2013 Volkswagen Golf R Reviews, Pricing & Specs

This car is an absolute go cart! It is so much fun to toss into a corner

The rising blue color on the Golf R is THE color to have. The stock 18inch wheels are beautiful as well. Interior is top top notch, like something out of a 60K car and the steering wheel is from a lamborghini. Great engine, brakes, steering. Huge interior space.

The Golf R has been on my radar for a while. 4 doors, supportive seats, 6spd manual, decent stereo and power for days. Room for 4 (5 if 3 of them are kids) and a decent amount of space in the trunk. The suspension isnt so harsh that you think you might jar filling loose and it tracks like its on rails. The 6spd manual is a pleasure to row through the gears. Having driven a few GTIs while shopping for my R its not a wonder why these cars are so popular and Ive been a fan of hatches for a long while. The Golf R is my daily driver, room for passengers, sporty and fun but not harsh. Its a modern sports car with manners that isnt hard to live with and still has room enough to go to Lowes or the grocery store.

I bought this car because I wanted something that was a good driver's car with strong performance, but also something that was practical and easy to live with. I've had it nearly two years now and am pleased to report that it does not disappoint. Firstly, this car is more GT than sports car, and the performance reflects this. This is actually a good thing, for the most part, because the car is so immensely competent at so many things. The engine is smooth and strong and makes quite a nice sound. The shifter is really good, and the gearing is fantastic around town and at speed. The chassis provides a good balance of performance and comfort; not too stiff for rough city roads but planted at high speed. The way the Haldex AWD system delivers power around corners in any weather is incredible. Sadly, the car will not be a hooligan, and pushing it is not tremendously rewarding; VW has made sure of that with it's undefeatable electronic nannies. The steering is very precise and has good on-centre feel; surprisingly good for an electric rack. I also think the steering wheel is exceptional. The seats are comfortable and supportive. VW makes class-leading interiors and with high-quality materials and excellent ergonomics. I think the interior, with its elegant mix of soft-touch plastics, leather, and textured metallic-looking inserts, is as good as many cars twice the price. All the controls work flawlessly and intuitively. The car is extremely gratifying to drive. The interior is actually quite spacious, easily as roomy as an Audi A4, for example. In fact, the Golf's tall roofline at the rear of the car provides better head room than many larger cars. The hatchback design is really practical in a city. With the rear seats upright, there is plenty of room for groceries. With them folded, there is room to bring things home from IKEA and Home Depot, although I do wish the folded seats would create a flat surface. Is it a perfect car? Of course not. I do wish it was a bit more of a driver's car. Chris Harris would say it's an "eight tenths car." I have looked very hard at APR's ECU reprogramming to unleash a bit more engine performance, and a performance-oriented Haldex controller that will allow for a more neutral (read rearward) handling balance. I also think the induction noise could be louder, so that when you put your foot into it, the cabin is filled with more of the nice noises coming from the engine bay. While the brake pedal feel is good, the actual brake performance is not particularly good. I'm sure that these performance issues could be solved for a reasonable amount of money, but then the you are messing with the factory warranty and salability of the car. The fuel economy is not as good as I expected. It does reach 27 mpg or so, as advertised, but most of the time I'm not getting much more than 20 mpg, which is no better than many much larger vehicles with superior performance. Also, the navigation is dim a lot of the time, sometimes advising me to use a freeway when I don't want to and vice versa. The way the infotainment system accesses my iPhone is a bit frustrating, both using a cable or Bluetooth. On really rough city roads, there is a lot of noise that accompanies torsion as the car moves over the road. Initially, I thought this was from the plastic panels on the interior (and this made me very upset). As it turns out, it is leather on leather squeaking and also the seals around the doors. Knowing this makes it better (it's not a Monday morning car), but I do wish it didn't makes these noises. My BMW X5 is absolutely silent over the same roads. Overall, the VW Golf R is a tremendous package. Whatever you might have read about it being over-priced and no better than a GTI, it still presents great value for those looking for a fast, competent GT with great everyday practicality.