Long-term test: Volkswagen Golf R

Verdict

There are few cars I’d rather be running at this time of year. The recent ice, wind and rain have flattered the Volkswagen Golf R; I knew that it would be good, but I’d totally underestimated to what extent this all-wheel-drive hot hatch would lap up the inclement weather.

• Mileage: 10,148 miles
• Efficiency: 33.2mpg

In a previous report, I hinted at how much I was looking forward to running our Volkswagen Golf R Black Edition in the colder months. I’d already got a sense of what the all-wheel-drive hot hatch was capable of, but nothing could prepare me for quite what a winter weapon it’s turned out to be.

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If you’ve experienced the same sub-zero start to the year that I have, followed by weeks of wind and lashing rain, you’ll also have noticed how treacherous our roads have become. Standing water on every bend, potholes big enough to bend a wheel, plus short days that see the dazzling LED-light brigade out in force – it’s not a particularly pleasant time for UK motorists. Unless you drive a Golf R, that is.

Even on its standard Bridgestone rubber, the Golf just grips and goes. It doesn’t matter if you’re chugging along the motorway at the national limit or sprinting from A to B on a sodden back road, there really is very little that can keep up at this time of year.

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The VW’s talents were drawn into sharp focus on a recent trip to south Wales, where it acted as a support car during our exclusive drive of the new Lamborghini Temerario on UK roads. Despite having almost a third of the power and half the number of cylinders, the R put on quite the show. Even our photographer commented on how capable it was, although I do wonder if he was more enamoured with the Golf’s glute warmers; the heated sports seats have proved another welcome feature in recent weeks.

It’s genuinely fun to drive, too. Perhaps not as reactive or razor sharp as VW’s latest GTI Edition 50, which I drove only last week. But its compact dimensions, torquey engine and unrelenting grip mean it’s not the blunt tool it once was. The Black Edition’s long steering wheel-mounted shift paddles are also much more tactile than those in lesser Golfs.

But perhaps most telling was that there wasn’t a disappointed bone in my body when I handed back the keys to the Lambo at the end of that very long day. Sure, I’d loved threading the 907bhp plug-in hybrid supercar through the winding Brecon Beacons, but the Golf’s comfort and familiarity ensured the 150-mile trip back to London was far from a chore. Quick, relatively comfy and loaded with all the kit I needed, it meant the three-hour slog flew by.

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Touching on those creature comforts, I noticed recently that the Black Edition’s base price had risen by more than £1,000, while every single one of my car’s options is now between £10 and £80 more than it was four months ago. I still think the Adaptive Chassis Control is a worthwhile investment – if only for the sense of duality that it brings – but I’d forgo carbon interior trim, and think long and hard about whether the Akrapovic exhaust was worth the near £3,500 VW is now asking.

Parking on the street, I really do value the Area View camera package, which even at £345 (previously £335) feels like a bit of a bargain – saving me scraping the Golf’s black ‘Estoril’ alloy wheels on numerous occasions. Otherwise, though, there’s not much I’d add. A more interesting colour would be nice, but as I’ve mentioned before, the Pure White paint does a great job of hiding the dirt.

But the Golf R isn’t perfect, and a few things prevent it earning another half-star. My first bone of contention is its interior packaging. As a family of three, we regularly fill up every inch of the boot, often with luggage spilling onto the rear seats. The 4MOTION all-wheel drive system eats into boot space, making it noticeably less practical than a front-drive GTI.

It’s dark inside too; I get that the black headliner is supposed to feel sporty, but even with the tilt-and-slide sunroof it can feel quite claustrophobic in the back. Those bulky bucket seats mean my ever-growing five-year-old daughter has no trouble prodding me in the spine as we play I Spy, either.

At least it’s not proving as thirsty as it once was. While I was initially struggling to better 30mpg, things have settled at around 33mpg, with more possible on a run. I think this improved average is due to more frequent motorway journeys where the Golf is more economical, but I still can’t expect more than 18-20mpg in stop-start urban traffic.

