Should you buy one?

Absolutely. The Volkswagen Golf R strikes an ideal compromise between performance, practicality and price – and the tweaks the brand’s boffins have made for this facelifted version have made a good car even better.

The Golf’s new infotainment screen is an ergonomic masterclass compared to the outdated system you got in the old car. Plus, Volkswagen has changed how the haptic buttons on the steering wheel work, which makes it more difficult to accidently change drive modes or skip songs while you’re twirling the wheel.

If you’re a petrolhead with a family, but you can only afford to have one car, you’ll struggle to do much better. Unless you’re prepared to splash some cash on a BMW M3 Touring, that is – but you could have two Golf Rs for the same price as one of those.

What’s new?

Less than I was expecting, especially where cosmetics are concerned. Volkswagen has given the Golf R a fresh set of lightweight alloy wheels and a larger rear wing – but the rest of the exterior styling is pretty much identical to the old car.

There’s a good reason for this, though. Instead of faffing about with self-indulgent styling tweaks, Volkswagen directed its energy into making the R go faster, before sprinkling on a few quality-of-life improvements as a garnish.

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For starters, this new car’s power output has risen from 320hp to 333hp, which I’ll admit is quite a modest increase. But those figures only tell half the tale because Volkswagen has also fiddled with the engine’s turbocharger to bring the power on sooner – and that makes the R feel much faster in normal traffic.

There are some big changes in the cabin, too. You get the same pin-sharp 12.9-inch touchscreen from the standard Golf, which is a world away from the Atari screen you got in the pre-facelift car. The climate sliders are also now backlit, and the haptic buttons now require you to hammer them with more force to make them work.

What’s it like inside?

Way better than the pre-facelift Golf R. The seats and trims haven’t changed much, but that new infotainment system more than makes up for it. It’s everything the old screen wasn’t. It’s crystal clear, lightning fast when swapping between screens and it has wireless support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which I much prefer to trailing wires around the cabin.

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Plus, it has an immensely useful row of shortcut buttons at the top of the screen that allows you to jump directly to the driver assistance menu. That means disengaging lane assist now takes two prods rather than half an hour of poking, waiting and swearing.

We also complained at length about the old car’s lack of physical buttons but, now that Volkswagen has backlit the climate sliders and fixed the haptic sensors on the steering wheel so they only operate when you throw the full weight of your arm behind them, it’s much better. I’d have preferred physical buttons, but this is a good compromise.

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Quality is as good as you’d expect from a Volkswagen Golf. The materials used on the door pulls, steering wheel and centre console are all sturdy, while the stalks have a very pleasing weight to them. The only issue we’d count against it on this score is that its elevated pricing puts it up against some very well-built cars – both the Audi S3 and BMW M135 feel more special inside.

Comfort

For such a high-performance car, the Golf R is remarkably comfortable. The cabin is well isolated from the road and there’s a valve in the exhaust that quietens the engine down to a whisper. In fact, with the dampers in their softest setting, I don’t think it’s any less civilised on the motorway that a standard Golf.

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The front seats are great. They have loads of side bolstering to keep you upright when cornering enthusiastically, but they’ve got enough lumbar and under-thigh support to keep you from cramping up on a long motorway drive.

They’re also very adjustable and set quite low to the floor, which is great if you’re tall. I just wish the steering wheel telescoped further out of the dashboard. I’m six foot tall and, with the seat in the correct position for my legs, I had to overextend my arms to reach it.

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I’d also like to point out that some of the Golf R’s rivals – namely the Cupra Leon and Ford Focus ST – have more space in the back for adults. Volkswagen has a solution for that, though. The Golf R Estate has a slightly longer wheelbase, which gives those in the back considerably more leg room.

Safety

Like all Golfs, the R has a five-star Euro NCAP score. But, because the R is the top-spec model in the Golf range, you get every scrap of safety equipment Volkswagen has in its warehouse. You’ll find adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, lane assist, blind-spot monitoring and Volkswagen’s excellent matrix LED headlights which move with the wheel to light up the inside edge of corners.

What’s it like to drive?

Noticeably different to the previous model, which is surprising given how minor Volkswagen tweaks are. The biggest change is that, thanks to the tweaks the brand’s boffins have made to the turbocharger, the Golf R now feels fast at sensible speeds – not just when you’re challenging the limits of physics.

