New VW Golf R review: The ultimate car?

Modification your car with :

The has been upgraded!

's well-known pocket rocket has been updated in 2024, however are the changes enough to sway you away from rivals such as the S3, AMG A35 or M135?

Well, let's take a closer look. Starting with the style, it's still clearly a , however there are a few notable changes compared to the previous edition. You now have an illuminated badge sitting within the light bar extending throughout the front. The lower bumper has also been revamped and houses some real vents on either side. Along the side there are satin door mirrors and side skirts, while at the back there's a redesigned bumper, upgraded taillights, and naturally, quad tailpipes.

On the within, not much has been updated – however that's not necessarily a bad thing! There's blue stitching throughout, R-specific digital dials, and soft-touch products throughout. The primary modification, though, is the big infotainment screen on the centre of the dash. It's brilliant and looks wise, although it can be a bit laggy at times. In the back, there aren't any changes of note – it's basically the like the previous edition.

Under the bonnet, you have the exact same 2-litre 4-cylinder turbo as previously. Nevertheless, the power output has actually now been increased from 320hp to 333hp! It still features 4×4 and a 7-speed dual-clutch automated transmission. It'll propel you to 60mph in simply 4.6 seconds.

The brand- R expenses from ₤ 44,500. So is it still the very best hot hatch on the market for under ₤ 45,000? Stick to Mat to see for yourself!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:34 Style
01:37 Interior
02:54 Back Seats
03:19 Engine
03:40 0-60mph
04:06 Boot
04:24 Bothersome Features
05:34 Cool Features
07:08 Drift Mode
09:05 Brakes
09:54 Country Road Driving
12:28 Motorway Driving
13:30 Verdict

Comments

86 responses to “New VW Golf R review: The ultimate car?”

  1. @rafuyhhre4543 Avatar
    @rafuyhhre4543

    Did VW just facelifted their car 3 times??

    1. @erdemgulcin5474 Avatar
      @erdemgulcin5474

      how? mk 8 is an all new gen.

    2. @biafo4541 Avatar
      @biafo4541

      ​@@erdemgulcin5474😂 exactly

    3. @pppcorn Avatar
      @pppcorn

      the tail lights helped but this thing aint pretty

    4. @tcl7563 Avatar
      @tcl7563

      I dunno it looks the same for awhile now honestly can’t tell

    5. @wedgett1 Avatar
      @wedgett1

      And still not manage to fix the buttons on the steering wheel 😂

  2. @pppcorn Avatar
    @pppcorn

    optional airbags seems sneaky almost like a diesel scandal

    1. @bryantwilson4731 Avatar
      @bryantwilson4731

      Copying the new porsche macan ev

    2. @ItzJupiter Avatar
      @ItzJupiter

      safety systems should never be optional. in fact, even if it causes the price of the car to increase, they should be present. its almost criminal to do something like that but volkswagen has a history with that sort of stuff.

    3. @joshbacon8241 Avatar
      @joshbacon8241

      Why would they make the curtain, side and center airbags optional extras? Surely they should be standard?

    4. @oskarskalski2982 Avatar
      @oskarskalski2982

      I’m not excusing VW but years ago apart from the standard airbags in front of the driver and passenger were optional in some automakers.

    5. @wiegehtslukas Avatar
      @wiegehtslukas

      thats not a VW-specific thing though

  3. @yennerz00bradderz Avatar
    @yennerz00bradderz

    I think the screen could be a little bigger, just so the driver in the car behind could see it

    1. @biafo4541 Avatar
      @biafo4541

      😂😂😂😂😂

    2. @wall2971 Avatar
      @wall2971

      🤣

    3. @James-gf9jl Avatar
      @James-gf9jl

      Or you can hide behind it if you are a shy driver.

    4. @lewiscannon8213 Avatar
      @lewiscannon8213

      If I’m Going for a Sunday 20 mile Country road blast the last thing I’m gna what is a gaint TV covering the Windscreen 😎

    5. @seneshbandara8484 Avatar
      @seneshbandara8484

      True

  4. @biafo4541 Avatar
    @biafo4541

    I cannot get over the microwave size screen on dash

    1. @luffararnesugerkuk Avatar
      @luffararnesugerkuk

      Me neither, what a miss on a otherwise great little hot hatch. In fact I take it further, I once bought a tiny fuel efficient city car, a Picanto 2020 something and the screen just fall into same category, still so thick, lots of cheap plastics as screen packaging. All on top of the size, sticking up, not looking like a integrated part at all.
      Hopefully Mk9 can have a much more thought through design, can learn a few things from the German competition, in some regards not all.

    2. @Bullbotha Avatar
      @Bullbotha

      Just silly, a car doesn’t need a screen at all, it needs a radio and CD player, that’s all!

