VW’s new all-paw, drift-ready 235kW Golf R hot hatch has arrived, and we hit road and track to see if it’s worth the $66,000 asking price
The ‘Year of the R’ has officially kicked off for Volkswagen Australia, with the car-maker readying the launch of five new high-performance models in 2022. In what’s sure to be a very busy (and exciting) 12 months for the German manufacturer, it’s the highly-anticipated all-paw Golf R hot hatch that begins proceedings, debuting an upgraded version of the brand’s venerable EA888 2.0-litre turbo-four, along with fancy new tech that’ll make anyone look like a super-star drifter.
Hot ticket
When pricing was announced for the all-new 2022 Volkswagen Golf R in December last year, the $10,000 price increase over its predecessor stuck out like a sore thumb.
Launching this month from $65,990 plus on-road costs – $1000 below the first published price, with the Harman Kardon stereo dropped due to the global semi-conductor shortage – the Golf R’s higher price tag reflects not only higher levels of safety, tech and luxury features, but a new direction for Volkswagen as it aims to play to a more premium market in Australia.
Applying a type of cancel culture to ‘cheap Volkswagens’, the German car-maker is on a mission to wipe out entry-level versions of models right across its Aussie line-up.
Riding on the same platform and using the same engine as before, albeit with revisions, the new Golf R is now slightly longer (+27mm) but not as wide (-10mm) as its predecessor, with a longer wheelbase (+5mm) and wider front and rear tracks.
Visually, new 19-inch Estoril alloy wheels, redesigned Matrix LED headlights (linked by a full-width LED light bar), a huge rear spoiler and quad exhaust tips all come standard.
A panoramic sunroof will add $1900 to the invoice, while the premium Harman Kardon sound system is now a $1000 option and, according to VW, will have limited availability here in Oz.
Like the previous R, Volkswagen covers its new hot hatch with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, with service packs costing $1700 and $3000 across the first three and five years respectively.
Justifying it
Look closer, and it’s easy to see where the additional $10K has gone into the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R.
The cabin feels much more premium, adopting the same minimalist design approach seen on the rest of the regular Mk8 Volkswagen Golf range that arrived in 2021, with the R differentiating itself with Nappa leather-clad sports seats.
A much smaller gear selector allows for a few more pockets and storage nooks around the dash, while an R-specific heated steering wheel brings an R logo, a splash of blue and a meatier feel.
And that’s just for starters…
While you mightn’t get an electric tailgate or gas struts to hold the bonnet up (apparently a big deal to some), heated and ventilated front seats come standard, along with a head-up display, ambient interior lighting, wireless phone charging and a 10-inch digital instrument cluster with R-specific display options.
A new 10-inch centre touch-screen may not be everyone’s cup of tea, because it’s now home to all the important functions, including cruise control, auto stop/start and so on.
But we found it easy to use and navigate once spending some time with it, and reckon most owners should find its customisable shortcuts easy to live with. That said, the unit itself is often slow to respond.
Standard features include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio and satellite navigation.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s latest IQ.Drive safety suite brings all the basics: autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, rear cross traffic alert, driver attention warning, park assist and front and rear parking sensors.
A Travel Assist button on an otherwise busy steering wheel allows for quick access to semi-autonomous driving functionality.
It’s a pretty well-kitted machine, with eight airbags and those smart Matrix headlights doing wonders at lighting up a dark bit of road.
We can also vouch for the Harman Kardon system; it’s crisp and loud.
Drift away
The 2022 Volkswagen Golf R returns with a few upgrades to a familiar beating heart.
Under the bonnet is the familiar EA888 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that first launched back in 2006, although now it’s in its fourth evolution (nicknamed evo4 by the boffins at VW) and considerably more powerful.
Debuting upgraded internals including a new combustion chamber design and enhanced piston cooling, the engine also has revisions to the fuel system that are said to improve emissions.
For the record, the Mk8 Golf R is thirstier than Mk7.5, claiming 7.8L/100km on the official combined cycle compared to 7.3L/100km before. We struggled to get close to VW’s claim, averaging 9.2L/100km which we’d say is a function of its higher output and how easily it persuades the driver to explore its potential.
Up an impressive 22kW/20Nm, the Mk8 Golf R now sends its 235kW of power and 400Nm of torque to all four corners via a refreshed version of Volkswagen’s 4MOTION all-wheel drive system.
It also now adds a clever torque vectoring system to enable actual skids.
The type of stuff that could get you into some real trouble with the law, twin clutches in the rear differential electronically work out which corner to send power to, with a Drift Mode that has the ability to shift 100 per cent of torque to an outside rear wheel.
With electronic stability control in Sport mode, there’s enough (controlled) freedom to see you somewhat gracefully drift out of a corner before ESC kicks back in to clean things up.
But turn off all safety systems – as we did on a skid pan – and you unleash full-on, proper drifting.
Admittedly, it takes some finesse (and plenty of water on smooth concrete) to hold an extended drift, but feathering the throttle while you control steering inputs is a tonne of fun.
That fire-breathing turbocharged four-pot is as rewarding as ever, but it would appear VW spent more time extracting power instead of combating turbo lag or attending to hesitation from the carryover seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic.
Can’t win them all.
Road rules
Away from the track, you get a good sense of the high-performance roots of the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R.
Now sporting a plethora of new drive modes, thanks to that trick AWD system, the versatility of the hot hatch’s adaptive dampers will have you thinking it’s just a plain old garden-variety Golf one minute (when in Comfort mode), and a tyre-shredding performance car the next (in Race).
Riding on big 19-inch wheels and grippy low-profile Bridgestone Potenza tyres, the ride can be a little too firm at times, particularly when it crashes over potholes and road imperfections.
In terms of cabin refinement, the Mk8 Golf R is no better or worse than the last, with similar amounts of road noise filtering into the cabin at highway speeds.
When it comes to cabin layout, it’s all pretty familiar.
Softer, more luxe Nappa leather seats are added for the first time in the Mark 8 Golf R, and we reckon VW’s on the money when it says the new pews are super-plush.
The driver’s seat offers 12-way power adjustment, but the front passenger is only afforded manual adjustment!
Overall, there’s enough space for four adults to travel in comfort, plus a boot that now offers 374 litres of cargo-lugging capacity – up 30L compared to previous Golf R.
Worth it
The higher $66K starting point for the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R will be a sore point for some prospective buyers.
But from our first outing, the Mk8 Golf R looks like a bargain compared to some of its European rivals – including the new Audi S3 from the Volkswagen Group stable.
Not only the most powerful Golf R production car ever built, it’s clearly the smartest, most luxurious and tech-laden example of VW’s R-rated small car to find its way Down Under.
You get the drift?
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Keyword: Volkswagen Golf R 2022 Review