2017 Golf R Variant Is Starting to Show Facelift Features in Nurburgring Testing

In our opinion, you can no longer call these things "compacts." From the overall length to the powerful turbo engine with 300 horsepower or more, the R Variant facelift is designed to offer more than the norm. You can't place this in the same category as a Citroen C4 or a Skoda Rapid, now can you?

But after the Dieselgate debacle, Volkswagen is rapidly transforming itself into a technology company. The billions invested before all the cheating was discovered keeping the company afloat in unperceived ways. For example, we don't think that anybody foresaw the need for a digital dashboard on the Golf when it was introduced in 2012. But that's what people want.

We have a brand new video of the 2017 Golf R Variant testing at the Nurburgring, and it shows quite a few changes at the front of the car. They indicate VW will offer full-LED headlights instead of just xenons with an LED signature. Changes are also being made to the air intakes, ones that mirror what we've seen on all the recent Volkswagen concepts.

However, if the facelift is to be successful, some powertrain changes are needed as well. Sure, the R Variant's 300 PS and standard DSG gearbox are top-notch in the compact car segment, but the car costs Audi A4 Avant money.

Of course, that's why the R Variant is undergoing such rigorous Nurburgring testing, to ensure the reliability and power of a new powertrain. In all likelihood, we're going to witness a transfer of S3 facelift's gear: 310 PS, 400 Nm and one extra gear for the DSG that helps with highway cruising. But you never know! This is still Europe's biggest car brand we are talking about.