I have APR UKs Demo Golf R for a few weeks so i thought i would post up my thoughts on the car as a whole.

Spec

Golf R DSG

APR Stage 2+

VWR TBE

VWR Intake

APR HPFP

Intercooler TBC

VWRacing Big brake kit

AST Coilovers

Think thats about it, but i might have missed some other stuff

Background

Obviously my current and previous cars haven't got a patch on a stage 2+ K04 performance wise, so of course the Golf is rapid compared to them, but i am fortunate enough to have driven and been a passenger in quite a few stage 2+ GTIs/Ed30s/Cupras/vRS's/S3's, as well as modified Focus RS's, Meganne RS's, M3's etc so i think i have a fairly good impression of it comparatively.

Looks

Well the Golf R looks the nuts normally, but obviously this one is far from normal visually as it has the APR graphics over it.  Have to say, i would prefer no graphics at all.  I much prefer the understated look of a car.  TBH, absolutely everybody i have spoken to, or has posted in response to uploaded images on the forums has said, it is to much, and it should be left looking stock.

However the kids on my estate LOVE IT.  I think that says it all  :grin:

That said, this car is about bringing attention to the APR brand, and it certainly achieves that in spades.  Driving through town and on the dual carriageways you get alot of looks from pedestrians and other drivers, a fair few of which are laughing :ashamed:

Ill get some better pictures tomorrow.

Interior

Big fan of the interior.  Typical top end VW style and finish.  

The leather seats are beautiful and really comfy. But, i wouldnt say they hold me in your seats as well as in either of my two previous vRS's.  Maybe its the leather that makes it a bit more slippery, i dont know, but i feel more snug in my car.  Heated seats also feel like they take an age to heat up, compared to my car.  

The MFSW is awesome.  Its the first time ive been in a car with one and had a play with the buttons and id definitely consider retrofitting one on my car now.  The DSG paddles are far to small though.  Much smaller than the ones in my Fabia, which aren't exactly big.

Love the radio/audio setup seemed very good.  First time i have used the built in sat nav system on a car and a rear facing camera for reversing.  Wish that was an option in my car.

Ill take some pics of the interior tomorrow if people are interested.  

Handling/ride quality

This is the first car ive driven with AST coilovers, and put simply, if Keith hadnt told me they were fitted or I hadnt looked at the stance of he car, i would have not known there were coilovers fitted to the car.

They ride the bumps and rough roads smoother than any other coilover kit i've experienced.  TFSI_Mikes KW V3 setup for instance;  We dont know what his are set at, but his shakes the fillings from your mouth and has to be driven slow over bumpy roads.  Id say this car is only slightly stiffer over the rough roads than my Fabia is with stock suspension.  I literally just drive it around the roads and bumps no differently to everyone else and it just soaks it up.   I was reserved about going coilovers again, as i took them off my last car due to ride quality on UK roads, but this has changed my mind.  

Kind of wish i had tried the Bilstein B16s to see how they compare comfort wise.  Ive not really pushed the car tbh to know how they react at high speeds, but from AST, i cant imagine them being rubbish.

The car has alot more initial understeer than i had expected, and quite easily steps into oversteer, and once you expect it, its really entertaining and controllable.  Didnt expect it the first time though  :grin:  Keith had warned me the tyres weren't the best when cold, so that might explain it.  

Off the line though this car just has so much grip.  Its an absolute breath of fresh air to be able to accelerate from low speed and not have a wheel spinning mess.

The brakes are Immense, theres no other word for it.  This is the longest period ive had in a car with a proper big bbk.  When you stomp on them they really really drop the speed.  Both me, mike and nickB were impressed with them.  In fact in typical TFSI_mike fashion, he said he could easily sell his current(3rd brake kit) setup to fund the VWR kit  :signLOL:

Performance

The intake is an enclosed ITG VWRacing kit fed from the front slam panel and is ALOT quieter than the maxogen kit i had on my octavia.  You can still hear it, but its nowhere near as vocal.

The TBE, is possibly my favorite part of this car(excluding the grip lol).  I hate loud exhausts, on my Focus ST i had a tbe and it was to loud and i hated it.  On my Octavia, i eventually caved and fitted the cat abck to make the full system.  I then removed it a few months later because it was to loud for daily commuting and embarrassing.  This VWRacing exhaust is the first TBE i like.  Driven around town or on the motorway it is so quiet(well acceptably quiet) until you stick your foot down and then the whole world knows your coming.  Its my ideal exhaust, and im considering getting one towards the end of the year instead of just a downpipe.  Cant imagine its cheap though lol.  Woul be keen to know the decibel level it runs at 4000rpm to see if there would be any limits from trackdays etc

Glad you enjoy it!

Its a VWR exhaust with a flapper valve, it opens at about 3900 RPM's.

As said in some of the other threads, this car is mega quick, and not just off the line.

Ive only done one run 0-60 with the race logic performance box

0-60 in 4.1seconds  :surprised: :surprised: :surprised:

But  that was from a carriageway layby with lock on the wheel to get out! But most importantly that was with 3 people and full leather interior.  And Mike will back me up, it was a slight incline as well.

