I just wish they'd give the R a tiny little bit more aggressive styling here and there. Not as overdone and ridiculous as a Civic type R, but except for the exhaust tips and wheels, the GTI Looks like the sportier one.
Actually I like the blasé thing on the R because it’s a monster for acceleration and the Golfyness looks, keeps the insurance premiums lower than the GTI - yes for real. What I want on the R is a cloth seat.
@@acchaladka really? I've got a GTI and was going to get the R. My insurance for the GTI is almost 1/2 than what the R would have cost me. Not sure how it would be different for you
@@stevegaspar according to my insurance agent the GTI is stolen more often, possibly because it looks more naff. I was surprised too, but that makes sense to me. A few people have told me that the GTI looks more expensive and powerful to their non-car-obsessed eyes as well.
Many Golf R owners started with a GTI before moving up to an R. Once you get an R, there's no going back to a GTI (no one wants to deal with front-end wheel hop/spinning after experiencing AWD). The advice I give peope who are trying to decide between the two is this: just spend the extra money and get the R. It's the superior version and you'll feel the difference in power and GRIP in dry, wet and snowy weather. And a simple stage 1 tune will get you close to 400 hp and the AWD can handle it beautifully. You'll also get most of that extra money back on resale since the R really hold their value (and are also quite limited at least in North America).
For the R, pull the ABS and stability fuses. The brake differential is what's killing your drive in the big drifts. Disconnecting the front sway bar helps too but is obviously more of a pain. Without the brake diffs it will be a little slower to put power down but it can do Ken Block level ice drifts all day!
That "rabbit" sticker looks like an afterthought like Hans came running down from the conference room as GTIs were coming off the assembly line and he was like "dese autos are needing rabbitschticker!"
Yes. I do like that the name came back but it looked real dumb how they did it. Maybe some stitch work on the seats like you actually tried. It is a German car after all. Come on now. Made in Mexico or not it’s engineered by zee Germans. Real weird they’d let that slide.
@@RaytheonNublinski it's not a big deal, more of a joke. When I saw the car in person, the sticker just felt cheap and as if you could peel it off easily with your fingernail. The interior where there's usually an airbag tag on the seat, it says "rabbit" and is integrated nicely.
@@GibbysGarage15 ...it may feel cheap, but if that sticker needs to be replaced due to an accident it will most likely cost $50, or more, just like the hard emblems that were close to $100 so people didn't make 20thAE clones with the red GTI badges
Couldn't tell on the GTI, but it definitely looked like the Golf R was on winter tires. Having owned a 2014 Fiesta ST in Northern New York, I can safely say that winter tires on any car makes a huge difference, and there's no reason you can't go out and hoon a FWD hot hatch in the winter as long as ground clearance isn't an issue. Here in the U.S. , the Golf R comes standard with summer tires and the GTI comes standard with all seasons. If you go out and try these maneuvers on these standard equipment tires in snow and ice, you will not have the same level of control. Unless you have Ken Block type of skills. Good video though, I like the channel. Just think you should mention what kind of tires were on these cars so folks don't get a false sense of security.
The difference between the motors in the GTI and R are a lot more than just a tune, the turbo and internals such as exhaust cams, pistons, rods, etc is what makes them a lot different
What was the point off this video? Are people buying Golfs to drift on ice? Or only to drift? Golf R feels faster on that surface. Isn't that the point off having R over normal GTI? If so, why there is no track time to compare them? I mean, I love all this great shots, I love the cars, but this video is kind a missed opportunity to actual answer the question: Is it OK to have normal GTI on the snow because you are not losing too much comparing to R version or not? Drifting is 1% of the use if ever, so that is pretty much pointless if other things are not answered.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. The more relevant...or rather, "interesting to me" test would be, which car handles better in slippery conditions, not which one is more fun to throw sideways. Do you need a Golf R, or is a GTI with winter tires a better choice? (anyway, isn't the answer, both go sideways fine, you just need slightly different techniques)
@@ragweedmakesmesneeze the R will be better in the snow no matter what. Awd will get you going and keep you going. But agreed on the point that it would be nice to hear how livable the gti is in the winter. My dad drives a little base mk4 golf and it does just fine 98% of the time in Alaska but I tested a tuned focus st and my first thought was that this has too much power to the front to be useable in the winter. So how would a performance pack gti with a tune dom
That's all great news that the GTI will drift on the top of frozen lake almost as good as the R. What I wanna know is can the GTI plow itself from a parking spot blocked by the snow bank after a major snow storm in Chicago nearly as good as my R32 can?
@@cmalone25ify as much as I love GTIs, I'd have a hard time going to the FWD now. I can't afford the new R either so this R32 will wait its EOL in my hands.
@@BucoBucolini I feel ya man I'd love an r so idk what I'm gonna do come this winter I'm considering a subaru but I have a struggle trusting the motors on wrx/sti
I may eventually be convinced the GTI can be as good as the R on a closed circuit but in real world conditions it is not realistic (and safe) to try to enter too fast in curves to provoke power oversteer on any public roads. For that reason and because of every acceleration from a stop in wet or snow the R is hands down the top dog.
