Mk8 Golf R

Shortly after I traded in my WRX, I realized I felt a void. Not regret, necessarily; the Legacy XT and Outback were great cars in their own right - luxurious and reliable/practical, respectively. But neither was particularly exciting or special in the way the WRX was.

I spent a few years mulling my options, and ultimately decided on two different routes:

1. Keep the Outback and buy a BRZ or Miata as a weekend car
2. Sell the Outback and switch to a fun, do-it-all car

Tariff uncertainties and limitations with garage space ruled out the feasibility of the former, which left me on the hunt for the perfect fast dadmobile. My criteria were pretty simple, but unfortunately my options were pretty limited.

After a couple months of searching, be it fate or just luck, a near-perfect 2022 Mk8 Volkswagen Golf R popped up for sale! Less than one week later, we were waving goodbye to the Outback from behind the wheel of my new Golf R!

But my ownership experience of the Mk8 was mixed. It was a great car, and a fantastic daily driver, but a few quirks and issues kept me from loving it as much as I wanted to. So, after a little more than a year of ownership with the Mk8 Golf R I ended up selling it.

I was lucky enough to find a cared-for Mk7.5 that I couldn’t ignore, and made the switch in the summer of 2026.

I loved my time with the Mk8, and am sad I wasn’t able to document my experience more thoroughly, but hope to make up for it with the Mk7.5!

Be sure to check out the list of posts below covering my Mk8 Golf R ownership experience!