Volkswagen Golf R: second fleetwatch

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We bump into one of our former long-term test cars in the Sainsbury’s carpark 

It’s quite bizarre the people – or in this case, the cars – you bump into in Sainsbury’s car park on a dull winter’s day in deepest Surrey. Pulling up to the Farnham superstore with my daughter in tow before an afternoon of fun at the nearby Birdworld animal park, I noticed an eye-catching red and white VW out of the corner of my eye. 

As it drew closer, I clocked the registration: KY19 XCV. It immediately felt familiar, and having parked up alongside, I quickly got my phone out and flicked through my camera roll. My suspicions were correct; the two-tone camper pictured here (next to my current Golf R) was the very same van I ran for Auto Express on long-term test almost seven years ago, through the summer of 2019.

Seeing the two side-by-side only highlighted the breadth of talent available within the VW Group. They couldn’t be more different, yet each serves a purpose. Being a family man, I’d value a bit more space, but the Golf R’s power and four-wheel-drive traction are coming into their own through the winter months.

Volkswagen Golf R: second report

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Track day gives us a chance to test hot hatch’s high-performance credentials

• Mileage: 8,032 miles
• Efficiency: 32.4mpg

Many people consider the humble hot hatch to be a jack of all trades. Something that can do the school run or hop to the shops, before transforming into a scintillating sports car the moment the road opens up.

But to find out if the latest Volkswagen Golf R is the consummate single-car solution, I subjected it to the ultimate test: a track day. And no ordinary track day either; my plan was to join my colleagues at evo magazine for their last organised session of the season – around the Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex.

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I’m lucky that in this job, I’ve driven on lots of race tracks, but I was worried that the Golf would feel out of its depth – and that’s before you consider that most of the other drivers knew their cars inside out; I’d only had the VW for a month or so at the time.

The sessions were divided into 15-minute slots, and there was no telling what you’d be jostling for track space with until you rolled into the pit lane. My first run saw me sitting with an Alpine A110, a Porsche Cayman GT4, a current-generation Honda Civic Type R, a BMW M3 Touring and a Nissan R35 GT-R.

Following that first stint, familiarising myself with the track and trying not to get edged out by stiffened supercars, I came away a little despondent. Where the Golf felt too firm on the road, it rolled more than expected through fast changes of direction. The gearbox was quick to shift, but I found myself wanting more revs. The optional Akrapovic exhaust also didn’t feel worthy of its £3,395 premium.

But with every subsequent session I became more connected with the car; generating extra heat in the tyres meant more grip, which in turn meant more speed. Better learning the rev pattern resulted in smoother gearchanges, only aided by the Black Edition’s more tactile shift paddles. The Golf R impressed with its straight-line speed; the tried and tested 2.0-litre turbo engine more than held its own.

The brakes were fantastic and completely resisted fade, proving consistent lap after lap. The ‘R’ drive mode, accessed via a steering-wheel shortcut button, put the Golf in its most highly strung settings, while another press let the car relax in ‘Eco’ for the cool-down lap.

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Of course, the best bit about the Golf R is its duality. It’ll take a pounding on track – over four sessions and 1h 20min, it averaged just 9.4mpg, and used more than three-quarters of a tank of super-unleaded – before slinking submissively into its normal routine, and the 60-mile slog back up the A3 to London.

Despite its recent track time, the car’s long-term fuel economy is improving. It’s still pretty thirsty in town – no thanks to the intermittent stop-start system, which displays little rhyme or reason as to when or why it chooses not to function – but on a run I’m seeing close to 40mpg. Over the first 2,500-odd miles, I’m averaging 32.4mpg, which I don’t think is too bad, considering this car’s performance.

Other downsides? The wireless charging pad overheats, occasionally causing the Apple CarPlay connection to cut out. The car’s trick all-wheel drive system – which offered unflappable traction on track, and will no doubt come into its own as the temperature starts to drop – cuts boot space by 40 litres to 341. We’re a family of three and struggle to fit in everything we need for a weekend away. The cabin is cramped too, making it truly tight if we ever want to squeeze five in for a short trip. 

