It's been a while since I posted one of my "War and Peace" posts, but the Cupra and I have had an interesting few weeks that have involved me in the drivers seat of a Golf R courtesy car as the Cupra decided to eat its own engine, as these two cars are often compared I thought I'd give a "back-to-back and living with it" review of the two rather than the unrealistic Autocar review of "which goes round a track quicker" that seems to be the only comparison available. This is a long review and I have been VERY verbose (read my Torque Arm bushing review have you?) so pick what you want to read… or channel you inner Skywalker and move along 
Disclosure time, this kind of worked in my favour as I have been considering an Estate Golf R next year so I have not gone into this with a "I hope it's crap mindset", quite the opposite.
For anyone interested in the engine part of my sagas a very loud tappety noise occurred at 16k miles, VW customer service were excellent, they had a VW technician out in 2 hours who on inspection concurred with my diagnosis that the engine had gone wibble, AA recovered it to my dealer half an hour later, 3 hours after that a Golf R that the VW Customer Mobility team (a confusing name for the team that keep customers on the road rather than Motability cars) rented for me landed on my drive. I expected the car to be weeks but in roughly 8 days an engine fault was diagnosed, (i.e. they looked in the sump, found some swarf, ordered a new unit inc. turbo, no other fault finding as that meant the engine was knackered) and the new engine was fitted, all-in-all a very professional, speedy response from VWG and one that has cemented me as a customer.
In that week+ I manged to rack up nearly 1,000 miles (mostly for a busy week at work but a good 150 were just for fun) so I thought I'd share my experience of these two often compared cars.
Anyway, back on topic, first specs of the two cars, my Cupra is a 3dr 280 Sub8 with DSG, ACC, 5" Nav, Bucket seats, Pano roof, SEAT sound and standard DCC suspension currently sat on Michelin PSS tyres; the Golf R was a 5dr DSG, ACC (standard fit on Golfs), no Nav (yes really), standard non-DCC suspension, standard cloth seats, normal roof, normal sound and on standard alloys with the base Bridgestone Potenza tyres.
I'll start with the handling and power between the two as that's what anyone reading this will actually give two hoots about. First things first (and at the risk of starting a bun fight) I don't believe there is any actual difference in the engine or raw power, as far as I am aware the 280 and 290 stuff is marketing BS (probably so SEAT don't jump on VWs toes) and that the engines plus their factory ECU map is identical down to the hash value they both have (geeky stuff that means I trust this far more than any brochure waving, salesman speak or buttock dynos) so my comments are made with this being a purely FWD vs 4WD exercise.
As you would expect with 4WD the Golf R feels extremely planted in comparison, unlike the Cupra where you have to wind in the throttle off the lights lest that lovely orange light on the dash flashes at you, the Golf you can just mash the throttle and you leap down the road like a scalded cat, even with the Potenzas, which are vilified on a Cupra, it felt glued to the road and only flashed the TC light twice and that was due to debris on the road. There are a few favoured back roads near me and one dark night coming home from a late work job I really poked the Golf with a big stick to see what it would do, to put it simply the speed that was available with so little effort was... obscene. Where the Cupra has a feeling of being a bit frantic, it likes to squirm, shuffle, fizz and you can feel the diff grabbing away as you nail it through the corner the Golf… just… goes, no-drama, no fuss, it feels pretty indifferent to it all, but it just blasts off, it really is a prime example of a car that your Gran could drive fast, it requires little grace or skill to drive at daft speeds...and therein lies the cause of a bit of a disappointment that sets in after the period of "JESUS CHRIST HOW FAST WAS THAT?!?" was over and gone. Once you get the Golf in motion you really are just a hunk of meat along for a ride, you kind of get to tell it how fast you want to go, how sharp you want to corner etc but the harsh fact is the car is doing all the work, much more so than the Cupra and it is quite detached to drive, bloody quick and I am pretty sure it will paste 99% of things on the road (Cupra included) but you don't get the same fizz and involvement you do with the Cupra, part of the problem on that may be the suspension and tyres but while it would make some difference I doubt it will be the bulk of the problem.
So now I might as well discuss the non-DCC suspension on the Golf vs the DCC suspension on the Cupra. The Golf suspension in a word... crap.
One thing that was immediately noticeable from the first few miles with the Golf was that it didn't have any body roll, I thought the Cupra didn't have much but after getting back in the Cupra it definitely does pitch and yaw under hard cornering, acceleration and deceleration in comparison, even with Sport and Cupra DCC modes on. So I was sat there for the first few miles in the Golf thinking "I like this suspension, so flat, a bit muted in comparison but so what", then I went over a dent in the road on one of those lovely country roads by me... I thought I had snapped the car (and my GF) in two! The sound/crash it made was sickening, the only car I have experience of that hates bumps as much is my Caterham Supersport, which are renowned for being over-sprung and under-damped from the factory, this isn't too far off it. The dent, which is maybe an inch drop and the shape of a small french stick running across the road from the curb, barely registers in the Cupra, eventually I resorted to the Caterham/Motorbike driving style which involves weaving across the road to avoid minor imperfections; I know some people on the forum yearn to transform their humble Cupra into a touring car but this to me is unacceptable for the road. Now to be honest this has given me two ideas for the future, one I want to try slightly lower and stiffer springs on the Cupra (not so much that I fire the other half out of the sunroof James Bond style) so I can see if this reduces body rolling and two I do need to try a Golf R with DCC, not only to see if it can actually go over bumps but I think some of the numbness in the car is down to the crap suspension, I doubt it is all of it but I am sure it won't help.