Snow tires on any front wheel drive car will do just fine ...awd is over rated on any car! I have had 6 gti s and one golf r .. over 28 years in New England..if you did not know.. it snows a lot here lol... and the gti with good snow tires dose just as well than my golf r did with snow tires! Just don't get too cutesy lol
In an area that’s flat, sure a GTI is great. Living in the mountains 🇨🇦 of British Columbia, All the FWD’s in my neighbourhood including my GLI and other GTI’s can’t make it up the street. Got sick of fighting winter, now have Golf R and Tiguan .Storm Troopers they are 😉
Brian Reardon My GTI was a snow beast when I lived up north. I have no clue other than standing starts why you’d want awd on the street. GTI all day long.
Victor Vorng Yeah nobody actually does that with their R though. Just like nobody takes their SUV off-road. If you don’t need it don’t buy it. That said the new GLI autobahn for 30 grand is a steal so I don’t even care anymore. If I was buying something I’d get that thing no question.
Cornflower blue and the other limited colors feels like im driving a simpsons car. TBH the colors are horrid, Im getting a black rabbit personally. Was in the market for a GTI and I didn't even know the rabbit was out this year. Ended up making a financial decision and went with the downgraded trim in the rabbit, and really only getting it because it's cheaper than the Autobahn and SE but comes with R break calipers and descent looking rims, other than that the rabbit is a sad excuse of a limited model. If I had the extra funds I would just go with the Autobahn with performance package.
From the title of this video, I thought you guys were going to compare Golf FWD and 4Motion in real world driving with traction control engaged. Because you know.....we spend a lot of time driving on occasionally icy and wet roads in Missouri. Instead what I saw was a Hoonigan drifting comparison between these cars.
It's also a matter of not having chains. Awd cars with snow tires are not illegal on the road when chains are required. Also when I got my golf r, I punched it in the snow and the awd sorted it out and I took off. It is one of the most well rounded cars I've ever driven and you can easily make it more aggressive and keep all the practicality.
I nearly crashed my R in the snow going only 15 mph around a corner. As soon as the front slipped the rear kicked in sending the rear out across the road,this probably wouldn't Of happened in the gti. Good job it only snows once a year but rains alot. Off the mark in the rain is amazing.
Not many people actually try to snow drift in their GTI or R. I'll save u all some time. They are both excellent winter or summer cars as long as you drive them appropriately and with the correct tires. I've owned 3 GTIs, a Golf and the mk7 R. Also a 4motion Passat. The Passat is significantly better for traction in the winter than the R, but it's a different AWD system and much heavier than the R. The GTIs are perfect as well, but you don't have as much GO when in deep snow or icey conditions. The GTI will spin at full throttle in the snow. The R will bite in and rocket ahead.
Very nice. You’re right the nannies still kick in when “off”. You have to code the system off and code increased traction on to have a more active rear (instead of reactive).
The Golf R is in my opinion not worth the extra cash. All wheel drive sounds good, but in reality it's a FWD car that can put a little power to the rear wheels, and at no time more than 50%. That is because its a Haldex system, it helps with traction issues but it's not fun to drive and does not feel like an AWD car, because most of the time it isnt.
Sanj Sangha but again only up to 50% to the back wheels, in reality a bit less like around 40%. Thats just the physical limitations of a haldex transmission.
mitchell duchesne haldex requires a change way before that for even a stock car, but you’re right in saying that. I did mine on a stage 2 (since 1500kms) R at 28k and the filter and fluid was pretty good. You gotta pay to play.
Its because Throttle House put out professional quality material and videos, unlike the "norm" of just people putting out lame vlogs, which seems to be what kids like to watch on TH-cam more. I prefer these kind of videos that Throttle House puts out much more than the other stuff.
$25K for a used, low-mile stock 2018 GTI SE 6mt. $800 for cat-back exhaust, $700 for APR stage 1 tune, $300 for cold air intake, $1000 for a good set of tires. $28K total invested, 300+ crank HP, amazing handling, and you are good to go.
Happy birthday James and awesome job guys!!! I absolutely love your videos and the humour that you put into them. You have become my go to TH-cam channel to check out cars, especially as you are in Canada and get what it is to live here!!! I love cars too! Great job! Keep it up! Cheers. Jorge
The Rear wheels only work in golf r if the front wheels slip. Other than that it's a fwd car. You can add a clutch pack and tune that adds more power to the rear
I chose my GTI over the R because I thought it was more fun to drive and I like the interior much better. Plaid seats all day! Also the R, depending on the paint, can be over $50k. I've seen a used 2018 RS3 with low mileage for only $6k more. Meaning if you can afford the R absolutely forget it and get a used monster like the RS3. Otherwise get the GTI.
@@sailormemes3338 why get used R for same price as new GTI? Put a tune in GTI and it's much faster than R. Also I legitimately think the GTI is a more fun car to drive. It's the reason I chose it over the R.
