As if the Volkswagen Golf R weren’t powerful enough, V-Dub shoved more performance under the hood of its hottest hatch for 2025. On top of that, the Golf R gets upgrades in the looks and amenities departments to make it more enticing for the new year.

Let’s start with the most important stuff: Power. VW already released the Golf R’s numbers for Europe, but now we know exactly how much oomph the hot hatch makes in the US. The 2025 Volkswagen Golf R has 328 horsepower from its turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine—13 more than last year. All-wheel drive still comes standard, and it’s paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch DSG gearbox. Unfortunately, the more powerful Golf R Clubsport probably won’t come to the US.

New headlights and a revised front bumper give the Golf R a more aggressive look, while an illuminated light bar with an illuminated VW logo both come standard on the front end. Opt for the new Golf R Black Edition (which initially debuted in Europe but will be available in the US), and it adds blacked-out elements like the wheels, brake calipers, and carbon fiber accents.

VW also offers a new Euro Style package for the Golf R that includes fabric seats, a sunroof delete, an Akrapovic titanium exhaust, and new 19-inch forged alloy wheels that are 20 percent lighter than the Golf R’s previous shoes.

Inside, the Golf R has a new 12.9-inch touchscreen running VW’s latest interface. It’s the same faster and easier-to-use UI employed by the ID.Buzz. That also extends to GTI for 2025. Unfortunately, only the GTI gets a new steering wheel with hard buttons instead of haptic feedback switchgears. You’ll still have to settle for haptic feedback controls in the Golf R.

Photo by: Volkswagen

Photo by: Volkswagen

The GTI still makes 241 hp from its turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, paired exclusively to a seven-speed dual-clutch DSG. RIP to the manual transmission on both models.

Both the GTI and Golf R get VW’s IQ.Drive active safety features, which include things like adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, lane-keep assist, and lots more. The Golf R even adds Park Assist Plus at no extra cost.

Volkswagen hasn’t released pricing on the 2025 GTI or Golf R models just yet, but we should know more about the two models when they go on sale in just a few months.

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