VW is limited in what it can do with the Golf R’s interior, but even if it could go wild, fitting deep bucket seats and making the place very racy indeed, it almost certainly wouldn’t. This model has always been about an understated sense of intent, and so it is with the latest iteration.
Admittedly, there’s still no mistaking that you’re sitting inside one of the quicker Golfs in the range, and much of the design is shared with the GTI. The blue check on the part-cloth, part-leather, part-Alcantara modular seats immediately strikes the right tone, as does the perforated black leather of the steering wheel, and there are Alcantara inserts in the door cards. Even the rear berths are sculpted, and R logos abound.
What’s also satisfying, especially in a performance car, is the sense of simplicity that VW’s new cabin architecture for the Golf endows. The old gearlever is replaced by a shift- by-wire stub, which is unattractive in itself but does free up some space. And while the faux-carbonfibre dashboard trim and some obvious hard plastics elsewhere may irk, the organic shape of the mouldings is pleasing and modern-feeling.
Assuming that you don’t need to interact with the infotainment system, there are precious few distractions here, only an intuitive driving position and plenty of space. A choice of 30 colours for the ambient lighting is also part of the high level of standard equipment, which includes the 10.0in Digital Cockpit Pro display, USB-C charging ports, parking sensors and a wireless phone charger.
