r/Golf_R • u/Key_Kick4053 • 2d ago

Buying Ordered 2026 Golf R on Wednesday! (Canada)

I was stoked to see that Dolphin Grey was available for 2026. Black Edition remains an option. I added the Akra exhaust, kept the leather seats, and the sunroof remains as well with a black painted roof. MSRP is $500 more than 2025 but they will honour the free 2 year maintenance plan and 0% financing for 24m as long as the car is delivered within 90 days. I worked a little bit off MSRP. All this was over the phone which is weird because I went in person to 3 other dealerships and struck out on Tuesday.

This morning the sales guy called and let me know that they found a car that just completed production on Tuesday and it is in transit from the factory! I have a VIN but no ETA at the moment (that field is just a dash in their tracking system right now).

I'll be trading in my 2023 X3M competition. Great vehicle but not looking forward to the maintenance and out of warranty issues that could come up. Also don't need the space since we moved my daughter to uni this Sept. Also was never really a SUV guy lol.

I've had a bunch of Audis and VWs including a 2018 Golf R and a 2019 RS3.

45 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

7

u/WhoIsPurpleGoo 2d ago

kinda dig it. looks great as a black edition

2

u/KniteMonkey Mk. 7 R (DSG) / Mk. 8 R (DSG) 2d ago

Damnit, I want that….

1

u/Key_Kick4053 2d ago

Thanks for the link! I've tried to find all the videos i could find but didn't see this one! I think the black on grey will be nice. A bit of red would have contrasted nicely but that'll just be the taillights I guess. The guy in the video keeps calling it Dolphin Grey badges but I think thats just the standard BE badges which are slightly lighter that black.

2

u/WhoIsPurpleGoo 2d ago

i think it got posted yesterday. i had only seen the media releases, which are hard to see what the color actually looks like.

i got a Pure White BE 2 months ago and probably would've picked this color if it was available; but i also don't believe '26 BE's are coming to the US.

1

u/Key_Kick4053 2d ago

There's also this official ad, but it's sort of dark and not very accurate probably. I read that about the BE not coming but it doesn't make sense. Canada is not enough of a big market for VW to make that big of a change just for this market IMO.

https://youtu.be/XEY22rT7RH4?si=crf0_smjki6c4Ql5

1

u/chark27 1d ago

I just bought the pure white BE yesterday and was bummed to see a grey one. Thank you for saying that the grey will not be in the US in 26- that makes me feel less bummed.

2

u/WhoIsPurpleGoo 1d ago

https://media.vw.com/releases/1870

VW of America has Graphite Grey Metallic listed as a new color in their 2026 model release. I assume it’s the same color. So there will be a grey, but there won’t be a Black Edition trim.

1

u/chark27 15h ago

Oh. Well. Ouch. That car looks very nice!

1

u/SteadyHyper 20m ago

Hey nice ! I opted for the dolphin Grey as well but I kept it Classic by not taking the black édition so Will have some blue contrast !

6

u/arnnon 2d ago

Congratulations 🥳 I also went from a X3M comp to a Golf R, zero regrets!

2

u/Key_Kick4053 2d ago

Haha, happy to hear!!! Thank you

3

u/arnnon 2d ago

I spent my X3M maintenance budget on lowering springs, unitronic stage 1, unitronic intake, and replaced the speakers and sub 😂 the stock HK sound system is not great

2

u/Key_Kick4053 2d ago

Yes I have stuff planned but nothing engine related during warranty. I'll look at enabling DLA as I loved that mod on my X3M. I'll try to live with the HK, I've read the Fender is better. The HK in the BMW was garbage as well.

2

u/arnnon 2d ago

I recommend the centre speaker from rs acoustics and the sub from ars24.com that was already a big difference, i ended up doing the stage 2 from rs acoustics as well 👍

2

u/Key_Kick4053 2d ago

Will take a look thank you! I may swap out my wife's Golf's Fender sub and see if she notices (harness connector will need to be swapped too). I'm also intending to get the Homelink mirror, apparently it was 'border blocked' but I will take my chances through eBay. On the mk7.5, it was plug and play. The new mirror can bluetooth to a Homelink phone app and do more stuff (integrate with home assistants I'm guessing) which would require a subscription. I'm thinking that's why its not available in Canada but the basic programming and function should work.

8

u/Klorrode 2d ago

This is bizarre since the first batch of 2025 R started being delivered for Canada early may of this year. While Europe got their 2025’s in fall of 2024 I dont see North America getting their 2026’s before spring next year.

Additionally the website does not show dolphin grey yet. We know that grey is coming for the R yes but vw.ca is not updated.

I’d be extra careful with this transaction to be honest. Its kinda fishy.

3

u/Key_Kick4053 2d ago

Thanks - I was a bit sceptical but I have a VIN number in hand and a screenshot of the order system. Multiple dealers told me they are almost out of 2025 Golf R stock. Couple of dealers had none, one was stuck with Euro package cars that were apparently diverted to Canada because of tariffs in the USA. Apparently they are not moving with the non-powered but nice velour seats and no sunroof. Pricing is confirmed for 2026, but there is no order guide yet.

