Volkswagen Golf R review – interior
Clean design, horrendous HMI marginally improved
Slide behind the wheel and into its well bolstered seats, and the seating position is the first thing that comes to mind – it’s far from the worst offender on the market, but it sits you too high in the cabin giving that ‘sat on rather than in’ feeling. Multiple interior finishes can be specified for the interior, but the cars we tried featured R-specific faux-carbonfibre fabric on the seats, which is now looking a bit naff a decade on from when it was first introduced; we much prefer the grey Alcantara and chequered fabric option.
The steering wheel is where most of the criticism was directed with the original Mk8, with the touch pad controls far too sensitive, leading to accidental activations. While the rest of the Mk8.5 Golf range has now reverted back to physical buttons, the R makes do with the same touch pads, only with the sensitivity recalibrated in an effort to resolve the issue. Volkswagen says it didn’t opt for physical controls as it wanted to retain the dedicated R button, which would have required the costly creation of new physical controls.
Despite the updates, the same problem remains. Our first drive in the R on track saw us accidentally activate a 39mph speed limiter (not ideal on the high speed Lausitzring), with the heated steering wheel is also easily activated when all you want to do is turn a corner. Thankfully, the touch sliders beneath the improved 12.9-inch central infotainment display are now backlit, but the HMI still has plenty of room for improvement. There’s still a lack of common sense to the system, hiding critical functions like climate controls within menus that still have us pining for manual rotary controls.
Move away from the technology though, and the R is a comfortable place to be on the whole. The steering wheel has a relatively thin rim, a rarity in today’s market, with the R-exclusive extended paddles making shifting a much more pleasant experience than in the GTI models.