@@stevegaspar because it's nicer (subjective) and you can get a warranty on it. Can't with modified GTI. Also if you want to modify the R it will be easier to get power to the ground with awd.
@@sailormemes3338 Fair but my original point stands. If you can afford a new Golf R absolutely forget about it and get an Audi RS3 instead. Also, the 2020 GTI will have close to same power as current Golf R (yes the 2020 R will get bumped up too). And finally, at least in Canada, Golf R does not come with a sunroof and that is a major deal breaker for me.
I sort of think they should just delete the golf r altogether. I know it has a history, but i wish they just evolved the GTI to AWD and more HP in more expensive models and FWD in lower models, but keeping the GTI name as the only sporty Golf.
We dont buy the AWD R to drift on an ice lake. We buy it for all around better traction in rain and ice.. and to keep from shredding our front tires every time we pull into traffic..
Short answer: Generally yes, you do. And also no. The GTI has a very clever front diff, so its actually debatable in this case. But compare a R to a regular Golf and oh boy...
Why does VW say the 2019 Golf R has 288 horsepower compared to the 292 horsepower for 2015-2018 Golf R’s? I don’t think anything in the engine changed. So must be time related? Glad I got my 2018 Golf R 6spd. Love it!
It's due to the difference between metric horsepower (PS) used in Europe and mechanical horsepower (HP) used in North America. VW (incl. Audi and Porsche) didn't bother converting the PS numbers into HP thinking they are close enough (1HP ~= 1.01 PS). Now that's good for a 10, 20 PS engine not for a 292 PS engine like in the R. That's why you see the HP number dropping to 288. Mechanically speaking it's the same engine, just the HP unit got fixed. So no, if you bought a 2019 R, you'd still have the same amount of power as in a 2018.
ChAbAr ah I see. Makes sense. So, would this be the same for the 2018 Golf R European model that is rated to have 306hp compared to U.S. model R having 292?
So, my goal in having AWD is having more traction, not necessarily having more fun when I force the car to lose traction? I have an older FWD A3, which is very similar to a GTI, and I find that it’s pretty easy to spin the wheels when accelerating on wet pavement.
I get that the front wheel drive is all you need, but where I live there is snow/ice on the ground for at least 6 months of the year, so the extra money for the gold R is well worth it for me. Not only for the extra fun but just the safety/convenience of the AWD on bad winter roads. If I lived in Texas however maybe I would have taken the gti.
In the rs3 you can switch out electronic interference completely, might be a better match up to the R. I’ve had them all at some point, and they’re all awesome cars!
This is exactly the video I've needed... good possibility of moving from Long Island to Colorado and literally wanted to know how these do in such conditions. Want the Rabbit
CAM AUTO with 6 seconds faster than the gti clubsport s around the ring. i don’t think so. no disrespect i love golfs but the civic type R is a better track car
@@zhila5958 It's a joke ,and I'm talking about the All Wheel Drive in the Golf R. The Type R is best Front wheel drive performance car. I'm not a Honda fan tho,but you gotta give credit where credit is due.
I had an 18 GTI with an APR tune and a 19 Alltrack with APR tune and i preferred the Alltrack. The GTI was definitely quicker but it was very irritating just spinning the tires and not being able to put the power down at low speeds. So basically i need a Golf R powered Alltrack 👌🏼
I used to have a 2000 GTi VR6 but I sold because the stability control can never be turned completely off (in it's stock form of course). Since I wasn't interested in trying to override or bypass the system, I sold it and bought a Subaru. Stability control aside, it was a very fun car and made a great sound from the engine.
Great video! I've been waiting for a comparison of the two in the snow for a long time. It would've been a much better review if it was a comparison of the two in daily winter snow driving. I'm a Golf R owner myself, but sometimes I wonder if a GTI would suffice for Canadian winter if I remove the 4 Motion out of the equation.
Saw a 2000 DX Hatch 5sp at the NoFrills parking lot in awesome condition. Just seeing it, I wanted to snatch it up, drop-in all the strut bars and springs/shock combo. With 2400lb, front double wishbone, awesome steering and 103 inch wheelbase, it's going to get twice as much use from the same traction. If you want to bully the Golf R with a front drive on ice, throw that old-school setup at it.
America constantly gets screwed. There's only been one time (that I remember) where America gets a higher powered car over everyone else in the world... America is full of squares.
The GTI basically understeers at the limit, and is competent, but not as fun as it should be. The R is a lot more balanced, and has handling that is closer to neutral, but still not any kind of drift king, as it's reluctant to send power rearwards. If you really want a sideways car, than buy a 2-series.
My GTI is a very nice car. But for the $36K sticker price, you'd hope that the sunroof wouldn't rattle so badly, or that a dealership could easily fix it, or even admit that it rattles. If my GTI gets wrecked tomorrow, I would shop around a bit, and maybe I'd get another GTI, but maybe not.
To have fun, awd may not be needed. But to have much greater traction and stability in less then prefect road conditions, snow storms etc, R is a no brainer. Plus, R is still German made, while GTI is Mexico.
