VW Golf R vs BMW M135i: Who builds the greatest hot hatch? 

Well said, good point. The BMW interiors are very solid, I like that sort of very dense rubbery material they seem to use on the entire interior, I had a 66 plate Cooper S which had the same material, very nice indeed, much better than Mercedes which rattle with all the cheap plastic or Audi that now look like a Seat inside. Too stark with all those big screens and hardly any controls.

@@oddities-whatnot I have literally just bought a new M240 xdrive in Thundernight. I can’t tell you how happy I am with the car. The quality is there in and out but it’s a daily driver as well as a sports car. I won’t look at Mercedes, Audi or VW.

I have a Mk8 Golf R and my partner has the facelift M135i. So we have a good idea of the pro and cons! Both are high spec so a fair comparison. On balance the Golf is easier to drive (daft software aside)and I would say more comfortable. Slightly better economy. But the BMW is far better built both for quality and construction. It has a harder ride and the seats are flatter so less hugging. It is quieter when cruising. Both go like stink when you floor the throttle. Neither has much of an exhaust note. On balance I would take the Golf (mine has a sunroof whereas hers doesn’t !) but I don’t mind driving either which must suggest they are fairly equal in ability? Cheers.

@@howardgregory3888 4 months ago I traded my M235 for the new M240 coupe in purple (thundernight metallic) and omg what a difference.

It has a lot of flaw. Unfortunately, they're not that kind that any owners can ignore since they're all right in your face. Class leading performance, and even fit and finish, but crappy interiors. The materials are down right cheap.

The same can be said for the exterior of the BMW…

I hate the new Golf interior. Looks cheap. The old interior was much better...

@@wd9165 100% what I eas thinking 🤔 👍

Not far off from my Citroen berlingo van 😅

Shame they ruined the golfs face

That doesn’t matter though, but maybe that’s because I live in the US so i can’t really relate

Clit cars! 🤣

Why?😂😂😂

And we know why,The R is superb,though a little more expensive.

As you know by now, that would be true for the A35. But the A45 is nowhere close to it costing thousands more.

It´s typically for VW to have much more HP than announced to get the testers say "wow, it´s fast for the HP". The testers would be less impressed if VW have only the announced power

Dunno, in short so a Golf is perfect, it's a problem i'll never have.

He means sitting in the car rather than on it! I had the previous gen 1 series, I know what he means. That car felt like you were low to the ground and felt way more sporty, I have a Golf 7.5 now and you sit much higher, not the same feeling.

Love both German engineering, prefer the Beemer, would love to race for fun.

No

There's a fine car. But the other one is a BMW

Because fewer people want them and sometimes, like with the Golf R, the auto is better.

Not sure how you got to that conclusion. I have the 7.5 and the Mk 8 is pretty much the same other than a few tweaks here and there.

I owned 6 mk7s, from base Golf to R. Other than the infotainment system being easier to use, the mk8 is better in nearly every way - better to drive, more comfortable and better looking IMO.

When and how often would you use that extra speed ?

Lol

Monthlies isn't affordability!

Lol nice comment

That's about the number of people that still buy manuals. Their advantages no longer apply these days.

@@krane15 Fun always applies.

And who does?

Let him do his job.... why don’t you shorten your surname so its a bit easier to pronounce.

Well said brother 👏

Take the leather interior, looks better. I don't have a problem with the dash, except that the should have used buttons for climate control

BMW is far better looks much better decor inside blows the Golf out the water Comfort sound win win

Having driven both and used both as day to day.... the BMW rates in a huge new category over the R anyday everyday, the R is just too boy racer

I hate touchscreens

Golf R is a nice car, but very common.

wouldnt call bmw build quality lol

The BMW looks like a pig

Yes they've put one on a rolling road and it was over 350bhp.

@@onepunch9 Yep at least 340 bhp, new Continental Turbocharger, improved gear ratios and upgraded 4 wheel drive with same Torque Vectoring Diff as in the new 2022 Audi RS3.

@@alexandercooper8743 I can’t wait to see reviews of the new Rs3! That car is going to be insane when tuned

Yes, carwow actually measured 4 seconds dead from 0 to 60

@@emiliospowerballer1441 Don't go off carwow he uses the roll out setting.

Hopefully we get the special mode and drift mode

yep, outdoor Lane is correct, we're going to get all that the UK cars have except some minor cosmetic cabin things like the material on the seats I think. I have a 2015 mk7r that I paid $38, 900 before taxes and registration. There were no boxes to tick. Except one option. either get the DCC ($2500), or the non-dcc. But most of the cars that came from the factory were equipped with the DCC option, and it was a must have. The DCC option also came with nav, upgraded stereo and sub in the trunk. But at least VW was being reasonable and included all options as the R was already pushing 40,000 bucks. But now, we got a little more HP, a rear e-diff, akropovic exhaust, drift modes, those 19s and much more. But, if you want all those goodies now you got to pay. You want to send 80% to the rear, AKA drift mode, you got to pay for the R performance package, pay for the akropovic exhaust, pay for the DCC adaptive dampers, pay for those 19s you see in this video. Etc etc etc until you're looking at over 50 Grand. More like 55 with a bunch of stuff I haven't mentioned and taxes Etc. That's almost RS3 territory, and even more than the new m240i with 335 HP and 370 lb ft. Not the weak little 1 series hatchback in the video. And I love my mk7 R. Got everything done, APR ECU stage 2 and TCU and FBO. 0-60 in 3.52. The mqb platform is the greatest on the planet for modding. My first mod was a simple stage 1 APR ECU tune, and it bumped me up from 292 HP to 371 for a simple $699 and 10 minutes of my time, bringing me to 60 in 3.9 from 4.8 and the quarter in just under 12sec. Just with that one ECU mod. I love the new mk8r even more. Everything about it and was 100% sure I wanted it until I saw the pricing layout. It's just way WAY too expensive when you can get a barely used mk7.5 and save 20 grand. You want big power? Throw in a downpipe, and go stage 2 ECU tune, and some good rubber (cost You less than $2,500) and you've got yourself supercar acceleration without compromising on comfort or practicality. Even if you're tracking the vehicle almost exclusively, for 50-55k you've got better options. For 40K you don't and that's why the mk7/7.5R is the best overall performance car around the 40K mark.

