The prodigal son returns: 2025 VW Golf TSI R-Line Plus review
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 … As practical as ever and good-looking enough to be hounded by the iPhone paparazzi. And this is just a regular Golf. Image: Ray Leathern
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.' This cabin may be highly technical but it's still all about VW's infamous 'intuitive usability.' Image: Ray Leathern
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. South Africa had to do without a regular, non-GTI Golf for about four years. We'll never take it for granted again … Image: Ray Leathern
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. R-Line Plus package adds just the right amount of GTI-ness to the regular Golf 8.5. Image: Ray Leathern
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 … 2025 VW Golf TSI 1.4 R-Line Plus
Engine: 1.4-litre, 4-cylinder, turbo petrol
1.4-litre, 4-cylinder, turbo petrol Transmission: 8-speed DSG automatic
8-speed DSG automatic Power: 110 kW @ 6 500 r/min
110 kW @ 6 500 r/min Torque: 250 Nm @ 1 600-4 300 r/min
250 Nm @ 1 600-4 300 r/min 0-100 km/h: 8.5 seconds (claimed)
8.5 seconds (claimed) Fuel consumption: 7.0 l/100 km (tested)
7.0 l/100 km (tested) Price: R688 100 (standard)
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I think the last time I drove a new Volkswagen Golf powered by a 1.4 l turbocharged petrol engine was in 2009. Social media was in its infancy, the world still reeling from the effects of the global financial crisis and crossover SUVs the exception rather than the rule. What a time to be alive. Skip forward 15 years and the once de rigueur hatchback is now on the endangered species list, with a dwindling array of options to choose from should you want to lose the herd and not look like everyone else in the shopping mall car park. Fortunately, the eighth-generation Golf is still alive and kicking and in 1.4 TSI guise offers you a semi-attainable antidote to automotive conformity. I recently had the mid-tier Life Plus model on test and it made a fine first impression with its cool Moonstone Gray paintwork and optional 18" 'Catania' alloy wheels. 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Though VW has tried its best to address this criticism in this facelifted version, it still doesn't quite match the tactile delights of its forbear with some of the cabin plastics feeling like they'd be more at home in a Polo Vivo. That said, I must give credit to the excellent art-velours sports comfort seats. Fitted as standard equipment on the Life Plus variant, they merge long-distance driving comfort with plenty of lateral support with their handsomely sculpted side bolsters. The driving position is equally praiseworthy thanks to a steering column that adjusts generously for rake and reach. Now on the tech side of things I am happy to report VW has gone to great measures to re-engineer the awful infotainment system that characterised the first-generation Mk8 models. While software lag is now a thing of the past, the carmaker has also reinstated physical buttons on the multifunction steering wheel, replacing those diabolical haptic monstrosities that haunted the previous iteration. I'd still prefer a panel of switches for adjusting the HVAC system (these have been baked into the 10.3" touchscreen to save money) but on the whole the general operating experience is now far more agreeable with few — if any — expletives being spat at the dashboard during my weeklong test tenure. Standard features are plentiful and include an inductive charging pad, wireless Apple CarPlay, cruise control, a 10" digital instrument cluster, 30 colour ambient lighting, a reverse camera and VW's Driver Profile Selection that lets you toggle through an array of preset drive modes (Eco, Comfort, Sport and Individual). Some of the options fitted to my test car included a R25,500 Discover Navigation System — sort of pointless if you use Waze or Google Maps — a R19,000 panoramic sunroof — nice to have but not necessary — and an IQ. Drive Assistance Package that adds additional driver assist features I don't have any interest in. Especially not at R27,500. Nope, the only extra I'd consider splicing into my Golf would be the stupendous Harman Kardon audio system. It retails for R14,500 and will soon see you swapping podcasts for forgotten Apple Music playlists — it's that good. Out on the road the Life Plus proved a stellar performer. No, it's not a GTI in the all-out acceleration stakes but that doesn't mean it can't bomb along lonely Karoo roads at jail-baiting velocities without breaking sweat. Eighth gear is about as leggy as they come and as such you will be surprised how quickly and effortlessly this car can cruise from point A to point B. The turbocharged four-pot motor is about as characterless as the Sandton skyline but it makes up for this with strong mid-range torque. Peak power is also made at a relatively lowly 5,000rpm so if you're after something that likes to rev then you've come to the wrong place — it soon loses interest after eclipsing that point on the tachometer. Cog-swapping duties are handled by VW's Tiptronic transmission. Some might lament the omission of DSG but they're wrong — this gearbox is better in every meaningful metric. It's smoother, less jerky and in Sport mode just as quick to dance between the ratios. It's also far less complex and infinitely more reliable than its troublesome dual-clutch cousin. The ride is nicely damped and absorbs road ruts and undulations with aplomb even with those 18" alloys fitted. 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As you can tell, I quite enjoyed my time with the Golf 1.4 TSI Life Plus. Like its predecessor did more than a decade ago, this smaller capacity model won me over with its broad skill set and ability to do almost everything well. Whether chugging through Cape Town traffic, smashing a long-distance jaunt or simply letting off steam across your favourite driving road, Volkswagen's littlest Golf is happy to oblige and eager to please. Crucially, it's not just another humdrum crossover SUV yet still offers similar levels of practicality in a less conformist body shape. What a win. Fast facts: 2025 Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI Life Plus
