The updated 2025 Volkswagen Golf R is almost here, and turning tides in consumer demand crashing into fleet average carbon dioxide strategies add to the poignancy of the recent mid-cycle facelift. This German hot hatch we know and love to drive isn’t going to be around forever, so if you’ve ever wanted to buy one, why not be proactive so you don’t end up wallowing in hindsight?
The first Golf with an R on the back was the Mk4 R32, a V6-powered (yes, a VR6 is a V6, it has a bank angle) all-wheel-drive hot hatch that almost felt like it was commissioned to prove a point. Its enormous-looking OZ wheels and deep front valence stretched the concept of the fourth-generation Golf to its most extreme, and this instant icon set the stage for things to come. The Mk5 R32 kept the VR6 engine around before a new model designation and a new engine was announced for the Mk6 model — the Golf R.
Powered by a juiced-up two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and spinning all four wheels, it was the logical next step from the GTI, and things got even better with the refinement of the Mk7 Golf R. I’ve been lucky enough to put some serious mileage on a Mk7 Golf R and guess what? It’s fabulous. Dignified enough to simply be a car, yet voracious enough to make distance effortlessly disappear. It was replaced with the Mk8 model for 2022, and that brings us neatly to today, with the facelifted Mk8.5 Golf R.
The 2025 Golf R pumps things up to 328 horsepower using basically the same two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine as the old Golf R. The manual transmission option is sadly going away, but it wasn’t the greatest shifter in the hot hatch segment, and it’s hard to argue against the effectiveness of the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Of course, you still get the trick torque-vectoring rear differential and adaptive dampers of the old Golf R, but manipulating drive modes and such should be less infuriating thanks to a new infotainment system with a revised user interface. Sadly, the sliders are still there beneath the screen, but the steering wheel gets actual buttons, a positive move for actual human use.
Of course, all of that was revealed when the sheets came off the refreshed Golf R back in June. However, what wasn’t revealed was that America’s getting something called the Euro Style Package, which is a box worth ticking. Basically, it includes a sunroof delete, some seriously cool fabric upholstery, and a titanium Akropovič exhaust system to pump up the backing track.
So why am I urging you to buy a Golf R while you still can? Well, Volkswagen made a big bet on selling basically everyone an ID.4 electric crossover, and as we’ve previously written, that bet simply doesn’t seem to be panning out. The problem is that not everyone wants an electric car, and Volkswagen will need U.S.-spec plug-in hybrids and hybrids that it simply doesn’t have in order to keep the current lineup while complying with near-future fleet-wide emissions standards.
Or, as one Volkswagen of America exec put it in a recent article:
Imported from Wolfsburg, it is the more powerful version of model that has become a top seller in Germany. The vehicle is extremely popular in the U.S., but when it comes to fuel efficiency, “it’s a catastrophe,” says an executive in Reston.
When a car exec calls its own car a “catastrophe” that’s usually not a good sign.
Obviously, homologating more cars is expensive, so cutting models from the lineup is typically what happens when an automaker shifts its approach to emissions. As we’ve seen with Stellantis, the first models to get pruned from an automaker’s lineup under these sorts of circumstances are generally the low-volume, high-CO2 ones, and the Golf R is the most low-volume high-CO2 thing in Volkswagen’s current American lineup.
We won’t be able to buy turbocharged all-wheel-drive Volkswagen hot hatches forever, with easy power just a remap away. As it stands, the Golf R is in the middle of its lifecycle, so we’ll get a few more years at most to enjoy it before things might change forever. However, a few short years can fly by quicker than, well, a Golf R at full chat. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
(Photo credits: Volkswagen)
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I will never understand why VW doesn’t sell the ID.3 in the US – it’s a (relatively) affordable, good-looking, practical EV which is exactly what the American people want right now.
I tried buying a Golf R about 2 years ago, but at the time I wasn’t able to find a dealership that was willing to sell it for anything near MSRP. I hope that’s no longer the case, because I really liked it, but not enough to pay $10k over list.
I know quite a few people considering selling their VW Golf R / GTI with 6MT because they feel it can command a higher pricetag now that VW’s not offering it anymore.
So in the parallel used-car world, I wonder if there’s a spike in used manual transmission VWs as a result.
This car isn’t what it was. VW is a train wreck I wouldn’t give a dollar to and that pop up dash is horrid.
