2024 Volkswagen Golf R
Starting at $46.000 est

00:00 Exterior
02:45 Interior
08:08 Trunk and engine
08:42 Special outro

HIGHS
Mighty turbofour power, highly entertaining to drive, hatchback practicality.

LOWS
Knobless infotainment and HVAC controls annoy, expensive entry fee, drift mode should should be crazier.

VERDICT
The 315hp Golf R offers a lot of bang, but not for the buck; it's strayed from the Golf's core tenet of affordability in the quest for exceptional performance.

Overview

Some cars do a great job of getting you to your destination, but only a great car will make you eager to leave as soon as you get there. That's the Volkswagen Golf R for you. A 315hp turbocharged 2.0liter inlinefour engine deploys spectacular urgency to all four wheels. It makes just as much power and torque as the frontwheeldrive Honda Civic Type R, but it has a smoother and quieter maturity about it. That is, until you enable the rearbias Drift mode. Even when driving normally, it's easy to feel as connected to the Golf R as the LED unibrow across its front fascia. Its tidy, densely packed hatchback body offers plenty of head, leg, and cargo room, but it's knobless infotainment system makes us yearn for what knobs and hard buttons do with just a simple twist or push.

Pricing and Which One to Buy

Golf R: $46,000 (est)

Engine, Transmission, and Performance

Under the Golf R's hood is a turbocharged 2.0liter inlinefourcylinder that makes 315 horsepower and 310 poundfeet of torque—up from 288 horsepower and 280 poundfeet in the lastgeneration R. The engine pairs with either a sixspeed manual or sevenspeed dualclutch automatic transmission. The standard 4Motion allwheeldrive system features a rear differential that can actively distribute torque between the left and right rear wheels for improved handling. The Golf R's selectable drive modes (Comfort, Sport, Race, Special, Drift, and Individual) can be activated by pressing an "R" button on the steering wheel. We've sampled the hatch's Drift mode, which proved entertaining on slick surfaces, but it won't replace a reardrive muscle car's fun factor. Every model comes with a sport exhaust system, variableratio steering, and larger front disc brakes than before. It also rides on a set of 19inch wheels shod with summer performance tires. During our first drive in Germany, the Golf R showed off the quickness and relentlessness of its strong engine, reactive dualclutch automatic, and intelligent allwheeldrive system. The version we drove was equipped with the optional Performance package that adds two more drive modes, including the entertaining Drift mode that allows some tailsliding antics. At our test track, our Golf R test car with the sevenspeed automatic transmission blasted to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds, while the sixspeed manual slows things down to a stillsnappy 4.9 seconds.

Fuel Economy and RealWorld MPG

The EPA estimates the most efficient version of the Golf R is the one with the dualclutch automatic transmission, which earned ratings of 23 mpg city and 30 mpg highway. Going with the manual transmission drops those numbers to 20 mpg city and 28 mpg highway, a worthy tradeoff in our opinion for the more engaging sixspeed stick. We haven't had a chance to run it on our 75mph highway fueleconomy route, which is part of our extensive testing regimen, but when we do we'll update this story with details. For more information about the Golf R's fuel economy, visit the EPA's website.

Interior, Comfort, and Cargo

The Golf R mimics the GTI's new cabin design, which provides a sportier aesthetic than the lastgeneration Golf. Both have a thickrimmed steering wheel with touchsensitive controls that operate a 10.2inch digital gauge cluster with configurable layouts. Unlike the GTI, the Golf R isn't available with plaid seat inserts, but it does boast bolstered front seats wrapped in nappa leather. These exclusive buckets have blue and carbonlook accents in the side sections as well as a blue "R" logo in the backrest. The other interior features include ambient lighting with 30 colors, stainlesssteel pedals, and more carbonlook trim on the dashboard. The new Golf R also has impressive cargo space and a comfortable back seat.

Read more: https://www.caranddriver.com/volkswag...