2022 Volkswagen Golf R review: First Australian drive

Drift mode. It’s a headline feature that, beyond any other, suggests that Volkswagen’s latest Mark 8 hatch is the Golf R icon so many Aussies love if not as they know it. That and the fact that, roughly, the new hot hatch poster child is $10k pricier than the outgoing 7.5.

For what’s the thick end of 20 percent higher outlay, the clear expectation is that Mk8 Golf R ought to be better, hotter and somewhat different than its forebear. And presumably without losing the maturity and all-round goodness that underpins its everlasting popularity and cult following in Australia.

But given the decade-old MQB platform carries over from its forebear and its EA888 turbo four heartbeat date back to Mark VI, the question is: where is it lifting its game? Further, its familiar DNA is minted in five-door Golf convention, avoiding bespoke wide-bodied specialty and three-door exclusivity that has been offered in recent times by many of its hottest key hatchback rivals.

117

The Golf R’s timing is impeccable, lobbing in a moment where its main competition is either getting on (Hyundai i30 N, Renault Megane RS), between generations (Honda Civic Type R), yet to surface (Toyota Corolla GR) or shuffling off to extinction (Ford Focus RS and Subaru STi). Fit and present, though, is the Vee-Dub’s freshly baked Audi S3 Sportback cousin.

Finding oneself on a lean battlefield is no excuse for phoning the hot hatch experience in, but it does mean Volkswagen Australia has a hand in what you get for the sort of coin it asks for. Want a six-speed manual like North America gets? Tough. But local spec is fulsome and our Golf R arrives standard in Performance Pack guise other markets charge extra for.

Pricing is $65,990 list, originally announced as a thousand bucks higher though, because of component shortages, its Harmon Kardon sound system was relegated to the options list for a corresponding upcharge.

117

It’s a short list – a panoramic glass roof for $1900, all paint colours are no-cost – for a features suite that shoehorns in goodies such as Matrix-type LED headlights, 19-inch wheels, 12-way-electric nappa leather R-spec front seats, 10-inch Discover Pro infotainment, three-zone climate control and an exhaustive suite of IQ.Drive safety and assistance features.

Importantly, and finally, regular Golf R isn’t short-changed on outputs. This Evo4 iteration of the evergreen EA888 – new block, revised head and injection – outputs the same 235kW and 400Nm offered globally (and is seven kilowatts up on the new S3).

That’s identical to the new Tiguan R if 20Nm shy of the Golf R Wagon all launched concurrently on Oz, though the hatch is, with its 4.8 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint, the swifter by one- and three-tenths respectively. The only transmission offered is a dual-clutch seven speed, an R-specific wet-type unit with launch control facility.

117

The significant technical change is the all-wheel-drive format. Gone is the time-honoured Haldex design, replaced by a torque-vectoring rear differential. Its twin electro-mechanical clutches can accurately apportion torque between the rear wheels for all manner of dynamic and stability needs, but its party trick is loading all torque to the outside rear wheel to facilitate the newfound Drift mode.

Less conspicuous is the host of features and user adjustability buried in the Golf R’s trick bag, most of it tied to the Vehicle Dynamics Manager key systems and dictates the hatch’s character. Separate from Race and Drift modes, there’s a Special (aka Nurburgring) rear-bias torque mode, left-paddle rapid-downshift setting, independent stability and launch programs, and even a new Pure soundtrack option.

It’s complex, some of it not terribly intuitive to adjust or navigate, and it demands a bit of a learning curve to get on top of and to dial up desired effect. Perhaps more that available at the Golf R’s local track launch.

117

The old Eastern Creek, now Sydney Motorsport Park, is a good forum for measuring the Golf R’s outright heat. Though its allocated fast-flowing North Circuit experience, rather than the tighter and more dynamic South Circuit, isn’t perhaps ideal in showcasing new AWD torque-shuffling chops and the various whiz-bang modal flavours tied to it.

Thrown into red-misted circulation, its Race mode proves that the Mk8 is indeed properly fast and not out of water on track. Where the old 7.5 tended to trip over itself beyond eight-and-half tenths – in balance and point, mostly – the newcomer seems more confident and planted fully strung out. It tracks and responds well, if with that slightly benign response and round dynamic edges that have long been hallmarks of the Volkswagen’s raciest hatchback.

On track, the Mk8 seems keener to rotate through the mid-corner and lean on its outside rear on corner exit more assertively. At least exclusively through the tighter Turn 2 and subtly rather than obviously so. Any mode bar Race with ESC defeated tends to squash the turbo-four’s corner exit squirt excessively.

