Face-Lifted 2025 Volkswagen Golf R: 328 HP, New Infotainment System, No Manual

Volkswagen’s top Golf, the all-wheel-drive Golf R, is getting a face-lift for the 2025 model year. The refreshed model features tweaked front and rear styling, new wheel designs, an updated infotainment system and no more manual transmission. As a consolation prize for enthusiasts, though, VW found another 13 horsepower in the Golf R’s turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, ratcheting output up to 328 hp.

Related: 2024 Volkswagen Golf GTI, Golf R: Last Call for a Manual

What’s New

VW has yet to release U.S.-specific information on the updated Golf R, but most of what has been announced for Europe is likely to make its way across the Atlantic. Sleeker LED headlights are again connected by a thin light bar spanning the top of the Golf R’s grille, which now passes through a VW logo that is also illuminated for an unmistakable lighting signature. Below the lights, the front end is all void and intake. Eighteen-inch wheels wearing 225/40 tires are standard, while 19s wrapped in 235/35 rubber are available. Adaptive dampers will again be standard.

Around back, new LED taillights again create a recognizable look at night. The rear bumper appears to have fewer creases, but it’s still punctuated by four large tailpipes straddling a prominent diffuser. In Europe, at least, a titanium exhaust system from Akrapovic will be available to lend an added edge to the turbo four’s exhalations. Both the standard and Akrapovic exhausts feature active flaps that allow for a full-throated sound at wide-open throttle, with more demure vocals during cruising.

Also new for 2025 is the trendy Black Edition. The available package features blacked-out wheels, exterior badging, brake calipers and exhaust tips, as well as darkened headlight housings.

New Touchscreen

Volkswagen also has updated the Golf R’s infotainment system with new hardware and software, addressing a common criticism. Like other recently freshened VWs, the Golf R features a 12.9-inch touchscreen with a touch bar below the display. Like a smartphone, drivers can arrange functions on the home screen and park favorite functions along the top of the screen for convenient access; the icons along the bottom of the screen are fixed by VW. Another 10.2-inch screen forms the instrument cluster; among its available layouts is a Golf R–specific theme, as well as a GPS lap timer with customizable sector times and the ability to time 0-62 mph and quarter-mile runs (VW may retool the former to 0-60 mph for the U.S.).

In Europe, the standard Golf R seats are upholstered with a handsome blue-and-black crosshatch pattern on the bottom cushion and backrest, with gray synthetic suede bolsters and head restraints. They’re certainly more eye-catching than the solid black leather that has traditionally been standard in U.S.-market cars, but it remains to be seen if they’ll be offered here.

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Powertrain Specs and MPG

In addition to its new career-high 328 hp, the 2025 VW Golf R likewise puts out more torque, maintaining its peak 310 pounds-feet on a broad plateau from 2,100 rpm to 5,500. A seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is now the only available transmission, and as before, the Golf R is exclusively AWD. The AWD system features a torque-vectoring rear differential that means 100% of the engine’s power can be directed not only to the rear axle, but to a single rear wheel. Fuel-economy figures have not yet been announced but should stick close to the 2024 model’s EPA-rated 22/31/25 mpg city/highway/combined.

Availability and Pricing

The 2025 Volkswagen Golf R will go on sale in early 2025. Pricing will be announced closer to the start of sales later in the year. VW tells us that while the Golf R’s base price will be lower than the 2024 model’s elsewhere in the world, that won’t be the case in the U.S.

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