Even though we have a new GR Corolla and Civic Type R on the way, let us remind you just how GOOD the latest Golf R is... especially with the 6-speed MT. We look forward to doing a comparison test between the Honda and Toyota later this year!

At least VW makes a Hatchback look like a Hatchback still!...So Big Props to VW!

I really like the new Golf R, but I can only find them at damn near $60k in my area. Which is absolutely insanity.

Car manufacturers have managed to convince the public that having the wiz-bang infotainment system is a luxury thing. But it’s entirely a cost savings measure. Not having to buy and install all of those buttons is builders being cheap.

The Golf R has always been the "mature" offering of the hot hatch. No crazy wings, gashes, slashes, or vents. It helps them to age quite well. Seeing the new CTR vs the previous generation really shows what happens when you go overboard on styling elements. The R will age very well. VW was very smart to offer both a 6MT and DCT trans. Factoring in the impressive refinement and build quality of the R, it is one of the better buys of the class. I would love yo own one and be stealth about it!

As of Oct 2023 the Golf R is still quite rare in Canada. And used 22-23 R's are still selling at what a 2024 R at MSRP costs. Some even higher.

13:25 😭🤣🤣 I knew 5 seconds before you said that you were already annoyed trying to get the screen to function

The host doesn't seem like the most skillful manual driver, I mean each shift is jerky af. I've seen other reviewers drive the 6MT and it doesn't look anything like this. And come on, rev matching? Geez, that's the type of thing you drive an automatic for, not a manual. Incredible that only NA gets the manual, probably will be the last one. That touch infotainment system though... hell no.

Another clutch destroyed by your driving 🤦🏻‍♂️

You can setup a quick shortcut on the drop down menu (swipe down) for stability control, no need to go through the long path of menus like you were doing.

Omg this is perfect! I had a 2018 base golf and I thought the torque was rowdy on that. I can’t imagine this one lol.

Yes every car that uses purely only a touch screen to do everything has gone the wrong direction. Keep all the daily adjustments a solid button or designated on the touch screen. I hate going thru 20 screen to adjust basic temperatures.

I have a 2022 Golf R, DSG. If anyone has any questions, no matter how specific, ask and I’ll do my best to answer them for you. For what it’s worth this guy made some things seem way harder than they are. You do not have to do a convoluted process to turn off ESC. You can do it in one swipe from the drop down menu. Also, special mode puts the suspension rather soft, but everything else in “attack” as you called it. The green hell is bumpy. Also the fan being too fast when the A/C was turned on was because as he said himself, he put it to auto. It was getting to his desired temp as quickly as it could relative to what he selected. You can easily turn the temp up to have the fan auto lower in speed or use “classic” climate instead of auto and adjust everything yourself. It just takes an actual owner who’s spent more than 5s with the car.

Love my '19 GTI, and would definitely consider upgrading to the new generation R. Except that I wouldn't, because I've made a blood oath that I will never get another car with a touch sensitive volume slider instead of a knob. Go to hell VW...go straight to hell.

Anybody that lives with this car and actually likes driving doesn’t give a crap about the infotainment being touch only. It’s very easy to get used to and comes in a day or so for a normally intelligent person

It's going to be a Battle Royale between the Golf R and the new Civic Type R when it comes out. Too bad the Golf R 's interior is not too well executed...

For a measily $50k, you too can have a kinda-fast tiny 4 cylinder hatchback. What a wonderful world we live in! God bless us 2022.

this looks better than the new wrx.

A blue one was behind me bout 3 weeks ago in Knoxville and i like the look of this. ive always thought of this when i think of a hot hatch id look at first IF in the market but older now.. gotta grow up lol

I never thought I'd say this but I also wish it had rev matching. I had massive ligament damage in my ankle from a bad fall while hiking & I can't heel toe like I used to.

Finding a new Golf R that you can reasonably afford is nearly impossible. In my area, new R's are $5-7K over MSRP. One dealer is asking $10K over MSRP. I found a dealership nearly 400 miles away and we arrived at a price on a 2024 Golf R 6spd in lapis blue. The "market adjustment" was far less and, while it was still a stretch for me, I decided this is the car I love to drive any time and any place. AWD is an added bonus in my part of the country in winter. It was worth the long drive.

Nissan Sentra SE-R/SE-R Spec V: Discontinued. Mazdaspeed 6: Discontinued. Mazdaspeed 3: Discontinued. Lancer Evo: Discontinued. Focus ST: Discontinued. Focus RS: Discontinued. WRX STI: Discontinued and shortsighted. Veloster N: Discontinued. Civic Si: In production. Integra: In production. Forte GT: In production. Elantra N-Line: In production. MK7.5 Jetta GLI: In production. MK8 Golf GTI: In production. WRX (non-STI): In production. Elantra N: In production. GR Corolla: Going to production in August. MK8 Golf R: In production. 6th gen Civic Type R: Going to production soon. Integra Type S: To be announced next year. We lost some. We gain some. It's still a good time to be a car enthusiast for what's coming. As for how long, let's just not think about it and enjoy this while it's in the moment.

