Volkswagen Golf R review

Very little changed inside the Golf R during its mid-life facelift. The headline upgrade is the arrival of the latest VW infotainment hub: a 12.9-inch screen with integrated volume and temperature ‘sliders’ along a shelf at the bottom which are – at last – illuminated. You can now keep warm after dark. Whatever will they think of next?

The system reacts far more quickly than the old Golf’s effort, though some of the menu structures - particularly in the nav module - are needlessly complicated. Not that you’ll notice: Apple and Android mirroring are built in as standard, so you’ll use your phone’s preferred mapping app instead.

What are the sporty bits?

You get some R-branded, bolstered seats which are easy to clamber in and out of and comfy on a road trip, but lack upper body support on track. There’s shiny pedals, R floor mats and plenty of blue highlights, plus actual carbon fibre trim. It’s more sober and less chintzy than an A35’s cockpit, but there’s less lazy gloss black ‘piano effect’ trim than the notably more expensive RS3’s innards.

Where has VW gone wrong?

Or rather, not learned from its mistakes…

The steering wheel is unchanged from before: still too thick, and still covered in hopeless haptic touch-sensitive ‘buttons’ which feel cheap and are horrid to use. VW insisted it had cracked the haptic sensitivity with this update. This is a lie. We returned from our track laps with griddled hands from accidentally activating the heated steering wheel, and bleeding ears from unintentionally maxing the radio volume.

What’s weird is that VW knows all this haptic stuff is terrible, because it’s deleted it from the Golf GTI. Why has it kept it for the R? Probably to retain the useful ‘R’ button on the left spoke, which cycles through the driving modes. Whether you want it to or not.

But is it practical, at least?

The cabin is a model of sober, well-resolved packaging. Rear legroom is adequate for adults, the seats fold almost flat and of course, if the standard 341 load bay isn’t large enough, you can upgrade to the unique-in-class Golf R Estate, which offers up 611 litres of capacity as a five-seater and 1,642 with the rear backrests laid down.

The doors shut with a reassuring heft, the cupholders are well-sized, the door bins commodious and you don’t have to play pat-a-cake with the touchscreen to access the glovebox. A rare treat these days.