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2025 VW Golf R vs GR Corolla | Not Even Close

9.8K views 100 replies 37 participants last post by  GR_Yoda  
#1 ·
#4 ·
I used to be a huge VW fanboy - Had an '02 Golf for 19 years, convinced my parents to get a Passat in '13 (VR6 DSG, it's actually a pretty fun car), and my last VW purchase was a '16 Tiguan for my wife. I saw the reliability and quality slowly drop from my original Piëch masterpiece. The Tiguan was the last straw though, what a POS.

I briefly, hesitatingly, thought about a Mk 8 Golf R, but the driver interface was a hard no. Looked at Mk 7/7.5 and almost bought one, but I really wanted a new car since I tend to keep them forever and like to know that it was broken in and maintained to my standards.

Since my Tacoma has been so good to me (only real issue in 110k+ has been a power steering rack), I took a look at Toyota and the GR just happened to be announced and everything sort of fell into place.

If I was just looking for something to hot-rod and tear around for a few years, I think I would have gone Mk 7.5 Golf R.
 
#6 ·
+1 for my own similar experiences. Loved the whole German engineering thing and the design of the instruments and overall Euro feeling, but quality was the Achilles heel of my GTI and other VWs my family owned during my teens and 20s.

The last straw for me involved getting stranded one rainy night a mile from the dealership (after spending a boatload of money on repairs). I said "Nein" to future VWs, and have never looked back.
 
#5 ·
None of this is a surprise. Savagegeese has never been a fan of the GRC. THE VW DSG has been around forever and a lot of research and tweaks have been made to it. I considered the R, but the looks are boring and the consensus of reviews pointed out that it's a bit underwhelming to drive, as it is too refined. Yes, the interior is MUCH better and has a lot more going for it. But, I am personally not a fan of VW and I also wanted a car that is a bit more rare in my area. Since the GRC came out, I have maybe seen 4-5 in my area. I see R's all the time and I have to look twice because it looks so similar to the GTI.
 
#9 ·
Golf R with DSG is probably one of best hatchback ever made. When I was shopping around last year I test drove golf R with DSG and manual, GRC and CTR. Golf R is actually much better car with DSG than manual, which is one of reason why I went with GRC, since it had much better manual transmission and complimented better with the car itself. Not to mention that last year you could get 100% performance goodies with GRC core and perf. Package for under 40k, which was a bargain in my opinion. But 49k to 49k on auto, unless grc got 10k better on performance than '24 year model I would also agree that golf R or even CTR is better value here. With DSG golf R actually becomes a better car, for GRC, not so much. Can't believe GRC is now almost $50k car. Could not be more happy with my $38k core.
 
#10 ·
I cross-shopped the GR Corolla (stick), Golf R (DCT), Type S (stick), and WRX (stick).

The R was a bonafide rocketship, but it was just… boring. I found myself getting comfortable and (eventually) distracted during my test drive of a buddy’s stock R. The R is a great car — it’s fast, comfortable, good-looking, and muted. It’s the mature adult of the hot hatch bunch.

The GR, on the other hand, is SLOW. But what it lacks in speed it more than makes up in driver engagement. It keeps me interested, focused on the task of driving, and constantly attempting to become better at driving the thing — optimizing cruising speed, shifting more smoothly, avoiding engine bog, etc. It’s the opposite of boring. I’m incredibly unlikely to take out my phone and use it to suppress boredom (and increase my chances of getting into an accident). It’s what I want out of a car that I mostly drive by myself in whatever way I want.

It would not be the car I’d choose if:
1. I routinely had to transport my kids in the back,
2. I had to drive to customer locations or anywhere that I’d want to represent myself as professional (or at least mature),
3. My spouse needed to ride shotgun more than once a quarter,
4. Stoplight racing was important to me,
5. I had a better attention span (and less need for constant stimulation).

