VW Golf R MK8
I don’t really see the point of writing a completely new review about a car that’s basically the same one I reviewed last. Or is it?
The MK 8 Golf R is the newest flagship Golf that comes in a lovely blue color. The ultimate R car for many. In terms of looks, I have to admit that the MK8 styling finally grew on me and I can finally say that it’s a gorgeous looking car when specced right. When I try to compare to the GTI it looks very similar. That similar that I had to check on google for the main differences. There are some. But they’re very subtle. Different Bumpers and a varying number of exhaust tips are the most notable ones. Even though the differences are small, the R manages to look more grown-up than the GTI does.
When it comes to driving, I also expected it to feel very similar, to my surprise it didn’t. Or at least not in the places when I expected it to. During your normal day-to-day commutes and ordinary driving, it feels incredibly similar. Like a Golf. The only bigger difference is that it reacts a bit better to throttle inputs than the GTI does. Meaning that the R shines in areas the GTI lacks. Sport mode gives you a pretty solid feel of the car in cities and everyday driving without it becoming unbearably hard. Personally, it was my favourite mode to drive the car in as Comfort Mode was mind-numbingly dull. For motorway journeys, it might be the right setting, but the pedal response comparable to an omelette wasn’t really my cup of tea.
As I had a lot of spare time, I tried to drive it as much as possible and make the most of my time with it. So clearly my goal was to have a lot of fun with it. To find out how good the car is when being driven more passionately, I took it on a good old drive over some of my favourite Swiss passes.
Right off the bat, the car needs to be driven in Race Mode as it gives you the best feel for the car’s capabilities, as it becomes more direct and the exhaust finally opens up fully. The pedal response and power delivery are great. Nothing mind-boggling but very potent and predictable. Predictability might be the keyword for the car as it’s incredibly easy to drive and thanks to its sharp handling and feedback you can place it exactly where you want it. The 4WD system does an amazing job at putting the power down and it fires you out of any corner with ease. The noise it produces while doing all of that is lovely for an OPF-fitted car. Thanks Akrapovic!
Sadly I was missing a very special sound I used to enjoy on past R cars. The MK8 GTI and the last T-Roc R both blessed my ears with a glorious induction noise at 3-4k RPM. The noise not only put a huge smile on my face, but it made the cars a lot more fun to drive. Why it’s missing on the R sill is a secret to me as the engine is the same as the GTIs.
Because the VWs I drove this far were all great. I still say that they produce the benchmark of how a regular car should feel. The R feels great but just like any other VW, it’s just dull at the speeds you’re mainly driving it. It’s probably incredibly fun and very exciting going flat out around the Nurburgring, but you can’t feel any of that excitement when getting your weekly shopping doing 50km/h.
And this is what determines a car’s fun factor and overall desirability for me personally. Yes, the R is an incredibly good all-rounder and probably THE car for most situations. However, a great car should be exciting in any given situation without trying too hard. Sadly you have to try really hard with the R to make it fun.
Learn more about the VW Golf R MK8 on VW Switzerland.