It may not be as powerful as some of the premium offerings in the compact hot hatch segment, but the Volkswagen Golf R is still a force to be reckoned with.
In Europe, its 2.0-liter four-banger currently makes 300 PS (296 hp / 221 kW), in the post-WLTP era, 10 PS (10 hp) less than before.
Even so, when fitted with the dual-clutch transmission it sprints to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 4.6 seconds. With the manual gearbox, however, that time drops to just a little over 5 seconds. Both versions of the car come with standard four-wheel drive.
If you decide to fiddle with it a little, the Golf R Mk7 can become more powerful than the stock Mercedes-AMG A45 and Audi RS3 Sportback. For instance, the example seen on film below has an engine remap, new air intake and a custom exhaust system, which have lifted the output to 406 PS (400 hp / 298 kW) and 546 Nm (403 lb-ft) of torque.
The tuned hot hatch won’t break any records at the drag strip, given that there are some heavily modded Golfs out there. We’re aware of at least one that swapped its stock motor for the 2.5-liter unit of the Audi RS3 Sportback and has approximately 600 PS (592 hp / 442 kW) available on tap, and an Mk6 with 850 PS (838 hp / 625 kW) produced by a twin-turbo 3.6-liter mill.
But in this Golf R the upgrades are minimal and up the output considerably, so in our book it’s definitely a winner.