Volkswagen Golf R (2021) - AutoWeek Review - English subtitles

Aug 2, 2023

Volkswagen Golf R (2021) - AutoWeek Review - English subtitles

Na een GTi was het natuurlijk wachten op een nieuwe R op basis van de Volkswagen Golf VIII. De basis bleef: 2.0 turbomotor en vierwielaandrijving. Maar toch gebeurde onderhuids heel wat, met name de komst van een drift-modus belooft toch een en ander. Roy ging met de 75.000 euro dure Golf op pad en keek waar hij toe in staat is.

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Content

24.368 -> The Volkswagen Golf R. The eighth and probably final generation. Maybe when they facelift the Golf VIII, they'll release a tweaked R as well,

36.936 -> with an additional ten horsepower. However, because of the uprise of electric vehicles and especially at Volkswagen in particular,

42.709 -> and the launch of Volkswagen's new GTX-label, which is supposed to be the sports-label for electric vehicles,

49.028 -> I think this is going to be the final new Golf R. And that's something we have to remember fondly.

54.472 -> It all started with the Golf IV R32, with that famous six-cylinder engine in the front. In the Golf VI, they switched to a turbocharged 2.0-litre...

60.634 -> which is actually still in here. Albeit very much improved. It now produces 320 horsepower, as opposed to the 310 horsepower from the VII.5 R.

70.112 -> You won't notice the additional horsepower, but you will notice that the drive is completely different. If you want to, you can send even...

77.042 -> more power to the back. And through differentials, you're able to get it to go sideways. Quite impressive for a front-wheel drive car.

83.67 -> However, we've seen it before with the Ford Focus RS and the Mercedes-AMG A45.

87.693 -> In black, it's a really inconspicuous. I'm sorry it's this dirty by the way. I washed it up this morning, but because of this rainy weather, it was...

93.209 -> immediately dirty again. Oh well, it suits the wild personality. Anyway, this particular R has the optional Akrapovic-exhaust system.

101.261 -> Also, there are a few blue lines here and there, but it doesn't really jump out of a crowd.

106.471 -> But I think that's what R-drivers usually like. Anyway, it's time to find out how it drives.

122.865 -> There's a little bit of inflation when it comes to sprint times. That's because a lot of cars use electronic support for that.

128.166 -> So when you get into this Golf, you might think it's not that fast. However, when we push it to the very limit...

134.008 -> Full throttle...

145.266 -> It's quite fast, you know. And it's not like it's stopping at 100 km/h. It can easily keep going. Only when you reach 250 km/h, it'll stop accelerating.

152.579 -> If you remove the limiter, it can keep going until you reach 270 km/h. That's a speed you won't reach with the ID.3, even though it might seem...

156.889 -> just as quick at the traffic lights. No, this Golf has more than enough power.

161.097 -> I think it's very cool that Volkswagen has kept the power relatively modest with 320. They didn't jump to 350 all of a sudden, they just kept it cool.

168.294 -> There's probably more power in it anyway. When we put new cars on the rolling road, they usually produce more than they indicate.

175.228 -> But Volkswagen thought this was enough as standard. Enthusiasts who really want more power, usually find their way to the good tuners.

181.171 -> That way, people can get 350, 400 or even more from this engine block. I know for sure that it's able to handle those amounts.

188.861 -> Right, the Golf R. It's always been a car that told its own story. In the Golf IV and Golf V, you had the six-cylinder, which gave...

199.252 -> it so much emotion and such a great soundtrack. Sure, a tuned GTI was about as quick in the sprints, that engine was of such added value.

209.732 -> When the Golf VI R came around, it was powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre. And it was not bad, but it was heavier because of the...

217.355 -> four-wheel drive, which made me think 'is this it?' After that however, the Golf VII R came around.

221.147 -> Immediately it became clear that something had changed. Why? Because Volkswagen let their R-team go wild.

224.577 -> And we've seen it before like at Peugeot with Peugeotsport and at Renault, with their RS-division. When you let a small...

230.097 -> group of people loose to do whatever they think is necessary, they will make a car better. No doubt.

234.98 -> They won't be held back by marketing regulations, because that usually leads to quite a boring car.

238.979 -> So back when the Golf VII R was released, I remember being very impressed. I liked it a lot.

244.098 -> In 2013, we put it up against the then-new Audi S3 and the then-new Mercedes-AMG A45, and the Golf was not only the cheapest car of the three,

251.11 -> but it actually was the best as well. Especially when you looked at the performance you got for that price.

254.915 -> I loved the way it drove, and there was a lot of feeling in the steering wheel for a Volkswagen.

258.622 -> And that brings us to this Golf VIII R, and I'm really curious what this is going to bring to the table.

264.396 -> When it comes to power, it was already good and it still is. 320 horsepower is more than enough for a car like this, even for when you're just...