This car has a sub 4second 0-60 sprint im 100% certain of it.

JonnyC posted on VAGOC and reckons he did a 3.6 Second 0-60 sprint with just him in the car.  Imagine if it was on R888s on a sticky 1/4 mile track with a stripped interior!!!  Theres enough grip to handle a full bore 3000rpm launch with no wheel spin :surprised: that is something i have never experienced before :congrats:

The power seems really really progressive and really strong.  Mike commented that his felt like it pinned you to the seat more, not sure tbh, maybe its something we need to try , but his is manual so that will never feel as smooth or progressive though the gears.  His should be lighter though so once rolling it should have the legs, but from a standstill i reckon the haldex gives this car an easy 1.5 second head start.

Ive not tried it, but i reckon this car easily has a sub 13 second 1/4 mile in it, with potential to top the 1/4 mile leaderboard with the launches its capable of and judging by what poverty reckons with the comparable performance of this car to the jabba and MRC stage 2+ cars he was playing around with.

I wander if Keith would mind me taking it to a 1/4 mile day  

The only downside, but i guess is a side effect of this amount of power, is the mpg.  I have don 150 miles today on a route that i regularly drive my car on to isit family.  My Fabia vRS happily hits 42-45mpg on this route.  the Golf R driven identically was pulling 24mpg  

Summary

Im a Golf R convert.

I had always said i would take the Rocco R over the Golf R all day long.  After driving this and experiencing what its like to have grip when ever you want it, i will definitely be consider a Golf R in the future.  I dont think id go stage 2+ again though.  Stage 2 would be were id leave it, although i said the same about my current car :scared:

Poverties review of the car

Right so ive been lucky enough to have been given the chance to absolutely cane the granny out of a Golf R with APR's new software for a week. Im not sure what its official name is, but I just call it the APR 2.0tfsi v3.0 software lol.

Bit of background on myself, I previously owned a revo stage 2+ mk2 leon cupra k1, and currently a stage 2 TTRS.

Now getting into this car I wasnt sure what to expect, as APR had a reputation in the UK atleast for being tamer than the likes of revo with their old v1 map, but then again, revo always was the most aggressive mapper of the lot and ive yet to come across another map that could match or surpass revo on the 2.0TFSI, and ive experienced a hell of alot of maps over the years now on this engine.

So off I went, got the engine up to temp and oil up to temp and started to play.

Now im sat here trying to think how to best sum up its performance, so I think I will just quote what I wrote on facebook about it at the time to my friends.

"This Golf R is fookin rapid" "its bloody quick" and "I don't remember by mk2 Leon Cupra being this quick!"

And this is me saying that after having jumped in the golf straight after having been in my 420bhp TTRS!

The response of the engine and the pickup from low down is just crazy, it pulls hard non stop throughout the rev range all the way to 7k rpm with there being no signs of the power dropping off. The map is just so smooth whilst being explosive, I cant really describe it, its something you have to try. Whatever APR did to this map you have to take your hat off to them, and perhaps Revo should now be slightly worried as they have a worthy competitior. Its as if someones shoe horned a 3.0 litre turbo in this car, as its factory smooth pulling through the rev range whilst being blistering quick.

And the best thing of all about this new and improved APR map? There is no flat spot like there is on revo stage 2 plus cars, or my mates jabba mapped stage 2 plus car.

Anyhow, after a few days of still being impressed with the car, I decided to ring up some friends and have a 2.0TFSI K04 meet.

In attendance was:

MRC Stage 2 plus Golf R

JABBA Stage 2 plus mk2 cupra (completely stripped out, just race seats and dash for interior, fronty door cards)

A hybrid vxr and a hybrid mk2 focus RS also came along for some testing.

What we found was that the APR cars response would allow it to jump on all the other cars straight away, and either maintain that gap or increase it.I fully expected the jabba car to reel me back in but that never happened. Now ive had some plays against that car in my revo cupra k1 before and we found that the revo car was always slighty faster, but back then the jabba car also had a full interior. Sadly I couldnt get a revo stage 2 plus car out on the day but I think we can roughly guess the outcome based on previous experiences.

So this might be bad news in a way, as I suppose now when trying to decide which map you want for your car there is no longer a simple or obvious choice. Revo or APR imo.

If I was to modify a 2.0TFSI all over again? Id go APR this time round, no flatspots and no occasional flashing engine lights on the dash, just making loads of power everywhere.

I hope this helps people who have been wondering about APRs new map like TFSI Mike, and those who wanted a more expanded and indepth review, after reading positive things about APRs map by other members on this forum who have also had the pleasure of driving this car.

Any questions fire away.

Stands out a bit, doesn't it? Hope it's still outside your house in Chilwell when it's time to return it :/

Stands out a bit, doesn't it? Hope it's still outside your house in Chilwell when it's time to return it :/

They would have to get past a security fence and guard first

Just the one question....

Can I have a go?

Can not belive they lend such an amzing car out! I wouldnt like to own the car after it has been thrashed by so many people!

and I hate the graphics too :p

Good Write Up

Saw this today!

Edited 21 May, 20179 yr by matt1chelski