VW Golf GTI Clubsport vs Honda Civic Type R: ultimate GTI takes on VTEC power 

If you're after about absolute track performance get a Megane RS Trophy. The Cupra is capable but it suffers from ultra boring looks, dull interior, and terrible depreciation, when you spend 30k on a car you expect more than just performance, you want it to make you feel special every time you look at it or sit in the driver's seat. The Cupra fails miserably in that department. The GTI Clubsport however looks amazing and is way more upmarket and refined (yet a fully daily driver without silly hard suspension) than any of its rivals and that's it's strongest point. At last VW decided to make a really special Golf.

Thats what i always thought. My Civic type R which i just handed in at the dealer for a new CTR had much more depriciation then a Megane RS of the same year.I also have to nore that the Meg RS is a freakin good car.

M135i

Unless you're going on track days a gold tdi is better than either of these. Or do you really need 250+ hp to go to work with?

Please stfu u sound stupid fanboy

+Si Raff yes yes you do.

Si Raff Lol how can you say a golf tdi is better than a gti for daily driving and going on nice drives through backcountry roads? And yes, i'd much rather have at least 270 or more hp.

***** I'm not. I'm extending the thought train that says the less powerful car is better. I think it's bull5hit personally.

He seemed to be driving in auto mode and not using the paddles so that possibly why

They explained that the videos of the lap times don´t actually correspond to the real lap

yeh thought the same thing, this guy is fkin terrible

I was thinking the same, I think they wanted to promote the Civic

one would short shift from 1-2 and 2-3 but not from 4-5. It can't lose traction in 4th gear.

True

Never mind. Auto express is some kind of near commercials video reviews channel.

Still, on the Nurburgring, Golf is faster than a Honda. This guy just can't drive.

+derbigpr500 or maybe vw cheated?

+Birmingham racing Maybe. But, did you know that record holding VW is "Clubsport S", when in this video is different model "Clubsport"?

agree considering there have been 7 inclanations of the Golf GTI, only 3 have been genuinely good cars (MK 1,2,5) the MK7 is an car 'they had to do' rather than the real deal, and the public agrees, because they are buying the R instead. Honda have been much more consistent with the R models, especially when price and performance are taken into account.

Exactly. I think the gti's are a bit more premium. But having experienced multiple rides in gtis and various type r's, Honda is just some much more engaging and fun. Not to mention the relaiblity and performance.

andypaul999, I don't think the 'public agrees', because sales show that so far GTI is a bit more popular than the Honda (at least in Europe)... Mk7 is a genuinely brilliant car, and I'm talking from my personal experience too. Iceman7, when they say 'heritage' they don't mean 'racing heritage'. Golf GTI has been around for longer and 'GTI' badge was not supposed to appear on racecars at all, it represents a fun, quick and affordable everyday car. And both, Honda and VW actually represent this brand images. So if I was to use the car for regular track days, than the Civic is faster, more fun and more hardcore. But if I was to use the car for daily driving, I would not even think about any other car than the Golf GTI. It is much more relaxing to drive when you want it to be, its more fuel efficient and practical, it has all the 2016 technology (like the ACC for motorway driving) and yet it can be fun when you want it to be. There is a lot of hatred towards VW, but I've driven and owned many of their cars, including cars like the GTI, and I can not understand the reasons. You just have to understand what these cars are designed to do (be your _everyday_ heroes, I would say) and then you will be able to appreciate them. Mosts hot-hatch tests focus on a few hours of track/B-road driving and so it is often that the more hardcore car wins the test. But every long-term test (and personal experience) shows that cars like Golf GTI are WAY nicer and easier and more enjoyable to own.

I understand what you are saying, and the purpose of these cars. But to me a hot hatch is a sports car, and a sports car is that car you take out in the weekend and have fun with in some twisty roads, listening to the engine and then you can stop and look at it. For me, gti's never provided this sense of sportiness. They are more of beefed up regular hatches designed to be used everyday, whereas the hondas are stripped out and designed to be as exhilarating as a hot hatch can be with the main focus being performance and fun, and to hell with comfort. That i find much more attractive for a 'sports car'.