Anyway, this post is getting long enough so I will condense my thoughts on the exterior and the interior. I can't say I cared for the Red paint or standard wheels, I have seen it in Blue with the Pretoria wheels and it looks good, that being said I prefer the sharp lines of the Cupra.
Cloth seats, excellent, nicer than the stock Cupra seats, they are very supportive, comfy and have excellent bolstering, on a par comfort wise with my bucket seats and very good for *ahem* spirited driving, would keep these over the pricey leather upgrade.
Interior, like the blue accents but the Infotainment system and controls are lower down and feel in the wrong place, certainly compared to the Cupra which I think nailed the placement of the centre console. If it had Nav I would be taking my eyes off the road to look at it, whereas the Cupra is horizontal with the clocks and I can still see the road if I look at the Nav system.
The materials are nicer, as you would expect, there is less plastic and more colour, the DSG shifter is lovely but the carbon effect leather accents on the side of it and the carbon-ish effect plastic trim pieces on the doors look pretty naff and very Halfords.
Noise wise, the Golf grumbles more where the Cupra shrieks, the DSG noise from the Golf is more a thud, like a bass note from a large sub, the Cupra is a pop/crackle/*teehee*fart noise.
After all that waffling you might think I really disliked the Golf R, you'd be wrong. While I prefer the external look, interior layout and feedback from the Cupra, the Golf R is a very competent car and capable of some truly ridiculous speeds with little effort, it doesn't talk as much as the Cupra and doesn't feel as alive but maybe that is what you want; that being said I wouldn’t say the Golf R is better than the Cupra nor vice-versa, they are both excellent cars but offer two different takes on the hot hatch, something 0-60 times and journalists star struck with badges and how quick a car covers ground rarely seem to acknowledge.
For me it has given me something to think about, I need to test one with DCC to see if it makes a big difference, the non-DCC suspension I tested would p**s me off too quick as if I want my fillings loosened I'll hop in the 7 on a weekend, I don't need it on my way to work.
TLDR - Cupra = Offers more excitement and is very quick, Golf = A bit inert to drive but ludicrous speed on tap.
Disclosure time, this kind of worked in my favour as I have been considering an Estate Golf R next year so I have not gone into this with a "I hope it's crap mindset", quite the opposite.
For anyone interested in the engine part of my sagas a very loud tappety noise occurred at 16k miles, VW customer service were excellent, they had a VW technician out in 2 hours who on inspection concurred with my diagnosis that the engine had gone wibble, AA recovered it to my dealer half an hour later, 3 hours after that a Golf R that the VW Customer Mobility team (a confusing name for the team that keep customers on the road rather than Motability cars) rented for me landed on my drive. I expected the car to be weeks but in roughly 8 days an engine fault was diagnosed, (i.e. they looked in the sump, found some swarf, ordered a new unit inc. turbo, no other fault finding as that meant the engine was knackered) and the new engine was fitted, all-in-all a very professional, speedy response from VWG and one that has cemented me as a customer.
In that week+ I manged to rack up nearly 1,000 miles (mostly for a busy week at work but a good 150 were just for fun) so I thought I'd share my experience of these two often compared cars.
Anyway, back on topic, first specs of the two cars, my Cupra is a 3dr 280 Sub8 with DSG, ACC, 5" Nav, Bucket seats, Pano roof, SEAT sound and standard DCC suspension currently sat on Michelin PSS tyres; the Golf R was a 5dr DSG, ACC (standard fit on Golfs), no Nav (yes really), standard non-DCC suspension, standard cloth seats, normal roof, normal sound and on standard alloys with the base Bridgestone Potenza tyres.
I'll start with the handling and power between the two as that's what anyone reading this will actually give two hoots about. First things first (and at the risk of starting a bun fight) I don't believe there is any actual difference in the engine or raw power, as far as I am aware the 280 and 290 stuff is marketing BS (probably so SEAT don't jump on VWs toes) and that the engines plus their factory ECU map is identical down to the hash value they both have (geeky stuff that means I trust this far more than any brochure waving, salesman speak or buttock dynos) so my comments are made with this being a purely FWD vs 4WD exercise.
