MK8 Golf R 10k Update

It’s been a little over a year and a little over 10,000 miles, and we’re going to give our review of what we think of our 2022 MK 8 Golf R. We’re going to get down and dirty and we aren’t going to pull any punches, so it’s going to be a really good deep dive regarding how the car is doing after 10,000 miles, and what we’ve done to it.

Overall, we’ve agreed its been pretty great. We’ve kept up on maintenance, which has been regular oil changes. We’ve also added a bunch of goodies such as a new intake, exhaust, tune, coilovers, and a few others that take the car to the next level.

Our biggest gripe regarding drivability would probably have to deal with the infotainment system. Utilizing the touch screen isn’t as bas as it was initially made out to be, however its still a bit of a nuisance to have to take your eyes off the road to navigate the menu-filled touch display. Whereas in older cars you had dials and knobs that you could use to interact with, such as the AC or heated seats, it is all hidden behind the user interface. Initially it can be more of a pain but you definitely get used to it after awhile.

There are 3 big issues people have been having regarding their MK8 and we were fortunate to only have 2. The first is a recall of the engine cover, which was a simple fix especially since we replaced it with an Eventuri carbon fiber cover. The second issue is a steering wheel problem we are having where the steering wheel is triggering travel assist errors and driver assist errors. This one we are going through Volkswagen to get resolved. The final issue a lot of owners are having is with the radiator becoming detached from the mount. Luckily we didn’t have this problem as we put on an Integrated Engineering Intercooler early on which required removing and reinstalling the radiator so we had no problems there.

The aftermarket support is pretty great for the MK8. Being a new engine and new platform, it took a little bit to get the ball rolling, but we’ve reached the point where there are tons of options available. As you can see we started with a new 3/4 wrap, designed in-house and applied by Candy Wraps in Orlando. We are currently running Unitronic’s stage 2 ECU and TCU tunes along with their new intercooler and an Eventuri carbon fiber intake. For stability we have our Neuspeed front and rear sway bars with adjustable end links and KW V2 coilovers. We swapped over to a Flow Design front lip splitter, side splitters, and rear diffuser. We also swapped over to 19x8.5 Konig Countergrams wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Our Milltek exhaust has also been a workhorse and continues to put in work. Inside we have our P3 Gauge to give us all that additional data and looks amazing. Finally, we have added some Genuine European taillights and a Veltsport wiper delete. 

So there you have it, that is what we think, and how our VW Golf R is doing so far. Like many other new cars, its had its tiny issues but overall its a fantastic car. Great gas mileage, good power, lots of space, looks great once you modify it, and its one of the most supported chassis in the car industry. It has definitely converted some naysayers in the office.