    3. @OBELISK3210 Avatar
      @OBELISK3210

      I think it’s the positioning. It’s way too high. On Tesla it’s slightly lower on a slant. This is up right & high. Very off putting. I prefer how it’s thinner than the 8.0 but hate how high it is.

    4. @victormukisa7066 Avatar
      @victormukisa7066

      Fj

    5. @thetruth7212 Avatar
      @thetruth7212

      @@Bullbothahell nah Oldie 😂

  5. @jc74435 Avatar
    @jc74435

    You can set the gearbox to “M+” and it will not auto-upshift in manual. Or just put it in Special Mode.

    1. @lewiscannon8213 Avatar
      @lewiscannon8213

      Like the dq500 back in 2013.

    2. @strzibnyj Avatar
      @strzibnyj

      Exactly, it should have been said that it stays manual when shifting in Sport mode.

    3. @crashnburn441 Avatar
      @crashnburn441

      Yep exactly. Nürburgring mode lets you pin the redline

    4. @Largeone1968 Avatar
      @Largeone1968

      @@crashnburn441Nuremberg? Great autocorrect 😂

    5. @FrankObermaierPerf Avatar
      @FrankObermaierPerf

      Exactly – just put it in „Special“ or „Drift“ and the engine will rev straight to the fuel-cut off limiter – sounds awesome!

      Further remark: in those mentioned two driving modes which both switch the transmission to its sportiest Setting „S+“, also the engine switches to its most aggressive setting, including the antilag function and the preloaded turbo during part load 🥳 – enjoy

  6. @Koffieleuter Avatar
    @Koffieleuter

    That touch screen needs to go!

    1. @thymme7508 Avatar
      @thymme7508

      hell no i love the look if it

    2. @ericlucci2829 Avatar
      @ericlucci2829

      touch screen in mk8 was an okay size. no need for an ipad pro in there

    3. @simonh870 Avatar
      @simonh870

      Not at all distracting.

    4. @SALFX7 Avatar
      @SALFX7

      @@ericlucci2829 Ya’ll just love to complain about everything, the touch screen on this is probably one of the best things about it. WAY better than that crap on mk8.

    5. @lm1314 Avatar
      @lm1314

      I agree. I want climate control as buttons. I had to get a new car for kid hit me and totaled out my car which was a 2019. My new car is a 2025, same model but now the screen is touch vs the old screen was controled with a wheel and two knobs you hit one way for one thing and the other for another (radio vs media or phone vs navigation) Using the wheel was so easy and I miss it. I just left hand on gear shift and moved wheel or wrote on it. I wonder when will shift back and if insurance companies will determine the impact of all this technology on more accidents.

  7. @aimanrizal1364 Avatar
    @aimanrizal1364

    Bentley as a camera car haha

    1. @Dayswithryan Avatar
      @Dayswithryan

      Best for camera stability hahah

  8. @jamesj97370 Avatar
    @jamesj97370

    Why on earth did VW put normal steering wheel buttons in every 8.5 Golf but left the R with the ridiculous haptic “buttons”?

    1. @WaveManMike Avatar
      @WaveManMike

      Because those buttons were never ridiculous to begin with 😂
      Stop listening to reviewers and actually go try the cars yourself. Those buttons are extremely useful and almost impossible to accidentally press or swipe. They function exactly like real buttons just with additional features.

      I really hope VW doesn’t listen to these comments full of people who have never even tried the steering wheels.

    2. @robgaskell2391 Avatar
      @robgaskell2391

      Utterly baffling eh

    3. @jamesj97370 Avatar
      @jamesj97370

      I have driven the cars with these buttons in and they are awful, VW try to pass it off as being “futuristic” but in reality they’re just penny pinching!

    4. @stiffybeanie4148 Avatar
      @stiffybeanie4148

      Bro i agree with you​@@WaveManMike

    5. @richardtyson7366 Avatar
      @richardtyson7366

      I have the capacitive buttons, horrendous. Never again.

  9. @ODGreenZa Avatar
    @ODGreenZa

    With that new screen you finally have a bigger distraction than a back seat driver

    1. @cgpandre Avatar
      @cgpandre

      Wonder who suggested/approved to lift the screen position that high up

  10. @lucarinke Avatar
    @lucarinke

    The rear lights are in my opinion one of the bests of the entire market. I really like the blinker design. Great!

    1. @purwantiallan5089 Avatar
      @purwantiallan5089

      The handling of the Golf R almost replicating the AE86 TRUENO.

    2. @mario191081 Avatar
      @mario191081

      The left is already have water inside,the best😂😂😂😂

  11. @dr.m5804 Avatar
    @dr.m5804

    The minor changes at the front changed the whole car. The Design now is on par with the Golf 7👍

  12. @anyexpat Avatar
    @anyexpat

    Companies should be banned from selling cars with “Optional Airbags”

    1. @monochromeherpestes8921 Avatar
      @monochromeherpestes8921

      Why? I don’t want to have any. more options is always better!

