Complete Volkswagen Golf GTI & R range now available

Aussie VW hot hatch fans rejoice, each variant of both Golf GTI and R is now available in Australia.

The recently announced Golf GTI Original brings up the bottom of the performance range, though it should deliver high in fun.

At $37,490 in manual or $39,990 in DSG guise, the Original harks back to the stripped-out basic Golfs of the early days, with cloth upholstery and simple features helping bring pricing down.

The standard GTI sits in the middle of the GTI range at $41,990 (manual) and $44,490 (DSG), while the DSG-only and front LSD-equipped Performance Edition 1 is the top-spec GTI at $47,990.

In the land of the all-wheel drive Golf R, the cheapest can be had for $47,490 in the form of a manual Golf R Grid, which takes the same simplified approach as the GTI Original. A DSG Grid is $2500 more, or a Grid Wagon with DSG costs $51,990.

$53,490 will buy you a regular Golf R in manual guise, while an extra $2500 gets you a faster (but arguably less fun) DSG. A standard wagon is $57,990.

Finally, at the top of the Golf food chain, is the R Wolfsburg, which is now a permanent member of the Australian Golf family.

A Golf R Wolfsburg costs $57,990 as a hatch, or $59,990 as a wagon, both of which are equipped with 7-speed DSGs.

VW Group Australia managing director Michael Bartsch says the broad price range and differing specifications are part of the Golf’s success story.

"Volkswagen offers not only the most accomplished fast and fun compact cars in the world, it provides the world's widest range," Bartsch says.

"There is now a performance Golf for everyone."

He also offers up some fighting words for rivals, who are starting to move in on the Golf’s territory as recent sales figures suggest.

"Extraordinary claims are being made for supposed rivals that are not yet on sale. While any skunkworks can turn out a track day special, the expertise and experience required to engineer a GTI or an R – cars that also excel in the real world – is rather more hard won.

"When you've owned a GTI or an R, it's difficult to settle for anything less."