I won’t delve too deeply into the technicalities here but, because the boost now hits the engine sooner in the rev range, it feels far more eager and excitable. A little flex of your big toe is all that’s needed to wake the engine up, rather than the hoof full of throttle you needed in the old car. That’s a lot more fun – and it means overtaking is now even easier.

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Because you get a little more power, the Golf R now gets from 0–62mph in 4.6 seconds (which is a tenth quicker than before), although top speed remains the same at an electronically limited 155mph. However, you can choose to have that limiter increased to 167mph by paying for Volkswagen’s optional R-Performance package.

My only criticism of the engine is that it doesn’t sound very nice. To make the Golf R bearable on the motorway, Volkswagen has packed its exhaust full of cotton wool and cork – and that’s completely stifled its rasp. To compensate for that, you get an artificial engine noise played through the stereo, but it’s awful. The cars in GranTurismo 4 sounded better. If it was my Golf R, I’d be fitting an aftermarket exhaust the day I picked the car up.

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Thankfully, Volkswagen didn’t mess about too much with the facelifted Golf R’s chassis. It’s as grippy and predictable as the previous car, which is exactly how it should be. This is still a devastatingly quick car on a B-road. In fact, I reckon it’d give a BMW M3 a good run for its money on a tight enough stretch of tarmac.

You get the same trick rear differential that’s able to shuffle the engine’s power between the axles to create a more dynamic driving experience. For instance, it can help tuck the nose of the car into a corner, preventing it from washing wide when you get on the power. Or, if you engage Volkswagen’s ‘Drift Mode,’ it’ll hang its backside out like a rear-wheel drive supercar – something the previous generation of Golf R would never have entertained.

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The brakes are utterly immense, which is a good thing considering how powerful it is. They’re a joy to use, too, as there’s no hybrid system to interfere with the way the pedal works. That means they’re firm right at the top of their travel and they remain predictable throughout their travel.

The Golf R is great fun, but if you value engagement above all else in your hot hatchback, I’d sooner steer you towards the smaller Toyota GR Yaris. Its steering is far more talkative (the Golf’s is actually quite numb), you can have it with a pin-sharp manual gearbox, and it can perform even wilder tricks thanks to its rally-bred four-wheel drive system.

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However, the Yaris isn’t anywhere near as practical or as comfortable, so it makes better sense as a weekend toy. The Golf R is the car you buy when you want a fast car you can drive everyday – and if you need a car with more space, you can have the Golf R as an estate. Plus, it’s hardly any less agile or fast as the hatch.

Oh yeah – I’ve got one last quality of life upgrade to report before moving on. Volkswagen noticed that its drivers were fitting extended paddle shifters to their cars, so it designed a factory set for this updated car. And they’re brilliant. Because they have a larger surface area, they’re easier to hit when you’re twirling the wheel and fighting to snatch the next gear as you get on the power. You’ve done a good job on this, Volkswagen.

Ownership costs and maintenance

The Golf R will officially manage mid-30s miles per gallon fuel economy although emissions are still quite high – resulting in all Golf Rs sitting in the top 37% bracket for company car tax. At least real-world economy isn’t too far from those official figures, with over 30mpg perfectly possible if you’re gentle with the throttle.

It’s not cheap to buy, though, costing pretty much the same as an Audi S3 or BMW M135, and they are both formidable rivals.

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Volkswagen offers Service and Maintenance Plans, which should take the sting out of servicing costs. The advantage of these is that they will protect you against any future increase in prices, and all work carried out comes with two years warranty.

What models and trims are available?

There are just two trims to choose from –standard specification and Black Edition. Prices for the standard car start from £43,320, while the Black Edition is priced from £44,570. It’s also worth noting that you can only have an estate model in standard trim.

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There isn’t much difference between the standard car and the Black Edition, either. As the name suggests, the Black Edition gets black badges, black brake calipers, black exhaust tips, black wheels and smoked LED headlights. You also get a larger rear spoiler for maximum yobbo points.

What else should I know?

If you’re planning on buying a Volkswagen Golf R, make sure you budget for a tracker and some beefy security. Criminals love these cars for their understated speed – and they’ll do anything to get their hands on them.

I’m living proof of this. Volkswagen loaned me a Golf R for a week, but it only took my local crims four days to find it parked up outside my house and organise a burglary to tear my kitchen apart and find the keys. If you haven’t got a garage, an outdoor security camera and a heavy duty steering wheel lock will act as good deterrents.

Click through to the next page to read my closing thoughts on the Volkswagen Golf R and a summary of all the things I love and hate about it.