The Golf R vs The SE: A Surprising Showdown

As I sat behind the wheel of both the Volkswagen Golf R and the SE, I couldn't help but wonder which car would come out on top. Both cars are impressive in their own right, with the Golf R boasting a powerful engine and four-wheel drive system, while the SE is lighter and more agile.

The key difference between the two cars that I noticed was traction. With its all-wheel drive system, the Golf R has a significant advantage in low-speed cornering situations. However, as we soon discovered on the track at Cavell Park, this advantage didn't necessarily translate to faster lap times. In fact, it wasn't until we put a lighter seat in the SE that I realized just how much of a difference weight can make.

"I think the Golf is just a tiny bit quicker in a straight line," I said to myself, "but not by very much." And indeed, as we took to the track, it became clear that the two cars were evenly matched. The Golf's powerful engine and sport-tuned suspension made for a handling that was both responsive and predictable, while the SE's lighter weight and more agile front end allowed it to carve through corners with ease.

As I pushed the Golf R hard through the track's sweeping curves, I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. The car was a joy to drive, with its 2.0-liter turbocharged engine delivering plenty of power and its sport-tuned suspension providing a comfortable ride. But as we approached the final corner, I decided to make a daring move and pass my friend in the SE.

"It's just going to be a tiny bit quicker," I said to myself, "but not by very much." And indeed, it was. The SE's front end proved to be surprisingly effective, allowing me to stay right on its tail as we entered the final corner. But as we exited the turn, I found myself struggling to get the SE to follow through, and my friend slipped past me.

"Ah, wow," I said to myself, "I didn't expect a result like that." It turned out that the SE's relative lack of weight was just what it needed to make it competitive on this particular circuit. While the Golf R had the more powerful engine and four-wheel drive system, the SE's lighter weight and more agile front end made it the perfect car for this type of track.

As I pulled back into the pits, my friend grinned at me from behind the wheel of his SE. "I think we've proved that if you're prepared to drive the Golf R with sufficient idiocy, let's face it, that you can just about open up a tiny little gap between it and the SE," he said. And indeed, I had underestimated the SE at my own peril.

But despite its surprising performance, I still couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for the Golf R. Its powerful engine and four-wheel drive system made it a formidable competitor on any road or track, and I knew that it would always be a force to be reckoned with in the world of performance cars.

And as I climbed out of the Golf R and shook its hand goodbye, I couldn't help but wonder what other surprises lay in store for me. Would the SE's unexpected performance be repeated at every track we visited? Or would the Golf R reclaim its position as the superior car? Only time would tell.

Finally, after a spirited battle on the track, I made my way over to my friend who was sitting in the SE and asked him if he wanted to make things more interesting by swapping seats. The idea was simple: we would each put marrow in our respective cars (the Golf R and the SE) and see which one felt better.

I climbed into the SE and quickly discovered that its lighter weight made it a joy to drive, with a more agile front end that turned in wonderfully through every corner of the track. The steering was light and precise, with just enough resistance to keep me engaged. I could feel myself settling into a rhythm as we took each turn, my confidence growing with every passing lap.

Meanwhile, back in the Golf R, my friend was struggling to keep up with me as I expertly carved through the turns. Despite its powerful engine and four-wheel drive system, the car just didn't seem to be able to match the SE's agility and responsiveness. As we entered each turn, I could feel myself slipping past him, my confidence growing with every passing lap.

As we approached the final corner, I made a daring move and pulled alongside my friend in the SE. But as we exited the turn, he caught me off guard by pulling ahead once again.

"I think the SE is actually faster than the Golf R," he said with a grin, "and it's not just because of its lower weight." And indeed, I had to agree. The SE's front end proved to be incredibly effective, allowing him to stay right on my tail as we entered the final corner.