    2. @charles-davidberube1174 Avatar
      @charles-davidberube1174

      People said that about rear cameras, auto braking systems, led headlights, and other safety options. While being good for safety, we the consumer are paying that price increase in every cars. No wonder why cars are getting so expensive

    3. @davidemartorana4708 Avatar
      @davidemartorana4708

      ​@@monochromeherpestes8921 why would you not want more airbags?? 💀

    4. @waveybeats Avatar
      @waveybeats

      @@monochromeherpestes8921just curious, why wouldn’t you want any?

    5. @HdauBean Avatar
      @HdauBean

      @@charles-davidberube1174 i think you can live without those and use your senses. Airbags should never be an option.

  13. @vhol93 Avatar
    @vhol93

    All the airbags should be standard indeed

  14. @nastystew6942 Avatar
    @nastystew6942

    Almost $60,000 for a golf is crazy!

    1. @SJJ1992 Avatar
      @SJJ1992

      Bro, go buy Zeekr 001 or Denza z9 gt instead. Germans are way to back in time

    2. @davevanderham998 Avatar
      @davevanderham998

      €90k in The Netherlands…

    3. @AllAhabNoMoby Avatar
      @AllAhabNoMoby

      @@davevanderham998 Tering… 😳

    4. @Suukerjunk Avatar
      @Suukerjunk

      @@davevanderham998 and they wonder why the car industry is imploding..

    5. @denisbaraniak9715 Avatar
      @denisbaraniak9715

      I agree, but valid point is, that every competitor is more expensive than the Golf R.

  15. @adamc209 Avatar
    @adamc209

    95” OLED TV with the optional Golf R package

    1. @waveybeats Avatar
      @waveybeats

      😂😂😂

    2. @ashleyboyer2721 Avatar
      @ashleyboyer2721

      Go and watch his review on the Fisker Ocean 😂 you’ll have a laugh when you see how big the screen is in that car😂

    3. @ananthans82 Avatar
      @ananthans82

      Very unfortunate that PlayStation isn’t included as standard and an option 😂

    4. @MariosTabajen Avatar
      @MariosTabajen

      CornHub

    5. @tsheposos Avatar
      @tsheposos

      Stop it 😂

  16. @arctictruck10 Avatar
    @arctictruck10

    333hp was the numbers for the E46 M3. How times have changed.

    1. @KarrasBastomi Avatar
      @KarrasBastomi

      From a 4 cylinder 2 liter. A number reserved for tuned 2 liter with dodgy reliability 15 years ago.

    2. @edmund8 Avatar
      @edmund8

      But you have to think that’s very impressive for only a 2.0L engine AND 2 less cylinders than the E46

    3. @red-bullred-bull3789 Avatar
      @red-bullred-bull3789

      2009 hatte der Golf-R (270-PS).

  17. @benspencer-jones Avatar
    @benspencer-jones

    Fisting the exhausts is certainly a new thing for Carwow. Really branching out now…

    1. @knifeyonline Avatar
      @knifeyonline

      He has to get it in quick while exhausts still exist

    2. @purwantiallan5089 Avatar
      @purwantiallan5089

      ​@@knifeyonlineexhaust racing pipes?

    3. @opencarry3860 Avatar
      @opencarry3860

      🤣🤣🤣

    4. @kaljaukko5439 Avatar
      @kaljaukko5439

      😅

  18. @dominathor Avatar
    @dominathor

    Esthetically, Mk 7.5 is peak golf(inside and outside), but when we talk performance and practicality(tech & features), this Mk 8.5 R takes the cake.

    1. @edward92128 Avatar
      @edward92128

      I have a tuned 7.5 so have the best of both worlds, or so I believe 😅

    2. @jn5433 Avatar
      @jn5433

      7.5 is ugly

    3. @prodgaming2948 Avatar
      @prodgaming2948

      Nostalgia merchant

  19. @slamminx3 Avatar
    @slamminx3

    You need to be in special mode and then gearbox won’t change up automatically. Also in the past 2 years I think I’ve only activated heated steering wheel once by accident. The touch buttons aren’t as bad as everyone makes them out to be.

    1. @RS-do1of Avatar
      @RS-do1of

      Agreed. I’ve very rarely activated something inadvertently. Seems to be a pointless whinge

    2. @justpixelbee Avatar
      @justpixelbee

      Same here. This (touch buttons and central screen) is so over exaggerated

  20. @carwow Avatar
    @carwow

    Change your car with Carwow: https://bit.ly/-Change-Your-Car-1812

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