The 2026 MotorTrend Car of the Year Is the Volkswagen Golf GTI + R

MotorTrend

History repeats in the best way for Volkswagen’s icon: the Golf lineup—GTI and R—earns MotorTrend’s 2026 Car of the Year. In refreshed Mk8 form

Transcript

00:00Here's a car that will go toe-to-toe for raw driving thrills, not to mention acceleration,

00:07with some of the most expensive and exciting supercars on the planet.

00:17I'm pleased to announce that the 2026 Motor Trend Car of the Year is, guten tag boys,

00:21the Volkswagen GTI and the Volkswagen Golf R. And this is the third time that the Golf has

00:27claimed the Car of the Year title. First time was in 1985 for the GTI, second time was in 2015 when

00:33there was a full range of Golfs, including gas, diesel, electric and a GTI version. And now we

00:38have these two facelifted models, the GTI and the Golf R. What's cool is that these cars are doing

00:44exactly what the GTI was doing in 1985, and yet they beat out a very competitive field on our six

00:51of the year criteria, which are advancement in design, engineering excellence, performance of

00:56intended function, safety, efficiency, and value. So let's take a closer look at the GTI and the

01:03Golf R and see why the new Golf family is our 2026 Motor Trend Car of the Year.

01:14Let's talk about advancement in design, which is kind of a funny concept of the Golf, because this

01:18is a car that looks both forward as well as back. If you line up this modern facelifted GTI next to

01:24any Golf or GTI or Rabbit for the last 50 years, I mean the cars have the same basic shape because

01:30they are doing the same basic thing. And yet this is a thoroughly modern design. This new version of

01:35the GTI has a beautiful new front end, very purposeful, very mature, and it's got this light

01:41band across the front of the car, which we absolutely love. It looks forward and it looks

01:45back. And there's a lot more that we like inside the Golf, so let's have a look.

01:51That sensible design extends to the inside. Of course, Volkswagen has almost always done really

01:56nice GTI interiors, top-notch materials in here. I really like the stitching on the steering wheel,

02:01these heavily bolstered seats, and those are important because you need them to hold you in

02:05place when you drive the car the way it is meant to be driven. And of course, it's very dramatic,

02:09very sensible. All the controls are where you expect to find it. One very big improvement is this new 12.9

02:16inch center screen. Now, one of the things we did not care for about the pre-facelift GTI and Golf R

02:22was the small screen that was pretty difficult to use. Volkswagen has improved it. Not only is there

02:27more surface area, but they have redone the software. It's much more responsive, things make more sense,

02:33and it has a really good chat GPT-enabled voice assistant. So you can say, hello, Volkswagen.

02:42Turn up the temperature.

02:45Okay, warming the left front side now. Hello, Volkswagen.

02:51Tell me a joke. Why does a chicken coop have two doors? Because otherwise it would be a sedan.

03:00I didn't say it was a good joke, but an 85 GTI is not going to tell you a joke, good or bad. Overall,

03:06just like the exterior, the interior has a design that is sensible, but also easy to live with,

03:10and enhances the experience of driving the car. That brings us to our next criteria,

03:14which is engineering excellence, which is best explained while we drive the car. So, buckle up.

03:23Let's talk about engineering excellence. Now, the GTI and the Golf R both ride on the MQB platform,

03:34which underpins a lot of cars and has been doing so for a long time. And it amazes us how well

03:40Volkswagen does the suspension and chassis to adapt this platform to those individual needs. And

03:46Volkswagen knows how to make a GTI feel like a GTI. And the MQB is just so well suited to purpose and

03:52so well tuned. These two cars share a basic engine. It's a two-liter four-cylinder engine

03:56tuned for 241 horsepower here in the front-wheel drive GTI and 328 horsepower in the all-wheel drive

04:05Golf R. And that brings us nicely to performance of intended function. So, let's just dial up a little

04:12sport mode, shall we? And do a little bit of GTI. Because let me tell you, not one single judge

04:18had anything to complain about, about the way either of these cars drive. GTI does exactly

04:25what it's always done. I mean, has there ever been a bad GTI? I don't think so. This one is fast.

04:30It's huge fun to drive. It's responsive. It feels like it's tuned right into your synapses. And the

04:35Golf R, oh, oh my goodness. The Golf R just takes everything to a hugely, hugely, hugely higher level.

04:44It is a temple to the art of driving fast and having fun. It's got so much grip. It's got so

04:50much power. It's so fast. And the best thing is, it is so intuitive. A lot of cars that have paddle

04:56shifters, you need to use those paddle shifters. You need to really think ahead of the machinery.