As we crossed the finish line, I realized that the SE had won the battle, but at what cost? Had our earlier excitement over the Golf R been misplaced? Only time would tell, but one thing was certain: both cars had proven themselves to be formidable competitors, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enon paper at least the new VW Golf R and SE Lon CA 280 are not that difficult to separate the golf is four-wheel drive and realistically costs about 5 grand more than the sayat and its 2 L turbo engine produces 2 96 BHP versus 276 for the Layon in reality however they're all but neck and neck with one another around a dry and twisty track like the one at Cadwell Park but when all is said and done which one is quickest and does the vw's four-wheel drive system give it a key advantage on a circuit or is it actually a hindrance because it adds weight and complication but not necessarily speed at the same time so the big difference between the Golf R and the sayat is the golf is four-wheel drive the sayat is two wheel drive but that gives the sayat a one very obvious advantage in that it doesn't weigh just as much okay it's not going to have just as much traction as the golf obviously cuz it's only two wheel drive front wheeel drive but I don't know when you get on a track kind of low speeed traction doesn't really matter that much cuz you never really drop below sort of 40 50 m hour anywhere around the lap and at that point the golf's traction Advantage just goes out the window I don't actually know which is going to be quicker around Cavell Park the golf should be because it has that much more power and you know it costs another five grand and it's the Golf R For Heaven's Sake but I know seats have a habit of um being dark horses so they got marrow behind me in the seat and I'm just going to I'm just going to see see if I can drop him basically around around cwell Park they' both got the DSG gearbox so there's no excuses there I think I think the golf is just a tiny bit quicker in a straight line but not by very much he looks quite big in the mirror there ah the golf does feel really nicely planted in the quick Corners I have to admit I mean that's that's 90 odd CH 90 odd mph change of Direction there it just starting to leave the SE behind okay I'm really really going to try this time really going to try drop him it's got a lovely engine though at the golfar good brakes good steering that's about as late as I can break into there to the point that I'm actually going across the curve a bit it feels lovely through here though it's just this long sweeping right hander and then you get this the goose neck change of Direction yeah yeah I just I can put a decent bit of air between him there goar as one of these cars it just I mean it sounds good it goes really well and it's just but it's just got this sort of underlying sense of absolute efficiency it's very very effective and neat and tidy it's also pretty fast as well oh I do like doing this sort of thing have to say no that's not neat okay I know what I'm going to do now I think we've proved that if you're prepared to drive the Golf R with sufficient idiocy let's face it that you can just about open up a tiny little gap between it and the s but it's very small you know and the say's five grand cheaper what I really want to do is jump in the SE do exactly the same thing put marrow in the golf and me in the sayat and see how that feels so let's do that let's do a swap okay let us see let me see if I can stay with marrow me and the say marrow and the gulf are I don't know I really don't know what the answer to this is going to be I'm kind of hoping that the SE that the fact that the SE weighs that little bit less is going to make all the difference around here but I I just don't know I've asked him to give it absolutely everything basically so go on then I think the might actually be a tiny bit quicker in a straight line it turns in really nicely to say that masses of grit mid Corner really like the steering feel ah wow I am loving the seat Lon I think it stops better I think it's I think it might actually be a tiny bit faster than the golf the gearbox is well it's the same gearbox exactly the same but the big thing the big thing is the front end on the S is better than the golfes it turns in better it just feels more planted once you've actually got the thing committed to the corner wow as a result I can stay right on his tail oh man I get paid to do this sort of thing it's ridiculous the say wasn't just faster around the track than the golf it was a more effective lawn mower as well okay one more see if I can actually go past it no I can't see look at that look how good the front end is on the SE through those two corners wow wow I am really really impressed with the say ah I think it's faster than the Golf R that's outrageous considering it cost 5,000 quid less and he definitely not supposed to be the senior of the two when it comes to Performance wow what a car what a what a proper little Dark Horse of a car to accident no I definitely think this is faster yeah I'll go in front you you so it turns out that the se's relative lack of weight is what matters most on a circuit like this the VW of course has the more luxurian cabin and its four-wheel drive system would be invaluable on snow and ice or even