I did a 4.18 0-60 stock with my dct mk8 golf r as well as a 3.45 with just an apr plus tune so idk where you are getting 5.3 seconds for 0-60 even with the manual being slower it still easily does under 5 seconds.

The Golf R is my dream car! Going to trade my GLI for this in 2 years can't wait!!

Don't worry my guy,When you get your hands on the 2023 Civic Type R you will be smiling a lot more.#The Golf always amazing cars.👊🏼

Can you please review the updated 300hp Volkswagen Arteon?

11:40 Car and Driver tested both and the DSG was a full second faster 0-60 compared to the manual (3.9s vs 4.9s). That's a significant performance difference.

you can add a short cut button for the esc off function if you swipe down from the top of the screen. keep up your fantastic reviews! ; - )

Nice review as always and congratulations on the engagement!!

Rev matching yourself is part of the fun

Just that alligator.

Every time you drive a stick I am scared for the clutch.

I like the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R. It’s an awesome car :)

Wait...we get something the Euros don't 😋😋😋 Saw one of these last weekend, in black, at a local C&C and it looks very good! This one had a brand new set of tuner-style O.Z. rims and Conti DWS06 Plus tires, owner said he's saving the OEM set up for track use😉

It's nice some cars (Golf R in this case) still offer a manual transmission. No, It's not as fast as the DSG, but I don't care. I think it has the right size for my family and I. Nice video. Cheers!

Good video! Have a Toyota Tundra, became a real estate agent for a final career. Looking for this car to be the one! My first car was a 1987 VW GTI. Thank you for the insight! I’ve read most people do not like the full infotainment. I like the physical buttons. Cheers!

i like all generations of golf because of their very simple body design....all you need is nice wheels and you have a cool car......i wish they are as reliable as toyota or honda

It sounds like the beginner 240sx from midnight club la when he floors it from the inside

VW apparently fired the guys who did the MK8 interior. colossal screw up but at least they acknowledged it.

Those stats do not seem right. The VW stated 0 - 62mph time is 4.7 secs and most drag races (stock car) and tests by CarWow here in the UK deliver quicker times to 60mph

I wish they would make a Subaru Forester in the 300hp range and bring back the WRX wagon!

I'm not a fan of the auto rev-matching concept. Manual rev-matching is the hardest and most rewarding part of a manual gearbox. I know most out there that have it, have the option to toggle the feature on or off. Maybe it encourages people to learn to do it manually and that's a good thing? I'm leery.

You know you’re supposed to slip the clutch a little for a good start? Why do almost all reviewers drop the clutch as if it’s going to get a good start that way

It’s an impressive package but no way it’s worth $46K+

If it’s hot in the car and you turn on auto climate then of course the fan speed is going to be high. That’s why auto climate is stupid and you shouldn’t use it

I'm impressed Ive had a 2014 subaru forester (with the 2.0l turbo) and I did use a couple times the 2021 audi SQ5 of a friend in the winter (harsh conditions) and i can tell you the audi was slipping wheels before the electronics would cut the gas. making it pretty hard to control. the car would move sideways rather than a natural sort of 60rear/40front slip. I'm no subaru fanboy and I like audis, but i can tell as far as my experience that subaru was a wayyyyyy safer All-weather ride than the audi worth twice the price.

It would be fun with a flash, it's all corked up from the factory.

i bought one and i had a fk8 before the mk8 R and the R is so much cleaner 😍🔥 at night looks like a spaceship inside and it's faster for sureee plus has drift mode it's worth every penny

Finaly!!! The 6MT 😃😍

The DSG is a sub 4 second 0-60 car.

Thanks for the review!

The issue with the gr will be the same issue with the focus rs. Too uncomfortable for daily driving. You have to really love the track based set up to deal with having ur teeth rattled out on rough roads. For my needs this is the ultimate hot hatch due to its versatility. I’m sure the gr will be more fun at the limit.

My suv has 240hp 271lbft and is satisfying fast. This golf R with 315 hp should be a bullet projectile 😂😂😅

Yeah VW designers should know there’s a certain feeling music lovers get when a good song comes on and you physically turn up the volume knob. Something about a tactile feeling leading to a pleasurable audible signal. That connection is not too different than shifting gears in a sports car.

