DC to New Orleans: 1200 Miles, 17 Hours, and a 2016 Golf R

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
The R sits among some Vipers on the way home.

This started out as a full review.  I’ll say it up front, it’s not.  The RFD staff ended up out of town during the time that Volkswagen loaned us this 2016 Golf R.  So we figured we might as well turn it into a road trip film.  Josh and I were heading the same general direction. South(ish).  He needed to be in Myrtle Beach for a long weekend.  I needed to be in New Orleans by Monday night.

That meant 1200+ miles of driving in one day.  17 hours of highway boredom.

So we mapped out a plan.  Josh would head to Myrtle Beach in the R and leave his E92 M3 at my house.  Watch the video for more background information on how the trip went, but see below for a short photo montage.

Leg One – DC to Myrtle Beach in the Golf R

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
Both of our road trip cars in the same place.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
The R in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Leg Two – DC to Myrtle Beach(ish) in the E93 M3

Then it was my turn.  At 4:45 AM, I departed Maryland in the M3.  The goal was to meet Josh somewhere along Interstate 95 and swap cars and continue my trek to New Orleans.

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
Departing Maryland at 4:45AM.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
Morning driving in the BMW.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
Highway driving is so boring.

 

2008 BMW M3
The BMW makes it to North Carolina. Immediately gets checked entering the bathroom.

Leg Three – Myrtle Beach(ish) to New Orleans in the Golf R

After swapping from the M3 to the R, I kept plugging along and headed a bit more towards the West.

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
Wiener dogs love VWs.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
South of the Border. The Golf was not impressed.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
Georgia! Still many hours to go.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
Laziest autonomous system ever, but it worked on long straight roads.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
One of many gas stops.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
These were some big god damn tires.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
Yet more gas.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
Bright eyed and bushy tailed. Actually my tail hurt a bit.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
And even more gas.

 

Dodge Viper ACR
Best gas stop on the whole trip.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
The R sits among some Vipers.

 

2016 Volkswagen Golf R
The road went on. And on. And on.

 

New Orleans
Finally, it was all worth it.

So that was that.  17 hours and over 1200 miles.  One way.  Some of it (the first 6 hours or so) in an 8 year old BMW M3 and the rest in a new Golf R.  Both cars did well, the M3 is raw and feels “special”.  It’s also surprisingly comfortable on the highway using the Electronic Damper Control (EDC).

The R, being a new car, rode quite well and the semi-autonomous features made for a ridiculously easy trip.  The seats are a bit flat and my butt started to hurt, but set in “comfort” mode, it was a great road trip car.  It has very good interior space, the hatch provided all the space I needed for a road trip.

In the end, is the Golf R worth $40K?  I would definitely say so, it’s mechanically similar to an Audi S3 for a lot less.  We’ll make sure we sweet talk VW into lending us this R again for a full review, but for now I hope you enjoyed the road trip.

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