But I can forgive the odd failing. The comfy seats, extensive kit list and instant throttle response make it a talented all-rounder that’s well worthy of any hot-hatch shortlist.

Volkswagen Golf R: first fleetwatch

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A quick Co-op pit stop turned the Golf’s oddly shaped cubby into a perfectly practical feature

Something that’s been puzzling me more than most lately is the odd, oblong-shaped storage space on the centre console. It’s seemingly useful for little more than a pen or pencil, and I’d questioned its purpose ever since the car arrived in early September. But then, after an impromptu Co-op meal deal on a recent Auto Express road test, it clicked: it’s perfect for your favourite sweet snack.

Volkswagen Golf R: first report

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Performance Golf takes us on a high-speed trip down Memory Lane, but is it fit for a family?

• Mileage: 5,658 miles
• Efficiency: 29.1mpg

If you enjoyed our recent hot-hatch twin test, you’ll surely not mind reading through another page on one of their toughest and best-established rivals: the Volkswagen Golf R.

It’s the latest addition to the Auto Express fleet and is a car I hold particularly close to my heart. To understand why, you’ll need to rewind the best part of a decade, when I grabbed the keys to VW’s then-new Mk7 Golf R for the two-week festive break. I’d been using it to tour the country, seeing family and friends, loaded with gifts and other gubbins; everything my then-fiancée and I would need for a fortnight away from home.

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Yet I don’t think I was prepared for the lasting effect it would have on me – that’s me, reminiscing in the main image. It spent a lot of its time slogging between London, Hampshire and Devon, but when it wasn’t sitting at an indicated 70mph on a monotonous stretch of the M4 or A303, it transformed into one of the finest all-rounders I’ve driven. Compliant, fun on the right road and, from what I remember, blisteringly quick point-to-point.

So, I’m really intrigued to live with the newly updated Mk8.5 for the next few months. My life has transformed since that fast and furious Christmas of 2015; with a young daughter in tow, I’ve now got my reservations about whether or not the Golf will be big enough for our needs – a big ask, following on from a BMW 5 Series Touring.

Another area I’m looking forward to unpicking is the latest Golf’s cabin. There was plenty of furore when the eighth-generation car launched in 2020, with complaints about quality and the clucky user interface, some of which the company claims to have fixed for this facelifted model. There’s still a lot of touch-sensitive surfaces, but the whole thing feels reasonably well screwed together.

So it should; our car is the all-singing, all-dancing Golf R Black Edition, priced at an eye-watering £53,845 including options. And yes, I know it’s white – maybe that’s a conversation topic for a future report –  but there are plenty of dark details that mark it out from the regular car. 

Included in the standard kit list are the black 19-inch Estoril alloy wheels, black mirror caps, black strips on the radiator grille and headlights, black brake callipers and black badges. This flagship model also gets its electronic speed limiter removed, meaning, in theory, it can hit 168mph flat out.

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On top of all that, my car has almost £7,000 of options, including an upgraded Akrapovic exhaust system, a panoramic tilt-and-slide sunroof, and adaptive chassis control. I’m also making good use of the area-view 360-degree cameras when parking. Given the choice, I’d probably not spend £810 on ‘carbon decorative inserts’, although they do look smart.

The final, and probably most important option, is the retailer-fit Vodafone SCD60 S5 Thatcham Tracker with a six-month subscription: one of those things you hope you won’t need, but are grateful to have. It’ll help me sleep at night, along with the fact that I keep the keys in a sealed Faraday bag.

Shamefully, the car has so far been largely restricted to airport runs and taxi trips to swimming lessons and girl guides, but I’ll be stretching its legs in the coming weeks – with a number of longer journeys and even (hopefully) a track day with my friends and colleagues over at evo magazine.

As I start to get stuck in, I’m hoping I'll see some improvement in the stated fuel economy, which is currently hovering around 29mpg. I don’t miss having to plug the car in every night – as I did with my 530e – but I’m undoubtedly spending more time at the pumps. Still, there has to be some trade-off for the pleasure of running a five-seat family hatchback with 328bhp and the ability to sprint from 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds…

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.

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