Turns out a frozen lake and studded tires is all you need to have fun in the new Golf R—now more powerful than any other sporty production Volkswagen hot hatch ever.

The Volkswagen Golf R entered the automotive scene back in 2002 and quickly became a staple of the segment. More than 20 years later, the Golf R remains a top competitor in the hot hatch field.

This year, the hot hatch segment is being given a much-deserved shot in the arm with the release of the 2025 Volkswagen Golf R and Golf R Black Edition. Both models are extremely powerful ...

As a result, every GTI and Golf R will now exclusively feature a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. VW has added 13 hp and 15 lb-ft to the Golf R's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot as penance ...

A CEO who uses their company’s product is an endorsement in and of itself, so seeing Volkswagen’s head honcho get behind the wheel of a 2025 Golf R is plenty inspiring. What’s even more ...

The front-wheel-drive Golf GTI is still the everyman’s sports hatchback, offering affordable thrills since the ’70s, but VW’s R division has been churning out more extreme all-wheel-drive ...

The 2025 GTI is more expensive, too. Volkswagen updated the GTI and Golf R for 2025. Both cars have tweaked styling inside and out, and there's more power from the Golf R's turbocharged 2.0-liter ...

We already knew Volkswagen updated the GTI and Golf R for the 2025 model year. There are minor styling tweaks, a new infotainment system, and more power for the Golf R, what we didn't know yet was ...

Three years ago, when the eighth generation was still new, the Volkswagen Golf R came in for its fair share of criticism. After the well-loved seventh-gen R, we were less than impressed with the ...