New 333hp Volkswagen Golf R to cost from £43,320

August 07, 2024 by

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Flagship hot hatchback gets a £990 price cut despite power boost and interior makeover

  • New Volkswagen Golf R will start from £43,430
  • Golf R Estate begins at £44,685
  • Price cuts for both models
  • More power, better interior and tech
  • Quicker than an Audi S3 from 0-60mph
  • First deliveries in October

Volkswagen has revealed pricing information for its newly updated Golf R range. The 4WD hyper-hatch, which has undergone a similar nip-and-tuck makeover to the rest of the Golf range, now starts from £43,430 – representing a £990 price cut versus the outgoing model.

The design changes may be subtle, but there’s more power under the bonnet than before and there’s some new technology on board.

New Volkswagen Golf R engine and performance

Let’s get right into the performance stats, after all that’s probably what you’re most interested in right? The new Volkswagen Golf R uses the same 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine as before, however it’s been tuned for more power.

New Volkswagen Golf R side 

It now makes 333hp and 420Nm of torque, 18hp more than before and exactly the same output as the new Audi S3. The result is 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds, down from 4.8 seconds in the old Golf R. It’s also 0.1 of a second quicker than the new Audi S3.

New Volkswagen Golf R front

As with the old Golf R, this new one has all-wheel drive with a drift mode so you can hoon around on the racetrack. If you’d prefer to have maximum grip through the corners then you now have torque vectoring as standard, which works by sending power to the wheel with the most grip to sling you around a bend.

New Volkswagen Golf R design

New Volkswagen Golf R front

Design changes for the new Golf R are pretty much in-line with the rest of the Golf range. You have slimmer lights front and rear, as well as an illuminated Volkswagen badge. The R does have some unique design cues to set it apart though.

New Volkswagen Golf R rear

The front bumper is sporting some much larger air intakes than the standard Golf’s, and they’re slightly re-shaped compared to the old R. You can also have new 19-inch alloy wheels which are lighter than the old ones.

New Volkswagen Golf R Black Edition front

Moving to the rear there’s a tweaked bumper and the usual quad tailpipes, but it all looks rather familiar. What is new though is the Black Edition model, which has darkened badges, black alloy wheels and smoked-out headlights for maximum boy racer cred.

New Volkswagen Golf R interior and infotainment

As with the exterior, the interior of the new Golf R has been lightly upgraded over its predecessor. The highlight here is the new 12.9-inch touchscreen, as seen on the standard Golf and Golf GTI, and it can be controlled using improved voice commands.

New Volkswagen Golf R interior

A 10.2-inch digital driver’s display also comes as standard, and you can have a sporty-looking horizontal rev counter if that floats your boat. The usual R trinkets such as a flat-bottomed steering wheel, bucket seats and blue stitching are all present and correct.

New Volkswagen Golf R: when can I buy one?

Order books are open now, with first customer deliveries expected in October 2024.

The regular Golf R hatchback starts from £43,320, representing a price decrease of £990 from the outgoing model despite the improvements in spec and tech.

The Golf R Estate – our pick of the range  – costs from £44,685, a £1,870 price drop. There’s also a Golf R Black Edition, which is limited to the hatchback only and costs £44,570. This model comes with the R Performance pack as standard as well as some visual upgrades.

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