I type all this to say: I’d never be a buyer of a DAT GR Corolla over the DCT Golf R, but I gain a bunch of driver engagement points out of the 6spd GR Corolla that the Golf R can’t match. And, I fully recognize that my criteria (prevention of boredom while driving above all else) are not everyone’s cup of tea.
 
#11 ·
I cross-shopped the GR Corolla (stick), Golf R (DCT), Type S (stick), and WRX (stick).

The R was a bonafide rocketship, but it was just… boring. I found myself getting comfortable and (eventually) distracted during my test drive of a buddy’s stock R. The R is a great car — it’s fast, comfortable, good-looking, and muted. It’s the mature adult of the hot hatch bunch.

The GR, on the other hand, is SLOW. But what it lacks in speed it more than makes up in driver engagement. It keeps me interested, focused on the task of driving, and constantly attempting to become better at driving the thing — optimizing cruising speed, shifting more smoothly, avoiding engine bog, etc. It’s the opposite of boring. I’m incredibly unlikely to take out my phone and use it to suppress boredom (and increase my chances of getting into an accident). It’s what I want out of a car that I mostly drive by myself in whatever way I want.

It would not be the car I’d choose if:
1. I routinely had to transport my kids in the back,
2. I had to drive to customer locations or anywhere that I’d want to represent myself as professional (or at least mature),
3. My spouse needed to ride shotgun more than once a quarter,
4. Stoplight racing was important to me,
5. I had a better attention span (and less need for constant stimulation).

I type all this to say: I’d never be a buyer of a DAT GR Corolla over the DCT Golf R, but I gain a bunch of driver engagement points out of the 6spd GR Corolla that the Golf R can’t match. And, I fully recognize that my criteria (prevention of boredom while driving above all else) are not everyone’s cup of tea.
totally with you on all the points. the gr makes normal driving really fun. i face this issue as i own a type r but i cant get past myself on selling the gr. i dont need two cars but i dont need the money either. first world problems.
 
#15 ·
I cant believe the AT makes that much less power; that is WILD for a modern car. Toyota needs to just start using ZFs vs anything Aisin (and yes, I'm aware that will never happen given they essentially own them lol)...
 
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#19 ·
I'm just tired of the narrative that the GRC costs $50k USD when it actually costs $10k less and is easily attainable at that price. IMO it was a huge mistake for Toyota to let this happen---maybe pushing $thousands worth of non functional extras on a sports car works alright in the luxury market, but it's been poison for the brand of the GRC, which was presumably positioned at the $40k price point to make it [feel] more attainable than its competition. Today if you ask somebody who generally follows cars what the GRC costs, they're probably going to say $50k.
 
#20 ·
People just really like to shit on GR cars in general. You'd think this one would be the best off because it's actually a Toyota, but thats not the case at all lol.
 
#25 ·
Cool comparison.

There is quite a bit of butt hurt going on about this comparison and I don't get it...The Golf R is a great car...an auto GRC with 100 less horsepower (100!) was 1.5 seconds slower in a lap and the GRC is the better driver's car.

If anyone wants anything else or prioritizes other things, I'm glad there's options for them and me. I want buttons and knobs. I want a manual. I want a driving experience (most important part). I don't care about being the fastest on the track or in a stop light dash -neither are going to change my fun. Thank you Toyota for the GRC!

I could have bought a new 24 Golf R (last one in the state with a manual-the only way I would have one), -anything in the $70k and under group was an option. I'll spare you my thoughts on the rest but the only thing in common between the Golf R and GRC is all wheel drive, a hatchback and a manual. Night and day difference anyway you look or drive it. (thankfully)
 
#29 ·
Had a MK7 Golf R brand new after my Evo 8 got totaled. Loved the maturity, muted looks, great interior of the MK7 and the EA888 makes stupid power (responds well to mods too). At around 90k miles I sold it as it started to consume oil a bit too much. I also was not a fan of Haldex, although the MK8 has dramatically improved it.

The GRC, while slower, reminds me so much of the Evo 8 (a car I truly loved and would still own if not for a college kid that blew through a red light) that I consider it a step up. I'm more of a handling and driver engagement aficionado, so I'm sure that's a big part of my preference.

