Volkswagen Golf R Performance Package 2021 UK review Car News

What’s in a Simple Option Pack? In the case of the new Golf R – which we have already tested extensively, but only in standard form – more than you might think.

There are some must-haves in the £ 2,000 ‘R-Performance’ suite of extras (19-inch Estoril alloy wheels and the same thick fender deployed on the GTI Clubsport give it an extra visual touch), but more intriguing are the elements that only the driver ever gets to explore.

True, residents from anywhere other than Germany (truly intrepid Manx Islanders notwithstanding) are unlikely to taste the high top speed, which at 168 mph is 13 mph higher than standard, although it is still 1 mph from the Honda Civic Type R.

However, two new drive modes make real detail changes to the Golf R’s dynamic complexion, even if they do nothing to change the 316 hp output of its 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo petrol engine or the fundamentals of its new four torque vectors. -Wheel drive system.

In 2021, one of those new modes is a Drift mode, which sets the new dual-clutch rear axle (there’s a clutch on either side of the differential) to maximum attack by biasing the majority of the torque it has. (up to half of what the motor is delivering at any given time) to the outer wheel.

It’s not the sort of thing you would use on the road, but it’s pretty efficient on the track. With a dollop of weight transfer to get things going, the Golf R will support the power oversteer. Which is a lot of fun, although ultimately not a substitute for the real thing – the Golf can’t do what an M2 competition can.

The second added mode, known as Special, is more relevant. Essentially, this is Volkswagen’s setup of choice for the Nürburgring, where the Mk8 Golf R was partly developed and the circuit on which it ultimately spun 19 seconds faster than its already high-performance predecessor.

In short, everything is accelerated to the maximum, with the exception of the shock absorbers, which remain in Comfort. Even the throttle map, which typically allows some dead travel at the top of the pedal to smooth out low-speed maneuvers, is almost completely un-damped in order to get the most precise response.