Golf isn’t for everyone. It can be slow, boring, and some people just simply can’t stand it. Golf is about to have a whole new meaning to you, and we’re not talking about Tiger Woods or anything like that. We’re talking about the new 2022 Volkswagen Golf R, the latest release from the world-renowned manufacturer. The new Golf R this year has an enormous set of features that we’d like to discuss with you, but today we want to focus on three.
In many ways, the three distinctions that we’ve chosen will give you a basic understanding of what you can expect with the latest Golf R. This model is a subset of the Golf Mk8, which itself is a successor to the Mk7 line. The last version of the Golf R we saw was the 2019 model before the generational leap that we mentioned prior. The Mk7 line would last until 2021, after over half a decade on the market in the United States. The latest Golf vehicles from Volkswagen, such as the Golf R, are certainly worth discussing, so we’ll get right started.
#1 – Only One Trim
That’s not a typo, there’s only one trim level for the 2022 Golf R, and contrary to popular belief, we find this to be a good thing. Why do we find this to be a good thing, you may ask? Simplicity. There’s nothing wrong with a vehicle offering a few select trims, but far too often are we seeing this get sorely out of hand, with some models by certain manufacturers offering over ten trim levels. This also makes the shopping process longer, and that’s because you have to familiarize yourself with the features that each trim consists of. While this isn’t necessarily always the case, if you don’t learn about each trim, you may miss out on something important.
Sometimes, multiple trim levels are secretly a way to boast a lower starting price with their base models. Sure, saving money is always better than not, but when the features that you’d want the most are restricted to trim levels that have a higher price tag, you’ll understandably feel a dash of buyers remorse. With the Golf R, what you see is what you get. That’s right, there’s only one trim level for this vehicle, and we’ll explain why this is beneficial, and in fact, is a notable feature.
With one available trim level, you’ll be receiving anything and everything that Volkwagen wants you to experience, albeit there will also likely be packages that you can invest in. With every feature crammed into one trim level, it’s understandable why the Golf R shouldn’t necessarily be considered a budget machine. The starting price for the Golf R is $43,645, and this immediately tells us that we can expect excellent performance coupled with state-of-the-art tech and much more.
#2 – Fresh Performance
According to Volkswagen, we can expect more performance out of the new Golf R over the last iteration. We find the new level of performance with the 2022 Golf R can certainly be considered a feature as it’s undoubtedly a highlight. For reference, the last time this vehicle was on the market, it offered a turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder engine that could be paired to either a dual-clutch automatic transmission or a more old-school 6-speed manual. This hasn’t changed, but what has changed in the time since then is the performance itself.
Now, in the 2022 Golf R, an upgraded turbo-four produces 315 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, which is greater than the 288 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque that we saw before. While a 9% increase in horsepower and a 5% increase in torque may not seem like much, but there’s a catch. Fuel efficiency in the 2019 model, which was the last Golf R released before the Mk8 generation, was quite impressive with EPA-estimated ratings of 23 mpg city and 30 highway. If Volkswagen can replicate these ratings or maybe even surpass them, then you can consider that another upgrade over the last model. In the meantime, we just have to wait for the official fuel ratings to be published.
#3 – Beyond the Competition
In the modern-day, plenty of vehicles are being sold with infotainment centers, but we haven’t seen anything like the one inside of the 2022 Golf R. Like your average infotainment center, you can access music and connect via Bluetooth, but the screen size inside of the Golf R’s interior is a striking 10 inches, an increase of 4 inches from the last model. To put this into a perspective, if you’ve seen Apple’s latest iPad, which has a screen size of 10.2-inches, this should give you an idea of how large this screen is. But how does it differentiate from the media centers that have been a common part of vehicle engineering over the last five or so years?
The way that this infotainment center differs is by allowing for far more than your average set of features that are generally found with these systems. This is accomplished because Volkswagen’s implementation is unique and is dubbed the Digital Cockpit Pro. According to Volkswagen, various types of data relating to your vehicle can be displayed on this screen. But that’s not all, as you can customize it to your liking thanks to the larger screen size, allowing multiple sorts of data to be displayed simultaneously. Of course, information that can be accessed includes your contacts with full support for phone calls and text messaging thanks to the inclusion of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Both have made their return, and while it’s not the wireless implementation yet, it’s still worth having.
Important information is also displayed on a digital cluster that’s located on your dashboard. With the 2022 Golf R, both are available and can be used together at once. This is very helpful, and that’s because you won’t have to shift through different screens constantly to get the pertinent information that you’re looking for, and you’ll have tons of screen real-estate to utilize. We always enjoy it when a prominent manufacturer embraces technology in a capable vehicle, making it powerful in more ways than one.
Want To Go Golfing?
Although the information regarding the 2022 Golf R is more sparse than readily available, we do already have a decent understanding of what we can expect in regards to performance and tech. Typically speaking, if this were any other brand we were talking about, we would have some doubts about the truth from these claims, but Volkswagen is one of the more distinctive brands. Each vehicle built on their production line shares one thing, and that’s the Volkswagen logo. Don’t think of this as a logo, but more of a seal of quality.
We’re thrilled for people to experience the new Golf R, and this is whether you’re a returning shopper or switching from another brand entirely. This updated model from VW brings a new level of competition to the existing hot hatch market, putting the popular Honda Civic Type R and Hyundai Veloster N on watch because there is a new competitor in town.