What else is as fun and fast for this MSRP? Seems pretty hard to beat… and I can maybe put a surfboard inside…

In my area, MK8 GTI's prices are slightly more than the MK8 Golf R's MSRP. 😆

The R is in my short list as the last gasoline car I'll ever buy, or maybe midlife crisis lol... it all comes down to availability of a new car and by new I don't mean with 50km on it ! Up here in Canada dealers (aka stealers) will sell you all kinds of crap. I am not picking on VW, just about any dealership right now has become a used car stealership with COVID impulse purchase returns and repos sold above sticker, almost like new cars with a few thousand km on them! In any case, the Miata, the Z and the Supra also in the short list, but the AWD and usable 12 months a year puts the R in #1. Now, if Honda decides to make a new S2000 as the last hurrah, or the Integra gets the R treatment in the next couple of years... well, that changes everything. (BTW, Sofyan, always like and trust your reviews)

Manual makes all car fun even if was a tesla

Would you choose S3 or GolfR for use in your daily life??

I like the Golf R a lot but not a fair comparison. They are $15,000 more at minimum.

VW admitted they struggle with their cariad software. but hardwarewise its probably the benchmark of hothatches

Very Nice Bro!-Get Good People!

I cant find any 2022 golf r in washington state. ;(

For the love of God stop revving it up and dumping the clutch on launch its all wheel drive and you're losing time. Get used to where the bite point is and slip the clutch right on takeoff

Rev-matching is a skill, not an app.

Thank you for this review.. I am really starting to like this car...

Are the haptic hvac controls really that bad? I also live in the rust belt so I’ll be having gloves on will this effect their use?

If only they didn’t mess up all the buttons and entertainment system inside. We love our 2019 Mark 7.5 Golf R with a manual transmission

As an owner of the 7.5. I’ll wait til the 8.5 comes out and VW puts a volume knob back in

Love this channel ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Really not too fond of the interior but I think it looks amazing! Gonna be great competition once the CTR and GR come out

Hey Volkswagen, now that you’ve fired your old CEO, maybe the new guy could fix the mistake that we can’t get the R in Europe with a manual gearbox. I’d buy one right away

I tried to find one in my area but there are only used ones going for $60k+.

I don’t know who this appeals to. I just asked my teenage son if he’d like this and he emphatically said he doesn’t want a fucking station wagon!

i dont care for those exterior LED lights....when im inside the car, i dont see them...and they are expensive to replace .... LOL

Sounds like their getting ready for Toyota and the Carolla Hatch

my God..we just witnessed this dude literally destroying new clutches..wow 😂

Almost broke the Hood!! Jesus close it slow!! Not Hammer it!!

I thought they released info and specs on the next Type R?

Where is this car located? I looked all over the country

its a small car what did they put there to make it 3,400+ lbs?

The Type R!!!

That's a 4 Piston fixed caliper? It really looks like a floating caliper

They should ban him from testing manuals. Jeez it’s a clutch, not a trigger.

Your R badge looks cooler than the VW R badge

Stop dumping the clutch on awd cars that’s not how you launch them

Yea… my wallet can afford a premium wrx with 240-250 whp and torque fully loaded at 38K out the door. Even if I could afford a Golf R, Type R, or Corolla GR that’s market up to 50K plus, I’d still probably go with the Rex. The FA24 has a lot of potential, 3300lbs, 271 hp to the crank at 13 psi of peak boost. The Golf R is at 26 psi, still weighs 3150lbs making 315 hp to the crank. The Type R is 306 hp to the crank at 23 psi… The wrx is going to make 300+ to the wheels, off of less boost…

Beautiful car very nice.

i hope you get a week with the DSG before winter so we can see you compare them ( after driving both versions for a couple days )

Isnt the Kia Stinger considered an awd hot hatch as well? Or is it in a different class?

So a new AWD Golf R MT can do 0-60 in the same time as a RWD BMW 335i sedan MT from 15 years ago. Cool. 😐

Beautiful

This guy still dropping the clutch? he was told years ago how to launch correctly

Clicked on the thumbnail review of what I thought was a GTI and then checking my mail, it wasn’t until 2 minutes in I realized you were reviewing a Golf R. And that’s my point, for 45k I want it to look different than a GTI. And that refrigerator white color only further makes it look like an appliance.

I am sick of seeing Golf R reviews. Every car was sold for 2022 before they even hit the dealers. Why would you even bother reviewing this vehicle? If you have have any pull with VW, tell them to ship more to the US.

Nice.. Sounds better than the new civic type r lol

What’s the 0-60 on the mk8 gti ?

Nice Presentation once again…

Would be nice if you could get one. I ordered min Dec 3 2021 and I don't even have a build # yet

Too bad we can't get one at msrp. Can't even order one.