hands down the most informative and interesting auto show on the internet!! - thanks Brian Cooley
I have soo much respect for Brian Cooley, he reminds me of my dad lol.
Lots of interesting cars you could buy for that sort of cash, and everyone has different tastes, BUT I’d challenge anyone who has actually driven a Golf R not to come away very impressed!
Understated, competent, bullet-proof engineering, high-quality and surprisingly strong efficient performance are usually what people come away with. Comparing this to a Mustang is like comparing Monaco with Majorca!
Unfortunately a lot of manufactures are putting a soundaktor style device in their cars. Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Porsche and Ford to name a few. The cabins and engines are so quiet because of efficiency it can be hard to hear the engines, especially when changing gear manually.
WiseGuy02 I dont think Audi is using it, could be wrong on that.
WiseGuy02 Yup, Cooley mentioned that on his 2014 Ford Fiesta ST video.
Narrowc ross 5:14, Audi branded. Maybe.
Narrowc ross Audi TT I recently drove has it.
WiseGuy02 What do you mean "because of efficiency"? Hopefully you're not referring to fuel economy but the efficiency of the muffler to cancel out the noise. They're doing it because of noise regulations mostly.
Cnet On Cars is going to be better than the new Top Gear for sure!
That one is entertainment and this is more informational
Superfartz Yeah, I know but the new Top Gear isn't going to be funny! Its just going to be: hey this is fast car that looks really badass and this review would have been so much better if Jeremy Clarkson did the review!
Excellent show as always. One thing of note I did not see quickly glancing through the comments is that the Corvette Stingray Brian was referring to is not the Z06 that was pictured which has a supercharger but rather the base Stingray.
This show deserves more views
Excellent review Mr. Cooley!
Cool show thanks again.. out here is South Africa
Great car battery tip! I did not knew this one.
Best Car Review I've seen since the last Cooley Car Review! Cooley should have his own network TV show
Great show BC, as always..
you a rockstar of car tech!!
You should do a show on imports like Cherry, Greatwall, Ssanyong and Skoda sometimes to see how they are keeping up with local standards and regulations.
All of the stats given other than the hp rating which is underrated to begin with, was wrong. It does not weigh 3,300+lbs it's actually 3,000lbs without the driver. And it does NOT cost $15,000 more than a gti maybe a fully loaded golf r vs a golf gti with no options does but who compares cars like that. The Msrp for both vehicles varies by approximately 7 grand and it's worth every penny.
I love this guy's reviews.
Brian Cooley, I'm so glad you liked the Golf R, otherwise I wouldn't like you so much anymore.
I loooove my '15 Golf R. Love it!
off topic, love the sub with bond nato!
Cooley says it all. The best reviewer
Mr Cooley thank you for another great show look forward to more Is there a cd available for the music you have on your show?
Lol that bit about eventually getting the leak fixed made me laugh..the Bose sound system in my dad's 04 XL Denali was leaking power...pulled the fuse...haven't heard music in 4 years...maybe this'll be the summer to replace the amp
Thank God its cooley. The other review 2 days ago was sleepy.
best auto tech show ever
i had the battery problem, i use to take the battery out every night, not literally out the car but just pull the terminal off. it was work and the clock needed a reset
Great mean review I love it
2:11 UGLY IS INCLUDED AT NO EXTRA COST!
it's funny cuz for a whole season the intro was showing VW's shitty infotainment system, and the STILL didn't get it right :D :D :D
ahmed mido No excuse for them getting away with this anymore!
James Tennier ikr! :D
+ahmed mido You know you're bad at technology when even the ex-underdog brands Kia and Hyundai have better tech.
Now review the 2016 - I just got one and it's incredible with the 6-speed manual.
my 15 tsi is a hoot to drive. a gti even more so. this r must be freaking awesome.
Cooley is funny as hell with his reviews.
prius driving cousin, this is the v8 to drive to thankgiving.
hahahas. coolie is a natural
Love you cooley!
this is my favorite car show of all time
but please Cnet why 720 with bad quality ?
2:51 iPod Touch still running iOS 6 eh? Nice show as always!
It's time for this show to be shot and uploaded in 4k
Shut up !!
Jaries King For the 0.1% of world population with 4K screens?
What you two have to understand is that those people that are able to watch the video in 4k should be given the option. So if you don't have 4k then watch it in regular HD or whatever you want. That's all I'm saying
Jaries King At this point in time, it's not worth it. Maybe in a few years.
Jaries King You bought into a gimmick for TV manufactures to continue charging $1000 for HDTVs. 4K is pointless as well as 3D TV they tried a few years ago.
Can you please investigate the issue with Ford f150 svt raptor breaking the front half shaft axel during modest offroading.