Did I just defend handling prowess over overt power? Now I know how Miata owners feel...
 
#33 ·
The GRC has 10807091x more fun factor then the super serious Golf R. Idc if its faster, the GRC is much more fun to hoon around in, makes better noises, and overall feels more raw and fun lol. The GOLF R is rather muted, and not very engaging. Also Pumped in audio noise is a HUGE turn off for me.

I would say if the Golf R had a newly updated VR6. OH man would I have probably gotten that, purely for that WOOKie sound, which on the older R32's sounded amazing.

Just my TWO cents.

And F savage goose. That HATER has been BASHING the F out of our car since it debuted.
 
#38 ·
'25 Golf R engine specs (from manufacturer) - 328HP, 295 lb-ft
'25 GR engine specs (from manufacturer) - 300HP, 295 lb-ft

Wondering how the Golf manages to make 6HP more at the wheels than it does at the crank, while the GR loses about 70HP from crank to wheels on the same dyno, same day. Mustang dyno, yada, yada and I know one has a torque converter and the other doesn't -- but that's still WAY too much of a discrepancy. Makes me think that the Golf may have had a bit of magic worked on the ECU. Of course, VW has a history of telling the public and the regulators that the car is doing one thing while the ECU is telling the car to do another thing.....

I picked the car I enjoyed the most during my test drives and researching. I'm far too old for the Civic, and the more mature Integra was 50% more money than the GR I bought - just not worth it to me. I've owned 3 water cooled VW's in my past. All 3 had problems. I vowed never again. Didn't even drive one.
 
#39 ·
I thought the same thing... Porsche and BMW habitually underrate their HP numbers. Not uncommon for either to put stated HP to the wheels. I always thought VWs were basically accurate. I would have guessed the R was putting 300HP to wheels. Or VW just went YOLO with the EA888 (gen 4 in the 8.5 I think) knowing it's probably the last generation of R. I'm sure someone will throw one on a dyno soon for another data point.
 
#40 ·
The fact that people will sit there and complain about how terrible, and cheap, and lame, and boring our interior is compared to other cars in the class is also stupid.

Nothing will touch the CTR, that interior is beautiful and functional.

The Elantra N is cheap and falls apart while looking at it.

The VW R has a PIANO black everywhere interior. And also those touch capacitive buttons HIENOUS! Also the fact that they buried 1801708170917019 different setting inside the screen is a crime. How people do not crash anytime they turn on the AC or heated seats, is beyond me.

Ill take my GRC and its low rent interior with ACTUAL buttons.

Sorry for the rants. But ok, I guess outright speed is the main cause behind the bashing against our rowdy, quirky and cool 3 cylinder, with its low budget interior.
 
#45 ·
I suspect we see so few wrecked Golfs (base, GTI, R) — and they fail to crack the top 50 of most accident-prone cars — because of two reasons mentioned in this thread:
1. The combined infotainment/environmental control system is so heinous people just ignore all of it altogether, leaving them to focus on driving the darn thing.
2. By the time the Golfs would likely end up in an accident (I.e., the novelty has worn off as the miles pile up and owners driving a little less conservatively), reliability issues kill the car before the driver has a chance to kill it in an accident.

This infographic is 18 months or so out of date, but it’s a fun one:
 
#43 ·
I'm never going to knock anyone for liking what they like. I learned that lesson a long time ago, that I have more in common with other car enthusiasts than any other group, why would I want to alienate my peers, for some insecure need to feel superior? If they're into cars, cool, lets chat. I do however, find it very interesting what influences -why- people like what they like. Comparing numbers on paper is pretty meaningless in the long run, but its fun topic to chat about. Overly opinionated/preloaded/biased reviews and comparisons are entertaining, but that's it. Many are negative... on purpose. The only part I find frustrating is how it all influences people's opinions and egos, pushing a negative image like some sort of competition and ultimately limiting interest. Not all press is good press in this respect even if a channel gets extra clicks for it, it's ultimately at the expense of the hobby we all love. This is the reason why cars like this exist in such few numbers; too much criticism.

