After a period in the wilderness, the 2025 VW Golf TSI is back. It’s known unofficially as Golf 8.5. This refers to the mid-life facelift of version 8, which we only got in South Africa in GTI form back in 2021.
Nevertheless, for many diehard fans of ‘peoples’ cars’, the 2025 VW Golf TSI is an as-yet-unseen specimen. And, well, this handsome family hatchback doesn’t half cause outright pandemonium wherever it goes. Vee-dub fans follow it around like it’s some exotic supercar …
2025 VW GOLF TSI R-LINE PLUS
Forget the pictures you’ve seen of the 2025 VW Golf TSI, once you clock it in the metal wearing additional R-Line Plus trim, it’s absolutely stunning. Just look at the smooth, taut bodywork contrasting with deep, shapely bumpers fore and aft. This test unit wears the optional IQ Light package, which features VW’s full-length light bar and LED Matrix headlamps.
At the back, things are more conventional, bar the LED taillights with animated indicators. Optional two-tone 18-inch Leeds alloy wheels fill the arches and enhance the stance nicely. Genuinely, the 2025 VW Golf TSI in R-Line guise is 80% of the way to being a GTI. And 80% of the time there’s a well-meaning fan giving it a once-over with an iPhone in the carpark. And it’s still ‘just a Golf.’
DIGITAL CABIN
Climbing aboard the 2025 VW Golf TSI is akin to being reacquainted with an old friend. As you slide behind the steering wheel, everything is thoroughly digital but still familiar and intuitive. The seats are inch perfect, supportive and comfortable but not over the top. Needing minimal adjustment to find an optimal driving position has always been a Golf strength. Wolfsburg calls it ‘intuitive usability’ and it takes thousands of man-hours to get right.
A large new central screen has some of the best definition we’ve seen in a family hatchback to date. And hard controls marked Light, Mode, Climate, Parking and Assistance are clustered together lower down on the facia for ease of use. Many of the unloved haptic-feedback buttons of the 8 GTI are gone, replaced instead by conventional buttons on the steering wheel.
QUICK AND EFFORTLESS
Thankfully, moving quickly and effortlessly comes easy in the 2025 VW Golf TSI. Its genius is there’s no need to alter or finesse your driving technique. A small, stubby gear shifter is right from the 911 parts bin. 110 kW and 250 Nm of torque from the 1.4-litre turbo petrol drives the front wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Zero to 100 km/h comes and goes in a laudable 8.5 seconds and the top speed is 215 km/h.
True to type, the 2025 VW Golf TSI is not about standing starts and spinning front tyres. Sure, there can be a flurry of whinnying rubber when the torque-rich turbo motor kicks in, but for the most part progress is silent and effortless. Likewise, a firmer ride is instantly recognisable on the optional 18-inch rims. At first, the firmness is a little at odds with the package. However, spend enough time behind the wheel and you soon get used to it.
THE VERDICT
Volkswagen’s stab at a fully digitised family hatchback nails the brief. However, all the electronic trickery doesn’t intrude on the overall experience. The firm calls the Golf 8.5 fully digital, insofar as it has auto headlights, wipers, adaptive cruise control and active lane-keeping assist (even if the abrupt bong when it engages is a little annoying). You don’t really need to do a whole lot from behind the wheel if you don’t want to.
A price bump to R688 100 as standard – closer to R788 000 when fully optioned like our test unit – may move it out of peoples’-car territory. However, we’d argue the 2025 VW Golf TSI has again been elevated into another realm entirely. It’s great-looking, incredibly stylishly, fiendishly high-tech and someone every bit as usable and friendly as it ever was. In our opinion, it’s the ultimate all-round family hatchback. And not just because it’s one of the few left. We’d reach into our own pockets and buy it every single time …
THE FIGURES
- 2025 VW Golf TSI 1.4 R-Line Plus
- Engine: 1.4-litre, 4-cylinder, turbo petrol
- Transmission: 8-speed DSG automatic
- Power: 110 kW @ 6 500 r/min
- Torque: 250 Nm @ 1 600-4 300 r/min
- 0-100 km/h: 8.5 seconds (claimed)
- Fuel consumption: 7.0 l/100 km (tested)
- Price: R688 100 (standard)
DO YOU STILL LOVE A GOOD GOLF?
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