It happen with me twice when I got stuck in the sand and put in 4x4 low and turned the stearing wheel and accelerated to get out. One time it broke the right and the 2nd time the left axel. It happen with many many of the svt raptor owners that I know and we go off road in big groups.
Also the issue of steering up right nuckel bending during modest of road.
Also the IWE failing frequently.
Ford replaces the parts and keeps on failing.
What is their obligation to get the issues fixed for good.
Brian Cooley is one of a kind
Hi Brian and CNET. Nice review of the Golf R. R seems to stand for Refined, since so many journalists use this term to describe the Golf R. I'm a longtime VW fan, having owned six over the years, including a modified GTI VR6 which I still own. But I really wish VW would finally, finally make a car where the R stands for Race. Or better yet, Raucous? The Golf R is marketed as the enthusiast's choice but isn't yet sold with a manual transmission? And it uses a Soundaktor (fake noisemaker) to deliver and engine sound? And the Golf R still has less power than my Evo 10 manual transmission from five years ago!? I'm sorry but that's really lame for an R car. Heck, my wife's Ford Focus ST has more R in it than the VW, and the ST has a manual transmission (and our kids really like that car too). I recently purchased a 2015 Subaru STI and it's a rally-bred blast! And in the real world, with bumpy roads and potholes, I bomb over them at speed in the STI, while my buddies have to slow down in their Tarmac-focused VWs. Sorry VW, other car companies keep earning my money with better cars for us enthusiasts.
I'm curious which car cnet thinks has the best interior today. any input?
" This is a fun little box"
Bet he used to say that quite a bit in college.....
Mr. Cooley, what car do you drive? Is it still the old Ford station wagon? Is there some significant back story to that car?
Thanks Brian Cooley, I don`t miss Top Gear that much now :D
Those SLKs are fun, but the super crazy V12 one is better
What about the McLaren 650s or the 918 or probably the p1?
i don't know why....but this reminded me of bill nye the science guy...
I don't know why people rip on the modern Volkswagen head unit. Yes, the fonts are not the absolute sharpest and the screen is not as large as you get in other cars. But the tablet swipes are not slow, the proximity sensing is great, and while I do agree the voice commands are a bit wonky (for some reason my 2016 GTI Four Door Performance Pack SE with DCC and DSG seems to be unable to comprehend names like 'Paul' or 'Holly'), it's miles simpler, easier to figure out, easier to reach, and has way more redundancies than basically anything else on the market outside of the premium brands. So I really don't get the hate.
i have vw CC the head unit is SHIT ... there i said it
If there is a good argument for getting an Audi S3 over the Golf R, is probably the interior & infotainment. Yes the Golf is a nice car, but not ~$40k nice. Also Audi's MMI is state-of-art, even on the 'entry-level' A3 which has high processing speeds & a beautiful graphical interface. Also you miss out on niceities like full-range LED headlamps and Magnetic ride control dampers vs. fluid-controlled adaptive dampers.
WHAT ?! NOW I CANT SKIP ADS ?!
C to the NET..
lots of info ...not just info but useful info .....gave you 8 out of 10 bro ...phenamenol (jamaica)
Great technology VW
Cooley rules!
I think you need to make a separate channel for car reviews, none the less great video!
The last Golf R that was worth owning was the R32 VR6, the rest are just glorified GTI's with awd.
I'm surprised the C7 doesn't get well above 30mpg if it can run on just 4cyl while cruising. The car is extremely aerodynamic and lightweight. Can anybody explain?
Turbo4Life1217 well, for one thing, it does not run as a four cylinder all the time. Similar to Audi's 4.0T v8, it onlyruns on this mode if the car is in comfort or normal setting, and when the car is cruising under 3500 RPMs....
1820AL it would always be under 3500 rpm on highways cruising. But still a 4 cylinder more than 3 liters isnt going to be the most fuel efficient...
Not always, especially during hard acceleration or passing maneuvers. Plus, the transmission in the C7 is not geared towards fuel economy. It is geared towards performance and geting the most torque out of each gear ratio, which is not all that great for fuel economy. But regarding this, it still gets respectable fuel economy.
1820AL okay but in a corvette if you need to pass it takes like one second haha. The point is that when CRUISING it's using 4 cylinders.
In combustion engineering, that one second uses quite a bit of fuel, especially for the amount of compression that the Corvette's V8 engine has. Again, the transmission is geared for performance, so even though it might be cruising in 7th gear (manual) or 8th (automatic), there is still a lot or torque in such a sport geared setup, which is great for performance and road times, but not so great for economy, even if the engine can run as a 3.1 liter 4 cylinder. (which like you said is still too large of a displacement for a 4 cylinder to be very efficient)
YAAAYYYAAAY COOLEY IS BACKKKKKK!!!!!! LOVE U MAN.
