[shadoquad]

Originally Posted by Deslock

FT86: reasonably priced, no (or few) frills, small, RWD, low weight, low COG, pretty balanced, N/A.

Golf R: expensive, luxurious and refined, medium-sized, AWD, portly, nose heavy, turbo.

From autoblog:

"Yet regardless of its all-wheel-drive configuration, the nose-heavy Volkswagen still exhibits front-wheel-drive mannerisms. In fact, driven at moderate speeds, the Golf R behaves much like the overweight GTI that it is"

To be fair, some other reviews say VW has managed to minimize the Golf R's understeer, and that its shifter is actually good. So I want to drive one. But unless it's completely different than the 4th, 5th, and 6th generation GTIs I've driven, I'm not expecting much.

You should get out and drive one, if only to gather your own impressions. I was already pretty enamored with the way a GTI drives, understeer and all. The ability to nail the throttle and power through that understeer in turns was an added bonus. The clutch in both hot golfs is awesome in my opinion, but you should get out and drive yourself