SUMMIT POINT, W.V. – The eighth-generation Golf GTI and Golf R, colloquially known as the Mk8 [Pronounced “mark eight.” Definitely not “em-kay-eight.” Get it right, folks. —Ed.] are probably two of the best cars that don’t get a lot of love around our office. They’re a package that mostly works very well, being handsome and very practical cars with healthy performance—and two significant caveats. The infotainment is an unfortunately frustrating mess, and the spicy Golf R doesn’t feel spicy at all. Well, Volkswagen invited us to Summit Hill Raceway in West Virginia to show us that they’ve very neatly solved those issues with the updated 2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI and Golf R.
While they’re trying not to draw too much attention to it as the standout feature of the refreshed “Mk8.5” GTI and Golf R, it’s hard to deny that the most meaningful update is a massively updated infotainment interface. It now features a 12.9-inch tablet of a touchscreen display that’s been lifted out of the newest crop of VWs, like the ID. Buzz. More than just being bigger, the new screen runs an updated version of VW’s MIB3 interface. It’s much easier to both grasp at first and live with in the long term.
For starters, the new display is crisp and fairly snappy. There’s good brightness and even better contrast levels, even in Virginia’s bright springtime sun. It’s familiar to VW loyalists, but simplified in the right ways that makes it less of a headache to live with. Another boon for user-friendliness is updated capacitive slider controls for volume and temperature that are now—finally—illuminated, larger, and more consistent in their response.
The steering wheel on the GTI does away with capacitive touch controls altogether, reverting back to the honest-to-god buttons that never stopped working so very well on the Jetta GLI. The biggest hang-up with the existing car wasn’t so much the technology in it, but rather the baffling implementation of it. I can now say that problem has been solved. It sounds trivial, but if it’s something you have to interact with every day, it matters. The Golf R had—and still has—an “R” button on its steering wheel to go straight to Race mode, so it keeps the capacitive touch wheel.
Something else that may seem trivial, but matters enormously in a hot hatch carrying a capital-R as a name, is delivering a suitably raucous driving experience. It’s a promise that I personally felt the Golf R failed on which to deliver. There was nothing really wrong with it; the outgoing Golf R was quick enough and handled itself admirably. But it always felt a little too sterile and softly spoken for my tastes. It felt like the car was a tune and an exhaust away from being where it needed to be. Now, it’s there.
A standout feature that’s been standard issue on Euro-market Golf Rs is now an optional add-on for our cars: a titanium Akrapovic exhaust, straight from the factory. It may just be a fancy muffler, but it’s a great muffler that elevates it to the rowdy experience you’d expect, and more importantly want from a car like this. The new Golf R is just as well-rounded and accomplished as a fun daily driver as it always has been, but now has a healthy helping of scrappy charm that we all want in a picante grocery getter. Going along with the added noise is some added thrust: 13 additional ponies and 15 additional torques, up to 328 horsepower and 310 pound-feet for 2025.
On the undulating bends of Summit Hill Raceway, the Golf R felt right at home. Its all-wheel-drive system makes the most of the capable platform it underpins, not only able to divert power between the front and rear on the fly, but also capable of snapping 100 per cent to the left or right in the blink of an eye for some sweet skids. In conjunction with the standard adaptive dampers, multitude of drive modes, and enormous brakes, the 2025 Golf R takes the toughest of lapping sessions unfazed—or better yet, just a spirited back road romp. Either way, it exhibits surprisingly good balance and an excellent ability to put power down coming out of a corner.
On the topic of track readiness, it bears mentioning several of the GTIs and Rs here were on track duty for several days over the course of this event. They’re constantly going out for hot laps for hours at a time, and I’m pleased to report each survived poundings by an onslaught of eager journosaurs on the very bumpy and technical track, day after day with zero issues at all. I would have at least expected some brake pads to have been fried, but even they held up. Both of these hot hatches are legitimately ready to rock right out of the box.
Both cars get new wheel designs. The 19-inch “Queenstown” phone-dial style wheels on the GTI take inspiration from the “Detroit” design popular on the Mk5 GTI, and it looks great. [Get outta here. They’re Alfa wheels. —Ed.] The Golf R also gets a new wheel design, dubbed “Warmenau.” They’re named after the small city that VW’s R division calls home, and the wheels are about more than just looking cool. They’re forged, meaning they’re far stronger and lighter where it matters most.
On the topic of looking cool, both cars get updated front fascias and headlight designs for 2025. They also now feature a standard front light bar and illuminated VW logo, like almost everything else in Volkswagen’s lineup now. The Golf R now has access to the lightweight ArtVelour sport seats that were previously only available in Europe; along with the trick exhaust, both of those Euro-spec options go a long way towards making the Golf R the interesting daily sports car I always hoped it would be.
Sadly, while the Europeans giveth, they also taketh away: the six-speed manual transmission has been discontinued. Every Golf GTI and R is built in Wolfsburg, Germany, and no one in Europe was opting for a third pedal. It was only us in the New World keeping the stick going; though we were a very vocal minority, in the face of ever-tightening European emissions standards, the mothership could no longer justify it.
I’m conflicted about this, In principle, I like rowing my own gears, but I’m not sure that I actually would exercise that option here. I wasn’t in love with my last experience. VW’s 7-speed DSG transmission was the first gearbox to really undermine the derision around exotic “flappy paddle” gearboxes 20 years ago, and it’s only gotten better since then. Forgive the heresy, but with an automatic option that’s this excellent, losing the manual isn’t a deal breaker.
The eighth-gen Golf GTI and R were already terrific cars, albeit with a couple of hangups. Well, Volkswagen solved the hangups on these updated “Mk8.5” models and threw in a couple of bonuses, perhaps as an apology for the deletion of the third pedal. Both cars look sharper, have a vastly better infotainment experience, and the Golf R gets some legit upgrades and cool toys enthusiasts been enjoying in der Fatherland for some time now. They are, and have always been the default answer [Ouch. —Ed.] for an enthusiast who needs a practical daily driver that doesn’t skimp on fun or legitimate track credentials. Now, they’re better than ever.
Pricing for the 2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI starts at $36,495, and pricing for the 2025 Volkswagen Golf R starts at $50,995. The first batch of cars are arriving in dealers as you read this sentence, and order books are open now.