117

That said, on balance, corner speed is surly enough that, frankly, even its bumped outputs feel barely adequate for the pace the rest of the package musters up. At a little over 1.5 tonnes, it’s fairly light on its 235mm Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3 feet. However, at its limits some of those older Mk7.5 traits are inescapable: slightly leaden steering with aloof feedback, benign dynamics and less than assertive front-end point.

The Mk8 is not some miraculously sharper, clearer and more focused R revolution. Instead, it’s very much the old 7.5 character mildly evolved, flexing its dynamic muscles a little more confidently without bending an old and familiar mould. If you’re expecting some dramatic, fire-breathing, power-oversteering transformation, be prepared for some disappointment. At least on circuit.

A wet skidpan? Well, that’s something else entirely. Even as a spectator, watching the Golf R power-sliding at full noise around safety cones on a large expanse of wet concrete is highly entertaining. If merely because, while three wheels spin furiously, the inside undriven rear wheel slows in rotation to almost a standstill.

117

Nor does it drift itself. Thus activated, you can choose Sport ESC or ESC off, the former shutting torque down excessively if you attempt a sustained slide and is ideal, perhaps, for wet targa-type road rally activity.

The latter setting uncorks full Ken Block mode and sustained power-slides and it takes some mental calibration. Lifting out of the throttle to counter excessive yaw, as is natural intuition, stops the drift dead in its tracks. As torque vectoring doesn’t lock the rear axle under power, the system demands you bury the throttle, steer your way out of trouble exclusively and hang on for the lairy ride.

Drift mode is an absolute hoot. But I suspect it’s ideally served on a slippery or broken surface. The jury is out as to whether it’s quite as honed and, ahem, focused as Ford’s RS system, one that’ll liquify rubber on dry hot-mix in heroic fashion while delivering all of the control and poise demanded.

117

While as properly quick and unruly as it needs to be, the Golf R still brings its best where it’s most at home: on road. From the peak-hour grind to fair-weather backroad punting, it’s the breed’s hallmark breadth of real-world talent that continues to shine the brightest.

No matter how you drive, the Mk8 maintains a particular blend of overarching comfort and refinement underpinned with fizz and purpose no other spirited hatch, GTI included, balances quite so sweetly. It smooths out rough edges in general execution and brings a tampered manner that’s downright placid when it needs to be. And that’s key to a maturity that neatly sidesteps gauche boy/girl racer-isms that still stigmatize harder-core hatchback rivals.

As a grand tourer or everyday runabout, it remains a benchmark in polish and refinement, its ride user-adjustable with broad scope if wonderfully calibrated and disciplined in default. If there’s a markdown, it’s that it drums up a helluva lot of tyre road on coarse chip surfaces.

117

Tackle tighter twisties at a decent enough clip and the new torque vectoring augments dynamics nicely. It rotates a little keener, is generally more surefooted, and the chassis remains quite fluid in nature. Its effect is subtle, though it feels as if it might yield even bigger exit-drive benefit with higher commitment when tackling, say, a hillclimb course.

The R styling theme is as pleasing as it is predictable and formulaic, but inside and out it’s more fetching than the fancier and more-colourised GTI brief. The blackout with blue highlight effect in the cabin, with fetching blue dot perforations in the supple nappa leather trim, does wonders for the Golf’s current streamlined, big-screen cabin design.

The front buckets are fantastic, even if the wavy trimming looks a bit low rent. Some of the plastics, too, are cheapo for a hatchback asking $70k on the road.

117

I’ve been as critical of Mk8’s user interface as anyone. Some of it remains convoluted, clumsy and distracting to use, with some real own-goals. There’s no gear indicator in the head-up. The R mode and heater wheel button are so easily nudged during a hot punt. The climate control sliders are hard to find in the dark.

But in R guise the displays are sharp and slick, infotainment does offer handy shortcuts with some user acclimatisation, and the transmission selector console array offers fine one-hand convenience.

In terms of ownership, the Golf R gets Volkswagen's five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, while servicing can be pre-purchased at $1700 for three years and $3000 for five years.

117

VW Golf R wagon

VERDICT

Is the Golf R now too polite? In hatch form, it does feel broadly palatable without robbing too much from the sense of go-fast purpose and driver-centric pitch.

However, the pricier and measurably more spacious R wagon on static display at the local launch – 354mm longer, 50mm more wheelbase, big 611-litre boot space – doesn’t offer the lithe vibe of the older 7.5 machinery. And it could prove to be that the R formula is a little too homogenized, despite packing more torque and similar technical prowess.

In short, the Mk8 brings a bit more swagger, kit and some extra tricks to the experience that sits well within the wheel tracks of its 7.5 forebear. It’s a neat evolution, if not a dramatic one.

There’s also some headroom to up the heat for the inevitable conga line of special editions – hopefully with a manual option, regardless of any firm official denials that are currently communicated.

117

2022 Volkswagen Golf R specifications