269.508 -> hauling on the motorway or Autobahn.

286.952 -> What has remained, is the all-round personality of the Golf. If you look around you, there's more than enough space everywhere.

291.575 -> Even the boot is very spacious, so it's very usable as a car.

294.976 -> Right now, I'm thinking it's a boring car. Why? Because it's in Comfort-mode, which means it becomes incredibly accessible.

302.986 -> It's quiet, it's not very hard... I mean, it's sturdier than a normal Golf, but that's not a surprise because the Golf is a very soft car nowadays.

309.993 -> You can easily take this on a vacation towards Spain. This Golf won't have any trouble dealing with the roads there.

316.228 -> It's all alright. When I put my foot down in Comfort-mode however, you can feel there's some power somewhere, but it feels very far away.

324.956 -> No worries, that's because the differences between the driving modes are bigger than ever. Luckily, you don't have to get into the menu's...

332.174 -> to change the modes. You now have an R-button on the steering wheel and that let's me change driving modes. Comfort, Sport, Race,

338.176 -> to Individual. And the fun part is that you can customize everything. In Race-mode, the dampers aren't on the hardest setting, and if I...

345.009 -> start sliding in Individual-mode, you can go all the way up to fifteen. You can have harder dampers than in Race, if you want.

352.31 -> We're on silky smooth Dutch roads, so let's go. If you buy the additional Sport-pack, you also get two additional...

357.407 -> Race-modes. In those modes, you can put it in Nürburgring-mode. Volkswagen is a little bit hazy about what that does exactly,

365.258 -> but that would be the ideal setting to drive on the Nordschleife. Also, there's a Drift-mode. And that's new.

373.324 -> What have they done? Well, through clutches, they're able to divide the power at the rear in a way that the Golf R can go sideways on power.

380.077 -> The previous Golf R had a similar function, but only when it was wet. There was just enough power going to the back, pushing the back...

386.762 -> out when you just steered in. But this is very different. It's much more similar to what Ford does with the Focus RS. Mostly in second gear,

394.408 -> you steer, you put your foot down, and the rear will break out. That means you're able to produce short drifts, but that's not what it's about.

403.549 -> It's about driving pleasure. When you're cruising around in the Eifel and you turn into a hairpin, usually when you put your foot down...

409.821 -> you just understeer and you'll go straight ahead anyway. Even in expensive four-wheel drive cars like an Audi RS4.

415.578 -> That's an incredible buzzkill, really stupid. You then have to release the throttle again and you won't look good.

421.247 -> But if the rear were to break out a little more, and in this Golf it's more than just 'a little' more.

428.618 -> You can literally push the car around the corner, which makes it much more fun to drive.

432.015 -> That's why a rear-wheel drive car is usually more fun than a front-wheel drive car. Or that a four-wheel drive car is more fun, like...

438.213 -> a Porsche 911 Carrera 4. That sends most of the power to the back. There's much less understeer that way.

443.809 -> The most important advantage of this Golf is that they removed all of the understeer in tight corners, because of that Drift-mode.

452.985 -> That makes it much more fun to drive, especially when you're driving it on the limit.

457.238 -> You can do much more with it now. Throw it around corners, put your foot down, countersteering. You can really twist and turn it.

463.27 -> That's what this car was made for. And that makes it so much better than the current GTI.

471.085 -> So now the question, is it worth the money? Because it's easy to say all these things when I'm driving on a German-plated car.

475.746 -> If I were to put this particular car on Dutch plates, I would have to pay €75.000. That's mostly because of added taxes though.

484.499 -> In Germany, you'll pay around €15.000 less already because of lower taxes. And I'm not talking about the added taxes here.

489.654 -> So that's quite heavy. On the other hand, there aren't a lot of cars that are this all-round for this price.

495.644 -> The future Audi RS3 will be faster, but much more expensive. So what's left? The Mercedes-AMG A35? Won't be cheaper in any way.

506.016 -> Audi S3 won't be cheaper either. So are there any 'normal' hot hatches to consider?

511.559 -> The final Focus RS was very hardcore when it came to driving and it might've been cheaper, but you wouldn't want to take it on a road trip.

520.178 -> You'd bounce out of that car. And that's the great thing about this Golf. You can use it to move house, for a roadtrip, but for comfort as well.

527.56 -> If I want, I can talk very softly despite it being a very windy day. That's how quiet it is.

530.97 -> The fact that it's able to do everything, is what makes this the Golf R. I do think the biggest drawback is the electric performance inflation...

536.664 -> because every Tesla Model 3 Long Range will have around 440 horsepower, so the sprint time won't be as magical as it used to be before.

545.639 -> However, when you're looking for the best car to drive as a daily driver, you'll definitely want this Golf R.

552.084 -> It could've been €10.000 cheaper if you ask me, but the performance is still up there.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjjDW01eup8