Do that.
Seriously, if you want that GTI, save up for it. I would not go for anything less than the Golf R personally, but to each his own. Do some research on the engine for issues so you can head them off at the pass.
For example, I had the profound displeasure of dealing with an '01 New Beetle with the old 1.8l turbo that had defective ignition coils. Had to replace those. A little prior research would have made things easier for me.
Some of the newer 1.8l turbo 4s had problems with carbon buildup. People would take NMS Passats (2017 and earlier, basically) with those engines in with complaints at 54-60k miles like clockwork. A little preventative maintenance to head off that issue would stop the need for later repairs, and save a good bit of money.
As far as reliability is concerned, I am currently a fan of my 2014 Passat S (2.5l engine) for its reliability. I got one used at 45k miles at a deep discount. About 55k miles later, no major issues to report. I had a battery go out on me, and . . . that's it? There was something else but I can't even remember what it was(cost was low; spending a lot of money would make me remember it). Had to have recall work on it to replace Takata airbags (yay). I ran into a tree that had fallen across the road in the dark about a year-and-a-half ago, and my car won. The tree splintered, taking out only one of my sideview mirrors.
It's a bit sluggish, but it gets the job done.
None of that really applies to the Golf line, per se. But there are probably some really good build qualities in there, somewhere. The trick is to find the weak points and mitigate them before things blow up/fail. Can't say it's the best buy for your money, since there are a lot of options at or below that price. Also, how long has it been since VW significantly updated the Golf R or GTI? The Golf R in particular looks like the specs haven't changed in years. It's overdue for a refresh.
Good points.
Well, the mk7 (2015?-2017) and now mk7.5 (2018+) have seen +10 hp updates for each model. Not that significant, but the trim levels have also brought the performance bits down a couple of trims, where with 2019, you have the performance package (big breaks, ESD, LED lights) standard on all models, which is actually great for the price. That puts the baseline R at 228hp /258 lb/ft. Essentially underpowered a bit for its class, but it does do interior styling and ride comfort, and some argue handling better than most others in the same class. The DSG also makes it significantly zippier, but I'm again leaning back towards a manual. The exterior styling is a bit different, too--mostly subtle (red vs silver GTI badge to designate standard vs performance package--all silver now, I think, because all include the previous gen performance package), and the headlights are quite a bit sexier--the red GTI grill line now follows into both lamp within each headlight housing.
I like the R, but it's really too much for me. I think if I were in Canada, where they are near the same price of the top Autobahn GTI trim, it makes more sense to go with the R, right?
....anyway, all of this may be moot for another couple of weeks anyway. Finally did my taxes this morning, and I didn't realize that my allowances claimed for 2017 (the year I bought the house) would jsut default carry over to 2018. I could have sworn that I read that they wouldn't...so Ignored them and didn't do anything for 2018 (wasn't sure what to do with the new tax law, and assumed they would set back to 0) ....so, that nice $2k check that I got back from excrow essentially went straight back to the feds and the state, after making a bit more IRA contribution than I planned, lol. ....talk about massive underpayment, understandably. --I paid 1 point + full property taxes and all that when purchasing a home in 2017, so claiming allowances for that year compared to last year...lol. Ah well.
Now onto what this damn kitchen will cost me. ...still, almost a wash in terms of available cash, despite yesterday and hey--my mortgage is still 200 bucks cheaper...so there's that. I just need to remember to storm into HR tomorrow and get my damn W4s and fix that crap for this year.