LONG TERM REVIEW - Owning a VW GOLF 7 R for 3.5 years

[@_Ryphon]

Felt similar to you with my 2020 Golf R and then I got a tune resulting in a 30% power bump and a Remus cat-back for the sound. Transformed the car! At its price point it's hard to beat until you have Porsche $$$!

[@carengineer3734]

Clearly these upgrades make a lot of sense. Enjoy your car !

[@johno4605]

Fantastic review. I'm in the process of buying a Golf R and your review is very informative - thank you. (With such high quality I would welcome more content from you 🙂 )

[@carengineer3734]

Ow thank you :)

[@tredfxman]

Very detailed & objective review! Had my GTI Clubsport MK7 for about 5 years. Started modding it when warranty was out & im still modding it! Latest big thing was a full custom turbo back which we installed ourselves. Its a Cobra Sport non resonated catback on sport muffler mated with a Invidia highflow downpipe on sports cat, which sounds Glorious together! So definetly recomend going this route if your skilled on car installs, or know someone who can help you! Also the car is Stage 1 at 370 hp 480 torque or so, been thinking going stage 2 but im pretty happy with the build now. Next thing will likely be a integrated engineering carbon intake & inlet, for the downpipe to breathe best possible. Then maby a TVS Engineering TCU tune for the DSG automatic gearbox! 😎 👍

[@nigelbryant5932]

Credit to you. Looks brand new. Lovely car

[@chriskelvin248]

I'm in the same car as you. But it is my vacation and after work car. Extremely versatile in stock form. The EA888 gen 3 engine with the DQ381 transmission are a perfect match. I have had zero repairs or complaints with this car. At 25k miles and maintenance has been the recommended interval fluid changes and rear brake pads and rotors so far.

[@ZenzDeluxe]

Seems quite early to change rotors. I'm on more mileage and when it comes to brakes all that has been done is a flush and new fluid. Did your rear pads degrade and somehow damage the rotors?

[@chriskelvin248]

@@ZenzDeluxe I didn't notice scoring before and I doubt the pads were worn to the backing plate...just getting low. Replaced rotors at the same time for minimal extra cost, the calipers were off anyway, no one really offers resurfacing of rotors around here anymore

[@itsjustaname777]

opf/gpf does a good job silencing that, my s3 has no opf/gpf and is a LOT louder, all that sound in your car is from the Soundaktor.

[@VladimirMicic]

is it avg 9.4 on open roads? I wonder what would be the consumption in worst city jammed up traffic, in eco mode.

[@sebbbou5455]

Nice video! The suspension looks a bit technical! how much do you think it might cost to replace the suspension after a while?

[@DairyKing404]

I'm wondering about this too. I have a Mk7.5 Golf R with DCC and those active dampers can't be cheap to replace. I only have 36000 miles on the car but I plan to own the car for as long as I can.

[@carengineer3734]

I have no idea, but I assume it would be quite expensive to replace, especially at a VW dealer. If you are concerned you can still call the dealership to ask for a quote. You might sleep better, … or worse :).

[@chriskelvin248]

The factory front and rear dampers, idk. But a popular option is to replace with Bilstein's B4 (~1,100EU) or B6 (~1,300EU) series dampers. Both designed to be plug and play with the factory drive mode controller and factory springs. Most likely less expensive than the OEM parts at the dealership.

[@jonathanphang]

@@chriskelvin248 About to hopefully get a DCC 7.5 this weekend (if VW can finally finish doing the waterpump/thermostat) and good to hear that there are some other options. Didnt realise that the Bilsteins were plug and play. Thought they were controlled separately in some way - so good to know.

[@steph9445]

Excellent review! You should put out more content! I just bought a used 2019 R yesterday. Love it so far. We have 2 big pickup trucks and a 4runner suv. The R will serve as our sporty but practical fun car.

[@ronbarker6075]

How much did you pay for the brakes?!

[@carengineer3734]

It was around 1500€ for the 4 discs, pads and labor at VW!

[@fredericoespinoza]

yeah i thought i heard 4500 euros and i almost COLLAPSED

[@Spursrail96]

Great inside into this car ! 😃

[@jonfarah8529]

The exterior says 7.5 R with 7 wheels. But the interior is 7R I’m so confused 💀

[@toby.2a]

maybe they were like that for the first 7.5 model year in Europe, since they got it before other markets? purely speculating

[@anaccount7923]

He probably retrofitted the nav screen

[@carengineer3734]

Guys, that’s how the 7.5 was specced in Europe. What doesn’t seem right to you? The LED lights were new for 7.5, the screen as well. We could stick with the old speedo, instead of the new virtual cockpit if we wanted, which is what I did. The « 7R » rims were always available even for the 7.5R. I’m curious to know which 18 inch rims were specific to 7.5R. Maybe in your country they were only sold with 19 inch Pretorias.

[@matthewphillips80]

Yeah, stateside here - not having the digital cockpit on a 7.5 threw me as well.

[@rubensilva7385]

From where are you in luxembourg? I do live here

[@kimboofdzners9574]

Eco mode is great in heavy snow or rain, literally granny driving.

[@carengineer3734]

Yes, good point indeed !

[@Golfr2020]

That's not a MK 7.5. It's a MK 7.

[@carengineer3734]

It is definitely a 7.5. The spec could differ pending the country in which it’s sold.

[@djsnaz1]

can you talk a bit slowl.... i

[@fredericoespinoza]

not his first language dont be rude, also theres a button which you can speed up the video! use your brain!