R-RATED? (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 71

Want the ultimate hot hatch? Volkswagen's rejuvenated Golf R could well be it. This can't claim to be the fastest car of its kind but its Wolfsburg maker reckons it's the most complete, most rewarding and most dynamic shopping rocket yet made. Depending on your mood, it can potentially reach up to 168mph on the racetrack or register better than 35mpg on the school run. Your everyday supercar is right here.

Modelsword count: 4

5dr Family Hatchback (R)

Historyword count: 319

The Golf R is the defining super hatch of its generation, which means that the 8th generation version that arrived in 2020 had quite a heritage to live up to. Primarily because its predecessors had been just, so, darned good. Not all of these wore Golf R badges; the concept of a fast 4-wheel drive Golf actually dates right back to the MK 2 Rallye model of 1988. This was eventually succeeded in 2003 by a V6-powered R32 model based on the MK4 Golf, which sold for only two years before a second R32 design arrived based on the fifth generation Golf. The first actual 'Golf R'-badged model, launched in 2010 and based on the MK 6 Golf, had the smaller four-cylinder 2.0 TSI petrol turbo unit that has since characterised this model line, first offered with 270PS, then upgraded to 300PS with the launch of the 7th generation model in 2013 - and 310PS when that MK 7 design was updated in 2017. This MK 8 Golf-based R model hit the market in 2020 offering more power still - 320PS and claiming even more sophisticated drive dynamics. Which it needed to distance itself from the much improved front-driven Golf GTI and Golf GTI Clubsport models launched at the same time that shared the same basic powerplant and could by 2020 offer the kind of quick performance that would have satisfied a typical Golf R customer throughout this century's second decade. But by 2020, 'quick' was no longer cutting it in a market where this MK 8-based Golf R had to compete not only with merely very fast hatches, like the Honda Civic Type-R, but also uber-quick ones like the Mercedes-AMG A 45. So it was essential for this car to evolve - which it did. Here, we'll focus on the early 2020-2024 versions of this R model, the cars produced before the mid-term facelift that arrived in mid-2024.

What You Getword count: 579

By and large, extrovert customers in search of a super hatch don't tend to choose a Golf R. This Volkswagen has mastered the concept of superfast speed in a subtle suit, but the Golf GTI also champions that approach; this R model must look stage more serious. It did in this MK8 form. At the front, the bespoke R-style bumper features a motorsport-influenced spoiler, body-coloured side wings, high-gloss black elements and R-specific air intake grilles. Further up, the top radiator grille gets an R badge and a blue crossbar to differentiate this model's top performance status, this bar lighting up as an LED strip as soon as the engine starts and stretching all the way into the wings as a daytime running light, via illuminated strips in each LED headlamp unit. In profile, you'll notice the wheels first. Standard R models get 18-inch 'Jerez' rims featuring blue R calipers for the larger 18-inch brake system. At the rear, an R logo sits between the LED tail lights, but the attention of Golf R cognoscenti will be focused further up. They'll want to see if you've stretched to the Performance Pack variant, which gets a huge Performance rear wing to cope with its higher 168mph top speed. At the wheel, the cabin has a bespoke feel, with R-branded sports seats featuring blue checked 'Sardenga' upholstery and integrated head restraints. Plus brushed stainless steel pedals; carbon-style dash panel applications; a black headliner; and R-specific door trim that echoes the alcantara-style 'Art Velours' trim on the seat bolsters. And, as in any Golf 8, screens dominate the cabin architecture, a 10-inch central 'Discover Media' infotainment monitor and a 10.25-inch 'Digital Cockpit Pro' instrument binnacle display. The latter has a so-called 'Sport skin' which gives you an R-branded central round rev counter. Which you can change to an 'R-View' layout with horizontal rev counter at the top edge of the display. Away from media features, perhaps the unique sports steering wheel is the nicest touch, fitted out with properly-sized tactile gearshift paddles, rather than the rather apologetic small plastic items you get on a Golf GTI. To manually switch ratios, you either use these or the shift-by-wire buttons next to the stubby gear selector on the centre console. On the left steering wheel spoke is the small blue R button you'll need for direct selection of the various driving profiles; a long press takes you straight to blue mist R mode with its throaty exhaust note. Thanks to the extra 16mm of length between the wheels with this MK8 Golf design, there's a fraction more legroom in the rear than there was with the previous generation model, so a pair of six-foot adults could be accommodated reasonably here, though knee room begins to get pretty tight once front seat occupants start to slide their seats back. As for the boot, well your seller might reference the fact that the 381-litre space provided here is a little bigger than the trunk you'd get in a rival Mercedes-AMG A 35 or A 45. But that of a Honda Civic Type R is a substantial 39-litres bigger. Still, the room you do get here is very usable and five carry-on cases or a small set of golf clubs or a baby buggy would easily fit. Pushing forward the conventional 60:40 split-rear bench you do get frees up 1,237-litres across a load area that'll be virtually flat if you have the boot floor in its upper position.

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