People don't get AWD because they're worried about ice. Driving slow with snow tires and some weight in the trunk helps that. They get AWD cause they don't wanna get stuck in deep snow...
This is a bit off topic, but I see the power numbers for the GTI and think why the Civic Si doesn't have similar numbers? Growing up thru the late 80's/90's/00's the Si and the GTI were always direct competitors! Why did this change? I never understood why Honda couldn't have made this current 10th Gen Si have similar numbers (220-230hp/240-250lb/tq)??? - Is it a price thing? Did Honda have to keep their numbers low to not go over the $25K (US) price it sells the Si at? I mean they kept the same HP number as the previous Gen? (I know they bumped up the torque a significant amount) but when and why did the Si stop being a direct competitor to the GTI??
I'll remember this next time I need to drive my GTI on a frozen lake.
Just commenting so you know that your comment did
Salty 🧂
broke ass couldn't even afford a Golf R or S3 lmao
@@tylerclaypool3757 the lulz are real
666 likes for the vw gang
I just wish they'd give the R a tiny little bit more aggressive styling here and there. Not as overdone and ridiculous as a Civic type R, but except for the exhaust tips and wheels, the GTI Looks like the sportier one.
Agree. But i love the colours
Actually I like the blasé thing on the R because it’s a monster for acceleration and the Golfyness looks, keeps the insurance premiums lower than the GTI - yes for real. What I want on the R is a cloth seat.
Agreed. Those GTI wheels look worlds better than the new R ones.
@@acchaladka really? I've got a GTI and was going to get the R. My insurance for the GTI is almost 1/2 than what the R would have cost me. Not sure how it would be different for you
@@stevegaspar according to my insurance agent the GTI is stolen more often, possibly because it looks more naff. I was surprised too, but that makes sense to me. A few people have told me that the GTI looks more expensive and powerful to their non-car-obsessed eyes as well.
Many Golf R owners started with a GTI before moving up to an R. Once you get an R, there's no going back to a GTI (no one wants to deal with front-end wheel hop/spinning after experiencing AWD). The advice I give peope who are trying to decide between the two is this: just spend the extra money and get the R. It's the superior version and you'll feel the difference in power and GRIP in dry, wet and snowy weather. And a simple stage 1 tune will get you close to 400 hp and the AWD can handle it beautifully. You'll also get most of that extra money back on resale since the R really hold their value (and are also quite limited at least in North America).
3:24 it’s not just a tune that gives it more power. It has a completely different turbo then the gti.
It’s actually a very similar turbo. Just bigger.
Correct. IHI IS 20 in the GTI, IHI IS 38 in the R
Owned both. R all day long. GTi great through corners but the power from the R is superb
What years did you own?
For the R, pull the ABS and stability fuses. The brake differential is what's killing your drive in the big drifts. Disconnecting the front sway bar helps too but is obviously more of a pain. Without the brake diffs it will be a little slower to put power down but it can do Ken Block level ice drifts all day!
Throttle House is the new deal on car journalism for me. Also, happy birthday James !
Woooo thanks buddy!
I don’t really consider paid promotions journalism...
That "rabbit" sticker looks like an afterthought like Hans came running down from the conference room as GTIs were coming off the assembly line and he was like "dese autos are needing rabbitschticker!"
Hahaha
Yes. I do like that the name came back but it looked real dumb how they did it. Maybe some stitch work on the seats like you actually tried. It is a German car after all. Come on now. Made in Mexico or not it’s engineered by zee Germans. Real weird they’d let that slide.
@@RaytheonNublinski
it's not a big deal, more of a joke. When I saw the car in person, the sticker just felt cheap and as if you could peel it off easily with your fingernail. The interior where there's usually an airbag tag on the seat, it says "rabbit" and is integrated nicely.
@@GibbysGarage15 ...it may feel cheap, but if that sticker needs to be replaced due to an accident it will most likely cost $50, or more, just like the hard emblems that were close to $100 so people didn't make 20thAE clones with the red GTI badges
Why did I say this with an Arnold Schwarzenegger accent
And hat tip to Yuri from The Straight Pipes on a special appearance!
The Yuriy's we like to drive cars!!
Couldn't tell on the GTI, but it definitely looked like the Golf R was on winter tires. Having owned a 2014 Fiesta ST in Northern New York, I can safely say that winter tires on any car makes a huge difference, and there's no reason you can't go out and hoon a FWD hot hatch in the winter as long as ground clearance isn't an issue. Here in the U.S. , the Golf R comes standard with summer tires and the GTI comes standard with all seasons. If you go out and try these maneuvers on these standard equipment tires in snow and ice, you will not have the same level of control. Unless you have Ken Block type of skills. Good video though, I like the channel. Just think you should mention what kind of tires were on these cars so folks don't get a false sense of security.
A dependable set of winter tires is more important on this kind of weather either fwd or awd
Yep. We had a blizzard here last night and the Blizzaks on my GTI got me to work just fine.
