The Volkswagen Golf GTI is a stalwart model in the hot hatchback space, and while the European market has historically gotten more radical versions, we North-Americans have nonetheless been blessed with a lot of the good stuff in recent years.
Sure, we North Americans never got the GTI Clubsport or the Golf R 333 Special Edition, but both our MK7 and MK8 Golf GTI and R were rated at nearly identical output figures as across the pond. Sadly, this changes for the 2025 model year, at least for the GTI. On top of losing the manual transmission option, we won’t get the European model’s horsepower bump. Luckily, there’s a bit of good news coming from the Golf R.
2025 Volkswagen Golf R To Make 328 Horsepower
Our Golf R is still offering Europe-competitive specifications with its 328 horsepower rating, a 13-hp bump over the 2024 model. That’s the exact same number as last year’s Euro-spec 333 Special Edition, by the way. The torque figure on the 2025 Golf R remains unchanged at 280 lb-ft.
But our GTI only gets a one (yes, one) horsepower bump over last year’s model. It’s now rated at 241 horsepower, with the same 273 lb-ft of torque as before. Meanwhile, our friends in Europe get a GTI that pumps out a whopping 262 horsepower, putting it a step closer to the 296-horsepower Clubsport. All North-American 2025 Golf GTI and Rs will only be mated to the same seven-speed dual-clutch (DSG) automatic transmission as before.
The Golf R also remains all-wheel drive, with the same sophisticated rear differential as before, which incorporates two multi-plate clutches, allowing it to distribute up to 100 percent of the rear torque to an individual rear wheel to maximize cornering grip. Shared with the Audi RS 3, this differential basically grants the Golf R a torque vectoring system, with an available drift mode.
Updated Interior With Buttons!
The 2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI’s detuned powertrain could be seen as a letdown for some fans, but there’s at least a bit of good news coming from the interior, and that’s the removal of the dreaded haptic feedback buttons on the steering wheel. I personally couldn’t stand those buttons, and I wasn’t the only one annoyed by them. The issue was so bad, that it forced VW to default the haptics back to good-old physical buttons. Because this is the way things should be.
Other changes inside include a revised infotainment system with a larger 12.9-inch screen. The Golf GTI/R’s infotainment system was another pain point as it was hard to comprehend, slow to react and not all that user-friendly. Furthermore, crucial functions such as volume control and climate control did not illuminate at night. Volkswagen says most of this has been addressed in this new layout, but we’ll need to confirm this when we’ll get our hands on a press unit to review.
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