Golf R or Countryman JCW?

"JustJim" (JustJim) 04/10/2015 at 07:57 • Filed to: None

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My wife’s car died and after 14+ years of a New Beetle she knows what she wants...kind of.

More power. 4 doors. AWD. Flappy paddle automatic. Modern electronics. A sporty drive.

Nows your chance to weigh in.

spanfucker retire bitch > JustJim 04/10/2015 at 08:00

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As much as I like to make fun of ze German engineering, the Countryman is BLECH. So definitely the Golf R.

505Turbeaux > JustJim 04/10/2015 at 08:00

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if she is keeping cars for 14 years, neither of those. Those are good cars on lease, not longer

jkm7680 > JustJim 04/10/2015 at 08:01

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Golf R no doubt. Better performance, quality, looks, reliability.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/ca…

random001 > 505Turbeaux 04/10/2015 at 08:05

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This. Get a Subaru.

Flavien Vidal > JustJim 04/10/2015 at 08:07

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My experience in a Golf R on the snow... Passenger ride only, but it's fast and pretty fun, I liked it.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > JustJim 04/10/2015 at 08:18

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get a used wrx hatch... At least it'll be reliable

ReaperChief > JustJim 04/10/2015 at 08:21

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What about an Audi S1, Cooper S 4door or A Klasse? For the first 2 options you even get some money for a vacation!

Klaus Schmoll > JustJim 04/10/2015 at 08:25

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I got a Countryman as a loaner from BMW a few years ago, I hated it! I'm quite tall and couldn't find a comfortable seat position, the interiour was weird, the trunk was surprisingly small, and the auto box was sub-par to what BMW was offering at the time. Drive both and see which you like better.

Steve Zissou > spanfucker retire bitch 04/10/2015 at 08:30

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And the Countryman is still German

whatisthatsound > JustJim 04/10/2015 at 08:37

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'12 R is in my garage. My lady friends car. We have had it for a year and a half now. I've fallen in love with it. It is comfortable, smooth, fast, leg and headroom for days. Only issue I have is the buttons on the steering wheel.

Test drive one you will enjoy it. This one is going up for sale for a 2015 hopefully. I'm not sure what people keep mentioning reliability on these. It's a VW Golf, they last forever.

spanfucker retire bitch > Steve Zissou 04/10/2015 at 08:54

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With a touch of British reliability thrown in for good measure. /snort

brjklein > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 04/10/2015 at 08:59

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You missed the auto transmission part.

citizennick > whatisthatsound 04/10/2015 at 09:05

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where do you find these lady friends that love/drive enthusiast cars? I need to find me a lady friend like that.

whatisthatsound > citizennick 04/10/2015 at 09:10

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I'm the luckiest guy in the world. She always loved Golfs, I love going fast. I showed her a fast Golf she said yes. She will go to car shows with me sometimes too! All just a stroke of luck.

Bobbyzoom > whatisthatsound 04/10/2015 at 09:27

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The only concern I would have with the MK6 Golf R is the cam follower. Please get yours checked if you haven't. This is the same FSI motor as the 2006-2010 GTI/A3 but with beefed up internals and larger turbo. The cam follower, which you can imagine, follows the cam and sits underneath the fuel pump. Over time this wears down and can grenade your camshaft. The new ones have a cam roller, which rolls along the cam and isn't abrasive.

Should cost you $50 for the part and an hour of your time for labor. Great car, but that is the only fault. Please get it checked!

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > brjklein 04/10/2015 at 09:28

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They sell them with an automatic. I don't know if it has paddle shifters but it should have manual mode

whatisthatsound > Bobbyzoom 04/10/2015 at 09:39

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Yep! I replaced hers at the 10k mile interval. I haven't met an R owner with a CF issue though. I kept the one I pulled because it is in great shape and when I do the 20k service I'll only inspect and see where it is at. V said they addressed the issue in the R. We shall see.

brjklein > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 04/10/2015 at 09:46

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You mean the 4-spd auto from a 2000-07? Those won't be flappy-paddle. And they're spartan inside. No modern electronics as we know it (bluetooth, etc.)

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > brjklein 04/10/2015 at 09:59

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I guess I was wrong. I thought you could get one like this (a 2012) with an automatic...

Skamanda > JustJim 04/10/2015 at 10:07

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The flappy paddles on the Countryman work funny. Instead of one paddle being for upshift and one for downshift, they're both for both. You pull for upshift, and push forward for downshift.

Other than that, it's a pretty nice car.

Both brands aren't really smiled upon for their reliability, but well cared for I've seen MINIs last pretty decently.

Skamanda > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 04/10/2015 at 10:08

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Used WRX is in no way safe to consider reliable. Odds are almost 100% that it was beaten like a rental by whatever teenager owned it before you.

nermal > whatisthatsound 04/10/2015 at 10:28

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Yep. The key to happiness with a modern VW:

Keep up on maintenance.

Don't let it sit.

Drive it hard on a regular basis. Don't putter around like an old man. WOT and redline it, once it's warmed up of course.

Bobbyzoom > whatisthatsound 04/10/2015 at 11:18

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Hopefully! That's good to hear, maybe less pressure on the follower. A friend of mine had a custom job done which installed a revised roller to replace the follower. Cost around $800 but now complete piece of mind. He's at around 70,000KM now with no issues. Just thought I'd mention it :)

Patrick George > JustJim 04/10/2015 at 13:58

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Between these two, I'd go Golf R. The Countryman is super old, due for a replacement soon, and the JCW suspension is pretty harsh for daily driving.