I think all the German manufacturers like to build their sports cars which can be daily driven. If you look at the regular 911, M3, R8 and so on, they are great sports cars in the performance department but also can be comfy. Some people prefer their sports cars to be all out performance oriented, like say a ferrari.

Who wouldn't.

Me, I went for the Civic in GT form the golf looks like every other one were the Civic stands out like the old Ford RS of the 80s did I like to think getting older is mandatory but growing up is optional

+sinngsg9 The civic would draw attention from the police easy. Way to loud of a look for them not to sit and stare

sinngsg9 This exact Civic Type R featured in the video inarguably looks abominable. If it was in black it would be much more compelling, but still too ricey. All the aero parts are just overdone.

That doesn't bother me to be fair I always drive cars which stand out

It's help no end if the Civic Type R sounded half decent...sounded like a Hot Hatch.

3:25 as well

That maybe just random video footage from the day and not the real lap they took the time chaps

sinngsg9 it likely is random footage indeed

What are you trying to say? Even in the video you can see that the Gti is not sporty enough in the corners. You can see by eye that it drives slower through thr corners. And they used the DSG version which us NOT same fast as manual. DSG or generally double clutch/automatic gearboxes are much faster. Everytime you shift you loose 0.1-0.2s in a manual. And i dont think that they only drive 1 lap. They drive many laps and take the best.

still a second behind even accounting for that

I realize it's quite randomly asking but do anyone know a good website to stream new series online?

That’s because there is only 8000 of FK2 Type R’s in the world.

You need to check the term ricer.

+MrStamford78 Haha....true that. The term "Riced" get throw around, without forethought.

+MrStamford78 Regardless, I think we all know what I meant

Yeah, the type R eats the most rice

Golf looks like a chav chariot. Plus it's common as hell. Strange to say but the Honda is more exclusive to own

***** hahaha both are not aesthetically pleasing

I agree! Looks like something out of a cheap comic book!

couldnt agree more

also proof that the Golf is lacking massively in the hot hatch game. The Leon 280 (now 290), civic type R and even the Megane 275 are all much more exciting than the Golf. Sure the Golf may be more comfortable and do "car" stuff better but the point of a hot hatch is to be exciting on a back road, and thats where all golfs lack and always have!

As seen from video he is not using paddles to shift, therefore rides in full auto. That means he's lift of (not pressing full way) the throttle on the hotlap. Clearly could be heard on final straight, probably doing the same everywhere else. Why?

Agree that he shifted way too early on the final straight in the GTI, 2 seconds there at least.

+Fred Kasimov sorry my friend two seconds is a bit generous. Golf is a warm hatch. Check out the times not only at the Nurburgring but any other track where both have been tested. Gti isn't competitive nor is Golf R. Then you need to look at reliability issues. Vw has a very poor record. But if the Golf makes you feel good, who cares.

+Me Ean Just checked fastestlaps, Hockenhaim short. VW Golf R 1:15.90 (Sener Uwe), while Civic R is 1:15.80 (Gebhardt). It's hardcore track car vs warm hatch, lol. Not a good job by Honda, don't you think?

Actually you'd waste more time by buying a VW Golf due to the poor quality control and mediocre engineering for which the Nazi automaker is well known around the globe, and also by tiresome recall notifications and lawsuits over some dodgy cheating scandal. Plus, the GTI looks damn ugly to many, including me, like a plastic car toy for kindergarteners with those disproportionately aggressive "cat whiskers" front bumpers.

+averagejoe LOL you are a special kind of racist & idiot

The thing is.. If i bought the Golf GTI it would be a LOT slower than it ACTUALLY IS out in the real world. Before going anywhere i would have looked at it, and then i had been falling to coma-sleep because of horrible boredome. Falling to coma because of boredome is not a great thing to do, and you have to waste time to wake up on an intensive care unit, after a year or so. :-)

So which part is the racist part of this guys post? If you are refering to calling germans nazi's, then you really have to read some history as the nazi's where nothing else then an political movement. Nothing racist about that.

Because the VW also has a "track mode" feature..forgot it came with that. GG you tool.

