From EVO X MR to Golf R
Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 10:47 am
I thought i might put a few words together about my transition from my 2008 EVO X MR to my 2011 Golf R. First up i should qualify that i'm 40years old and i use my car as a daily driver, i have been involved in cars and clubs since i was a teenager so i've pretty much done all the different cycles of performance cars from buckets for stereo's to track day cars so the change is more about a car to fit my needs right now.
Ok so let talk about cars , first up there is nothing that i have driven that handles like the EVO X, it is honestly a track weapon, the S-AWD system is truly amazing, it's hard to get used to at first because you have to trust in the electronics to do it's thing and get you around the corner, at first this is scary, but once you learn to just keep your foot flat and let the computer work it out...WOW! you can do slides like your the Stig.
So i start with that first because this is the main difference between the 2 cars, don't get me wrong the R handle bloody awesome and i would compare the handling to and EVO 9 or a Ralliart with no understeer but until we get the next gen tricky diffs you just can't compare the two, the EVO X is just on that next level.....BUT, everything else from here is where the R shines through. The only other thing i miss from my EVO is the fixed paddle shifters, the ones on the wheel of the R are too small and when you get in corners its very hard to get to the correct shifter and then to make it worse the floor shift has the up and down shift the wrong way around from the international standard for sequential shift pattern. This is not a real big deal and i am getting used to it but the EVO setup is much better. The DSG shits all over the TC-SST in the EVO, the DSG gear changes are perfect and very intuitive compared to that of the EVO and it makes the EVO box seem clunky and low tech, you need to drive the EVO in manual mode and in Super Sport to get the most out of it where the R's DSG work so smooth in all modes, it also doesn't have that massive dead spot when you take off like the TC-SST does, it seems to down shift better and is always ready to get going.
Performance: From the stock EVO X MR the power is so close to that of the R it's not funny, you can really feel the 170kg lighter in the R over the EVO and this is what make the difference in performance. In real world conditions they are almost the same. The EVO has more KW's but its heavier weight and bigger turbo take a bit more to get going, from a standing start in a drag across the lights i think the R will be quicker before the bigger turbo and power of the EVO will track you down. The EVO has little to no power under 3500 - 4000 RPM, the engine does well to not make this as noticeable but now i'm in the R i can really tell how laggy the EVO was. The R is SOOOOOO torquey, power delivery is really smooth and works so well with the DSG its just a pleasure to drive.
Build: Haha well, no comparison at all. The Germans really know how to build a car and this is the main reason why i bought the R, the everyday driving in the R is sublime, smooth, quite, relaxing and just a better place to be, the controls (apart from the stupid indicators on the wrong side
) are perfect, everything works and easy to get access too. The EVO even from new was a little rattly, squeaky and noisy inside, lots of road noise. The Leather Recaro seats are really comfortable and you also get height adjust which the EVO didn't have, the fitment quality inside is just spot on, and all the controls and switches have a nice feel to them.
The RNS-510 SatNav / Audio system is fantastic, sound quality is amazing and the functions are so easy to use, it has a built in 30gb HDD plus an SD card slot so you can have upto 32gb of more music, it also has a media connector so you can plug in an external USB drive, they have all the bases covered.
Ok so i could go on for a lot longer but i'm sure you guys will have questions that i can answer for you so i leave it here for now, i absolutely love my R, best car i have owned to date and i've had a few
Ok so let talk about cars , first up there is nothing that i have driven that handles like the EVO X, it is honestly a track weapon, the S-AWD system is truly amazing, it's hard to get used to at first because you have to trust in the electronics to do it's thing and get you around the corner, at first this is scary, but once you learn to just keep your foot flat and let the computer work it out...WOW! you can do slides like your the Stig.
So i start with that first because this is the main difference between the 2 cars, don't get me wrong the R handle bloody awesome and i would compare the handling to and EVO 9 or a Ralliart with no understeer but until we get the next gen tricky diffs you just can't compare the two, the EVO X is just on that next level.....BUT, everything else from here is where the R shines through. The only other thing i miss from my EVO is the fixed paddle shifters, the ones on the wheel of the R are too small and when you get in corners its very hard to get to the correct shifter and then to make it worse the floor shift has the up and down shift the wrong way around from the international standard for sequential shift pattern. This is not a real big deal and i am getting used to it but the EVO setup is much better. The DSG shits all over the TC-SST in the EVO, the DSG gear changes are perfect and very intuitive compared to that of the EVO and it makes the EVO box seem clunky and low tech, you need to drive the EVO in manual mode and in Super Sport to get the most out of it where the R's DSG work so smooth in all modes, it also doesn't have that massive dead spot when you take off like the TC-SST does, it seems to down shift better and is always ready to get going.
Performance: From the stock EVO X MR the power is so close to that of the R it's not funny, you can really feel the 170kg lighter in the R over the EVO and this is what make the difference in performance. In real world conditions they are almost the same. The EVO has more KW's but its heavier weight and bigger turbo take a bit more to get going, from a standing start in a drag across the lights i think the R will be quicker before the bigger turbo and power of the EVO will track you down. The EVO has little to no power under 3500 - 4000 RPM, the engine does well to not make this as noticeable but now i'm in the R i can really tell how laggy the EVO was. The R is SOOOOOO torquey, power delivery is really smooth and works so well with the DSG its just a pleasure to drive.
Build: Haha well, no comparison at all. The Germans really know how to build a car and this is the main reason why i bought the R, the everyday driving in the R is sublime, smooth, quite, relaxing and just a better place to be, the controls (apart from the stupid indicators on the wrong side
) are perfect, everything works and easy to get access too. The EVO even from new was a little rattly, squeaky and noisy inside, lots of road noise. The Leather Recaro seats are really comfortable and you also get height adjust which the EVO didn't have, the fitment quality inside is just spot on, and all the controls and switches have a nice feel to them.
The RNS-510 SatNav / Audio system is fantastic, sound quality is amazing and the functions are so easy to use, it has a built in 30gb HDD plus an SD card slot so you can have upto 32gb of more music, it also has a media connector so you can plug in an external USB drive, they have all the bases covered.
Ok so i could go on for a lot longer but i'm sure you guys will have questions that i can answer for you so i leave it here for now, i absolutely love my R, best car i have owned to date and i've had a few
