2025 Volkswagen Golf R

small car / 4-door hatchback

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Small overlap front
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test

Other available safety features

Standard blind spot detection
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

The small overlap front evaluation consists of a driver-side and a passenger-side component. If the results of the two evaluations differ, then the combined small overlap rating is equal to the lower rating.

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
Overall driver-side evaluation
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

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 passenger-side 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