just in the wet but on this day and on this circuit the cheaper lighter less powerful Layon just about edged it no we didn't expect a result like that eitheron paper at least the new VW Golf R and SE Lon CA 280 are not that difficult to separate the golf is four-wheel drive and realistically costs about 5 grand more than the sayat and its 2 L turbo engine produces 2 96 BHP versus 276 for the Layon in reality however they're all but neck and neck with one another around a dry and twisty track like the one at Cadwell Park but when all is said and done which one is quickest and does the vw's four-wheel drive system give it a key advantage on a circuit or is it actually a hindrance because it adds weight and complication but not necessarily speed at the same time so the big difference between the Golf R and the sayat is the golf is four-wheel drive the sayat is two wheel drive but that gives the sayat a one very obvious advantage in that it doesn't weigh just as much okay it's not going to have just as much traction as the golf obviously cuz it's only two wheel drive front wheeel drive but I don't know when you get on a track kind of low speeed traction doesn't really matter that much cuz you never really drop below sort of 40 50 m hour anywhere around the lap and at that point the golf's traction Advantage just goes out the window I don't actually know which is going to be quicker around Cavell Park the golf should be because it has that much more power and you know it costs another five grand and it's the Golf R For Heaven's Sake but I know seats have a habit of um being dark horses so they got marrow behind me in the seat and I'm just going to I'm just going to see see if I can drop him basically around around cwell Park they' both got the DSG gearbox so there's no excuses there I think I think the golf is just a tiny bit quicker in a straight line but not by very much he looks quite big in the mirror there ah the golf does feel really nicely planted in the quick Corners I have to admit I mean that's that's 90 odd CH 90 odd mph change of Direction there it just starting to leave the SE behind okay I'm really really going to try this time really going to try drop him it's got a lovely engine though at the golfar good brakes good steering that's about as late as I can break into there to the point that I'm actually going across the curve a bit it feels lovely through here though it's just this long sweeping right hander and then you get this the goose neck change of Direction yeah yeah I just I can put a decent bit of air between him there goar as one of these cars it just I mean it sounds good it goes really well and it's just but it's just got this sort of underlying sense of absolute efficiency it's very very effective and neat and tidy it's also pretty fast as well oh I do like doing this sort of thing have to say no that's not neat okay I know what I'm going to do now I think we've proved that if you're prepared to drive the Golf R with sufficient idiocy let's face it that you can just about open up a tiny little gap between it and the s but it's very small you know and the say's five grand cheaper what I really want to do is jump in the SE do exactly the same thing put marrow in the golf and me in the sayat and see how that feels so let's do that let's do a swap okay let us see let me see if I can stay with marrow me and the say marrow and the gulf are I don't know I really don't know what the answer to this is going to be I'm kind of hoping that the SE that the fact that the SE weighs that little bit less is going to make all the difference around here but I I just don't know I've asked him to give it absolutely everything basically so go on then I think the might actually be a tiny bit quicker in a straight line it turns in really nicely to say that masses of grit mid Corner really like the steering feel ah wow I am loving the seat Lon I think it stops better I think it's I think it might actually be a tiny bit faster than the golf the gearbox is well it's the same gearbox exactly the same but the big thing the big thing is the front end on the S is better than the golfes it turns in better it just feels more planted once you've actually got the thing committed to the corner wow as a result I can stay right on his tail oh man I get paid to do this sort of thing it's ridiculous the say wasn't just faster around the track than the golf it was a more effective lawn mower as well okay one more see if I can actually go past it no I can't see look at that look how good the front end is on the SE through those two corners wow wow I am really really impressed with the say ah I think it's faster than the Golf R that's outrageous considering it cost 5,000 quid less and he definitely not supposed to be the senior of the two when it comes to Performance wow what a car what a what a proper little Dark Horse of a car to accident no I definitely think this is faster yeah I'll go in front you you so it turns out that the se's relative lack of weight is what matters most on a circuit like this the VW of course has the more luxurian cabin and its four-wheel drive system would be invaluable on snow and ice or even just in the wet but on this day and on this circuit the cheaper lighter less powerful Layon just about edged it no we didn't expect a result like that either\n"