I can think of few cars that have received near-universal praise on the level of the seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf R. Loved for its power, handling, all-wheel drive, practicality and premium feel, it’s finally worth the extra cost over the also-great GTI. But if you want a new seventh-gen Golf R, your time is running out.
Volkswagen this week announced changes to its 2020 model year lineup, and it’s mostly full of tweaks rather than anything radically new.
As the seventh-gen Golf ends production to give way to an all-new eighth-gen Golf due out this fall, the hatchback is only available in one trim: the Value Edition model, which is nicer than it sounds with standard features like heated front seats, a panoramic sunroof and heated washer nozzles. The hotter GTI can still be had in S and SE trims.
Not mentioned in the news at all was the state of the Golf R, something that Motor Authority caught instead. And VW confirmed to the website that the Golf R has indeed “has reached the end of production in Mk7 guise.”
Let’s be clear that this doesn’t mean the end of the Golf R—or the GTI. It just means that the seventh-generation Golf is winding down, and with it its various models. The next Golf R, whenever it debuts, is tipped to get as much as 400 horsepower.
And given how popular it and the GTI are, it’s still coming stateside despite the SUV onslaught that’s killing off small cars. We’ve even heard it’s possible the only eighth-gen Golfs we’ll get at all are the GTI and Golf R.
I’m sure the Golf R has a bright and joyous future ahead of it, and I’m excited to see what they do with its next iteration. If you want the current one instead, you should probably act soon.