Scott Paris same but I have a golf 1.8t
The difference between the motors in the GTI and R are a lot more than just a tune, the turbo and internals such as exhaust cams, pistons, rods, etc is what makes them a lot different
Was that the drone expert from Storage Wars Canada S02E29 - Ursula Goes Banana. Nice 👍🏻
this guy. lol
Spot yuri! The straight pipes ~
I was like, wait a minute, that Yuri looks familiar! And wtf is storage wars? #straightpipes
What was the point off this video?
Are people buying Golfs to drift on ice? Or only to drift?
Golf R feels faster on that surface. Isn't that the point off having R over normal GTI? If so, why there is no track time to compare them?
I mean, I love all this great shots, I love the cars, but this video is kind a missed opportunity to actual answer the question: Is it OK to have normal GTI on the snow because you are not losing too much comparing to R version or not? Drifting is 1% of the use if ever, so that is pretty much pointless if other things are not answered.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. The more relevant...or rather, "interesting to me" test would be, which car handles better in slippery conditions, not which one is more fun to throw sideways. Do you need a Golf R, or is a GTI with winter tires a better choice? (anyway, isn't the answer, both go sideways fine, you just need slightly different techniques)
@@ragweedmakesmesneeze the R will be better in the snow no matter what. Awd will get you going and keep you going. But agreed on the point that it would be nice to hear how livable the gti is in the winter. My dad drives a little base mk4 golf and it does just fine 98% of the time in Alaska but I tested a tuned focus st and my first thought was that this has too much power to the front to be useable in the winter. So how would a performance pack gti with a tune dom
VW has made it a point to show off their new 2022 Golf R as "the" drifting machine. Unbelievable.
You guys and the Straight Pipes are my favorite automotive TH-camrs and it makes me so happy that you guys are friends 😂
And Canadian!! (Except for the British dude obviously)
That's all great news that the GTI will drift on the top of frozen lake almost as good as the R. What I wanna know is can the GTI plow itself from a parking spot blocked by the snow bank after a major snow storm in Chicago nearly as good as my R32 can?
Perhaps with the trick front diff
No it definitely can't I have a mk7.5 gti and it sucks in winter time don't get me wrong I love the car but in winter snow fall the car sucks
@@cmalone25ify as much as I love GTIs, I'd have a hard time going to the FWD now. I can't afford the new R either so this R32 will wait its EOL in my hands.
@@BucoBucolini I feel ya man I'd love an r so idk what I'm gonna do come this winter I'm considering a subaru but I have a struggle trusting the motors on wrx/sti
@@BucoBucolini cant you just get like a a3 or a4 with awd and the 2.0t
I may eventually be convinced the GTI can be as good as the R on a closed circuit but in real world conditions it is not realistic (and safe) to try to enter too fast in curves to provoke power oversteer on any public roads. For that reason and because of every acceleration from a stop in wet or snow the R is hands down the top dog.
Snow tires on any front wheel drive car will do just fine ...awd is over rated on any car! I have had 6 gti s and one golf r .. over 28 years in New England..if you did not know.. it snows a lot here lol... and the gti with good snow tires dose just as well than my golf r did with snow tires! Just don't get too cutesy lol
In an area that’s flat, sure a GTI is great. Living in the mountains 🇨🇦 of British Columbia, All the FWD’s in my neighbourhood including my GLI and other GTI’s can’t make it up the street. Got sick of fighting winter, now have Golf R and Tiguan .Storm Troopers they are 😉
Brian Reardon My GTI was a snow beast when I lived up north. I have no clue other than standing starts why you’d want awd on the street. GTI all day long.
FWD is perfectly fine and safe for most winter conditions with good tires, but it is HALF the fun
Victor Vorng Yeah nobody actually does that with their R though. Just like nobody takes their SUV off-road. If you don’t need it don’t buy it. That said the new GLI autobahn for 30 grand is a steal so I don’t even care anymore. If I was buying something I’d get that thing no question.
I love that Cornflower Blue GTI! Seriously contemplating buying one
Cornflower blue and the other limited colors feels like im driving a simpsons car. TBH the colors are horrid, Im getting a black rabbit personally. Was in the market for a GTI and I didn't even know the rabbit was out this year. Ended up making a financial decision and went with the downgraded trim in the rabbit, and really only getting it because it's cheaper than the Autobahn and SE but comes with R break calipers and descent looking rims, other than that the rabbit is a sad excuse of a limited model. If I had the extra funds I would just go with the Autobahn with performance package.
AWD is definitely a must!
Its not awd its 4motion same same but diffrnt
@@jimmywoo7875 its a reactive awd system
I literally want all their episodes on Netflix.
Seriously, my new favourite channel. Definitely in top 3 (including thestraightpipes and car throttle)
From the title of this video, I thought you guys were going to compare Golf FWD and 4Motion in real world driving with traction control engaged. Because you know.....we spend a lot of time driving on occasionally icy and wet roads in Missouri. Instead what I saw was a Hoonigan drifting comparison between these cars.
J. Christopher Wehrle same thought I had
lot of us actually live in this type of weather so this is a good insight. This ain't just about you buddy.
