When I set my sights on joining Volkswagen as the head of Product Planning about two-and-a-half years ago, I spent a
lot of time on the configurator staring at the GTI and Golf R. While I appreciate the full portfolio, as an enthusiast, these two were near and dear to my heart. I eventually had the pleasure of "owning" two 2019 Golf Rs. Show n' Shine here:
https://www.autos.ca/forum/index.php?topic=104724.msg1454409#msg1454409.
There's a reason the Mk7 Golf is regarded as one of the best cars of its era. Between my Rs, a bunch of seat time in GTIs, and my wife's Sportwagens, I got to know the model pretty well. On the performance end, I had a simple conclusion: if I could only own one car, given where I live, the Golf R would be it. But toss me both sets of keys on a sunny day, and I'd take the GTI every single time. The Mk7 Golf R was ruthlessly competent in every regard, but almost at the expense of joy. Unless the road was slippery, it never felt like it wanted to play. Still, big shoes to fill.
Enter the all-new Mk8 Golf R. More specifically, mine: Lapiz Blue. Manual gearbox. Sunroof. This being a Canadian car, it comes fully loaded. This latest generation finally brings a lot of the cool EU goodies, including the full Performance Package. All it's really missing is the cool animated signals and EU tail lights (victims of NA regulations), and the optional Akropovic exhaust (working on it!). It also has something the EU car doesn't: an optional manual gearbox, which is naturally what I chose despite the DSG being objectively superior in every way.
There's been a lot of... "noise" on the internet since this car launched in Europe. You've all read the reviews, so I won't rehash it. Having now put ~1,100 km on the car, some of it is justified, but a lot of it is just that... noise.
I'll be the first to admit the all-digital interior is the answer to a question few asked, but lived with as an owner and not a journalist flogging it on twisty roads for a few hours, I've grown quite accustomed to it. Pleased to report the latest software is also much snappier. Inside, the steering wheel is fantastic, the seats (now Nappa leather) are sublime, and the new HUD is great. Materials are basically the same, the design is just simpler/cleaner. I even like the haptic steering wheel after living with it for a year in my Arteon. Fight me.
As for the styling? You
need to see this car in person. Just something about the proportions; even the very best photos don't translate how it looks in the sheet metal.
But speaking of noise, let's move on to the good stuff. The old car? Basically silent aside from the Soundaktor vibrating the windshield to create some simulated noise. The new car? Let me paint a picture:
You get in the car, and it starts with a little bark from the exhaust. "Whoa, that's different," you think. Once the idle settles down to 750 rpm, you hold the new "R" button on the steering wheel and the car jumps into Race mode. You hear the valves open in the exhaust, giving the idle a tone that's more menacing still. Cool. Now, you select the new "Special" drive mode denoted by an outline of the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife. Suddenly, the idle jumps up by 500 rpm, and now the car is really angry-sounding. At the same time, all the (incredible) ambient lights in the cabin turn green. "Green? Isn't that usually Eco mode?" you think, before you remember the Nordschleife's nickname... The Green Hell.This is just a hint of what the new car brings to the table, and for me what ultimately vaults it clear ahead of its forebears: the Golf R now has a sense of occasion. A sense of humour.
The 315 horsepower comes on strong, and just as it did in the old car, pulls without pause all the way to redline - in turn denoted by flashing shift lights from the new digital cockpit. The Nurburgring mode is perfect for Canadian back roads, because it sets the dampers to Comfort while putting everything else in full kill. Lift after a part-throttle pull? The car pops and bangs on the overrun. Not synthetic, though - it only does it when it's been running rich. Downshift after a hard run and you'll sometimes get a big backfire. The new torque vectoring rear differential is an absolute game changer, allowing the car to rotate on the throttle for the first time ever. And the DSG model? Launch control is absurd. Who ever pictured we'd have hot hatches running mid-12 sec 1/4 miles with trap speeds >110 mph and 0-60 sprints in the 4.0 sec range. I won't even talk about the Drift Mode party trick.
But despite this newfound mad streak, the Golf R is the same as it ever was. Set it to Comfort mode and the throttle response calms down, the exhaust shuts up, and it maintains an incredibly plush ride. Now it's just a regular Golf... albeit one that can still plant you in the seat mid-gear.
You can also configure custom settings as before, now with the option to set the dampers two clicks
past the default Comfort and Sport settings. There's also a "Pure" exhaust setting that allows you to tune out any fake engine noise while keeping the valves open. My preferred setting is Comfort dampers, Sport steering (middle setting), throttle response in Comfort (smoother tip-in), and exhaust in Pure (it still pops and bangs).
Anyway, enough rambling. Suffice to say I'm in love. No, it's not perfect, but for me the advantages of the new car far outweigh any areas where it's perhaps not as strong as before. I'm clearly not the only one who think so... our order book is huge. I wish I'd had a bit more time on the Bridgestone Potenza S005 summer shoes, but as of this week, the car is now ready to battle winter on a brand new set of Pirelli Sottozero Serie 3.
For the pictures, I'm going to cheat a bit. This specific car isn't mine, but rather its twin. These were taken by the incredible Lucas Scarfone at our press drive a few weeks back, so they're infinitely better than I could take.
OK, fine, a few of my awful pictures...
