LOVE & HATE! 2023 VW Golf R 20th Anniversary Review

2023 VW Golf R review by The Straight Pipes. The Volkswagen Golf R 20th Anniversary is putting down 315 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque from a 2L Turbo 4 cylinder. At $52,395 CAD, would you take it over the Toyota GR Corolla, VW GTI, Honda Civic Type R, Acura Integra Type S, Subaru WRX, some old Subaru WRX STI?

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#TheContiPipes #vw #golfr
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[yannzhaotan]

The door slam cut at the beginning is brilliant. I re-watched that like 5 times.

[ramspace]

I still remember my 1992 Mark 2 red GTI. For $700 I replaced the cam, the exhaust, and threw in a short throw gear shift.
The car was a thrill in second gear accelerating out of a corner at 3, 800 rpm.

[bluesboytyler]

Not normally a VW fan, but something about the golf R is really appealing. Except for the infotainment, but every manufacturer has had a terrible one at some point.

[cortneysmith]

I like that the CEO is speaking about the infotainment. I have specifically not purchased a MK8 R because of the infotainment. Hopefully a refresh with nice physical buttons and knobs comes out soon!

[MetalJesusRocks]

I have a MK8 GTI and the touch buttons aren’t that bad. You get used to it. I’ve been extremely happy with it.

[genderlessyoutubefanperson]

I bought 2024 Golf R DSG last Saturday....it is all fixed. No buttons added, but all is working fine, and the infotainment is awesome and easy to use.

[AHGR]

ESC is irrelevant to auto upshift, you just need to be on Special mode and S+ before switching to manual, then you get M+ which does not upshift.
You can see that @ 2:35 they are in M1 and @ 2:49 they are in M+1

Infotainment is amazing to use after 1 week of getting used to it IMO
(SW bugs are a different story).

[jtkent]

I bought the 40th anniversary edition GTI and I absolutely love it (urano grey with a 6 spd for anyone wondering). For $34K I feel it was completely worth it. It is the perfect spec placed between the S and SE. Could have done without the silly light bar but appreciate the adaptive dampers and speed sensitive steering. The R is cool but I think the GTI AE is definitely the better value.

[horNNN_]

i have a 2023 Golf R, the infotainment system is livable, not ideal, but its fine when you live with the car for more than a week lol. Its the perfect daily and i love it to death!

[MostlyHuman]

I have a Mk7 GTI and was saving for a Mk8 R but that fiddly interior was a 100% deal breaker! The Mk7's MIB2 system w/o navi is excellent and future-proof thanks to CarPlay AND Android Auto (take notes Porsche).

[mattgurr]

I’ve got the T-Roc R which has a lot of the functions replaced with discrete buttons and controls. Much easier to use than the Golf infotainment even with capacitive sliders. I also get a proper gear stick with the DSG which is great for dropping into Sports mode really quickly when you’re driving.

[tedjones]

As always an entertaining and interesting review from the boys. I have owned a MK 8 R manual for 18 months and love the car. As someone who owned and drove every generation of the GTI, I decided to step up to the R. I compared it to both he S3 and the S5 and felt that the R was the better car/deal for my needs. I would have probably bought the S3 in Euro hatchback mode, but having always had a hatchback I could not opt for a three box car. I will not dwell on the obvious performance/handling virtues of the car as they are well documented. My only real concern about the car was the infortainment system - and I was leaning towards an Audi product because of it. However, two of my sons (I'm in my 60's) convinced me that I would adjust quickly to the system - thankfully they were correct! Yes, this system was a radical departure from the Mk 7, but now 18 months later I have to say it is incredibly intuitive and easy to use. I would not go as far as to say it's brilliant, but definitely better than the criticism levelled by many reviewers. Cited issues by reviewers include:

No volume knob = Steering wheel haptic can be used like a normal button (You don't have to slide it)

Sliders on dash (Criticized for not being illuminated) = I hardly ever have a need to use them, I would criticize VW a little here as they really are a redundant feature.

A/C controls = I set my car to Auto at 70 F Summer and Winter as the system works seamlessly to heat or cool as appropriate (I have always done this on my cars that have Auto A/C.. I also love the fact that the heated/ventilated seats work in tandem with the system without the driver having to turn them on. Love the the fact that the car also has climate control/heated seats in the back (Especially at this price point!).

Hand hitting heated steering wheel control = You can turn this feature off within the infortainment. I have probably only activated this feature accidentally no more than 3 times in 18 months - I drive with my hands on the 10 and 2 position.

These are some of my observations as a fairly long term owner - I have adapted quickly to the system, but agree there are some short term challenges (Which is probably the biggest negative). I still prefer the S3 dashboard/infortainment system, but in no way is that a deal breaker. The car itself has been superb, quick, balanced, and poised and for me it ticks all the boxes.

[andrewnotmyrealname]

Had a 2016 before I moved to a Stinger. Loved it. If you don't like the touchscreen in the Mk8, get a Mk7, it'll be a better price, and easier to live with.

[keithck]

I drive a 10 year old pre-infotainment car. I know all infotainments aren't built the same but I'm getting anxiety just watching them trying to figure out this one despite being very used to dealing with them. I'm kind of dreading the day I have to buy a car with one.

[errsta]

Finally a DSG review. DSGs are great in these...

[sketchpv]

I thought I was the only person that disliked black wheels! Glad I’m not alone. Reminds me of cheap steelies with missing hubcaps!

[RioRyan]

When it was auto upshifting you were in M manual mode, but when you switched back it was in M+ manual mode. M+ is the mode that doesn't automatically upshift. You must have accidentally pulled the D/S shifter to switch from S+ down to S before using the paddles to shift manually.

[brwsan]

I've got '23 non-AE R in manual, and bought it because it comes in a manual. (I like manuals and realize that this could be that last manual car I'll own.) I don't have launch control so I'm almost never looking for the ESC menu, I also put the ESC in the pull down shortcut menu on day 2 of owning the car. The infotainment is fine, it's not great I'll admit but can't think of anything with a truly great infotainment though. It took some getting used to but after a few weeks was fine with it. Once you learn to use the buttons below the screen and the shortcut menu everything you'll want on a daily basis is a single tap or swipe away. I never use the "Hey Volkswagen" voice control, it's failed more often than it's worked. Honestly, I think reviewers harp on the infotainment because everything else is great. There's little else to complain about. I'll take an IMO 5/10 infotainment if it means a 9 or 10/10 for everything else.

[billfold]

How many takes does it take to make the doors close at the same time? Or do you make that happen in post-processing?

[phillipw]

The info was the worst when I saw other did an intro an review. Because I have a Golf Alltrack and I like the infotainment as is with buttons great fun review guys😂