Summary
Brilliant performance and innovative all-wheel drive system.
Awful user interface with crucial functions not illuminated at night.
The cabin has ample space, but is marked by cost-cutting and inferior materials.
I’ve been extremely vocal about the current MK8 Volkswagen Golf. I don’t know if it’s because its predecessor, the overachieving MK7, was so brilliant, but I just can’t seem to find the same level of enthusiasm when driving this current one. I mean, don’t get me wrong. There’s still a lot to like about this German hatchback, especially in R form. It’s fun to drive, quick enough, comfortable, practical and incredibly easy to live with. Yet, I still miss the seven.
As I look back at my past reviews of the MK8 (I’ve driven this car more than once), I realize that there’s always just one reason that prevents me from putting it in the same spectrum of perfection as the car it replaced: its dreaded user interface, both from its infotainment system, but also from basic climate control settings and steering wheel-mounted buttons. And don’t get me started on the fact that some of those features don’t even illuminate at night.
Luckily, I’m told that Volkswagen has fixed most of these problems with the upcoming 2025 model. But until we get there, I felt it was important to drive the current Golf R one last time, as a reminder that a bad user interface can ruin even the best of cars.
2024 Volkswagen Golf R
The Golf R is Volkswagen’s flagship super hot hatchback. It kicks off where the iconic GTI ends, cranking everything up to 11 in the process. There’s more horsepower and torque, as well as the benefit of all-wheel drive. There’s even a drift mode. Whether you opt for a manual or automatic, dual-clutch transmission, the Golf R is immensely fun to drive and fast. It’s also practical and easy to live with. But beware of its user interface, as it’s an ergonomic disaster. Volkswagen says the updated 2025 model should fix this.
ProsAlways quick, always fun.Comfortable and practical for the daily grind.Innovative all-wheel drive system. ConsAwful digital user interface.Some crucial functions don’t illuminate at night.Annoying pumped in audio.
The Golf R pictured here belongs to the Volkswagen Canada press office. The vehicle was delivered clean and with a full tank of gas. For detailed insight into testing procedures and data collection, please review our
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2024 Volkswagen Golf R First Impressions
Looks are another area where I’m not sold on the MK8 Golf R. It’s not an ugly car, per se. It still carries over the Golf’s iconic shape and size. I appreciate that there’s no excess fat here. Its silhouette is still all Golf, and that massive rear spoiler and quad exhaust pipes truly speak business. That’s all great.
But for me, it’s the tacky bits that I simply can’t accept. I grew up in an era where Volkswagens looked and felt like budget Audis, which was one of the best qualities of the MK7 Golf R. Nothing on that car appeared cheap or overdone. As a matter of fact, it still looks epic when I see one on the road.
William Clavey | TopSpeed
This one, however, has a large front LED light bar that reminds me of Kia when it’s driving around at night. Its headlights are awkwardly shaped, the wheel design is…fine, and the R logo somehow now looks like it would belong on some cheap, aftermarket bolt-on performance part you’d normally find on eBay. What happened to the old R logo’s kick-ass font?
Exterior Dimensions
Length
168.9 in.
Width (With Mirrors)
70.4 in.
Height
57.7 in.
Wheelbase
103.5 in.
Front Track
60.7 in.
Rear Track
59.7 in.
Curb Weight
3,397 lb.
2024 Volkswagen Golf R: Differences Between The US And Canadian Market
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Since the Golf R is a trim level of the Golf, it’s sold in the US and Canadian markets as a unique trim. Remember, the regular Golf is no longer sold on this side of the pond, leaving us only with the GTI and R variants. But that also means that the R can only be had in two colors; Lapiz blue, as tested, or Mythos black.
Between both markets, the car is basically identical, but the US Golf Rs come standard with a panoramic roof, while in Canada, it’s a $1,250 (CAD) option. In both cases, you can opt for a dual-clutch transmission (DCT) as optional equipment.
US Market
Canadian Market
Golf R Manual ($46,890 USD)
Golf R Manual ($51,760 CAD)
Golf R DCT ($47,690 USD)
Golf R DCT ($53,160 CAD)
Driving Impressions And Performance
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Although it sends annoying pumped in audio through its cabin – which is somehow worse than the MK7’s – the Golf R remains a peach to drive. This is the sort of stuff automotive enthusiasts like to rant about and, in many ways, the driving dynamics, drivetrain and performance are significantly better than the last car.
It’s also one of the rare cases where opting for the manual transmission isn’t necessarily the best choice. Mind you, that stick is totally fine, and while I do wish the clutch had a bit more bite, it’s all so well coordinated that the Golf R quickly allows you to evade into the art of driving. I also drove a DCT-equipped Golf R last year, and that was fantastic as well, especially when stuck in stop and go traffic.
William Clavey | TopSpeed
Punch the accelerator in the Golf R on corner exits with traction control turned off in Race or Special mode (Special was apparently tuned on the Nürburgring), and the Golf R rotates gracefully, kicking out its rear in the process as if it was propelled by a rear-biased setup. It’ll never fool a hardcore rear-wheel driver, but Volkswagen’s front-biased, reactive 4MOTION all-wheel drive system – which activates the rear wheels only when slippage is detected – is good enough to make you believe that it all originates from the back.
That’s all thanks to a trick rear differential that incorporates two multi-plate clutches, allowing it to distribute up to 100 percent of the rear torque to an individual rear wheel to maximize cornering grip. It’s basically a torque vectoring system, which will allow the car to even drift when activating the Drift mode. Unfortunately, since I didn’t want to pay for a new set of tires and I didn’t drive the car on a track, I couldn’t test that out.