Soooo... you're saying AWD is more fun & better handling than FWD?
Who'd have thought...
Problem is awd is not more fun and better handling than fwd. How many awd do you see beat a fwd Honda type r on the track...thought so.
It's also a matter of not having chains. Awd cars with snow tires are not illegal on the road when chains are required. Also when I got my golf r, I punched it in the snow and the awd sorted it out and I took off. It is one of the most well rounded cars I've ever driven and you can easily make it more aggressive and keep all the practicality.
Man, I’ve been living in this province for almost two years now and haven’t found any frozen lake race tracks. I gotta up my game!
I nearly crashed my R in the snow going only 15 mph around a corner. As soon as the front slipped the rear kicked in sending the rear out across the road,this probably wouldn't Of happened in the gti. Good job it only snows once a year but rains alot. Off the mark in the rain is amazing.
Not many people actually try to snow drift in their GTI or R.
I'll save u all some time. They are both excellent winter or summer cars as long as you drive them appropriately and with the correct tires.
I've owned 3 GTIs, a Golf and the mk7 R. Also a 4motion Passat.
The Passat is significantly better for traction in the winter than the R, but it's a different AWD system and much heavier than the R.
The GTIs are perfect as well, but you don't have as much GO when in deep snow or icey conditions.
The GTI will spin at full throttle in the snow. The R will bite in and rocket ahead.
Yes...the Golf R is fun...way more fun. Worth every penny more here in Canada than the GTI. I am loving it.
GTI was on all-season-tires while the Golf R was on snow tires. Talk about unfair advantage!
Very nice. You’re right the nannies still kick in when “off”. You have to code the system off and code increased traction on to have a more active rear (instead of reactive).
Very informative! Thanks. If you want real AWD... the system is the R is the best I guess for snow/ice
I did a 4 wheel drift in my brothers golf R and...crashed it. He wasn't pleased.
Loving this channel!
Also happy birthday James it's mine too
I own a golf R , but I also love the GTI ... love both always will always have ....❤️
What more do you need on a regular basis?? A MANUAL TRANSMISSION, that's what. ;-)
Mazda please put the turbo in the 3 for the best of both worlds for much cheaper.
Honestly if you just put some decent tires on the GTI, that drastically improves the traction and overall handling. The stock Hankook tires are bad.
ArcadianGenesis what tires do you recommend?
@@rafaelmillan5800 I'm running Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, but any decent summer performance tire will be a noticable improvement.
You guys seriously kill me!! The best. And thanks for more VW’s!
The Golf R is in my opinion not worth the extra cash. All wheel drive sounds good, but in reality it's a FWD car that can put a little power to the rear wheels, and at no time more than 50%. That is because its a Haldex system, it helps with traction issues but it's not fun to drive and does not feel like an AWD car, because most of the time it isnt.
alpenjodel24 do some quick long coding with OBDEleven or Vagcom and you can have AWD all of the time
@@_pewpew_ yep and be prepared to change the haldex fluid every 15k instead of 60k
Sanj Sangha but again only up to 50% to the back wheels, in reality a bit less like around 40%. Thats just the physical limitations of a haldex transmission.
mitchell duchesne haldex requires a change way before that for even a stock car, but you’re right in saying that. I did mine on a stage 2 (since 1500kms) R at 28k and the filter and fluid was pretty good. You gotta pay to play.
alpenjodel24 that’s fair, it’s louder but worked pretty well for people in our club but it consumes a lot more gas. Can’t win.
Throttlehouse has crossed tailpipes with the straightpipes love it
*cracks knuckles* Finally a target for my 6gb collection of PT Cruiser pics.
To be honest what car enthusiast doesn’t hate the pt cruiser
I'm actually surprised you don't have as many subscribers as many other auto focused channels. Good stuff guys!
We are just getting warmed up!
Its because Throttle House put out professional quality material and videos, unlike the "norm" of just people putting out lame vlogs, which seems to be what kids like to watch on TH-cam more. I prefer these kind of videos that Throttle House puts out much more than the other stuff.
$25K for a used, low-mile stock 2018 GTI SE 6mt. $800 for cat-back exhaust, $700 for APR stage 1 tune, $300 for cold air intake, $1000 for a good set of tires. $28K total invested, 300+ crank HP, amazing handling, and you are good to go.
Happy birthday James and awesome job guys!!! I absolutely love your videos and the humour that you put into them. You have become my go to TH-cam channel to check out cars, especially as you are in Canada and get what it is to live here!!! I love cars too! Great job! Keep it up! Cheers. Jorge
Thanks jorge
The Rear wheels only work in golf r if the front wheels slip. Other than that it's a fwd car. You can add a clutch pack and tune that adds more power to the rear
I chose my GTI over the R because I thought it was more fun to drive and I like the interior much better. Plaid seats all day! Also the R, depending on the paint, can be over $50k. I've seen a used 2018 RS3 with low mileage for only $6k more. Meaning if you can afford the R absolutely forget it and get a used monster like the RS3. Otherwise get the GTI.
