Volkswagen Golf R Wagon 2022 Review

Like the hot hatch on which it’s based, the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R wagon has had a substantial price hike over its predecessor, but comes loaded to the gills with equipment and technology to help soften the blow.

At $68,990 plus on-road costs, a $3000 premium over the hatch, it costs a hefty $8000 more than the previous-generation limited-edition Volkswagen Golf R Wolfsburg Edition wagon, and that’s after a $1000 discount when the microchip shortage relegated the eight-speaker Harman Kardon stereo to the options list.

It doubled the length of that list, with the only other choice being the $2000 panoramic glass sunroof.

Only three colours are available: a solid white, the hero metallic blue pictured here and a pearl black, and there’s no extra charge for any of them.

Sporty traditional station wagons are few and far between these days, although the new-generation 2022 Subaru WRX Sportswagon has just arrived.

Indeed, many of the R-rated wagon’s major rivals come from within the same showroom or from the broader Volkswagen Group.

There’s the larger Volkswagen Passat 206TSI wagon and Volkswagen Arteon 206TSI Shooting Brake, as well as the taller Volkswagen Tiguan R.

The latter gives rise to a variety of hotter SUV options from a variety of brands, while if you need the space without all the pace the Skoda Octavia RS wagon is also in the conversation.

The Golf R wagon is covered by VW Australia’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and a pair of prepaid servicing plans can be purchased for $1700 (three years, saving $174) or $3000 (five years, saving $833). Intervals are 12 months or 15,000km.

The argument for the inflated price tag of the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R wagon is its bulging equipment and safety list.

There’s keyless entry and go, a power tailgate, dynamic LED headlights, darkened LED tail-lights, R puddle lamps and 19-inch wheels.

Inside, you’ll find triple-zone climate control, heated and ventilated front seats, electric adjustment (with position memory) for the driver’s seat, Nappa leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel, auto lights and wipers, 30-colour ambient lighting, a head-up display and highly customisable digital instruments.

Infotainment is taken care of via a 10.0-inch touch-screen with wired and wireless smartphone mirroring (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), AM/FM/digital radio, voice and gesture control, native sat-nav and wireless charging, in addition to a pair of USB-C ports front and rear.

It’s an extensive list, but interacting with all this technology can be an exercise in frustration. The trouble with cramming so many features into a touch-screen is that you tend to end up with menus inside menus inside menus.

That in itself is not the end of the world. With time and familiarity you would undoubtedly find where all the various functions are hidden and VW seems to have largely fixed the latency issues that plagued early examples of the Mk8 Volkswagen Golf, so navigating the menus doesn’t take too long.

The problem is it’s a backward step over what’s come before in terms of user experience. The Mk7.5 Golf’s interior might not have had the same contemporary minimalist design, but most functions – certainly those used most frequently – could be accessed at a moment’s notice.

An example. Should you wish to attack some corners with verve – which you likely will – in the old Golf R you simply tapped the ESP button once to activate the ESP Sport setting. In the new car you press Vehicle, then settings, then swipe left, then press the Brakes menu, then you can select ESP Sport.

A more everyday annoyance is the fact that while there is a pair of haptic sliders for temperature control, there is no hard key for fan speed adjustment.

It might only be one menu away, but that’s the point. If adjusting basic functions now takes double or triple the time it did previously, then that can hardly be seen as progress. Volkswagen certainly isn’t alone in adopting this digital-first approach, but it’s gone further than most.

The rest of the interior is more successful. The driver’s seat is set a little high but the driving position is otherwise fine and the sports seats are comfortable and supportive.

The Golf R wagon’s 350mm length increase includes a 50mm wheelbase stretch which improves rear legroom from tight to ample. This could also be just the extra space required to comfortably accommodate a baby seat (or two).

It’s behind the tailgate you’ll find the wagon’s USP. That extra length increases boot space from the hatch’s 374 litres to a hefty 611L with the rear seats in place.

Dropping them boosts luggage room from 1230L to 1642L, which is the equal of the larger Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake (1632L) and Tiguan R (1655L).

Triple-zone climate control means a separate set of temperature controls for the rear passengers, who are also provided with a pair of USB-C ports, cup holders in the fold-down centre arm rest (which also hides a ski port) and a pair of smaller pockets on the back of the front seats for holding phones or snacks.

