It was mid-November when our spy photographers managed to capture the facelifted VW Golf R hot hatch testing alongside its more practical sibling, the Golf R Variant, and back then, both cars put their sporty credentials to use at the infamous Nurburgring.
Fast forward to mid-December, and we have a new set of scoops to write about. However, they lack the all-wheel drive compact hot hatch, as it was the 2025 Volkswagen Golf R Variant that was caught doing its thing. The sporty wagon was snapped in Europe's frozen north, driving on snow and ice.
At first glance, it may appear to be almost identical to its predecessor. That is due to the clever camouflage meant to trick bystanders into thinking they're looking at the current one. But there's more than meets the eye here, and the updates are certainly significant – at least the visual ones are.
If you look closely at the car's face, you will see Volkswagen gave it a new grille. The headlights are also new. They feature a slender shape next to the grille, and the part that protrudes into the quarter panels is significantly chunkier. The bumper looks like an evolution of the current one, but rest assured, this part is also new.
Photo: SH Proshots
The mirror caps and side skirts soldier on alongside the traditional door handles. But that's expected from a mid-cycle refresh. Tape was applied to the taillights to make them seem identical, but it is obvious that they sport new graphics. The bumper and diffuser will also be new, and the quad tailpipes carry over, just like the VW and R logos on the tailgate, which continue to sit above the license plate.
Don't mind the light bar attached to the roof, as it is there to improve visibility in low-light conditions on the prototype. Zooming on certain pictures reveals a slightly larger infotainment screen that retains its tablet-like design. We suspect it could be the 15-inch unit sourced from the model's larger sibling, the new-gen Passat Variant. Elsewhere, it could get new graphics for the digital gauges and maybe a new steering wheel and revised center console.
Power will still be supplied by the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which is good for 315 hp (320 ps/235 kW) on North America's 2024 Golf R hot hatch. It is unknown whether a small power boost is on the menu, but we hope it gets the 328 hp (333 ps/245 kW) version powering the 333 special edition. We'll find out sometime next year if that's a thing or not, as that is when the facelifted Golf R will premiere. As usual, the station wagon will be a forbidden fruit in the US, but we will get the hot hatch for the 2025 model year.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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