Rs3 is goooood
or used R for ~35k. 20k difference no joke.
@@sailormemes3338 why get used R for same price as new GTI? Put a tune in GTI and it's much faster than R. Also I legitimately think the GTI is a more fun car to drive. It's the reason I chose it over the R.
@@stevegaspar because it's nicer (subjective) and you can get a warranty on it. Can't with modified GTI. Also if you want to modify the R it will be easier to get power to the ground with awd.
@@sailormemes3338 Fair but my original point stands. If you can afford a new Golf R absolutely forget about it and get an Audi RS3 instead. Also, the 2020 GTI will have close to same power as current Golf R (yes the 2020 R will get bumped up too). And finally, at least in Canada, Golf R does not come with a sunroof and that is a major deal breaker for me.
Love my Mk7 GTI, but I wouldn't mind the AWD for better launches!
Makes me love my R even more
I sort of think they should just delete the golf r altogether. I know it has a history, but i wish they just evolved the GTI to AWD and more HP in more expensive models and FWD in lower models, but keeping the GTI name as the only sporty Golf.
A month into my new Gold R and I couldn’t be happier. Fun video.
4:38 is golden. Nice Power Sliding 👍
We dont buy the AWD R to drift on an ice lake. We buy it for all around better traction in rain and ice.. and to keep from shredding our front tires every time we pull into traffic..
A lot of tire spin without it in GTI?
Short answer: Generally yes, you do. And also no. The GTI has a very clever front diff, so its actually debatable in this case. But compare a R to a regular Golf and oh boy...
VSC is never fully off. You need to do the peddle trick to get it off for good. But only lasts until you turn the car off
I think the VW Golf won me over. I'm just getting into cars a lot lately and I think for utility the Golf is perfect.
Gold R is my favourite car in the entire world
Gotta love those golden rs
Why does VW say the 2019 Golf R has 288 horsepower compared to the 292 horsepower for 2015-2018 Golf R’s? I don’t think anything in the engine changed. So must be time related? Glad I got my 2018 Golf R 6spd. Love it!
It's due to the difference between metric horsepower (PS) used in Europe and mechanical horsepower (HP) used in North America. VW (incl. Audi and Porsche) didn't bother converting the PS numbers into HP thinking they are close enough (1HP ~= 1.01 PS). Now that's good for a 10, 20 PS engine not for a 292 PS engine like in the R. That's why you see the HP number dropping to 288. Mechanically speaking it's the same engine, just the HP unit got fixed. So no, if you bought a 2019 R, you'd still have the same amount of power as in a 2018.
ChAbAr ah I see. Makes sense. So, would this be the same for the 2018 Golf R European model that is rated to have 306hp compared to U.S. model R having 292?
So, my goal in having AWD is having more traction, not necessarily having more fun when I force the car to lose traction? I have an older FWD A3, which is very similar to a GTI, and I find that it’s pretty easy to spin the wheels when accelerating on wet pavement.
The colour choices you get, so much better than the UK!
a Bliss In Australia we get about 5 or 6 colours for the R and GTI. I wish we got the UK’s colour choices out here!
hmm.. is a nearly 300 hp awd golf r more fun (on any track) than a gti... that's a tough one
I get that the front wheel drive is all you need, but where I live there is snow/ice on the ground for at least 6 months of the year, so the extra money for the gold R is well worth it for me. Not only for the extra fun but just the safety/convenience of the AWD on bad winter roads. If I lived in Texas however maybe I would have taken the gti.
Snow tires and a GTI, like you said it all you need. about 8-10k more for a golf r for a tune and awd, ehhhhh.
Its my birthday today as well! Happy birthday to you too! Great video. I had the 2013 GTI driver's edition. What a great car that was.
Happy birthday Francisco!
In the rs3 you can switch out electronic interference completely, might be a better match up to the R. I’ve had them all at some point, and they’re all awesome cars!
RS3 also costs $15k more than the R. that's 60k starting price
The wheels were hypnotic in slow mo 😎
Why did VW add digital gauge cluster screens on the Golf R (which was canceled) but still have analog gauge clusters on the 2019 GTI?!
When is VW coming out with the MK8? They've been talking about it for the last couple of years. Now were hearing mid 2021. What's the problem VW?
This is exactly the video I've needed... good possibility of moving from Long Island to Colorado and literally wanted to know how these do in such conditions. Want the Rabbit
Better be buying snow tires and chains, two things you don't typically need in a Long Island winter
Love the little elf hat this guy has on 😀. Where can I find a frozen lake to have this much fun in my Golf R?
Yes I need AWD, because I want grip around every corner at any speed and no wheel slip for launches
LMBO I had a pt Cruiser for 10 and half years, not planned that way orginally. It was reliable yes. Now I have a 400HP VW GTI MK7.5. Come drive it.
That problem on almost all VW group cars is that even when u turn off dsc it keeps coming back
Every review from you guys: “ A or B?”
