The 2025 Volkswagen Golf R is here — and it's an AWD beast with serious performance upgrades! In this video, we take a deep dive into the new features, track performance, and the Euro Style & Black Edition packages that make this the most refined and aggressive Golf R yet. 🔥 Key Highlights: 328 hp from the EA888 2.0L turbocharged engine
295 lb-ft torque (U.S. spec)
Drift Mode & Special Mode for epic handling Euro Style Package with Akrapovič titanium exhaust Black Edition styling with gloss black 19s & accents 12.9-inch touchscreen with updated software Park Assist Plus and Adaptive Front Lighting DCC Adaptive Suspension for a smooth ride
We rode shotgun with Tanner Foust as he thrashed this car through rough tracks — and it didn’t break a sweat. From track drifts to daily driving tech, the 2025 Golf R does it all. But is it worth the price tag?
👇 Watch the full video for detailed insights and our impressions! 📌 Don’t forget to Like, Comment, and Subscribe for more car reviews and auto tech updates.
00:00A good place to drift the 2025 Volkswagen Golf R is exiting the Jefferson Circuit's SEs at Summit Point Raceway Park in West Virginia.
00:09There's enough space after the track's initial right-hander to get up a good head of steam and pitch the hatchback sideways as weight transfers from one side of the car to the other.
00:19In special or drift drive modes, updates this year allow the transmission to stay in the manual setting for as long as the driver says, facilitating a tidy.
00:30Even smoky, with the right encouragement.
00:33Fishtail before correcting in a softish, predictable way.
00:37The all-wheel drive hatch doesn't get all freaked about it.
00:40Two, immediately ready for the next high-speed attitude adjustment.
00:45We could drive approachable drift cars all day.
00:48This time, though, we were riding shotgun with VW Ace Tanner Faust as he talked us through what was going on with the Golf R at the Limit.
00:57He proceeded to flog the thing through the track's roughest section, where the bumps were violent, but the VW remained mostly planted and unfazed.
01:08Nuts as it was, the R's flat-out performance didn't surprise us.
01:12We had the good fortune of already driving the European market 2025 Golf R, both the hatchback and wagon versions.
01:20Even though that experience was mostly on snow, it gave us an inkling of what was heading our way.
01:26The capability is baked into the brand's performance flagship, which gets slightly spicier for 2025.
01:32An addition of 13 ponies through ECU tuning now brings power output from the hatch's EA888 2.0-liter turbo-4 to 328 horsepower.
01:45But the U.S. car doesn't get the European model's 310 LBFT of torque.
01:51Rather, it holds steady at 295 LBFT.
01:55It's still the most powerful production Golf VW has ever made, but we're not sure the added grunt, or even the new and standard forged wheels, each is 4 pounds lighter than before.
02:06Make a huge difference from the driver's seat.
02:10The 2025 VW Golf R's brilliant 4-motion, all-wheel drive system absolutely does make a difference, shuffling power to the wheels predictably and intuitively.
02:21With this setup, the drivetrain's rear differential can send as much as 100% of rear torque to either side of the car, making it reasonably easy for the hatch's rear end to come around with just some throttle modulation.
02:36VW also updated the car's stability systems to loosen the reins in more dynamic settings.
02:42As before, though, the VW Golf R seems the more buttoned up of the brand's hatchbacks.
02:48Its standard 7-speed DSG automatic transmission swaps cogs smoothly and lickety-split, in a way that almost makes it mentally easier to let go of the pre-refresh's 6-speed manual.
03:02Strong brakes and a polished ride enabled by the R's standard DCC adaptive suspension persist as handling high points.
03:10On the other hand, evidence of the hatch's less endearing aspects also poked out, namely feedback-less steering and the chassis tendency to understeer in corners at the limit.
03:22Like the 2025 VW GTI, the Golf R gets its own mechanical adaptive front lighting system, adding auto-leveling and cornering lamps to the LED headlight clusters.
03:34Park Assist Plus with throttle control is also included with every hour this year a hands-free self-parking driver assist system.
03:43By request, the Golf R gains a $3,795 Euro-style package that we know will resonate with a segment of the enthusiast base.
03:53Previously only for the European market, the package incorporates an Akropovic titanium axle-back, exhaust finisher, and art velour seats.
04:02It also deletes the car's sunroof, ventilated front seats, driver seat memory, and most power seat adjustments.
04:10This saves some 80 pounds, according to VW, a big chunk of it from the Golf's top where the sunroof used to be, improving weight distribution and its center of gravity as well.
04:22That said, it's a step aimed primarily at the driving purist.
04:26The Golf R's new 12.9-inch touchscreen isn't just two.
04:31Nine inches larger than before, but slightly more in your face, which is good.
04:36Interfacing with the updated software is intuitive, and the display's placement doesn't hinder outward visibility.
04:43The higher wattage, faster-charging 15-watt wireless phone charger at the bottom of the center stack is also a come-up.
04:51Lamentably, the aggravating touch-sensitive controls on the dash and steering wheel return for the refresh, unlike in the 2025 VW GTI, which gets a new old-school wheel with physical controls.
05:04Engineers did what they could to improve functionality, by making the dash sliders brighter and adding tap compatibility.
05:13As with the GTI, the Golf R-Cabin scores with fetching carbon-gray decor.
05:18It's an upscale complement for the returning standard high-end bits like the Nappa leather seating surfaces, 30-color ambient lighting, and 10-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio.
05:29A murdered-out black edition appearance package is new and the top model this year.
05:35Darkness creeps into every corner of the exterior.
05:39It features standard gloss black 19s, all badges in black, headlight and grille accents in black, black painted calipers, and black exhaust tips.
05:49The cabin picks up carbon fiber trim, and buyers can pair the black edition model with the Euro-style package.
05:56All 2025 Golf RS come with new glossy black mirror caps and a redesigned front bumper with wider intakes.
06:04Like the GTI, the car's grille holds a new light-up VW badge.
06:09There's no variant wagon model for the U.S., and we are now in the Golf R's post-stick shift era,
06:15but the refreshed hot hatch is still mostly the same AWD freak we love despite some of its small shortcomings.
06:23It continues to be sophisticated and capable, with great reflexes that get a little sloppy at the edges.
06:30The hatchback form factor comes with baked impracticality, but we'll have to wait for any substantive improvement as far as interior touch interfaces go.
06:39That said, these are the kinds of shortcomings many enthusiasts can and often will tolerate.
06:46From behind the wheel, the 2025 VW Golf R is still a beast, if a pricey one with few direct rivals.
06:54Pricing falls between the FWD Honda Civic Type, R Hatchback, and AWD Audi S3 Sedan.
07:02Our official motor trend performance testing, hopefully soon, should tell us if this year's changes help the Golf R make headway against these competitors and others.
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