So think of how much faster the Civic would be in track mode.

Because is totally diferent.

A Focus RS and Golf R for £30k? Bargain! I have £30k and need a couple of fast motors!

Focus RS is much more expensive than Honda Civic TypeR! In Sweeden is 10.000 euros more if you compare the full-option models. So...different price categories

Because the Civic is a much better engineered car.

*EXACTLY!*

Gilles Thibault I don't know man. I've owned a few Honda's and a few vws and neither have given me problems. maintenance on a vw is more expensive I won't argue that but I have 43k on my mk7 GTI and the only issue I had was a fuel pump that crapped out twice during the hot summer but there was a recall and I got it replaced for free in under 2 hours. also the pump would somehow work again once I turned the car off and on again.

VW is junk.Quite natural.

Yes, and they tried hard to be slow in VW. You know... meaningless short shifts, etc

The Track is to short to be so much faster.. Sorry 👎

That's true. There was probably more speed in the car.

Why is it so hard to believe chap they have already test the Type R against the M3 and Audi RS3 and it came out faster and even the new RS couldn't beat its lap time

Holy shit, forget that, I just saw the RS's time on the other video, 46,8 seconds!! pretty much the same as the civic type r. That's ridiculous!

+Mcufre the Type R is around 200kgs lighter than the RS that's how it does it

Are you fucking serious? This Golf set the 7:49 record on Nurburgring. It's painful how ignorant and clueless some people here are. Go watch the fucking video on youtube.

+derbigpr500 it's not the same version the car with the Time 7:49 was a clubsport "s" with 310 ps and no back seats. you dumb dont know a shit about car and you talk. ..

+Medamine Majid. That's right, the Civic will be back to take a good few seconds off the 7:49

They compared a 265 hp Golf vs a 306hp Civic, use the clubsport s and the hardcore rice civic is gone. And a golf keeps its value, a civic becomes worthless after a few years. Also the build quality of the Golf is from an other dimension.

+Dennis B. Thats what i said lol why no the clubsport s.

get a civic SI instead then

how can the standard golf gti in your words be fast, but this one is not fast? surely the clubsport gti is a lot faster than the standard gti?

VW killed the GTR crowd with R. What VW should have done is have the R be the new GTI and the R be this car. What were VW thinking? And the R is not affordable for the GTI crowd.

Yes it's faster than GTI but GTI fills a specific segment as a hot hatch that is above the other hot hatches by being comfortable as a daily car and better materials (cabin quality) than the competition. Golf R is a step above as a very fast hot hatch, specially thanks to AWD. It's a bit more hardcore than GTI, but still enough comfortable as a daily. And it has the same nice interior. But this one, Clubsport that is supposed to be track oriented, is not comfortable enough as a daily car nor fast enough to beat any of it's much faster competitors (same price). I think VW is fine with GTI, R and then they should have made that Golf 400 (or 420). Instead they made a hardcore GTI that seems to be just that, hardcore, but not fast enough. If you're into track driving, would you buy a Clubsport or the Type R, which is a lot faster and better on track, for the same price?

I do agree that theres some confusion in the VAG house with this car. It's not as fast or focused as a Cupra 290 (which is also more comfortable), and not as good an all rounder as the golf R. It seems to have no place in the VW lineup.

The Golf is for a driver that wants mod cons, CTR is for the driver that wants a superior chassis, amazing steering feel, an amazing gear box and a very fast hot hatch. Different markets imo

1982daverogers im pretty sure that the golf's dsg transmission is alot better than what the type r offers. The chassis of the type r is not better. Like you said, 2 different cars. You wouldn't want to live all day with the type r because it rides hard and firm but the golf would simply satisfy you in every aspect because it is designed to be really good in everything. The type r is only good on track, which lets be honest, you aren't on track everyday. The golf chassis is more adaptable to a everyday situation. The type r is really good, don't get me wrong on that but what I'm is that the type r wrecks the golf on track but gets wrecked in every other comparision.