VW has also packed every safety assist system possible into the latest Golf, including adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, driver monitoring, rear traffic alert, exit warning system and parking and traffic jam and junction and lane assist. Basically every assist there is.

While this is good for peace of mind, these aids are thankfully relatively unobtrusive in daily use, though the AEB and lane assist can occasionally be over-cautious and trigger needlessly.

Those interested in the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R wagon are more likely to want to do the driving themselves, though, and they’ll be rewarded for the effort.

The wagon’s engine is actually slightly different to that of the hatch. A petrol particulate filter (PPF) in the exhaust instead of the hatch’s catalytic converter means that while the wagon produces the same 235kW of power, it does so over a slightly wider rev range.

Add to this an extra 20Nm of torque and better fuel consumption (7.4L/100km to the hatch’s 7.8L/100km) and it’s a slam dunk in favour of the wagon.

However, do not attempt to use less than 98 RON fuel, as the PPF will not thank you.

It’s an incredibly strong engine. There is a slight hesitation as the turbo wakes up but then it’s pretty much seamless power all the way to redline.

Volkswagen claims 0-100km/h in 4.9sec, a 0.1sec deficit to the hatch, but given its smaller sibling has reliably clocked 4.4sec in independent testing, there seems no reason the wagon shouldn’t best its claim by a similar margin.

As you might imagine, that results in pretty searing pace, the closely stacked ratios of the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox disappearing in quick succession under full throttle.

Sadly, there isn’t much of a soundtrack to accompany the impressive performance. Selecting one of the sportier drive modes – there is Comfort, Sport, Race, Drift and Nurburgring to choose from, the latter of which I’ll come back to in a moment – fires up some fake noise inside the cabin but it’s not particularly evocative.

Aside from the occasional low-speed hesitation that’s endemic to this type of gearbox there are few complaints with its rapid shifts.

Where the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R wagon really sets itself apart from its forebears is the way it handles.

All-wheel drive Golfs have always erred towards safe and secure handling over extrovert entertainment, but the Mk8’s new drivetrain shifts the balance slightly towards the latter.

Essentially, it can send more power to the rear and do so earlier, in theory allowing the throttle to help steer the car in a grin-inducing fashion.

In practice, the new Volkswagen Golf R wagon isn’t as playful as the likes of the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S or Ford Focus RS; you basically have to drive the wheels off it for the rear-end to come into play.

On a racetrack this is likely to make it a much more involving companion, but on the road its grip levels are such that its typical manner is composed and capable, even in the wet.

Virtually nothing flusters the Golf R. Regardless of weather or road condition, the car somehow manages to adhere itself to the tarmac and only relinquishes it under provocation.

If there’s a dynamic difference between the hatch and wagon it would take a direct back-to-back comparison on the same bit of road to find it. I drove the two cars a week apart on the same road in similar conditions and the wagon felt every bit as quick and enjoyable.

Pick of the drive modes is the special Nurburgring setting, which supposedly mimics the set-up required for fast laps at the iconic German circuit, but the fact it teams a more compliant chassis with the sportiest drivetrain setting makes it ideal for bumpy back roads.

If none of the pre-set modes are to your liking, you can mix ’n’ match settings via the Individual mode and it’s worth doing so to keep the steering light.

Should you be the tinkering type you’ll delight that VW now gives you 15 different damping settings from which to choose for the suspension, though to be honest the default Sport set-up strikes a good compromise between ride and body control.

In everyday use the ride is on the firmer side, but that aside the Golf R wagon requires no compromise.

This has always been the fast Golf way and the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R wagon is no exception. It’s a car that answers every question asked of it and the wagon version only expands its repertoire.

It’s practical enough for family duties, comfortable and economical enough for the daily grind, yet fast enough to be a supercar beater point-to-point.

The somewhat frustrating infotainment interface is a shame, but it’s not sufficient to take the shine of what is otherwise an incredibly well-rounded package.

Not everyone will need the extra space the wagon provides, but for those who do, it’s nice to know that, slight premium aside, you aren’t paying a price for the added practicality.

How much does the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R wagon cost?
Price: $68,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 235kW/420Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 7.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 168g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)