Going from my 4Runner daily to a small hatchback, what to know?

[jfon]

Thanks! It's been a blast so far! It's a very different car to drive on pavement than the 4Runner. I almost feel like people have been cutting me off less and riding my bumper less in the Golf. It's weird, and probably just unrelated, but yeah.

I'm really torn on when to put on my Blizzaks though. It's been so nice in Denver that I'm forgetting it's still February and it *will* snow *a lot* again at some point. I'm also still going to need them (I think?) when I head for the hills next weekend to go riding. I'm just really liking the look of the 19" wheels, and they're really not harsh at all like I've heard some people say. I even managed to hit a well known deep sunk-in manhole cover that's on my way to work the other day and come out unscathed. It was my first time driving the R to work and I said "Don't forget about that horrendous manhole cover com...*thunk*. Yeah, that one, idiot."

Anyway, off to show the T4R a bit of love today. Replacing the plenum gaskets (which I should have done when I replaced my valve cover seals), and maybe an oil change since it'll be sitting a bit more often. When I went to take some things out of the T4R the other day I noticed the interior smell. So many good memories, and so many more to come!

Congrats on your very nice R. The roads west of you are going to be great fun after mud season... nothing like a turbo when dealing with altitude. On your Blizzak thoughts, if your R tires are all-seasons, why not just keep using the 4R when heading to the mountains during winter? The R with all-seasons should be fine for Denver and the Front Range. If a big dump occurs, you'll want the 4R anyway.

Most folks would love to have the issues you face... good problems! Enjoy.

 

[atalarico]

Congrats on your very nice R. The roads west of you are going to be great fun after mud season... nothing like a turbo when dealing with altitude. On your Blizzak thoughts, if your R tires are all-seasons, why not just keep using the 4R when heading to the mountains during winter? The R with all-seasons should be fine for Denver and the Front Range. If a big dump occurs, you'll want the 4R anyway.



Most folks would love to have the issues you face... good problems! Enjoy.

Lol, trust me I am very thankful and fortunate every day to have these "problems" over the last few months. It's been a vast improvement over the problems I had previously, and I'm all too aware of how quickly things could go south.

Anyway, yeah, I would have done that but the R comes with summer performance tires (Conti somethin or another). Ended up mounting the winter tire set yesterday because I don't want to be the guy with summer tires screwing up everyone else's commute. Haha.

 

[Dog Runner]

Please give us a one week synopsis of the Golf R.......

 

[atalarico]

Please give us a one week synopsis of the Golf R.......

The one word synopsis: FUN!

The lengthy synopsis:

It's really fun. It's very comfortable to commute in for a number of reasons, and that is exactly what I was hoping for. Once I turned down the engine noise faker, the cabin is nice and quiet so I don't have to listen to my music quite as loudly. The infotainment system is very well designed (it received a big upgrade for 2016MY), and it handles my whacky input setup very well (work iPhone, personal iPhone, and 250GB SD card for music). The speakers are actually great for a stock system, and I remember the days when stock systems were total garbage!

It's very fast, and I haven't even pushed it that hard yet! I've decided to stop babying it after 500 miles (which is half a week away). The mileage varies depending on how actively I'm driving, but so far I'm averaging about 27.5. I've heard from other owners that the mileage actually gets a bit better after the engine has some more mileage on it.

The transmission is a bit jumpy in traffic in Sport or Sport+ mode, and the brakes are a bit touchy still. My stopping/coasting distances are still a bit skewed from the 4Runner, so I'm sure I've frustrated some people behind me!

The winter tires/wheels I put on are great, and I've had two complements on the wheels looking better than the stock ones! However, I just curb rashed one this morning so that was less awesome. I *knew* I was going to do that because I got way too used to not having to worry about curbs in the 4Runner. This is why I can't have nice things...

Thankfully the wheels were only $150 each, and I sort of regarded them as literal training wheels anyway while I figure out how to drive this car. I'm going to take them off once the temps stay warm here and put the stock ones back on, so that'll at least give me the chance to take my time and try to DIY a repair myself.

I do get a little dust in my eye when I see other nice 4Runners on the road because I can't give them the dorky "Nice 4Runner" wave from another 4Runner!

I think all-in-all, it's exactly what I was hoping for and then some. It's a bit stealthy in terms of not really looking all that fast, very comfortable but not over-the-top plush, and just a very solid feeling car. I am having a hard time remembering that it's just a car and it'll get dirty and a little abused. Needless to say, my girlfriend is annoyed...:laugh: