Top Safety Pick +

2022 Volkswagen Golf R

small car / 4-door hatchback

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Headlights
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Standard system	Superior
Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)
Standard system	Advanced

Other available safety features

Standard blind spot detection
Standard lane departure warning & prevention
Standard rear automatic braking

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2022-25 models

Tested vehicle: 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI S 4-door

The Volkswagen Golf GTI, formerly known as the Volkswagen GTI, was redesigned for the 2022 model year. Driver-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test of a 2022 Golf GTI conducted by Volkswagen. These ratings also apply to the Volkswagen Golf R.

Evaluation criteria	Rating

Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTN2201
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	7
Footrest (cm)	4
Left toepan (cm)	2
Brake pedal (cm)	2
Parking brake (cm)	0
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	0
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	4
Upper dash (cm)	6
Lower instrument panel (cm)	7

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTN2201
Head
HIC-15	118
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.2
Extension bending moment (Nm)	10
Maximum Nij	0.21
Chest maximum compression (mm)	30
Femur (kN)
Left	4.4
Right	0.1
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	0
Right	0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.29
Right	0.30
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	1.5
Right	1.1
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	46
Right	46

About the small overlap front test

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2022-25 models

Tested vehicle: 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI Autobahn 4-door

The Volkswagen Golf GTI, formerly known as the Volkswagen GTI, was redesigned for the 2022 model year. Passenger-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test of a 2022 Golf GTI conducted by Volkswagen. These ratings also apply to the Volkswagen Golf R.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTP2204
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	7
Footrest (cm)	5
Right toepan (cm)	3
Center toepan (cm)	2
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	0
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm)	7
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	6
Upper dash (cm)	6
Right lower dash (cm)	5

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTP2204
Head
HIC-15	160
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm)	18
Maximum Nij	0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm)	24
Femur (kN)
Left	0.4
Right	1.0
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	1
Right	0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	1
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.60
Right	0.44
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	2.1
Right	2.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	53
Right	53

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTP2204
Head
HIC-15	126
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.9
Extension bending moment (Nm)	29
Maximum Nij	0.20
Chest maximum compression (mm)	26
Femur (kN)
Left	0.1
Right	0.1
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	1
Right	0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.58
Right	0.20
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	0.3
Right	0.9
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	45
Right	38

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2022-25 models

Tested vehicle: 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI S 4-door

The Volkswagen Golf GTI, formerly known as the Volkswagen GTI, was redesigned for the 2022 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test of a 2022 Golf GTI conducted by Volkswagen. These ratings also apply to the Volkswagen Golf R.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF2201
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	4
Left (cm)	6
Center (cm)	6
Right (cm)	3
Brake pedal (cm)	5
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	-1
Right (cm)	-1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	-3
Rearward (cm)	-4
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	0

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF2201
Head
HIC-15	175
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.4
Extension bending moment (Nm)	9
Maximum Nij	0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm)	33
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	0.2
Femur force - right (kN)	0.6
Knee displacement - left (mm)	0
Knee displacement - right (mm)	1
Maximum tibia index - left	0.28
Maximum tibia index - right	0.70
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	1.7
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	3.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	72
Right	176

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2022-25 models

Tested vehicle: 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI Autobahn 4-door

The Volkswagen Golf GTI, formerly known as the Volkswagen GTI, was redesigned for the 2022 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test of a 2022 Golf GTI conducted by Volkswagen. These ratings also apply to the Volkswagen Golf R.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	VTS2201
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-17.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS2201
Head HIC-15	144
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.7
Compression (kN)	0.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	35
Lateral force (kN)	1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	30
Average deflection (mm)	28
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	4.24
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.37
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	2.1
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.2
Combined force (kN)	3.2
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.8
L-M moment (Nm)	314
A-P moment (Nm)	44

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS2201
Head HIC-15	196
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.3
Compression (kN)	0.3
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	46
Lateral force (kN)	1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	41
Average deflection (mm)	31
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	4.46
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.67
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.3
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.7
Combined force (kN)	1.7
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	1.0
L-M moment (Nm)	114
A-P moment (Nm)	23

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2022-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI SE 4-door

Ratings apply to the Volkswagen Golf GTI (tested) and the structurally similar 2022 Golf R.

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,254 lbs
Peak force	21,544 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	6.62

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Manual cloth seat
Geometry
Backset (mm)	29
Distance below top of head (mm)	-9
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	11.7
Head contact time (ms)	60
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	0
Max neck tension (N)	327

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Trim level(s)

All trims

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Low-beam headlight type	LED projector
High-beam headlight type	LED projector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on the left side of the road and inadequate on the right side. On curves, visibility was good on the sharp right curve, fair on the gradual right curve and inadequate on both left curves.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good on the gradual left and both right curves and fair on the sharp left curve.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway, on both left curves and on the gradual right curve.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Trim level(s)	All trims
Low-beam headlight type	LED projector
High-beam headlight type	LED projector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating Applies to 2022-24 models

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	60.0 m	None
Straightaway left edge	54.5 m	None
250m radius right curve, left edge	57.3 m	None
250m radius left curve, right edge	37.8 m	None
150m radius right curve, right edge	61.5 m	None
150m radius left curve, left edge	43.0 m	None

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	152.0 m
Straightaway left edge	148.2 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	91.2 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	78.0 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	73.4 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	60.9 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

Standard Front Assist

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2022-23 models

Superior

This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

About the original front crash prevention test

Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)

System details

standard Front Assist (with Automatic Emergency Braking and Pedestrian Monitoring)

Overall evaluation

This rating applies to all 2022-24 models

Advanced

Crossing child

In the 12 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 11 mph.
In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 19 mph.

Crossing adult

In the 12 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 11 mph.
In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

Parallel adult

In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 5 mph.
In the 37 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 10 mph. A warning was issued 1.4 seconds before impact.

About the pedestrian front crash prevention test