Where can I download the song @ 10:11 *****
If people are messing with this stuff while driving, no wonder a lot of car accidents happen
Why not develop a system that disable all the touch interfaces when you go over... 5 mph?
Then go old school with some physical sound system buttons?
And then... Install a a sensor that messure wether the driver is using a phone or not...
The question here is if the Golf R is a better car than the Subaru WRX Sti. Higher quality materials, faster, and more functional? Picking a car that's all wheel drive and under 40 grand, wouldn't this be the best option?
Where's Ep. 69?
You've mentioned manual for 2016 but not new infotainment system. odd
In my country, volkswagen golf cost more 200,000 .. But if you do the math using a price at other country it's cost not more than 150,000 buck.
Electric handbrake is a huge handicap in my opinion
if only they brought the golf r sportwagen here. that would be nice
Why can't manufacturers get the head unit UI's right? Android is open source, they should have been using it years ago, skinned to suit a car, even if it's only for google maps.
Cooley 4 Prez 2016
40 grand for a golf R isn't to bad. But I much rather step down to a GTI sure you'll lose a chunk a horse power and AWD it's worth though at a better price
All we want is Cooler only on cnet on cars. The other guys are just a the wrong spot.
I love the GTI but I don't like the golf R.
The should have imported the Socorro
With all wheel drive
3:00 yolo st.
Ive had many fun little boxes which had nothing to do with cars
.... I see what you did there lol 😂
+Tim Young haha I didnt get that; enlighten me
+Tim Young haha I didnt get that; enlighten me
40K for a Golf? VWs have always been expensive but when did they become a luxury brand. At that price I'd just save up a little more or borrow a few extra and get an Audi S3 so I also look like I spent 40 large (inside and out)
20/15 volkswagen golfr no handicap here cnet on cars episode 68 castel
The euro spec head units are munch better
I agreed with Cooley about almost everything but the way he rips into the head unit of the golf is bit insane. He has always had it against vw head units for some reason. I mean how can you prefer the Lexus system over this! This is by far easier to use than that stupid mouse system!
MrRandomname1011 You should see his review on lexus. He rips on that as well. He does not rip on Audi's and BMW's systems. Those are his favorite.
Super Super Super Super Super Super Super
super super
An Electrical problem in a Porsche? IMPOSSIBLE! lol
So the Corvette's V8 is fuel efficient only when you turn of half of it's cylinders and run it as a V4? And actually not fuel efficient as a V8? The whole idea is to build a V8 with modern tech to make it fuel efficient. Otherwise you can turn of even more cylinders and run it as a 2 or 3 cylinder engine to make it even more fuel efficient. Some of the European manufacturers are using cyl deactivation on their already real fuel efficient V8s to make them even more efficient.
wasn't this one of the vehicles in the scandal
+William Payne No, this is a petrol car not a diesel
Golf for 40k seems a bit too much
If you're gonna wear a vest, wear a tie
why brian always complains about the smart system? we are not in 60s any more
which car he say ugly at no additional cost
Why would anyone buy this car without a 6 Speed Manual?
Ugly is included at no extra cost
-Volkswagen
F*ck That Price!!!!!!
buy a gti get a chip will cost you around $600 WILL be much faster than the R.your melcome
40 grand... Ouch. I can tbink of.much better ways to spemd money on a car at that price point
ray britton Which other new car would you buy?
Michael Leibowitz sure i can answer that. Firstly the gulf I'd a great car and has been lauded and voted car of the year by a few different publications. The problem i have with it is the pricing structure. For this t variant its high performance which is great. But at 40 grand you can get into mustang gt fully loaded for about 40k, i wouldn't get that either though, i could also start getting into the luxury brands like the c class and 3 series decently specd for and 40k, but what id personally get isn't a performance car, the new hyundai genesis sedan is high 30s with th a few options 40k and that's what id personally get for a new car.
ray britton
I agree completely regarding the Mustang and Genesis. They're both great cars for the money. Now, regarding the C-Class and 3 Series, in order to stay under $40k, you would have to order bare-bones models with substantially less power. The C300 starts at $38,400 with 241 hp. The 328i starts at $37,500 with 240 hp.
Michael Leibowitz agreed, have you driven the 328i though, that thing is powerful in my opinion. I personally anything more than that. And to me the 335 is a rocketship. I don't think I'd get an m3 or anything anymore. Then Again this might be a reflection of my age. I'm 35 so my tastes are changing
ray britton
I agree. I can't even imagine driving a 650-hp Z06.
Manual is going like the dinosaur...soon to be extinct...
1st!!
"The most durable brand..." Huh?? You do realize VW (including Golf's) has a very poor history with regard to reliability, right? Ahh, you must have meant they've been making them for a long time.
37K for a golf???? GTHO. Ill have a mustang
2nd and no one cares