Photos

Why is the Golf R so rarely seen on the road? It can only be because this car is unbelievably good. Most would deny a Golf could be worth 30-odd grand. It looks only subtly different from a base-model 1.6 TDI, so no one’s going to impress their mates with it. It’s only a 2.0-litre four-cylinder hatch, so it can’t be that special, right?

Oh, but it can. It’s difficult to know where to start in praising this car, because it’s extraordinarily good at so many things.

Words: Paul Horrell
Photography: Joe Windsor-Williams

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This article was originally published in the Awards issue of Top Gear magazine