Golf R vs. A35 4Matic - it's the battle of the great hot hatches you can use every day. But besides two drag races, we haven't seen much of them until PistonHeads decided to do a back-to-back review.
We still don't know which is the faster car here. One quarter-mile race and the official specs hold the Golf R above the A35, but Carwow's take had the AMG in front. Yet in that video, it lost to the Audi S3 that had an identical powertrain to the Vdub.
For everyday use, we can just say they're close to identical - 300 horsepower, 400 Nm, AWD and 7-speed gearboxes - which allows us to look at other areas of interest. Take the interior, for example. The Golf R is almost six years old, which is great if you want a second-hand model for 1/2 the price, but not so good for the tech department of something you'll get today.
Seats, infotainment, switches - everything looks more interesting on the inside of the A35. With the Golf switching generations, it could be two years before the R is able to retaliate. The flip side is that all the gremlins of the Golf have come out already, while the AMG setup is still untested.
For handling, both hatchbacks offer endless traction in the wet, a good response from the engine and quick gearbox shifts. Despite an optional and quite overpriced Akrapovic option, the Golf R's exhaust doesn't sound as good as that in the AMG.
On the other hand, VW seems to have better suspension tuning, judging by how much the camera shakes in the A35. So what about the exterior looks? Well, one car is showing its age and the other lack clear identity. What we want to know is if current Golf R owners are tempted by the rival or they will just wait until the next-gen arrives.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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