The fourth Volkswagen Golf Mk7.5 variant making its debut in Malaysia is the Volkswagen Golf R. The refresh brings about styling revisions – at the front, the facelift gets a new bumper, a revised lower grille intake design and new Advanced Adaptive LED headlamps with dynamic light assist. The rework also introduces LED tail lights and a revised four-slat diffuser at the rear as well as 19-inch Pretoria Black alloys – and 235/35 profile tyres – for the local specification car.

The model’s 2.0 litre TSI engine has 290 PS at 5,500 to 6,500 rpm and 380 Nm from 2,000 to 5,400 rpm. The unit is paired with a seven-speed, wet dual-clutch DSG transmission, and power is applied to all four wheels via the automaker’s 4Motion all-wheel drive system. Performance figures include a 0-100 km/h time of 5.1 seconds and an electronically-limited 250 km/h top speed.


Inside, the car features Vienna R leather interior upholstery, an R sports steering wheel with paddle shifters, brushed stainless steel pedals and illuminated scuff plates. As standard, the Golf R facelift comes equipped with Adaptive Chassis Control (DCC), an Air Care dual-zone climatronic system, a configurable 12.3-inch Active Info Display virtual instrument cluster and power-adjustable driver’s seat with memory (the front passenger seat is a manual adjustment unit).

It also features a 9.2-inch touchscreen Discover Pro infotainment system with a gesture control function. Aside from an eight-speaker audio system, there’s a 10 GB jukebox on top of the usual connectivity features, which includes App-Connect, which offers smartphone screen mirroring functionality via Apple CarPlay, Android Auto or MirrorLink. Other items include park distance control and a rear-view camera.


The R comes with front/rear fog lamps, driver profile selection, cruise control and automatic headlights/wipers and keyless access lock/start, among other things.Safety-wise, the car is equipped with seven airbags, ESC and a Proactive Occupant Protection System. Three colours are available for the Golf R, Lapiz Blue, Pure White and Deep Black.

The facelifted Volkswagen Golf R is priced at RM 295,990 (on-the-road without insurance), and is covered by a Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) package that includes a five-year factory warranty with five years of free roadside assistance and two years free service.