AN EXPENSIVE ROUND OF GOLF (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Want the ultimate compact fast station wagon? The latest Golf R Estate might well be it. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 75

Volkswagen's Golf R Estate is the fastest compact station wagon out there - but that capability comes at a price. Still, if you're prepared to pay that, then the Wolfsburg maker reckons this is the most complete, most rewarding and most dynamic compact estate yet made. Depending on your mood, this updated 333PS model can reach 168mph on the racetrack or register better than 30mpg on the school run. Your everyday supercar is right here.

Backgroundword count: 128

Maybe, just maybe, the kind of super-fast hot hatch you really need isn't actually a hatch at all. Maybe, just maybe, it's this. Welcome to Volkswagen's Golf R Estate. We liked this car in its old MK7 'Type5' form, launched in 2015, with a 'Performance Pack' option added in 2018. This current MK8 'CD1'-series R Estate model was launched in 2021, then updated in mid-2024 to create the car we're going to look at here. There's no other performance-orientated Golf Estate variant of any kind and this one, as you'd expect, shares all its mechanicals with the similarly updated MK8 Golf R hatch. Which means that as part of this enhancement, there's extra power (333PS), sharper looks and an updated cabin. Does it all add up? Let's see.

Driving Experienceword count: 318

Obviously, there aren't many significant differences between the driving experience of this Golf R Estate and an equivalent Golf R hatch. This station wagon version's 80kgs heavier, so never feels quite as nimble and agile. But on the other hand, it's longer and has slightly more even weight distribution, hence suspension settings a fraction different from those of the hatch. 62mph from rest takes 4.9s (0.2s slower than the hatch). Otherwise, everything's familiar, if you're up to speed with the engineering and handling spec of the updated MK8 Golf R. In case you're not, we'll tell you that the fourth generation 'Evo 4' version of this Volkswagen's EA888 2.0-litre TSI turbo petrol engine now puts out 333PS (13PS more than before) and all this motor's pulling power is available from just 2,100rpm. If you pay extra for the optional 'R-Performance upgrade' package, Volkswagen will remove the 155mph speed limiter so that 167mph is possible. Power though, is nothing without control - and this MK8 Golf R Estate has more of that. Power can be distributed not only between front and rear axles but also between the rear wheels. Thanks to a torque vectoring system using a pair of electronically operated multi-disc clutches, output can be balanced across the rear axle from 0-100% within milliseconds. At this current model's original 2021 launch, Volkswagen's R division also added 10% stiffer springs, a 1.3-degree front axle camber change and steering software tweaked to be more direct. Plus the brake discs were made 17mm bigger and given crisper pedal response. And the front aluminium subframe was made 3kgs lighter. As before, you're going to want that optional 'R-Performance' upgrade package because it includes two extra driving modes. 'Special' was configured for optimum performance at the legendary Nurburgring Nordschliefe race track (around which the latest car is apparently 17 seconds quicker than its predecessor). There's also 'Drift', configured for general wild racetrack use.

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