New Idea: Never buy newer model VW Golf R
I always come back to the Golf R when I think about “rewarding myself” with a fun daily. But then I think about years of seeing VW ownership horror stories and ask myself if I really want to roll those dice.
Maybe Carmax and a warranty is the way to do it.
The problem with the Golf R is that it’s still a VW. Shit, I’d trust a Subaru WRX over this, and definitely a GR Corolla or Civic Si or Integra. Any of the above will be more reliable than a fucking VW.
Doesn’t the WRX only come with Subaru’s execrable CVT?
I thought it still came in manual, but even if not, the others do
Only the top line GT comes with the CVT.
The other trims have the manual standard or mandatory in the case of the TR or the upcoming TS.
I’m looking to purchase either a 2025 Golf R or Audi S3. I drove a 2018 R DSG for over 4 years as a daily, and had no problems with that car at all; the engine did not grenade, excellent fit and finish with no squeaks or rattles, just a dependable daily with the advantage of excellent handling, and after installing an APR stage 1 tune at 6 months of ownership, just a very quick car when I wanted it to be, which I loved driving. The car suited my needs, and my needs are today similar, so I am leaning toward the R. The S3 is more upscale and quieter inside, the rear seat space offers more leg room, but the cargo capacity is paltry compared to the R. The S3 performs nearly as well as the R in acceleration and handling. There is about a $10k premium to purchase the S3 though.
I would love to hear any feedback from those who have spent time driving the R and the S3. Looking for both positive and negative comments regarding either. Thanks!
They’re both expensive Germans and will depreciate, but the S3 will be nearly worthless in 10 years. At least the R, if not modded and flogged to within an inch of it’s life, will have some value to certain people being the last of its kind. I have two stage 1 Audi’s and they’ve been very reliable, but the combination of German depreciation and buying during peak Covid prices has not been kind.
The first year depreciation on my wife’s 2021 Audi A5 was insane. I should have researched that before buying.
My 2018 GTI.. not so bad. I have a $15k offer from CarMax in hand, and I’m deciding whether to just dump it there, or deal with a pp sale to make another $2k (facebook, autotrader, etc.)
I’m afraid I’d get screwed on the auction sites.
I just did. I bought a 2024 Golf R in Mythos Black with the DSG, last month. I didn’t think it was worthwhile to wait for the 2025. So far I’m thrilled with how it drives and how brisk it is.
Congrats on the purchase. Hope your experience with your R is similar to my experience with my 2018 R. Loved that car, great performance and handling, and frequently have regretted selling it.
I just don’t want a poorly made car that might fail inspection and then fail working while it sits in my driveway waiting to get repaired and hopefully pass inspection.
Your comment appears to be at odds with your username. You may have been hacked!
I don’t want to play grammar nazi, but can we agree on AkrApovic once and for all ?
They did miracles for the performance exhaust industry, and deserve to not have their name butchered.
I’m only pointing this out because it appears that the O is a purposeful choice by many in the US, and I can’t figure out why.
No manual means its dead to me. Benz M-139 at 416hp is only behind an auto.
The R is literally shopped only because it ha-d that manual. Otherwise a chiptuned M-139 drops freaking 400whp+ and has AWD.
Fools.
The R and gti have an extremely lackluster manual, I daily one. Short throws are cool but the rubber bushings and long soft clutch are just not it. A single tune can easily bring a golf r to over 400 hp and it… also has AWD?
Yeah, it’s not good. It’s why I went for the DSG when I got mine last month. Also, the stock clutch is known to fail early even without a tune and certainly with one, so you have to budget for a clutch upgrade in addition to anything else.
Despite my complaints I still do like the manual but I’ve had a permanent tab of an ecs stage 2 clutch at the ready for when my tune starts to wear it out.
I have a 2018 GTI, and I love the manual. I’m not doubting you though, I guess I’ve just never driven anything nicer to know the difference.
I enjoy it but driving my brother’s GR86 made me Google a short throw shifter within 5 minutes
Disagree, the newer one is 442hp stock. Turbo compressor is ball bearing, twin scroll, large turbine, wastegate uses a valve-style poppet that helps spool.
The newer one is electronic turbo and they use a 6000w motor to instantly spin up an even larger turbo which now has less back pressure and thus gains tons from a tune even over the 442hp number.