Personally I'm with the lot of you regarding reasons why I chose the GRC. It's certainly not the best driving, best handling car I've personally ever owned, and it makes plenty of sacrifices that other cars excel at. But, it does all the things I want, the way I like, and it does them well enough with no major red flags that I'm very happy with it.
 
#44 ·
I'm never going to knock anyone for liking what they like. I learned that lesson a long time ago, that I have more in common with other car enthusiasts than any other group, why would I want to alienate my peers, for some insecure need to feel superior? If they're into cars, cool, lets chat. I do however, find it very interesting what influences -why- people like what they like. Comparing numbers on paper is pretty meaningless in the long run, but its fun topic to chat about. Overly opinionated/preloaded/biased reviews and comparisons are entertaining, but that's it. Many are negative... on purpose. The only part I find frustrating is how it all influences people's opinions and egos, pushing a negative image like some sort of competition and ultimately limiting interest. Not all press is good press in this respect even if a channel gets extra clicks for it, it's ultimately at the expense of the hobby we all love. This is the reason why cars like this exist in such few numbers; too much criticism.

Personally I'm with the lot of you regarding reasons why I chose the GRC. It's certainly not the best driving, best handling car I've personally ever owned, and it makes plenty of sacrifices that other cars excel at. But, it does all the things I want, the way I like, and it does them well enough with no major red flags that I'm very happy with it.
@wheelhaus - There’s a core lesson / worldly adage embedded in your comment that I appreciate greatly and strive to follow every day (though don’t always succeed). I think it can be parsed into two statements:

1. Curiosity over judgement — Be curious about the world around you, why you are the way you are and why those around you are the way they are. Don’t simply judge others for being different, but attempt to find the reasons for and benefits of those differences by remaining curious and abstaining from judgement.

2. Don’t yuck other people’s yum — Our tastes, preferences, sensibilities, and perspectives all differ from one another. Just because you only like cars in shades of grays and blacks doesn’t mean your neighbor cannot similarly only like cars in shades of white. We like what we like and we should embrace that in ourselves and in others. If we all “yum” slightly different things, then there’ll be little to no wasted “yuck” and there’ll be enough “yum” to go around. Isn’t uniformity boring anyway?

Appreciate you, as always.
 
#49 ·
I'm not really adding anything new to what's already been said above, but here's my take:

I think the review misses the mark in several ways. I have a GRC and I'm an admitted fan boy, so bias level is high here! But I absolutely love mine, I think it's one of, if not the most fun and rewarding daily driver car I've had (and I've had many). I just can't agree with SG's opinion that "it's not even close." Here's why:

1. Overall I think this comparison pits strength against weakness: The DSG is a strength for the R, against the weaker transmission choice for the GRC. I also don't think it makes sense to choose the highest spec Premium Plus GRC. The GRC's strength is NOT in the interior do dads and "luxuries" that are offered in the premium plus. It's strength is the chassis and drive train shared with all trim levels. So put a core with performance pack (maybe that's gone now in 2025 and they all have F+R diffs?) and a manual against a Golf R and much of the support for their conclusions crumbles. In that comparison the Golf is $10k more (25% more expensive than the GRC!), the GRC closes the power gap a bit, and the fun factor of the GRC (it's strength) is WAY up. That's the right comparo.

2. It's interesting to me that that the SG boys are very much an outlier in their consistent dislike of the GRC. Many of the dislikes they point out are the same as those highlighted by other journalists and youtubers (in other words, they are legit gripes/issues), but with the same inputs, they consistently arrive at the conclusion that it's a product they don't like, whereas the other reviews I have read/watched consistently conclude that it's the most fun you can have on the market for a tick over $40k. Which riffs off my prior point that the real comparison here is a $40k car against a $49k car.

