2025 Volkswagen Golf R Review

There will no longer be a manual gear option for the 2025 VW Golf R and its GTI counterpart. However, an extra 13 horsepower will make up for this. A lit-up Volkswagen brand badge in the front grille draws attention to the changes. The Golf R keeps its signature front bumper, lower grille, and front openings but gets new headlights and taillights that look like those on the 2025 GTI. It also has new, hand-made 19-inch wheels with blue brake calipers, big exhaust tips, and a unique back spoiler. The updated infotainment system in the 2025 Golf R has a bigger 12.9-inch touchscreen with new software and graphics for the system, as well as a style that is unique to the R. Behind the leather-wrapped steering wheel are the new, bigger shift buttons. The last choice is the Golf R Black Edition, which is a stylistic change with darker badges.

Pros 

• Strong engine. 
• A new method of entertainment. 
• It would help if you kept moving quickly around turns.

Cons 

• These days, people don’t use manual gear. 
• You can still use capacitive buttons. 
• This hot hatch isn’t cheap.

The 2025 Golf R has 328 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, which is 13 horsepower and 15 pound-feet more than the 2024 model. There is now only the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic engine to choose from. The standard 4Motion all-wheel-drive system’s rear differential can actively split power between the left and right rear wheels to make the car handle better. The Golf R already has Comfort, Sport, Race, Special, Drift, and Individual drive modes. In 2025, a new one called “Eco” will be added. A Comfort mode shift point that is about 100 rpm higher and a Sport mode that turns off the costing and stop/start features are some of the other changes that have been made. The turbo has already been set up to spool up quickly in race mode. The power boost should make the 2025 Golf R even faster, even though it already has a lot of strength. We liked how well the previous Golf R models handled, and the fully defeatable stability control and adjustable suspension make it look like they will keep the bar high.

How is the state of the inside? The awful capacitive touch buttons in the climate control system are also used in the rest of the car. The only buttons are the ones that change the windows. We accidentally turned on the heated steering wheel more than once when our palms touched the capacitive button during a tight turn. The volume setting on the wheel doesn’t work when pressed or used as a slider.

Luckily, the inside is much better overall. Finding a comfortable position is quick and easy because the driver’s seat can be adjusted in many ways, and the front seat is roomy all the way around. The back seat is comfortable for adults, but this class of cars has more roomy compacts, and the middle seat isn’t very useful because of the center tunnel. Because the doors open wide and are small, it’s easy to get in and out. From the outside, the Golf R’s tall cabin and short pillars make it easy to see, but the side lights could use some work.

Inside, the luxury sports seats have been updated with new black-and-blue color schemes and the required “R” logo near the top of the backrests. The seats are made of black Nappa leather that goes well with the carbon-look trim and “R” sign. The leather sport steering wheel has blue stitching, a blue mark in the middle of the wheel at six o’clock, and an easy-to-use “R” button that takes you straight to the drive mode menu. Some R features include bigger DSG knobs and firm buttons instead of touch-sensitive sliders that are hard to use. Along with a black headliner, the car comes with brushed stainless steel pedal caps and footrest, floor mats with the R sign, and door side trims that are only used on the R. The Golf’s interior design and materials have changed over the years, but the general layout for five people and cargo has stayed the same for decades because it works so well.

The official EPA fuel economy estimates for the 2025 Golf R have yet to be released, but the 2024 Golf R with the dual-clutch automatic achieved 30 mpg on the highway and 23 mpg in the city. As part of our thorough testing, we checked how well the automatic Golf R used gas on the highway at 75 mph. The automatic test car only got 30 mpg on average, while this one got an amazing 34 mpg. We will keep this section up to date as new estimates come in and testing chances open up.

A new, bigger 12.9-inch navigation screen takes up most of the dashboard. New software and a reorganized menu system make things easier to use. There are now more user-defined widgets on the home screen, and some directions are always shown on a full-time, static lower control bar. Like other new VW goods, the HVAC controls have been redesigned to be easier to use. They now have LED sliders. The instruments are shown on a 10.2-inch digital driver’s screen, and a changeable head-up display keeps important information in view. A GPS lap timer that learns the route before it is used is one of the new features. It shows the fastest and slowest laps at the same time and lets the user choose three locations to compare times over a certain distance. The G-meter now has three modes that can help you improve your performance and pay more attention to your responses.

Volkswagen asserts that the 2025 Golf R can achieve 60 mph from a complete stop in 4.6 seconds. Based on the tests we’ve already done, that number is a little low. For instance, our 2022 Golf R with the seven-speed automatic transmission accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds. We also tested the speed of a 2023 Volkswagen Golf R from 0 to 150 mph. In the same event, it was tried against the Hyundai Elantra N and the Honda Civic Type R. It went 150 mph and stopped in 40.2 seconds, faster than both of them.

Depending on the choices and specs, the 2025 Volkswagen Golf R could cost $48,000 to $49,000. 

In the United States, the Golf R is often sold as a fully loaded model, so the main choice for a buyer was whether to get a stick or an automatic gear. The choice to cover up the car’s pictures is much easier now that the guidebook is no longer open.