Volkswagen Golf: The Iconic Hatchback Turns 50

A golden jubilee for the Volkswagen Golf. Jeremy Taylor and Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby drive the new GTI, the most powerful Golf on the road.

Test Drive: 2026 Volkswagen Golf R

Jeremy: When the Golf GTI first came onto the market in 1976, Britain was enduring the ‘long hot summer’, the Sex Pistols were causing chaos in the charts and The Muppet Show premiered on television. Popular cars of the day included the Ford Escort and the rather awful Morris Marina. Nobody could have suspected that a hatchback from Germany, with a black wheel arch extensions and a golf ball-shaped gear knob, would quickly become the world’s most successful compact sports car.

Initially, just 5,000 Golfs were planned for production, but dealers sold ten times as many in the first year alone. Fifty years on, VW has built a staggering 2.5 million – making the Golf one of the most popular cars of all time.

Today, the latest R – an upgraded version of the eighth-generation Golf – continues its legacy as the ultimate hot hatch, blending clinical performance with everyday practicality. Other manufacturers have tried but none have quite mastered the Volkswagen.

The 2026 facelift addresses previous technical gripes while squeezing even more power out of its venerable engine. The turbocharged unit produces 328bhp, helping the R dash from 0-62mph in just 4.6 seconds. Thanks to all-wheel drive grip and a sporty, seven-speed automatic gearbox, the R is a thrill a minute. Slip back into ‘Comfort’ mode and this sensational little car becomes a sedate family runabout again.

Despite its position as the ultimate Golf, the R feels a little outdated inside compared to some rivals. While the cabin feels like it has been built with precision, some hard plastics remain. Competitors like the Audi S3 or BMW M135 offer a more premium, opulent feel.

The central, 12.9-inch touchscreen is a major leap forward, featuring the latest VW software, which is faster and more intuitive. Critically, the climate sliders at the base of the screen are now backlit for night-time use.

Unlike the standard Golf, the R retains touch buttons on the steering wheel. VW claims this is to keep the drive mode switch to hand but it’s easy to trigger accidentally.

When equipped with the optional DCC chassis control (£755), the R offers an incredible breadth of talent, becoming brutally efficient in ‘Race’. It will embarrass a Porsche on a twisty B-road and carry five people, plus luggage.

The 4Motion all-wheel drive features sophisticated torque vectoring, sending 100 per cent of rear power to the wheel with the most grip. This significantly improves traction and make the R feel more drivable than ever.

Available as a five-door hatchback or a cavernous estate that offers 611-litres of boot space, the Golf R is basically a mini Audi RS4 sports estate on a budget – with room for a dog too!

And while the Golf R isn’t an EV or even a hybrid, it will achieve around 40mpg on a motorway cruise, provided you can resist the temptation to exploit al that power. A realistic daily figure is more likely 25mpg.

A Golf R is by no means the budget choice either. Our test car was £46,000 but loaded with enough extras to push the price over £58,000. At least Golfs hold their value well in the secondhand market.

Jessica: The Golf R is the automotive equivalent of a tailored suit with a pair of track spikes hidden in the briefcase—a wolf in sheep’s clothing that manages to be both a sensible family hatchback and a supercar-shaming racer.

For most owners, the R is the only car they’ll ever need. It handles the school run with the same clinical efficiency it uses to carve up a demanding country road.

The downsides? The interior isn’t quite so slick. The quality of previous generation models isn’t there and a lack of physical buttons detracts from the driving pleasure. Still a classic but not as thrilling as another R rival – the Honda Civic Type R.

Find out more about the 2026 Volkswagen Golf R at vw.com

Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby is Director of Programmes at London College of Fashion, studying for a PhD in sustainable e-textile design.