Answer: “ Both”
_Honda Civic Type R has left the chat._
CAM AUTO with 6 seconds faster than the gti clubsport s around the ring. i don’t think so. no disrespect i love golfs but the civic type R is a better track car
@@zhila5958
It's a joke ,and I'm talking about the All Wheel Drive in the Golf R.
The Type R is best Front wheel drive performance car.
I'm not a Honda fan tho,but you gotta give credit where credit is due.
CAM AUTO respect for your positive response. and yeah golfs are amazing cars tbh
Not exactly sure why hed join it, in the 1st place...
@@tredfxman
Why is that ?
GTI save some money to use for aftermarket parts.
I want a focus rs with vw build quality and interior.
I had an 18 GTI with an APR tune and a 19 Alltrack with APR tune and i preferred the Alltrack. The GTI was definitely quicker but it was very irritating just spinning the tires and not being able to put the power down at low speeds. So basically i need a Golf R powered Alltrack 👌🏼
I used to have a 2000 GTi VR6 but I sold because the stability control can never be turned completely off (in it's stock form of course). Since I wasn't interested in trying to override or bypass the system, I sold it and bought a Subaru. Stability control aside, it was a very fun car and made a great sound from the engine.
Realizing a car can’t fully defeat traction control is like ordering a chocolate sunday but then being given a single scoop of soft yogurt
Great video! I've been waiting for a comparison of the two in the snow for a long time. It would've been a much better review if it was a comparison of the two in daily winter snow driving. I'm a Golf R owner myself, but sometimes I wonder if a GTI would suffice for Canadian winter if I remove the 4 Motion out of the equation.
With winter tires the GTI would do you just fine.
James Engelsman Thanks! When the R becomes too expensive to maintain, I will make the move.
You forgot to mention the Golf R runs a larger Is38 turbo, oil cooler, and forged internals. :)
Saw a 2000 DX Hatch 5sp at the NoFrills parking lot in awesome condition. Just seeing it, I wanted to snatch it up, drop-in all the strut bars and springs/shock combo. With 2400lb, front double wishbone, awesome steering and 103 inch wheelbase, it's going to get twice as much use from the same traction. If you want to bully the Golf R with a front drive on ice, throw that old-school setup at it.
Why does the american Golf R have only 288hp while the one in Europe (at least in Germany) has 300?
America constantly gets screwed. There's only been one time (that I remember) where America gets a higher powered car over everyone else in the world... America is full of squares.
Who cares? If you want more power Tune it already! You have APR in America Nutballz, Use Them !!! 👍
The GTI basically understeers at the limit, and is competent, but not as fun as it should be. The R is a lot more balanced, and has handling that is closer to neutral, but still not any kind of drift king, as it's reluctant to send power rearwards. If you really want a sideways car, than buy a 2-series.
golf r haldex is underrated.. I love my mk6R. ive done some gnarly drifts in the rain once or twice lol
Ohhhhh plus, the R is front wheel drive bias as all “awd” Vw’s are. If you want real AWD, go for the WRX/STI
previous model year Golf R was 292 HP, now they are showing 288 HP. Same engine, did they detune it more?
My touareg was pretty simular to the golf R on ice! I went to an ice racing school with the touareg, and it's fun
now do that in an Alltrack...for science and show that ice/snow is the great equalizer showing you don't need GTI//R levels of power to have fun.
Is that Yuri from The Straight Pipes?
yep
This questionnkeeps me awake, every single night.
My GTI is a very nice car. But for the $36K sticker price, you'd hope that the sunroof wouldn't rattle so badly, or that a dealership could easily fix it, or even admit that it rattles.
If my GTI gets wrecked tomorrow, I would shop around a bit, and maybe I'd get another GTI, but maybe not.
To have fun, awd may not be needed. But to have much greater traction and stability in less then prefect road conditions, snow storms etc, R is a no brainer. Plus, R is still German made, while GTI is Mexico.
Storage Wars drone expert my🖕. A partial Throttle House/Straight Pipes collab is better than none at all. Newsflash Thomas, it needs to happen.
Chris Harris could do transitions while reciting Shakespear. Just saying.
Yes chris is a better driver and very knowledgeable. I like watching him. Tom and jerry are more entertaining though
They need to give the Golf R that beautiful blue the GTI has
just for that birthday trolling pt-cruiser just became the best car ever!
People don't get AWD because they're worried about ice. Driving slow with snow tires and some weight in the trunk helps that. They get AWD cause they don't wanna get stuck in deep snow...
@3:48 moisture build-up in headlamp
This is a bit off topic, but I see the power numbers for the GTI and think why the Civic Si doesn't have similar numbers? Growing up thru the late 80's/90's/00's the Si and the GTI were always direct competitors! Why did this change? I never understood why Honda couldn't have made this current 10th Gen Si have similar numbers (220-230hp/240-250lb/tq)??? - Is it a price thing? Did Honda have to keep their numbers low to not go over the $25K (US) price it sells the Si at? I mean they kept the same HP number as the previous Gen? (I know they bumped up the torque a significant amount) but when and why did the Si stop being a direct competitor to the GTI??
I have the same Golf R but I like the cornflower blue GTI look better 😅