As you would expect with 4WD the Golf R feels extremely planted in comparison, unlike the Cupra where you have to wind in the throttle off the lights lest that lovely orange light on the dash flashes at you, the Golf you can just mash the throttle and you leap down the road like a scalded cat, even with the Potenzas, which are vilified on a Cupra, it felt glued to the road and only flashed the TC light twice and that was due to debris on the road. There are a few favoured back roads near me and one dark night coming home from a late work job I really poked the Golf with a big stick to see what it would do, to put it simply the speed that was available with so little effort was... obscene. Where the Cupra has a feeling of being a bit frantic, it likes to squirm, shuffle, fizz and you can feel the diff grabbing away as you nail it through the corner the Golf… just… goes, no-drama, no fuss, it feels pretty indifferent to it all, but it just blasts off, it really is a prime example of a car that your Gran could drive fast, it requires little grace or skill to drive at daft speeds...and therein lies the cause of a bit of a disappointment that sets in after the period of "JESUS CHRIST HOW FAST WAS THAT?!?" was over and gone. Once you get the Golf in motion you really are just a hunk of meat along for a ride, you kind of get to tell it how fast you want to go, how sharp you want to corner etc but the harsh fact is the car is doing all the work, much more so than the Cupra and it is quite detached to drive, bloody quick and I am pretty sure it will paste 99% of things on the road (Cupra included) but you don't get the same fizz and involvement you do with the Cupra, part of the problem on that may be the suspension and tyres but while it would make some difference I doubt it will be the bulk of the problem.
So now I might as well discuss the non-DCC suspension on the Golf vs the DCC suspension on the Cupra. The Golf suspension in a word... crap.
One thing that was immediately noticeable from the first few miles with the Golf was that it didn't have any body roll, I thought the Cupra didn't have much but after getting back in the Cupra it definitely does pitch and yaw under hard cornering, acceleration and deceleration in comparison, even with Sport and Cupra DCC modes on. So I was sat there for the first few miles in the Golf thinking "I like this suspension, so flat, a bit muted in comparison but so what", then I went over a dent in the road on one of those lovely country roads by me... I thought I had snapped the car (and my GF) in two! The sound/crash it made was sickening, the only car I have experience of that hates bumps as much is my Caterham Supersport, which are renowned for being over-sprung and under-damped from the factory, this isn't too far off it. The dent, which is maybe an inch drop and the shape of a small french stick running across the road from the curb, barely registers in the Cupra, eventually I resorted to the Caterham/Motorbike driving style which involves weaving across the road to avoid minor imperfections; I know some people on the forum yearn to transform their humble Cupra into a touring car but this to me is unacceptable for the road. Now to be honest this has given me two ideas for the future, one I want to try slightly lower and stiffer springs on the Cupra (not so much that I fire the other half out of the sunroof James Bond style) so I can see if this reduces body rolling and two I do need to try a Golf R with DCC, not only to see if it can actually go over bumps but I think some of the numbness in the car is down to the crap suspension, I doubt it is all of it but I am sure it won't help.
Anyway, this post is getting long enough so I will condense my thoughts on the exterior and the interior. I can't say I cared for the Red paint or standard wheels, I have seen it in Blue with the Pretoria wheels and it looks good, that being said I prefer the sharp lines of the Cupra.
Cloth seats, excellent, nicer than the stock Cupra seats, they are very supportive, comfy and have excellent bolstering, on a par comfort wise with my bucket seats and very good for *ahem* spirited driving, would keep these over the pricey leather upgrade.
Interior, like the blue accents but the Infotainment system and controls are lower down and feel in the wrong place, certainly compared to the Cupra which I think nailed the placement of the centre console. If it had Nav I would be taking my eyes off the road to look at it, whereas the Cupra is horizontal with the clocks and I can still see the road if I look at the Nav system.
The materials are nicer, as you would expect, there is less plastic and more colour, the DSG shifter is lovely but the carbon effect leather accents on the side of it and the carbon-ish effect plastic trim pieces on the doors look pretty naff and very Halfords.
Noise wise, the Golf grumbles more where the Cupra shrieks, the DSG noise from the Golf is more a thud, like a bass note from a large sub, the Cupra is a pop/crackle/*teehee*fart noise.
After all that waffling you might think I really disliked the Golf R, you'd be wrong. While I prefer the external look, interior layout and feedback from the Cupra, the Golf R is a very competent car and capable of some truly ridiculous speeds with little effort, it doesn't talk as much as the Cupra and doesn't feel as alive but maybe that is what you want; that being said I wouldn’t say the Golf R is better than the Cupra nor vice-versa, they are both excellent cars but offer two different takes on the hot hatch, something 0-60 times and journalists star struck with badges and how quick a car covers ground rarely seem to acknowledge.
For me it has given me something to think about, I need to test one with DCC to see if it makes a big difference, the non-DCC suspension I tested would p**s me off too quick as if I want my fillings loosened I'll hop in the 7 on a weekend, I don't need it on my way to work.
TLDR - Cupra = Offers more excitement and is very quick, Golf = A bit inert to drive but ludicrous speed on tap.
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