05:00No, no, no. Not in the Golf R. You tell it what you want. You think about what you want,

05:05and it just doesn't. I mean, we have obviously at Motor Trend driven some very, very, very expensive

05:10supercars. And I tell you what, for raw thrills, in my book, the Golf R goes toe to toe with any of

05:17them. It is one of the most exciting rides that you can buy. And for all that it does,

05:22a really good bargain too. But here's one of the other things we love about the Golf R and the GTI

05:27is they're not one trick ponies. They're not just performance cars. They're also great family cars.

05:32Don't forget that they are based on the Golf, which for decades has been the family car of choice

05:38in Europe, where we bought Camrys or RAV4s, the Europeans bought Golfs. So there's plenty of space

05:44for grown kids in the back, plenty of cargo space for a vacation. These are really, really practical

05:50vehicles. You're kind of getting two cars in one, a sports car and a family car. Performance of

05:55intended function? Absolutely. The GTI and the Golf R never fail to thrill us. And they're also

06:01practical enough that we never regret having one in our drive lane. Let me talk about two criteria

06:06that are not as exciting, but very important, and that is safety and efficiency. In terms of safety,

06:11both the GTI and the Golf R get Volkswagen's latest safety suite of advanced driver assistance systems,

06:18including IQ Drive, a very nice lane centering system that guides you down the freeway as you keep your

06:23hands on the wheel. And we found the system works really well at keeping the car in its lane and going

06:28around corners and things like that. Our biggest issue was that the GTI and the Golf R both track

06:33so straight that it will often remind you to put your hands on the wheel when they're already there,

06:38because of course, it doesn't take much input to keep this car going straight down the road.

06:43And while it makes us sound a bit like one of those old 1950s ads, power is safety. Well,

06:47the truth is that the best way to survive an accident is not to have it in the first place.

06:52And the agility of these cars and the options it gives you to avoid trouble rather than just

06:57covering your eyes and slamming on the brakes and hoping for the best. Well, we think that makes you

07:01a safer driver and puts you in a safer situation. Let's also talk about efficiency. Now, fuel economy

07:07is not something you'd necessarily associate with sporty cars like these, but look, the GTI is EPA rated

07:13for 27 miles per gallon and the Golf R, which you'd expect to do a lot worse given it has a lot more

07:19power and goes a lot faster, only loses two miles per gallon. It's EPA rated at 25 miles per gallon.

07:25But there's more to efficiency than fuel efficiency. There's also space efficiency. Now we've mentioned

07:31before, we love the GTI and the Golf R because they're such practical family cars. They offer you

07:36the space that you'll find in a family size SUV, but in a much smaller exterior package that makes them

07:43easy to maneuver, makes it easy to park, means you can fit in one of those narrow little suburban

07:47shopping center parking spaces and not worry that the next key at K4 that comes along is going to

07:52ding your doors. It just makes for a more livable package and we really admire that. So much of the

07:57market has gone to SUVs, but the GTI and the Golf R reminds us that there are still very good family

08:03cars that are cars and the GTI and the Golf R definitely qualify. Finally, let us talk about value.

08:12Starting price for the GTI is $33,670. No, that's not cheap, but have you seen what people are paying

08:19for SUVs nowadays? And considering the level of performance and the space and the practicality

08:24that you get out of the GTI, we think that's a pretty good deal. Considering how many people are

08:28optioning or sizing those SUVs up to the low 40s, well, for a little bit over 42, you can have this,

08:34the Autobahn, which is the top of the line version of the GTI. Now the Golf R obviously quite a bit more

08:40expensive starting just over $48,000. But when you consider how fast it is and how much it can do

08:46on a curvy road and how it can really embarrass a lot of six figure supercars, we think it is a

08:53tremendous deal. Oh, no doubt about it. The GTI and the Golf R are brimming with value.

09:01So the Volkswagen Golf family, third time Motor Trend Car of the Year. You know,

09:05the market may be dominated by SUVs and crossovers, but the GTI and the Golf R, they remind us that you

09:12can have it all. A vehicle that is efficient, it gives you great value, has plenty of space for your

09:16family, and will put a huge smile on your face. That is what makes these vehicles the Motor Trend

09:22Car of the Year for 2026. For more about the GTI and Golf R or the Motor Trend of the Year awards

09:28or all things automotive, visit us on the web at MotorTrend.com.

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