Golf R Thoughts

NecioVato

Hey guys,

So one thing I have noticed is that I am a hatchback fanboy as well as a G/Z fanboy - so ‘the struggle is real/first world problems’. Recently - a little less than a year ago - I winded up trading in my ‘11 Z with 98k miles for a 17 Nismo with only 4700 miles - love the car tbh but....like a friend warned me - if you trade in your ride for a same ride, you’ll regret it bc it’s not something new - but the same.

I came across a brand new/unsold 2018 Golf R/manual and blue - the exact combo I’m looking for as well as being a 2018 which will include a 7yr warranty. I am thinking of it this way - the pros first:
1. Backseat
2. Turbo - so it’s tunable to make even more power reliably.
3. AWD - Haldex yes but still - AWD over the RWD
4. Better MPG on the R vs the Z
5. Pretty much as fast as the Z or a little faster out of the box
6. Interior R > Interior Z
7. Warranty for 7yrs so it would give ‘piece of mind’

Cons:
1. Being setback on car payments - or having car payments for a longer period than I currently have
2. Z steering feel > R steering feel
3. Recaros are pretty bad ***
4. I know I WON’T be getting anyone asking about the R - the Z does STILL get questions - especially since it has a wrap which makes it pop.
5. That VDub reliability haha

I guess I’m wondering if anyone came from a R to a Z- in particular a R from 2015+? If so, are there some things that you would recommend to look out for concerning the R? If you were me - would you do this? When I look at the ‘simple’ math of things:
1. I would probably get $6500/back on a simple trade in with Carmax (again, always make sure i’m ahead Incase I have to miss a car payment or something. With that - and with this car being around $38.2k It would increase my payments by around $100-150/mo - this would be close to $6k-9k over the course of 5yrs - throw in the money from trading in the car and it’s like an extra $12-15k over the course of 5yrs. You can do a lot with that type of money.

While I do enjoy the Z - the one thing that I think the R will provide is a bit more balance and better daily than the Z. Throw in some mods and the R will be pushing a lot of HP and torque. Right now, I am leaning toward NOT doing this bc of the money aspect - hard to take that hit - especially when it comes to the fact that the Z offers a great balance and looks. Appreciate any input on this - and again, I’m a Nissan G/Z and VW fanboy - but wondering what others think etc.