The R20 is now on the German VW website starting at 36K Euros!! Doesnt even include leather seats! Will not be touching this one now.
And as regards to the Focus RS, whilst it's a brilliant car and looks better in blue then the horrid green, it is front wheel drive so won't give the same grip levels.
This is definitely true for when you are accelerating around bends - there's no question about that; but a 4WD vehicle has the same tractability as a FWD/RWD when your foot is off the gas - you are relying solely on the grip that the car is set up to offer from the ride, and not the drive.
Not a huge deal for most, but something that people readily forget with 4WD. Having said that, something as tractible as Evolution for example, can more or less accelerate around any bend (they are quite insane really).
If the RS was a consideration, then the ST with one of the various stage one remaps should be as well; I forget the article I read, but it found the Mountune ST (or Code Red) was slightly quicker than the stock RS.
Different cars though really, as the S3/R20 etc will drive very differently; the RS will be bone-crunching (but no less fun!).
well i have no problem going full bore on tight corners in the wet
the problem i have with FWD cars and especially monster powered ones like focus (awesome looking car) is that you are forever pussy footing about on the power, away from the lights, on bends, changing gear, or the TC lights on all the time ..
my CTR was bloody awe full, every time you pull away wheel spin ...
you never have to worry about it with 4wd and with DSG you dont even lift to change up
That the case may be, but when you come to any corner where you can't tear around with your foot on the gas, you have no more traction with 4WD than 2WD - that's the only point I was making
In my ST170 (which wasn't quick to 60 but more impressive mid-range than people care to admit), I could really go around some bends at ridiculous speeds in the wet too. Take my foot off the gas for something a bit sharp, and then you get a twitchy bum (until you realise the car is glued to the road).
Having played with the Focus ST (I was seconds away from buying a new ST3!) and the CTR, I can't say I ever had an issue with traction - in fact, I always turned TC off in the ST when lead-footing it and only first gear was an issue (and even then you had to be a complete pleb to manage that). You could seriously nail the power in all gears at any time and it was impeccable.
I actually regret not having it a little sometimes.
This is definitely true for when you are accelerating around bends - there's no question about that; but a 4WD vehicle has the same tractability as a FWD/RWD when your foot is off the gas - you are relying solely on the grip that the car is set up to offer from the ride, and not the drive.
Not a huge deal for most, but something that people readily forget with 4WD. Having said that, something as tractible as Evolution for example, can more or less accelerate around any bend (they are quite insane really).
If the RS was a consideration, then the ST with one of the various stage one remaps should be as well; I forget the article I read, but it found the Mountune ST (or Code Red) was slightly quicker than the stock RS.
Different cars though really, as the S3/R20 etc will drive very differently; the RS will be bone-crunching (but no less fun!).
Driving a very powerful 4WD without either traction control or ABS can be interesting
.
yeah you need to be awake when it lets go and then suddenly grips, once you have done half a dozen times thou you get the hang of it
Also true....apart from all of the other reasons for eventually getting shot of my Escort(like the noise,costs etc etc) was the need to be completely aware of the thing's potential at all times.
After a busy night,it just wasn't worth the effort...
It's more often the drivers of chelsea tractors that consider themselves invulnerable to the laws of physics,and I saw an amusing one a couple of years back,on it's roof,facing backwards,halfway across a field,after a well known and particularly treacherous roundabout.
I'm yet to own a 4WD motor (I'm still only 24!), but as most are pretty large and lary cars that are worth having (the Evo, Impreza etc), it puts me off a little.
I'm fine with the size, but it would make for a really uncivilised daily drive doing 80 miles a day (which was my regular commute). In fact, I think I would bypass my 4WD desire and go straight to a RWD like a Caterham as a toy for weekends (and warm ones at that). I earn enough to do get one, but I'm trying to save for a house deposit with the GF and I doubt she would be impressed with a portion of my cash going on one of those.
I'm half tempted to sell my current car and pick something like an S3 up, as I drive 0 miles a week now (10 min walk!). Until I realise I have no garage and live in Luton (only for a year) Wouldn't be sensible.
As an S3 owner,it's a good car,but honestly needs about 100bhp more to begin to get the best out of the car and chassis,and at that point you also need better suspension.
It's easy to see why Audi have done this,as to have gone the whole hog would have pitched the car straight into RS4 performance,and it would have been the as yet unseen RS3 anyway!
The R20 provides a good price counterpoint to the S3,and leaves the door open to Audi turning out the RS3 sometime....who knows.
RS3 is a possibility now as the RS TT parts will just bolt on
i wonder if VW will also do a Golf R335 /drool
Definitely a possibility,but every time it's supposed to have been shown so far,it hasn't appeared.
The fitting etc should be no problem,but the projected price may make a few potential owners choke,as it has been rumoured to be around £35-40k depending on spec,and that's a lot of cash for a hatchback,albeit a quick one,with easy potential for 400bhp.
i would defiantly be going for it
You'd spend £35k-£40k on a Golf hatch? Either you are way too obsessed with Golfs, or you have way too much cash - there are far more superior vehicles for that money any day of the week.
i would defiantly be going for it
There's no need to be defiant, just go to the dealer, pay up and I'm sure they'll sell you one.