Diesel gate never pay not Europe not US.

Like other reviews have said, don't like the touch system, interior same as a rline golf, crap fake sound. It's just bad enough to stick with the old version.

If buying a hot hatch the interior is not my 1st concern to be honest, is just a hot hatch at the end of the day

@@nathantaylor8804 A true car enthusiast 👏 A car in that price range better be like a Swiss Army Knife when I adventure around no matter day, time, or condition.

@@nathantaylor8804 exactly that! If I’m concerned about interior quality, I’m not buying a hot hatch.

Same. And I own a mk7 R. Wouldn't buy the mk8 because of the interior.

Agree, but then ride takes a hit. Shame you can’t get 19s and adaptive.

@@ThisIsMTH the ride on the 19s is fine, although its even better with Michelin tyres than the Bridgestone ones. Mine are Bridgestone, but someone said the Michelins are better.

Insurance is no more than my old insignia 2L turbo vxr line... £550 for the year!

@@gymhead I take it back then! Cool!

@@gymhead 1600 for my 1L polo

I can't upvote you more than once

agreed. I own the beemer and its terrific. except the gearbox sucks a bit when pushing the car.. but thats all. Cabin is topnotch for a hothatch and the pre opf sounds very nice. mk8 seems a bit meh on everything except power.

@@thepineappleburster4439 yeah.... I'm not a big fan of the touch buttons on the steering wheel on the mk8, but yeah it's got some more power and the rear E-LSD, and the acropovic active exhaust (which is almost 5K extra lol). For $699 I put an APR stage 1 tune on my mk7R and brought it up to 379 HP. And then I did some other stuff but still just a simple tune got me under 4 seconds 0-60. And my mk7 Golf R was $38,900 us out the door including the adaptive dampers and active exhaust. Volkswagen is getting nuts with their prices. In the US we don't get the m135i so I'm looking into the m240i xDrive. I love the 2 series. And be it the one series or the 2 Series, there's so much more driver-oriented than the golf R. Steering, handling, cornering balance Etc is on a different level. Thanks for the reply

^ THIS ^ The best hot hatch, unfortunately not on sale.

Which is dead. As is VWs VR6.

I own a 135i but the 140i is a better car

Have u driven the R?

Apart from the bmw is not as good😋

@@chrisjd1984 I like the Golf R. In fact I nearly bought one. I drove Golf R's, S3's, A35's, Civics, and an i30N (I worked at a Hyundai dealership at the time, so drove a few of them tbh). On a damp/wet twisty B road, the Golf R will be quicker. But even then, it lacks something which all of the other cars I mentioned lack too. FUN. I bought an M140i because it was the most fun, out of all of them. And to me, that is the most important thing, so to me the Golf is not as good, because it's boring. My remapped M140i is still cheaper to buy than a Golf R, even adding the cost of the remap in (411bhp/576nm), of the same age/mileage, yet it's much faster in a straight line, just as quick in the dry, and 100 times more fun being RWD.

Gimmick vs crappy engineering. Either way which is worse?

How a car feels and how fast it goes are two separate matters.

Turbo cars has a slight lag to build boost. And on regular drives boost is low, and with big turbo, lag is worse and turbo engine have lower compression, so overall so feels sluggish, when you want to thrash it it takes a bit to build boost and rev, then the car goes. I know from my GTI.other reviewer just review full throttle result

Just thinking the same thing. He can have whatever quirky preference he likes, but it's unfair to judge a car by it

Me too, I like the better visibility you get with a higher seat

I'm in the same boat as you. I really like the look and what I'm seeing from the power in all the reviews of the mk 8 but the cabin of the 7.5 is just so nice and the 8 looks to me a little bit like a downgrade... Sort of. I'm wondering if I just wait for the 8.5... Price is concerning me though. I have a feeling it's going to be about $20k-$30k AUD more expensive than the 7.5 was.

Adam Jay I think you’re right on the pricing. At least in Australia, the Golf R’s come fully loaded - leather interior, adaptive dampers, 19inch wheels, rear camera in fact the only options available when I bought my 7.5 was sunroof and Dynaudio which I added. Total cost AUD63k - about GBP35k. The Mk 8 R is not expected to arrive in Australia until late 21. If the increases in the UK are translated to Oz, it will be more than I’m prepared to pay.

@@rongambol9910 well the good news for me is my 7.5 will keep going up in price then. Haha. Used prices are insane at the moment.

@@adam88099 Yes here in Oz we suffer from $$$$$$$ on all these SportsHatchs... Adelaide, Golf R is about $85,000, BMW i135 about $85,000+

@@swedishbob_7315 no doubt man. I'm hanging on to my Mk7.5. Still a flawless experience at stock and I'm loving it. I actually have zero need to upgrade. If I ever needed less incentive to upgrade the prices in Oz are putting me off even more. Along with the rent prices... Killing me.

Haha. I think many people think sitting low equals sporty, even at the expense of being able to see. I think that sitting low is sporty only for a car that is low and offers low sight lines. Surely, for any given car, being able to see properly would give a better lap time than a 1 inch lower seat position.