Birthday celebrations are in progress as the VW Golf R celebrates twenty years in the hot hatch game, but is this 20th anniversary edition the best yet?...
On sale Now | Price from £48,095
Happy 20th birthday to the Volkswagen Golf R. It’s been 20 years since the hottest VW Golf beyond the renowned Golf GTI hot hatch graced the Volkswagen order books.
Back in 2002, the first R-badged Golf was called R32 and featured a 3.2-litre V6 engine – hence the ‘32’ bit of the name. Such an engine would be seen as unfathomably large for a family car these days, but it still put out a healthy 238bhp and did 0-62mph in about 6.4sec. Having four-wheel drive also made the R models stand out against the front-wheel-drive GTI.
Today’s R may only have a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, but it is turbocharged and packs a much mightier punch. In fact, this celebratory 20 Years edition is the most powerful production Golf of them all, with 328bhp – 13bhp more than the standard non-birthday commemorating R.
You also get the R Performance pack as standard with this special edition. That raises the top speed from 155mph to 166mph, and adds a dedicated Nurburgring and Drift setting to the car’s roster of drive modes. Elsewhere, Napa leather interior trim and some blue exterior highlights are thrown in as well.
All very commendable stuff on top of an already highly accomplished car, but do all of these extras make sense against the not inconsiderable £48K price tag? Let’s find out…
What’s it like to drive?
As we’ve already mentioned, this is the most potent Golf yet (ignoring the one-off 641bhp GTI-W12 concept car made for the 2007 German GTI Festival). Due to its extra power over a standard R, the 20 Years version gets from 0-62mph 0.1sec faster, in 4.6sec. That power continues to be sent through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
Ultimately, it still feels similarly fast to the standard car, with easily enough power to get you past slower moving traffic or to rocket you out of a corner on a twisty country road. The extra power of the R 20 Years model leaves many rival hot hatches behind – including the Cupra Leon 300 and Hyundai i30 N – but is not quite at the same level as the very hottest models, namely the Audi RS3 and Mercedes-AMG A45.
There aren’t any mechanical changes made to the R 20 Years, so the more playful handling of the regular Golf R remains, meaning it’s more engaging to drive than the four-wheel-drive BMW M135i. As per the standard R, grip levels are remarkably high, and combined with accurate and well-weighted steering, you always feel sure that the 20th anniversary Golf R will go exactly where you point it.
The ride remains comfortable too, no doubt helped by the £850 adaptive suspension option our test car had. As equipped and when set in the car’s Nurburgring drive mode, the suspension is actually softened to a more supple setting to aid compliancy over bumps, which is great news when driving over rough roads like the ones we have in the UK. Wind and road noise is well contained, too, making this a highly effective high-speed grand tourer.
Our car also had the optional Akrapovic exhaust system, providing a rawer sound to your driving experience and some humorous exhaust pops when you lift off the accelerator – although you perhaps would expect it to bring a smile to your face, considering such an option costs a hefty £3500.
The turbo has been fettled to spools up quicker to improve response and acceleration times, while the gear changes in Race driving mode (or either the Sport or Sport+ settings for the gearbox) feel a little harsher to mimic the more engaging driving experience you’d have with a manual car.
To be honest, the changes are hardly noticeable, especially when you are pressing on with the engine at high revs anyway. Meanwhile, you’d need a back-to-back comparison between a regular R and an R 20 Years to really notice a change in gear shift quality, because both cars will do so in a lightning fast manner.
What’s it like inside?
Our VW Golf R review will give you a detailed rundown of what it’s like inside because there have been no major changes made for this R 20 Years version. That means you get a comfortable driving position with figure-hugging front seats, plenty of space in the back for a six-foot adult behind a similarly tall driver, and a decent sized boot.
It also means you get the same frustrating infotainment system detailed in the main review, along with touch sensitive steering wheel controls that aren’t as easy to use as the traditional buttons found on a Cupra Leon.
What is different is that the R 20 Years gets what’s described as real carbon trim across parts of the dashboard and door cards for an ‘premium sporty’ look. Trouble is, they don’t look all that far removed from the very not-real carbon trim found in a much cheaper Skoda Octavia vRS.
The rest of the plastics aren’t too shabby, but they don’t quite stand up to the high standards of what’s found in a BMW M135i, and with this special edition Golf costing almost £50k, you might understandably expect better. There is some very nice quality Napa leather trim covering the seats, and they come complete with electric driver seat adjustment (with memory), plus the added luxury of heated and cooled front seats.
Keyword: 2022 Volkswagen Golf R 20 Years review