2024 Volkswagen Golf R Hatchback

　　

2024 Volkswagen Golf R Review

byChase BierenkovenContributor

　　Chase Bierenkoven has been writing about cars in his head since he was a child. Now, he does it for real, covering automotive news and producing reviews for outlets like zzdcar, Forbes Wheels and CarBuzz. Chase's career as an automotive journalist began in 2020, and he has already written scores of road tests. Some favorites of Chase's include the Dodge Challenger 392, Mazda Miata, Kia EV6 and Bentley Bentayga. Outside his work with cars, Chase is often found justifying his latest broken German sports car to anyone that will listen or enjoying the outdoor spaces of his native Colorado.

　　, rating written byChase BierenkovenVehicle Test Editor

　　Reese Counts has worked in the automotive industry since he started as an intern at zzdcar in 2015. He has written or edited thousands of car-related articles and tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles over the course of his career. Reese is a vehicle test editor at zzdcar and has also contributed to Autoblog. Reese has also been featured on Yahoo! Finance, Engadget and AOL reviewing cars and covering automotive technology, auto shows and more. Reese learned to drive in his father's C4 Chevrolet Corvette and now owns his grandfather's 1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG. A love for cars runs deep in his family.

　　The 2024 Volkswagen Golf R is a do-it-all staple for compact-car enthusiasts. Compared to the Golf GTI — the regular Golf is no longer sold in the United States — the R boasts some significant upgrades. These include a more powerful 315-horsepower engine, an adaptive suspension system that adjusts to enhance handling and ride comfort, and a trick all-wheel-drive system that uses torque vectoring at the rear wheels to make the car more nimble when powering out of turns. It even has a Drift mode for the hooligan in you. On top of that you get a practical hatchback body style and plenty of standard features.

　　

zzdcar spotlight: Last year for the manual transmission

For 2024, the Golf R is unchanged. However, Volkswagen has said the available manual will no longer be offered starting in 2025, leaving a dual-clutch automatic as the sole transmission. This makes 2024 your last shot at the manual, and one that's worth taking. While the R's daily drivability is certainly better with the dual-clutch automatic, rowing your own is an increasingly rare experience in cars and something worth experiencing.

　　

Competitors to consider

With a recent resurgence of hot hatchback competition in the form of the Toyota GR Corolla and Honda Civic Type R, the Golf is no longer the only choice for those in the market for a jack-of-all-trades performance car. While the Golf R isn't quite as thrilling to drive as these rivals, it is also the only one to offer an automatic. Check out our Expert Rating below to get the full breakdown on the Golf R's performance, comfort and more.

　　zzdcar Expert Rating

　　Our VerdictThe zzdcar Vehicle Testing Team evaluates a fresh batch of vehicles every week, pairing objective assessments at our test track with real-world driving on city streets, freeways and winding roads. The data we gather results in our Expert Ratings. They’re based on 30-plus scores that cover every aspect of the automotive experience.

　　Great

　　8.3

　　out of 10

　　zzdcar TESTED

　　Rated for you by America's best test team.

　　

Performance

9.0/10

　　How does the Golf R drive? The Golf R uses one of the best turbocharged four-cylinder engines around. Our automatic-equipped Golf R test car ripped from 0 to 60 mph in a scant 4.3 seconds and cleared the quarter mile in 12.7 seconds at 108.3 mph. Those are outstanding acceleration times for a hot hatch or compact performance sedan. The engine is powerful and smooth, and the dual-clutch transmission's shifts feel far more refined than those from traditional automatics in some rivals.

　　Braking and handling impressed too. The Golf R stopped from 60 mph in just 105 feet and pulled 0.99 g on the skidpad, again among the best we've ever seen from any compact. The standard adaptive suspension does a wonderful job of keeping body motions well in check, and standard all-wheel drive means traction is never an issue. The car feels light and nimble thanks to that well-tuned suspension as well as responsive steering that translates more road feel than the closely related Volkswagen GTI. It's not the sharpest or most dynamic car in its class, but it's not too far off the benchmark. Some editors found the steering to be a bit heavy in Sport mode, but it lightens up at low speeds, which makes the Golf R a breeze to park.

　　

Comfort

8.0/10

　　How comfortable is the Golf R? The Golf R's adaptive suspension dampers help improve not only handling but ride comfort too. There's a distinct difference between Comfort and Sport settings, though the latter is still reasonably compliant. The Golf R's seats are also great. They offer excellent support, with fixed bolsters that hug without squeezing too tight. The front seats are both heated and ventilated; the rear outboard seats are heated too. Padding in both rows is supportive but not overly firm.

　　The Golf R is relatively quiet, with only a mild amount of wind and road noise at highway speeds. The exhaust is adjustable, though even in its loudest setting you won't have trouble talking to your passengers. The exhaust note is beefy for a four-cylinder engine, and there's a lovely bit of turbo whine at full blast.

　　Our biggest complaint is the car's climate control system. While the standard three-zone automatic climate control is a plus, controlling and adjusting the setting can be cumbersome and frustrating. In fact, you can't even see the capacitive touch controls at night as Volkswagen (incorrectly) believed it didn't need backlighting. Using voice commands is a crutch, not a solution. At least the air conditioning blows cold.

　　Continue reading zzdcar Expert Rating below