VW Golf R Performance Pack Review: A Welcome Injection Of Automotive Steroids

Not so long ago, the VW Golf R was the de facto affordable-ish performance car recommendation. With four-wheel drive, a sub-five second 0-62mph time and affordable running costs all wrapped up in a handsome £30k package, it’s always been stonking value for money.

The trouble is, since the Golf R’s 2014 launch, the pointy end of the hot hatch spectrum has become, err, pointier. Ford will now sell you the all-wheel drive, 345bhp Focus RS hooligan with its Drift Mode for Ken Block Wannabes, the bonkers Honda Civic Type R came and went - replaced by an even more potent version - and at the more premium end of the market, the Mercedes-AMG A45 and Audi RS3 are more powerful than ever, with the latter knocking on the door of 400bhp.

VW’s response with the facelifted, ‘Mk7.5’ Golf R? It has 10bhp more than it used too. Oh, and the new ‘Active Info Display’ LCD instrument cluster seen in the rest of the facelifted Golf range, plus the posher ‘Discover Pro’ infotainment system. But that’s just the standard R. If you want to turn things up a notch, you can opt for the ‘Performance’ pack.

In a Golf GTI, the Performance option adds a little extra power and a ‘VAQ’ electronic locking differential. Since the R already has quite a bit of poke to it and a four-wheel drive system it doesn’t really need either, it gets a different set of ingredients. Chiefly, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, the mere mention of which piques our interest, since we’re well aware of how transformative these dry-biased, super sticky boots can be.

The exact contents of the kit will vary depending on your region, but it’s looking like the UK pack will have the Cup 2s, upgraded front brakes, a smart little black strip along the rear spoiler, and a socking great titanium Akrapovic exhaust system. Handily, the DSG-equipped R we were handed the keys to at Circuito Majorca had all of the above fitted, and my word, it’s a belter.

As standard, it takes a lot to overcome the grip of the R’s Haldex four-wheel drive system and stray into inevitable understeer territory, but that point is now even further away. And that’s even the case on the hairpin-happy Balearic track we found ourselves on, which I suspect would make a standard R feel a lot more clumsy.

The turn in is that little bit sharper, and there even seems to be a little more life to the steering than before. It’s still a fairly one-dimensional car, of course, and isn’t the most playful thing at the limit thanks to the front-biased four-wheel drive system. Cup 2s don’t change that, but it’s going to take a while to get bored of the ridiculous reserves of grip.

All those tight hairpins gave plenty of opportunity to try out the new stoppers too, which it turns out are surprisingly resistant to fade. The upgrade sees the front brakes be given a “built pin” construction, meaning they behave much better when experiencing the sort of high temperatures you expect with track driving. They’re 2kg lighter, too.

Finally, there’s the exhaust, which is - pleasingly - not as loud as you might expect. It ups the volume just enough, and both inside and out of the cabin it chucks a pleasingly gnarly note out of its four tail pipes. The icing on the cake is a 7kg weight reduction (bro) compared to the standard system. It looks pretty awesome, too.

If you’re thinking all this sounds quite expensive, you be right. Probably. We won’t know how much the full kit will be in the UK until nearer its Q3 2017 launch, but the exhaust on its own is £2700 if purchased separately, so we can expect the whole shebang to push the R much closer to Mercedes-AMG A45 and Audi RS3 territory. But then again, I’m not sure how much either of the mega hatch pair has to offer over a Performance-kitted R in terms of driving fun, aside from the Audi’s warble-tastic exhaust note.

Even with the hot hatch world becoming ever more convoluted the R still stands out as an appealing thing, and with these changes, it’s better than ever. We’ll be trying our best to get hold of one for a drive on the roads as soon as we can, but for now, the R Performance has made one hell of a first impression.