Behold the new Volkswagen Golf R Estate

By topgear, 07 July 2021

Today is officially A Good Day, for we are able to bring you news of a new fast estate: the Mk8 Golf R Estate. 

Of course it uses the same drivetrain as the Golf R five-door hatch – a 2.0-litre turbo petrol making 320hp and 420Nm of torque, driving all four wheels through a 7spd DSG.

VW claims 0-100km/h in 4.9secs – 0.2secs up on the hatch owing to an unspecified amount of extra weight – and a top speed of up to 270km/h if you specify the optional ‘R Performance Package’. 

The real reason you’ll want to go for the R Performance Package, beyond the largely pointless (unless you live in Germany) 20km/h hike in top speed, is the two extra drive modes it gives you.

‘Special’ is effectively Nürburgring Mode, and ought to work pretty well on rutted British B-roads. ‘Drift’, meanwhile, does what it says on the tin.

“Drift opens up a whole new level of driving dynamics,” says VW, “and makes drifting much safer and more fun”. Count us in. 

What the Estate gives you over and above the hatch is significantly more boot space – 611 litres with the rear-seats in place, or 1,642 litres with them folded flat.

That’s more than you get in, for example, an Audi RS4. And unlike the hatch you can get the Golf R Estate with a towbar, allowing you to haul up to 1.9 tonnes.

STORY Tom Harrison

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