Down with piano black! A fantastic car. I'm 3 years in now, zero problems. Agreed the ride can feel harsh on the 19s. Switch to 18s and some more rubber and its a significant improvement. Thanks for the vid, Jack. Enjoyed!

- And I'm James

Goose droppings on a fine Friday.

Savage Geese + Friday = Good Day

My 2017 R just passed 100k trouble free miles. Great platform

Frigging love my 2026 Golf R. Had ZERO problems and pounded it thru -40 C weather in Alberta Canada. Heated seats and steering wheel are awesome in the cold. With 18” winter tires it’s virtually unstoppable in snow…

Feel like this is the ultimate one car solution for the Midwest.

2:49 gas gas gas feels very appropriate here.

Here I am sitting in the toilet at work on a Friday, listening to this and reading James' comment.

I have a  2021 z4 with the B58 engine , only 17,000 KM - and my dally driver , a 2014 BMW 328 x drive with 282,000 Km and it’s only the last year I spent a a couple thousand on some repairs and I love it to death . I took. TEST DRIVE on this R and the GTI and I have to say I never even looked at Volkswagen before - but after driving the R , I could not get this car out of mind - I am a mature person and I am a little self conscious about being seen in a young persons car - but it made me so happy , I couldn’t stop smiling . Now I see golf R’s and Gti’s everywhere and I didn’t even know these cars existed for real until I test drove the R a few weeks go. I was waiting on the new 3 or maybe a used 5 series  I may just get this R and to hell with if people think I am not acting my age ( 63 btw ) . This R is such a special little car - oh my goodness - I love it!  I think I may buy one.

I loved the fact that the car is completely stock, except for the tires.  Exactly how I would run such a well-tuned-from-the-factory, daily-driver car.

my 8 year old mk7.5 has been mostly trouble free.  Driven hard IE stage 2.  Door wiring harness went bad at 20k miles covered by warranty, thats the only unexpected thing to break.  Just maintenance.  Also the interior still looks and feels new with no rattles and squeaks.

The 19" wheels are a bad match for this car.  It's basically a hard riding wheel/tire combo on a really nicely damped, but compliant suspension.  Swap to 18"s, or better yet go 18" and then one size up on the tire (245/40-18), and it's seems much more cohesive as the additional sidewall brings the wheel/tire combo in line with the suspension.  Yes, it's a bit soft for track specific use, but it shines on the road, particularly not great back roads.    It is much less harsh with the larger sidewall and less prone to crashy type hits.   It's very much a win win and should be this way from the factory.

The other mod that should that should be required on this car is a larger rear sway bar.  It brings the chassis balance around to match the torque vectoring balance, makes the car rotate more natural - and still allows for you to have fun rotating the car on throttle.   Camber via the control arms would be the next step after that, IMO.

Finally, I feel this car deserves LESS sticky tires.   Forget the lap times, do the above mods, and find the most responsive tire with the least grip you can while being safe.  I've been pretty happy with it on Michelin PS AS4s.  Reasonably responsive, great wet grip, but it takes away just enough dry grip - particularly once they are slightly worn or it is cold - where the drivetrain of this car really can punch through.   It will move around fantastically, especially for a car so flexible and practical otherwise.

Currently own a 2024 Mk8 with the manual transmission, tuned to 410 crank horsepower, and it's been a joy so far. Love this car!

Great review. I love how nerdy you get. Excited for more golf r content 🔥

Thanks for the thorough breakdown. I wish this came in a wagon. I need more room

I Love my Golf R mk8 because it’s the last of the manuals, fun to drive, highly versatile and profile integrated center MMI screen. It to has been flawless on the reliability scale.

The car CALLED THE COPS?! Mark is right to want that 90's Integra.

As a physics teacher, I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear you use the phrase “low mu conditions “. No other auto channel would actually say that.

The Golf R is arguable the most versatile car on the planet.  The only limitation are the integrated headrest seats. They may be great for the track or tooling around town but they don't make very good road trip application.  

Speaking of seats, too bad the rear seats don't recline. Even a couple of degrees would make a world of difference when you're road tripping. That's something that really needs to be universal these days.

Anyway, speaking of piano black. I know there's a tradition of dark interiors on sporty cars, but is that tradition written in blood? I wish VW and other carmakers would offer at least one light edition e.g., lighter color alternative.

I live in Germany and drove a 2024 pre facelift Golf R with DCC and now a 2026 facelift Golf R with DCC as well and the lighter 19 inch Warmenau wheels. In my experience, both of the cars are incredibly comfortable in terms of suspension for being this sporty and having this little sidewall. The facelift is even more comfortable with the less unsprung mass. You can glide over train tracks and it's honestly mind-blowing. Having the chance to experience many different cars over the years, I think the best thing about the Golf R is by far it's incredible suspension. On the Autobahn it's almost as stable as a E3 Cayenne Turbo. Maybe you could also check if your shipping "stops" are still in place. I often heard about it happening on american cars.