The CTR is NOT a firm or harsh ride. In R+ mode it is, but in normal mode it even was a little to soft for my likings.The DSG is NOT better then de manual in the CTR. Maybe faster on a gearchange, but not BETTER. But then, it depends how better is defined in your book. In my book a hot hatch needs a transmision that adds to the experience. Trust me, no DSG will ever do that over a proper manual, and especialy not the manual of a CTR which is very, VERY highly praised.The chassis of the civic IS better. Look at the bodyroll of the Golf. Look at the laptime. That says it all.There is no 'more' space in the GTI, no 'more' utils, no better interior finish and it is for sure no better fun to drive which is highly subjective coz if i was 75 i prolly would find the Golf a better car to drive.I agree the CTR looks shit. Yes.... i just said it... it looks shite. I just bought one as well !! Why then buy a CTR over a GTI? Coz the GTI looks boring. So incredible boring i would rather drive the CTR then the GTI.Oh... i forgot to mention quality... well.... there is no point explaining what quality is like when you have never owned a Toyota or Honda. True car addicts know though... japanese quality is absolutly number 1. Deny that fact. Try it.

but then again that is the Club Sport S

that's the gti clubsport s not the "normal" clubsport

The Golf was stripped. Honda have already said they will be back to take the record back. Will be easy.

+MrStamford78 the Golf was a production model they made about 500 of it

It's hilarious that you think you were an "expert" but even don't know that the record was set by the special edition Clubsport >>S

10 secs? Check the Civic time.

emission regularisation bro . honda couldve done it it. but they cant

Clubsport S weights over 100kg less and costs £10k more. When Honda will release extreme version of Type R then it will be fair comparison.

Well actually it's inspiration from the 80s Group B rally cars

not THIS Golf tho.

actually that GTI clubsport isn't the one that holds the record. it is the GTI clubsport S that holds the record which is more stripped out and has 305 horsepower

20,600 m (67,600 ft) 7:49:21 Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S 20,600 m (67,600 ft) 7:50:63 Honda Civic Type R

+Daily Driver yah the time you have is the clubsport S so not the clubsport in the video

yep, they had to strip out the interior of a 2 door golf to beat a 4 door civic :)

So soft suspension to be slow in corners, and remapped to be fast in straight lines? Brilliant... /sarcasm

type r no match for the GOLF R!!

what a stupid guy will compare FWD and 4WD zzzz

+Mr. Kruvi type r is better in every way.golf is for sheep

But they are all more expensive

Gti is not for rich people lol

kinda depends on where you live though.

Rich??? You must make $10 an hr

Hahaha your life sucks if you think a GTI is for rich people.

So Ferrari and Porsche Nissan are all shitty?

Did you know that in the last quarter VW (VAG to be precise) sold more cars than any other manufacturer?

And lied like no other LOL!

He is absolutely right... VW are the best at the sales

Because tons of stupid Chinese customers bought the shit VW. Watch the selling report. VW is kinda belief in China and provides worst quality car compared to other countries.

Kenneth Lam Thats right,stupid people buy VW.

u realise a45 is awd ?

best point yet, Nick !! GTI Clubsport: Bridgestone S-001 (which are known to be shitty) 225/40 R18 w/ 7.5x18 (instead aof optional 235/35 PS Cup 2s) Civic Type R: Conti SportContact 6 (designed for the CTR) 235/35 R19 w/ 8.5x19 So that comparison is apples to oranges. ;-) This brand-new SportContact 6 matches the performance of the Michelin PSS, while the bloody old S-001 isn't even close. I'm not saying that responsible for the 2.5 s-difference, but it makes a difference, probably between one and two seconds on a tight circuit like that. Volkswagen should supply a car like this with either Conti SC6 or Michelin PSS.

tires makes a massive difference

tires makes a massive difference

my PP gti went from 0.9g to a little over 1g just switching to a decent summer. much less a top shelf summer tire like a re71 v720 rs3. hell I'm on a nitto 555g2 car is like night and day

How you compared them? They are very similar on this generation . Honda has felt-lined glovebox, same as VW. Honda has dual lights on both vanity mirrors -- VW has only a single light on each vanity mirror. Honda has soft touch rear door card upper, while actually it is the VW that has hard plastic rear door card to save costs.