Used 2019 Volkswagen Golf R Hatchback Consumer Reviews
Used Golf R for sale
As a former GTI owner,definitely worth the extra $
Ross Larkin, 03/19/2020
2019 Volkswagen Golf R 2.0T w/DCC and Navigation 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 7AM)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
What can I say, I’m in love with this car. I purchased a 2017 GTI in December 2016 after being told I was not allowed to test drive the Golf R by every VW dealer in the Washington DC metro area. I figured the car was just hyped by the manufacturer and dealers to get people to pay sticker or close to sticker. I did not purchase vehicles without test driving them. 2 years later, I became employed by a local VW dealer. As soon as the first of the 2019 R’s arrived, I had a customer put a deposit so I took the car to put fuel in it. I instantly realized why the car was worth the extra money. As soon as I was able to secure enough funds to get my payment to an affordable level, I purchased a 2019 Golf R DSG in Lapiz Blue with 6 miles on it. That was July, and I now have 6,200 miles on my Golf R. I have nothing but good things to report. This car feels like it has much more than 70 extra horsepower over the GTI. The 4MOTION all-wheel drive system is an excellent system. This thing never wants for traction. Power is put down so well. When launching, it is virtually impossible to get any wheelspin at all, even in the wet. Launch control is pretty violent and it puts a smile on my face every time I use it. You can feel that car use the rear axle to pivot the vehicle when going around curves. Not only is the GTI’s wheelspin cured with the all-wheel drive, but so is the wheel-wrenching torque steer I had when my GTI was tuned. Also non-existent is the annoying wheel hop that plagues the front drive GTI. I thought about tuning my R, but the stock performance is so impressive (4.7 sec 0-60 and 13 sec 1/4 mike) that I feel tuning the car would be overkill and get me in way too much trouble. So at least for now, my R is stock. The equipment level of the Golf R is top notch. Compared to its competitors, the R looks high tech with its digital cockpit, adaptive cruise control, and other driver assistance features. The warranty is also a very generous 6 years/72,000 mikes bumper-to-bumper, giving the R another advantage compared to its competition. The build quality is excellent. Close your eyes while feeling around the cabin and your fingers read “Audi”. I’ve always wanted a German built VW and the R is one of only 3 models that are (the others being Arteon and e-Golf). For some reason, this car feels more expensive than the GTI as the interior even has a higher quality smell to it. I know this sounds pretty trivial, but it makes me feel like I’ve gotten what I’ve paid a premium for. But really, the added performance alone would be enough. One thing to be careful of: this car is very sensitive to the octane level in the gas. I only use 93 octane. I can tell when I have gotten a batch less than 93 because acceleration becomes sluggish and the engine sputters. The car also bogs down on acceleration. I know this is from the gas because the code scanner showed timing was being pulled and the problem was solved by adding Boostane octane boost. I get this problem every time I use gas from Costco. Just make sure to always use Top Tier 93 octane gas and be consistent with where you buy your fuel from and you will have no problem. As a side note, I get around 18-20 mpg in mostly city driving with a very aggressive driving style (I tend to drive my R like I stole it). You can do much better (around 28-30) if you can restrain your right foot. Overall, the Golf R is an impressive car. It’s exhilarating performance, superior build quality and warranty, German built pedigree, and high level of standard equipment make it worth the premium it commands over the GTI.
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In love with the Golf R
Mike, 01/15/2020
updated 07/25/2025
2019 Volkswagen Golf R 2.0T w/DCC and Navigation 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 7AM)
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
I have been driving my 2019 Golf R for almost four years and more than 60,000 km with very few to no issues at all. The car is fun, confortable, practical and loaded with the latest hi tech equipment. Absolutely great when driven in Canadian winters. My only complain is the 19" Continental high performance tires which can be somewhat noisy at high speed. Hope VW review their tire choice.
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2019 Volkswagen Golf R for sale near you
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- 2.0T w/DCC and Navigation 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $29,495111 mi away
- 2.0T w/DCC and Navigation 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $30,881108 mi away
- 2.0T w/DCC and Navigation 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $22,990In-stock online
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Superb Performance with a Few Tweaks
TAT, 07/03/2019
2019 Volkswagen Golf R 2.0T w/DCC and Navigation 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
9 of 11 people found this review helpful
My 2016 features an APR Stage One tune, a carbon fiber intake system, a six (6) speed, manual transmission and the performance of a 'super car'! It will reach 0-100 kph (i.e. 0 to 62 mph) in just under 4.0 seconds. Where else can one achieve this type of performance for this kind of price?!?
The perfect blend
Chris Quinn , 11/05/2020
2019 Volkswagen Golf R 2.0T w/DCC and Navigation 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
This is me coming off of a 2008 AUDI RS4. Yep, you read that right. I test drove everything you could imagine that may replace that. American Muscle, BMW M3, AUDI RS3, WRX STI, etc. The fun and feel that the Golf R "manual" conveyed to me was unmatched. I say that having driven Golf R Automatics, man what a let down. This car is tight, grounded, fun, responsive, fast...it does everything right. You can't go wrong with this gem. I'm lucky I found one that was a manual!
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Things you should know going in
Rick Morton, 12/27/2019
2019 Volkswagen Golf R 2.0T w/DCC and Navigation 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
15 of 32 people found this review helpful
I am a long-long-time GTI/GLI driver. Those cars (particularly the GTI) appear to give more bang for the buck than anything else out there, and stay reasonably durable at least until the 80-100,000 mark. When I first became aware of the Golf R a couple of years ago I pined for it greatly, and then all of the sudden it became a financial reality. Voila, there I was this week with the Golf R. And I hated it an hour or two in and stayed that way. The fantastic dealer let me do a reset the next day and I was thankfully back where I started. This is not a review of how bad the Golf R is, it's a warning to GTI owners who look at this as a no-downsides trade up from the GTI. In the deal you're giving up at least two things in addition to a ton of cash - the taken-for-granted throw-around handling of the GTI, and the effortless primo MPG achieved by same. Given my short stint I can only say that you feel the extra weight in the back of the Golf R where all the AWD mechanisms are working, it's a little like hauling a trailer. And you may be disappointed when a mixed highway 27 mpg trip in the GTI turns into a mediocre 22 mpg drag in the R, where (unlike with the GTI) you are trying deliberately to go slow off the line to save a little gas. In fairness, where the weight in the back affects cornering and nimbleness, it also helps tracking so the R goes exactly where you direct it to go albeit with a little harsher ride. A few other differences between the two cars. You have to bring your own spare tire with the Golf R and decide where to put it (the cargo area being the most obvious choice). The R navigation is super, but the front end cruise control accident assist may drive you bananas. Even though the gear ratios on paper look the same, it seems like you go through the gears faster in normal driving with the R and may have trouble finding the right gear in the 35-45 mph range. There's other stuff that I can't recall sitting here. In concept it's a great car, in reality I wanted back in my old GTI after about 30 minutes in (fortunately my wish was granted). Again, not a knock on the car but a warning to GTI drivers who are looking at this as a GTI plus. It is not. It's a different car with different strengths and weaknesses, a few of which I couldn't accept. .
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