3. These reviews must drive car manufacturers nuts. The journalists harp on about: driver engagement over horsepower; save the manual trans; real buttons not screens; the crime against humanity that is piano black; and generally focusing on enjoyment over numbers. So Toyota delivers a spicy little three banger filled with engagement and character that's a bit down on power and ditches the fancy interior for some really useful buttons, and these guys crap all over it! What happened to: it's all about driver engagement?

4. They barely touch on the character of the engines, and the character of the cars generally. The Golf R is an incredibly efficient way to deliver performance numbers. It's really handsome but undeniably bland. Come on, you aren't once going to mention how much more fun it is to ring out the little three banger with 21 lbs of boost than yet one more 2 liter turbo four? No criticism of the lack of the manual? I've heard these guys consistently say they don't need faster cars, they want more engaging cars. That 2 liter turbo fours are just boring, not matter how much power they pump. And piano black, don't even get them started on piano black. So what gives here? Suddenly the additional speed in the straights is a difference maker and the physical button in the GR are just, meh?

I don't know why SG thinks so lowly of the GRC, but I can't agree.
 
#50 ·
Well said on 3. and 4.

I like watching reviewers... and I enjoy SG and the Canadian crybabies (Throttle house) in limited doses but Everyday Driver and that chick Sarah-n-Tuned are more enjoyable for my tastes.

Did I mention that chick Sarah-n-Tuned? Shes great and can get all techno without sounding like a jock strap.
 
#51 ·
I generally like SG, but they've had a thing against the car from the get-go. Mark thinks it's a dumb car given you could just buy a CTR (completely ignoring not only the trim price delta, but lack of AWD, and the minimum 5k ADM those have in many areas). Then you have Jack, who bought one to "test" and "build" and despite pouring a fuck load of parts into it (albeit sponsored) was never happy with the car and the fact that it still had the track overheating issues. Jack also prefers V8 or I6 RWD cars, like Vettes and BMWs, so it just wasn't ideal from the get-go IMO.

They basically just made the car seem like it's this quirky, pricey, heavily flawed vehicle that will only appeal to small audience, and I disagree with that narrative. It is flawed, like anything, and it is quirky, to a degree, but it absolutely competes on features/price and is much more visceral than anything it's going up against atm.
 
#52 ·
The thing that got me excited to own a GRC was all the reviewers that were grinning or laughing out loud while driving the GRC. Even reviews that ultimately bashed the GRC often spoke of how much fun it was to drive.

Having owned mine for 5 months and 4,600 miles, with about half of those miles on canyon-roads, rain and shine, it's the most consistently fun car I've ever driven. It's the closest thing to perfection, for me, that I've driven. I could not even imagine such a car existing, much less a Corolla, when I first started driving, in a 1973 Toyota Corolla 1200.
 
#57 ·
If you look at the reviewers that gravitate towards the GRC more, they tend to live in areas with more frequent elevation changes. They live in IL. SG seemly doesn't take that into account, so they just drive it around flat ass Autobahn raceway, whatever the hell that's suppose to be as a marker for the car. No wonder they harp on it, they live in an area that more FWD bias area would be acceptable. Their biggest knock against the VW was that the steering was vague, but it does have more power to the wheels and is more refined. What happens when you actually have to use all wheels on a surface that is not just flat? Never understood why Jack bought one for a year, just to track it there. It never made any sense, there were better cars for the price that fit better for their area.
 
#65 ·
If you look at the reviewers that gravitate towards the GRC more, they tend to live in areas with more frequent elevation changes. They live in IL. SG seemly doesn't take that into account, so they just drive it around flat ass Autobahn raceway, whatever the hell that's suppose to be as a marker for the car. No wonder they harp on it, they live in an area that more FWD bias area would be acceptable.
Right on. One of the main reasons I bought a GRC rather than a Golf R. Well, mostly it was the horrible MK8 interior. But I certainly love the feel of the 50/50 split on the GRC better than how my old Golf R felt.