It would quite frankly destroy it as the engine stock puts out over 100hp more and in transient throttle response is ridiculous.
Closed deck engine block when the R has semi-closed. Iron vs aluminum. Sadly not even close.
Id rather have the R with a real manual. But with that gone would jump to the Benz platform without hesitation.
I drove a MK7 R and I honestly wasn’t that impressed. These are very capable cars that are quite refined and make great dailies, but they’re extraordinarily German in their performance delivery. They just feel very sterile and clinical to me. The numbers are amazing on paper, but in practice I actually liked the GTI better because it felt more alive.
Good luck with one of these off warranty as well. Or even on. You could get an example that goes 150k without issue or you could wind up with an example that grenades at 50,000 miles after spending half its life in the service bay. They’re very fussy things. If that doesn’t bug you then go ahead, but I’m personally never buying anything with an EA888 again.
If you like this I’d suggest a GR Corolla instead. Now that they have the premium trim and the automatic option I’m not really sure what the Golf R offers that you can’t get in a GRC. You’ll sacrifice some refinement, but it’s a damn hot hatch. It’s not supposed to be refined. It’s supposed to fart, pop, ride rough, etc but be just useful enough that you can sneak it past your non enthusiast partner.
I’m with you on the sterile German interiors – it’s somewhat ridiculous that so much of the cheap $18,000 Golf interior is shared with its near-$50,000 version.
I gotta hard disagree with Corolla, though. If you’re looking at interior quality, I cannot fathom picking the rental car spec, Temu-cheap Toyota plastics.
Of the top-spec hot hatches, the Civic Type R has the best interior—especially now that it’s been updated and matured. The Golf R (as an owner of one) is below that, but not by much.
The GR Corolla? A good three notches down.
If you all are buying hot hatches for nice interiors you’re missing the point
Perhaps so, but style and comfort are important to me, and I like a good all-rounder. After all, if I just wanted a piece of shit that went fast, I’d go and buy a C4 ZR-1.
I’ll sacrifice the stickshift to not have to be seen pulling up somewhere in the styling dumpster fire that is the GRC.
You can take a golf r past 85 mph, for one
A whole cylinder, cargo space, a year of warranty, the aforementioned refinement, and the added benefit of looking like a grown-up instead of a 22 year old Outback waiter spending all of his tip earnings modding a Corolla with Pep Boys parts.
I had a fairly modified MK7 GTI DSG and I would now go with a CTR 11 times out of 10 over the Golf R. I went that route with the FK8 gen CTR and its a huge step back in inteior quality, but 20 steps forward in driver enjoyment. The Golf while fast just felt bored and lackluster. The 11th gen CTR finally has a good interior and maintains that same driver enjoyment. Notabale mention is the EN which is the Great Value CTR, 90% of the same car at 3/4 the price.
I got out of my MK7.5 GTI after two years because of how many issues it had. I currently have a Kona N but it’s been problematic as well. I just had to have the knock sensors replaced because it kept going into limp mode. If this doesn’t solve the problem it’ll need an entire goddamn engine replacement, so fingers crossed that this is it. I love how the Ns drive and have done several track days in mine, but I can’t recommend them in good faith anymore.
If I were shopping in this class again I’d go CTR/ITS or GR Corolla. We have a lot of VAG fans on this site who worship at the altar of performance Golfs, but the GRC is infinitely cooler than a Golf R to me personally. The interior also isn’t as bad as folks are making it out to be and all of that rally DNA/the weird engine are so neat to me.
I almost bought one a few years ago and wish I did after how my Hyundai experience has gone. Now that there’s an automatic I might take another peek. My wife can’t drive stick and I’d rather daily an automatic since I live in DC…but for a car as good as the CTR/ITS I’d be more than willing to suck it up.
A recent National car rental line-up had a 2024 GTI; so I naturally chose that car. The majority of car was above my already-inflated expectations, but even after a week with this car, I was supremely frustrated with the infotainment and HVAC controls. It truly was a deal-breaker. If a nice MK7.5 Golf R shows up for sale, I will strongly consider one.
Drove a Golf8 R manual recently, great car but I’m holding out for 8.5, and gotta run out my Golf7 TDI’s 11year/162K miles warranty first!