Volkswagen Golf R 2022 Review

If you’re familiar with the pricing of its predecessor, the cost of the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R will come as a shock. Starting at $65,990 plus on-road costs, it’s a cool $10,000 more than the Mk7.5.

This puts it in somewhat of a pricing no man’s land, more expensive than traditional front-wheel drive hot hatches like the Ford Focus ST and Hyundai i30 N, but still well short of the Audi RS 3 and Mercedes-AMG A 45 S hyper-hatch brigade.

In terms of all-wheel drive rivals it’s flanked by the Subaru WRX tS (from $56,990) and its close sibling, the Audi S3 (from $70,343), though the Mercedes-AMG A 35 (from $77,869) is similar in both concept and performance.

Funnily enough, a spate of price rises has actually made the Renault Megane RS Trophy DCT the Golf R’s closest competitor on price at $65,300 plus ORCs.

In an effort to justify the increased ask, the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R has been loaded with safety, communications and entertainment equipment, to the point that the only options are $1000 for a Harman Kardon stereo – which would be standard but for the microchip shortage – and $1900 for the panoramic electric sunroof.

In terms of comfort and convenience there is triple-zone climate control, electrically-adjusted (driver only) heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, head-up display, keyless entry and start, Nappa leather upholstery and 30-colour ambient lighting.

Safety is taken care of by eight airbags and a vast array of driver assistants, including adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, safe exit warning, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, junction assist, rear cross traffic alert as well as front and rear parking sensors and a rear camera.

Last, but certainly not least, there’s entertainment. Widescreen digital instruments offer multiple screens and plenty of customisation and a 10.0-inch touch-screen in the dash handles infotainment duties and has swallowed the vast majority of the physical buttons.

Volkswagen promises a “smartphone-style HMI” (Human-Machine Interface) but it lacks the easy intuition of most devices. Early lag issues seem to have mostly been resolved in our experience but the layout is complex, with menus inside menus inside menus.

There is a quartet of shortcut buttons for the climate control, drive modes, parking and drive assist but it isn’t anywhere near enough. Common functions now frequently require multiple fiddly swipes and prods whereas once they needed only a simple button press – it’s very definitely form over, well, function.

Frustrating infotainment aside, the rest of the Golf R package is extremely amenable, easily living up to its reputation as the performance car for every occasion.

There’s ample space front and rear and the back seats are well equipped with vents and separate temperature controls, a pair of USB-C ports, decent drink storage and two clever little pockets high on the back of the front seats for keeping phones or smaller odds ’n’ ends.

Boot space is a handy 374 litres, expanding to 1230L with the 60/40-split rear seats folded and there’s also a ski port for longer items.

All in all, it’s as quiet, comfortable and practical as your everyday Golf, just with a bit more firepower.

Quite a lot more firepower, actually, as the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R can launch from 0-100km/h in a claimed 4.8sec. For some reason, however, the brand is being very conservative in its claims recently and independent testing has resulted in 4.4sec being recorded.

Responsible for this surfeit of surge is the upgraded 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 235kW from 5600-6500rpm and 400Nm from 2000-5600rpm, making for an extraordinarily broad powerband.

Even in Race mode it doesn’t sound particularly evocative, never really stretching beyond a synthesised buzz, but there’s no arguing with its effectiveness.

This is a very, very fast car and the short ratios of the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox mean you can usually go a gear higher than you would normally through most corners without sacrificing any speed.

Lift the red mist and the Golf R surreptitiously slips back into incognito mode. Putting the drivetrain back in Normal dulls the throttle almost to the point of stupor, to the point that Sport (or manual override) is required for cut-and-thrust driving.

The most civilised drive mode is fine for cruising, though, and gives you the best chance of matching the claimed 7.8L/100km fuel figure.

Normal mode is also your best bet for driving comfort, though in Individual the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R not only allows a favoured combination of settings for the engine, steering, etc to be saved, but the choice of 15 different damping stiffnesses.

Feeling the difference between the individual settings would require Princess and the Pea levels of sensitivity and, to be honest, the factory presets are about right. Still, it’s nice to have the option.

Selecting Sport firms the chassis up nicely and is the pick of the settings for enthusiastic road driving, while choosing between Comfort steering or the extra heft of Sport will likely be down to personal preference.

The latest Golf R does have a couple of other tricks up its sleeve, though, including Drift mode – not one for the public highway – and Nurburgring mode.

The latter supposedly mimics the set-up needed to go quickly at the historic German circuit and it works brilliantly on your typical bumpy back road by teaming the most aggressive engine set-up with a more compliant chassis.

So equipped, Volkswagen’s hottest hatch is able to answer virtually any question a road may throw at it with ease, though it can now do so in a more entertaining manner.

Unlike previous all-wheel drive Golfs, the Mk8 can send the majority of the power to the rear wheels and then apportion it left or right as required, providing, in theory, some degree of throttle steerability.

In practice, on the road at least, you really only score glimpses into this characteristic as it requires a level of commitment that isn’t necessarily prudent. On a racetrack, there is the promise of greater levels of entertainment.

Nevertheless, the new Golf R offers outrageous levels of grip and remains composed at speeds that would have its predecessor running well out of breath.

In terms of outright handling it’s quite a big step forward.

The 2022 Volkswagen Golf R continues the model’s legacy of being the car for every situation. You could commute in it, travel long distances in it, take it to the mountains, take it to the racetrack and anything in between and at no point will it feel out of its element.

The caveat is that this impressive breadth of ability now carries with it a significant cost.

In the current environment you’ll struggle to find an optioned-up Golf R for less than $80,000 drive-away, but then its combination of performance, practicality and technology make a decent argument that it’s actually worth it.

It would be nice if the engine sounded a little fruitier and that infotainment system was easier to use, but they’re unlikely to be deal-breakers for most.

How much does the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R cost?
Price: $65,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 235kW/400Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 7.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 177g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)