The Golf R is brilliantly tuned in the sense that it’ll follow you in your crazy, amateur race car driver stunts, but will also double down as a formidable daily usable hatchback. Volkswagen’s Dynamic Chassic Control, now standard on the R, allows you to truly tailor the suspension damping how you see fit. In my case, it meant setting the Individual setting to a very soft ride in order to absorb the awful roads in my part of the world, but still benefit from a heavy steering and lively engine.
William Clavey | TopSpeed
And that engine continues to be a gem. Now rated at a stout 315 horsepower, it’s not the most refined when it’s running on idle. It sounds rather coarse, and revving it at a stoplight is embarrassing as it sounds like a vacuum cleaner. But once it starts doing its thing, climbing through the revs, it delivers loads of torque, a linear powerband and a willingness to pull all the way to its redline.
The Golf R is also fast! Even with the stick, you’ll easily pull low five second runs from 0 to 60 MPH without giving it much effort. Opt for the DCT, and you’ll be entering the mid four-second space thanks to launch control. That’s on par with some seriously fast machines.
Performance Specifications
Engine
2.0L Turbocharged Inline Four-Cylinder
Transmission
6-Speed Manual Transmission
Driveline
AWD
Horsepower
315 HP @ 5,900 RPM
Torque
280 HP @ 1,900 RPM
0-60 MPH
5.1 Seconds
2024 Volkswagen Golf R Fuel Consumption
The EPA rates the 2024 Volkswagen Golf R at a frankly reasonable 23 MPG combined, and while I had it during a warm summer week, I actually did a tad better than that while running it casually on the highway for a while. At the end of my run, I ended up with a 24 MPG average. Considering how much performance this thing puts down, that’s impressive.
EPA And As Tested Fuel Consumption
City
Highway
Combined
EPA Fuel Consumption
20 MPG
28 MPG
23 MPG
Fuel Consumption As Tested
NA
NA
24 MPG
Interior Design And Comfort
In terms of cabin size and general comfort, the MK8 Golf R basically gives you exactly what the MK7 did. And that’s probably one of its best qualities, its ability to also double down as a practical little hatchback that can comfortably seat four and their gear.
With a child’s seat strapped in, the front passenger seat does need to be moved forward a tad. So if your front passenger is tall, they might find it to be a bit of a squeeze. Rear legroom also remains on the small side, so if tall people are sitting up front, you might find it hard to fit your knees behind those sports bucket seats. There’s no issue with headroom, however, as the Golf’s shape gives way to a high roofline, even in the rear.
William Clavey | TopSpeed
Back to those front seats. They’re amazing, and not just to look at, but also for holding even wider frames in place comfortably while cornering. Generally speaking, the Golf R’s cabin is well put together, but there are signs of cost-cutting here that you didn’t find in the MK7. Some cheap plastics, and a generally lame dashboard layout make this interior feel low-rent at times.
Interior Dimensions
Front
Rear
Headroom
38.5 in.
38.1 in.
Shoulder Room
55.9 in.
53.9 in.
Hip Room
53.4 in.
46.3 in.
Legroom
41.2 in.
35 in.
Technology And Ease Of Use
The MK8 Golf R is a considerably more sophisticated hot hatchback than the MK7, and some of its tech does allow it to be a quicker, more agile hot hatchback. But it’s also plagued with disastrous ergonomics.
Most of the drive modes and settings are operated via the infotainment system, like basically all new cars now. The problem is that accessing some of that information – like the traction control system – requires digging inside menus. And those menus aren’t all that easy to comprehend.
The good news is that it’s possible to add shortcuts to the drop-down menu, and the traction control Off button is one of them. But it still requires a swipe and a tap, versus simply pressing a button.
William Clavey | TopSpeed
VW also gives you four physical (actually haptic feedback) buttons underneath the infotainment system to rapidly access vital information, such as drive modes, climate control settings, electronic driving aids and parking sensors. That helps. But that’s all ruined by haptic sliders for volume and temperature control. And those sliders do not illuminate at night (why?) which means you’ll need to dive back into the screen if you haven’t memorized their emplacement on the dashboard.
William Clavey | TopSpeed
Finally, the steering wheel buttons are also haptic, which means if you accidentally slide your finger on one of them, you could end up doing something you didn’t want to do in the first place. There is, however, some redemption. The digital gauge cluster is brilliant. It looks the part, acts fast when you ask it to change its layout and includes a wide range of useful information, both for daily driving, like navigation, or driving fast on a track, like a lap timer.
Cargo And Storage Space
William Clavey | TopSpeed
Cargo space has always been a Golf R strong point, and the MK8 is no exception. Thanks to its hatchback configuration, it’ll hold almost as much cargo space as some small crossovers. Drop the rear seats flat, and this thing becomes as cavernous as a small minivan, which truly allows it to be easy to operate during the daily grind. I had no problems stuffing a stroller back there along with a few bags of groceries.
Minimum cargo capacity (with all seats in place)
19.9 cu-ft
Total cargo capacity (all seats folded flat)
34.5 cu-ft
Still Brilliant, Can’t Wait For The Update
William Clavey | TopSpeed
Look, the Golf R is a great car, and we’re all lucky Volkswagen still builds it, let alone still sells it in our market. If you’re looking for a sports car, but also have adult responsibilities, like children and everything that comes along with them, then this is a tremendously hard package to beat. It’s comfortable, practical, fuel efficient, agile and stupid quick. It’s also very fun to drive.
But if you’re interested in buying this car, I’d say wait until the 2025 model year comes in, and read the reviews first. If it turns out to be true that VW worked out most of the ergonomic shenanigans, then the MK8 Golf R could potentially go down in history as the best of the entire Golf bloodline. But until then, that crown still belongs to the MK7.
Source link : https://www.topspeed.com/2024-volkswagen-golf-r-review/
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Publish date : 2024-07-22 00:09:00
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