2024 VW Golf R Arrives With 329bhp And Improved Oversteer Shenanigans

It’s facelift time for the VW Golf R, and for once, it’s actually quite easy to identify this version as the updated one. Provided it’s at night - yep, this is another Mk8 Golf with an illuminated Volkswagen badge, something which might well split opinion.

That lives on a revised front end featuring a tweaked bumper with new air curtains and redesigned headlight clusters, and there are new taillights. Those, by the way, have several different ‘welcome home’ sequences to choose from. Neat!

To further differentiate this Golf R from the pre-facelift model, it’s also possible to spec a set of 19-inch ‘Warmenau’ forged wheels which weigh just eight kilos apiece. They’re also better for brake cooling, to the point where VW development drivers were able to do a further three laps on the Nurburgring Nordschleife before pulling in that they might have done otherwise.

The engine is still, of course, the tried and tested EA888 inline-four lump, but now, in Race mode and under partial throttle load, the turbocharger is kept spinning faster than it really needs to be, making it faster to spool up when you hoof it. The new Audi S3 is set up the same way, and both cars keep the throttle valve open on the overrun in a kinda/sorta anti-lag fashion.

From our drive in a prototype VW Golf R, we learned that these changes were much more noticeable than the rise in power, which is all of 10bhp, giving a new figure of 329bhp. Power goes to all four wheels, with the rear-bound thrust making its way through a tweaked torque splitter. The response of this has been softened, which means the Golf R feels a bit more natural when oversteering under power. Further improving the dynamic side of the equation, the software that controls the adaptive dampers has been fiddled with.

Unlike other Golf 8.5s, you don’t get ‘proper’ buttons on the steering wheel, as switching to the older setup would have meant ditching the ‘R’ button. VW has at least increased the pressure needed to engage that button, so you shouldn’t be accidentally pressing it all the time, as was the case in the outgoing car.

Another annoyance on that vehicle was the infotainment setup, which has been radically overhauled here. The new 10.9-inch touchscreen has a new menu structure and improved graphics, while the lower part of the bezel with the temperature shortcut keys has been illuminated, so you can see them at night as well as other road users can see that big light-up VW roundel.

UK pricing hasn’t yet been confirmed, but in Germany, the Golf R starts at €53,795, which is a smidge more than £45,000. It’s €55,065 for the estate version, and €58,440 for the mean-looking Black Edition.