Volkswagen Golf R statistics

• Licensed in Great Britain 36,065 +1.5% on a year earlier
• Declared SORN 1,168 Off the road, not taxed
• Still registered 85.3% Other Volkswagen Golf versions 90.5%
• Licensed count At its peak highest since 2009
• Share of Volkswagen Golfs 3.6% of those licensed or SORN
• New registrations in 2025 1,447 registered for the first time

How many Volkswagen Golf Rs are left in Great Britain?

There were 36,065 Volkswagen Golf Rs licensed in Great Britain at the end of June 2026, and a further 1,168 declared off the road (SORN). That is the most licensed at any year end since 2009.

How many Volkswagen Golf Rs have survived?

85.3% of the Volkswagen Golf Rs first registered since 2001 are still registered, licensed or SORN. For other versions of the Volkswagen Golf first registered in the same years, the figure is 90.5%, much the same.

Volkswagen Golf R registrations over time

Registrations of Volkswagen Golf Rs for the first time in Great Britain peaked at 6,296 in 2015. In 2025, 1,447 were registered.

Volkswagen Golf R engine sizes and fuel types

Of the 37,190 Volkswagen Golf Rs licensed in the UK at the end of 2025, 99.9% have an engine of 1,901cc to 2,000cc.

United Kingdom figures from DfT table VEH0220 (licensed cars at the end of each year, SORN excluded), so they differ slightly from the Great Britain counts elsewhere on this page. This covers cars DVLA records under this version’s name only; the Volkswagen Golf page covers every version. How we use engine sizes.

Volkswagen Golf R fuel economy and CO2

The Vehicle Certification Agency’s new car data lists the Volkswagen Golf R from 2010, and still lists it. On the WLTP test (listings 2025 to 2026), official combined fuel economy for its petrol versions ranges from 34.0 to 34.9 mpg, with CO2 of 183 to 189 g/km. On the older NEDC test (listings 2010 to 2018), official combined fuel economy for its petrol versions ranges from 33.2 to 40.9 mpg, with CO2 of 159 to 199 g/km.

Source:VCA July 2000 to 15 September 2026 Updated 15 Sept 2026

• Official figures from laboratory type-approval tests. VCA says they may not be achieved in real-world driving, and should not be used to rank cars with similar figures.
• NEDC figures (in VCA’s data until September 2018) and WLTP figures (from the 2019 guide) come from different tests, so they are shown separately and should not be compared.
• VCA’s data has no Volkswagen versions for 2019 to 2024, so the years listed may leave out years the Volkswagen Golf R was on sale.
• These are the VCA listings we could match to the Volkswagen Golf R by name. The Volkswagen Golf page covers every version.
• Engine sizes are rounded to the nearest 0.1 litre. A version is one line in VCA’s data (description, gearbox, engine and fuel), counted once however many years it was listed. Matched from VCA’s model names “Golf”, “Golf Estate”, “Golf Cabriolet”, “New Golf, 2013”. How we use VCA’s figures.

Volkswagen Golf MOT reliability

In 2025, 75.0% of Volkswagen Golf MOT tests were passed first time, against 72.8% for all cars. Cars of the same ages pass 70.7% of the time, so the Volkswagen Golf does better than average for its age, by 4.3 points.

DVSA's MOT results name the model, not the version, so these figures cover all Volkswagen Golfs tested, the R among them. For the full breakdown, including defects in detail and results year by year, see the Volkswagen Golf page.

Other versions of the Volkswagen Golf

Versions of the Volkswagen Golf with their own page. The Volkswagen Golf page covers all 899,678 licensed, whatever the version.