Volkswagen’s latest hot hatch just got hotter! The new 2025 Golf R now features 328 HP, a torque-vectoring AWD system, a redesigned front, and a bigger 12.9-inch touchscreen. But does it feel better without the manual transmission? We take it for a spin on a frozen ice track in Sweden to find out!
👉 Golf R 2025 Black Edition, Euro Style Package, Akrapovič exhaust – everything covered in this test drive review.
🔥 Don't miss our detailed analysis on: * Power increase to 328 HP * -60 in 4.6 seconds * Ice driving test in Sweden * Torque vectoring & handling * Interior & tech upgrades * Missing manual transmission * Black Edition features
00:00Volkswagen's ultimate enthusiast car, the Golf R, faces something of a win-some, lose-some situation.
00:07After 2024, it bid off Wiedersand to its optional 6-speed manual transmission, making a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic mandatory.
00:17However, as the Golf R shifts into 2025, its turbocharged 2.0-liter I, for engine, is now more powerful than any other production.
00:27Version of VW's iconic hatchback ever. We recently sampled these changes in an unusual but very rad way.
00:35Volkswagen tossed us the keys to the Golf R and told us to tear up an ice track in northern Sweden.
00:42In these conditions, we couldn't make a comprehensive assessment.
00:46That'll happen when we drive the 2025 Golf R stateside soon, but they let us give this hot hatchback's trick-torque-vectoring 4-motion all-wheel drive system a good workout.
00:56Beyond the power bump, the 2025 Golf R gets a restyled bumper and headlights, with a backlit VW badge front and center.
01:06Spinly 19-inch wheels are 20% lighter than before.
01:11Along with updated decor and details, the interior gains a 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen.
01:18Also new for 2025 is an optional Euro-style package that swaps the leather upholstery for fabric, removes the sunroof, and fits an Akropovic titanium exhaust that's louder and lighter weight than the stockpipes.
01:33For a stealthy look, the Golf R Black Edition goes dark with blacked-out exterior details and carbon-fiber interior trim.
01:41Volkswagen's touchscreen-intensive user interface has earned plenty of flack.
01:46On this drive, VW's product pros showed us that if you simultaneously tap the red and blue temperature sliders at the lower corners of the screen, the corresponding seat heating will turn on.
01:59That's a little easier than digging through the touchscreen, but with tungsten-studded tires at every corner, we rolled the 2025 Golf R onto the surface of a frozen lake.
02:11Volkswagen had cut several courses through the snow, offering a plethora of corners through which we could rip.
02:17With stability control deactivated, and knowing that a European-market Touareg hybrid would rescue us when we inevitably spun into a snowbank, it was time to find out what this AWD system can do.
02:31But first, the power.
02:33This venerated Turbo 4 engine now makes 328 horsepower and 310 LBFT, increases of 13 horsepower and 15 LBFT.
02:44More power is always good, but these gains were never going to make a huge difference for the Golf R.
02:51It still dutifully delivers, albeit in a somewhat soft way.
02:55Driving sporty electric and hybrid cars has spoiled us to how responsive some can be.
03:00Still, this output is enough to keep the hot hatch good and quick.
03:05Volkswagen estimates a 4.6 second zero to 60 miles per hour time for the 2025 Golf R.
03:12A likely conservative result considering we got a 4.2 second launch out of a less powerful 2022 model with the automatic transmission.
03:22On paper, the loss of the 6-speed stick shift is lamentable, but in practice it's probably for the better.
03:29The Golf R's manual was never our favorite, with a vague clutch, bite point, and merely decent shifter action.
03:36The 7-speed dual-clutch transmission lets you drive hard without compensating for those shortcomings,
03:43and it shifts as snappy as you'd expect for a gearbox from a company that's been building this type for so long.
03:50Our main complaint about it is the flimsy plastic paddle shifters.
03:55Paddles made of a more substantial material and with greater tactility are warranted,
04:00considering the Golf R's halo status in Volkswagen's range.
04:04Even though on dry pavement the Golf R feels prone to understair,
04:09ice driving reveals new dimensions of its handling.
04:12In these wintry conditions, the 4-motion AWD system adeptly apportions power,
04:19letting us drift and slide through corners in a predictable, intuitive way.
04:25How much angle we wanted felt directly correlated to how much we pressed or lifted the accelerator.
04:30This acumen is aided by the torque vectoring rear differential,
04:35essentially the same unit used in the Audi RS3.
04:39It can direct all the power being sent to the rear axle to either rear wheel,
04:43in particular, the outside rear wheel,
04:46making it easy to kick the tail out with a stomp on the gas.
04:50It became our goal to get the rear deep enough into a corner to kick up a plume of snow on exit.
04:55The Touareg only had to come yank us out once, maybe twice.
05:00If only the Golf R's steering wasn't so dull.
05:03The car always goes where it's pointed and the ratio is quick enough,
05:07but the sensation in your hands is lightweight and distant.
05:11That's less of an issue on slick surfaces where you can steer with the throttle,
05:15but even there and certainly back on the road, feel through the wheel isn't so satisfying.
05:20This could be its main shortcoming against other compact performance cars,
05:26particularly the Civic Type R.
05:28Compared to some compact performance cars, though,
05:31the Golf R's interior has a premium feel.
05:35It still has hard plastic bits, but those feel substantial,
05:38and often-touched areas are finished in nice materials.
05:42The whole thing feels built with precision.
05:45There wasn't a creak or rattle even as we were sending it.
05:48Then there's the appeal of its hatchback body providing practicality as a fun, everyday driver.
05:55Volkswagen's latest infotainment interface has shorter and more logical pathways to the desired settings,
06:01but a few more hard buttons would still go a long way in simplifying tasks.
06:06At least that big touchscreen and pleasingly reconfigurable digital gauge display next to it look plenty high-tech.
06:12Pricing for the 2025 Golf R starts at $48,325 and the Black Edition at $49,640.
06:24That puts it on the expensive side of enthusiast-oriented small cars and almost in reach of vehicles a bracket up.
06:32Whether it's the best fun car for your money will be better determined when we get more time to drive.
06:37For now, we can say that if you have a set of studded tires and a frozen lake nearby,
06:42the 2025 Golf R will let you make good use of them.