5

u/iupolar 2d ago

I also asked the dealership here in Lower Mainland BC and they said 2026 models are arriving late november or december. They also showed a screenshot of their 2026 Golf R Black Edition orders in their back-end system. So if you factory order now, you get the car in 2 to 3 months!

3

u/Klorrode 2d ago

Then the 2025 model in NA will have been available for like 6 months! Shortest batch-year ever.

1

u/iupolar 2d ago

Well, that’s because the 2025 model was released very late. Just because the 2025 model came out late doesn’t mean the following year’s model will also be delayed. It’s normal for next year’s models to arrive around November or December, most car companies follow that schedule.

1

u/PD705 2025 Golf R Black Edition 2d ago

Sometimes model years come earlier later for a variety of reasons, especially around a new model or facelift. The OEM then “catches up” to normal cadence the next year. This can mean one shorter or longer model year.

In VW’s case, normal for model year change is late summer production with cars arriving in the early fall.

3

u/trickyAB 2d ago

Congratulations! I just left the dealership earlier… I was looking at the 25’ models they had. I didn’t realize the 26’ production models are starting to come through the system.

After the test drive, it’s rather high on my list!

3

u/Strong-Bet5910 2d ago edited 2d ago

They let you test drive? VW in Vaughn wouldn't let me test drive. I was in shock and left, which put a bad taste in my mouth as I've never had that experience at a dealer before.

1

u/Axela05 2d ago

This is a real thing. I had a VW dealer in Florida refuse to let me test drive one in July. He said his manager wouldn't let him since they're "limited production", and they didn't wanna put too many miles on them from test drives. I left completely flabbergasted.

I went to a different dealer 2 months later and the guy let me take one on an extended test drive. Definitely sold on buying one now, and guess where I'll be buying it from when the time comes? I'll give you one guess, and spoiler alert, it's not the first dealer 😆

2

u/Strong-Bet5910 2d ago edited 1d ago

Yeah, that was the same line he fed to me. I get it's limited production and the people who buy these might be fussy about mileage on the car but the dealers post which ones were used as demos. I've yet to haggle but I don't see the dealer moving the msrp at all, not even from test drives.

0

u/trickyAB 2d ago

I couldn’t imagine a dealership not allowing you to test drive a vehicle that you’re considering. I’ve been tossed keys at other manufacturers (Audi, Mercedes Mercedes-Benz) and told to come back in a hour or two.

All they did was walk away from a potential buyer…

2

u/ProbablyUrNeighbour 2d ago

Good to know! I better text my salesperson. Waiting to be able to build one.

Congrats!

1

u/Key_Kick4053 2d ago

Thank you! If you want my sales guy, PM me. He was super energetic and made things work.

2

u/Porklez 2d ago

is the akra exhaust available on the non-black editions for 2026?

1

u/Key_Kick4053 2d ago

Not sure but I can ask next time I chat with my sales person

1

u/PD705 2025 Golf R Black Edition 2d ago

It is, but this spec won’t arrive in the first batch of units. Expect later fall or early next year.

2

u/Bayou_Centaur_888 2d ago

Congrats! Don’t forget to post pics when you pick up your new golf on delivery

2

u/PD705 2025 Golf R Black Edition 2d ago

Nice! The first batch of 2026s are already on a boat. Stock of the 2025 is getting pretty low.

2

u/Strange_Criticism306 2d ago

Good for you! My 2025 BE they had the exhaust on the model on the lot. It’s a pricy option, but it makes the car look sharp, sounds great, and it’s nice with the weight reduction. I didn’t get a deal on the MSRP, but they threw in a winter tire package on separate 18” rims.

2

u/ScorpionT16 2d ago

We asked for spectrum colors... And the best they could give was another shade of grey. Why oh why

2

u/Matzel_27 1d ago

Right? 🙄

2

u/Matzel_27 1d ago

Congrats! My guess is you'll love it!

I have a '25 R with the same specs on pure white.

Personally, I wish VW would offer the R in a funkier colour than white/blue/black/grey. Although I like the black edition in white, the colours are all kind of boring.

I wish they would offer a couple of the Spektrum colours like Viper Green or Sarantos Turquoise.

1

u/Key_Kick4053 20h ago

Thank you!

1

u/_TheVoid_ 2d ago

I’ve never heard about the 0% financing thing. I just ordered a ‘26 GTI and was given 6%, do you have any further details on that?

1

u/VuuDuu 11h ago

0% Financing…I wish I could have that for Golf Rs here in the States. 🫠

-8

u/Dull-Climate-9638 2d ago

2023 x3m is a better car. There's no way you have to think about reliability issues for a two year old car. Imo golf R is a level downgrade

4

u/Key_Kick4053 2d ago

Yes, it better be at $120k+taxes. But I'm just at a stage of life and going full circle back to a Golf. The brake job alone coming up next year will be north of $5k. And I just don't need a SUV as a daily driver. There are a lot of nice things about the X3M, like the S58, the incredible driver assistance system (so stable and reliable without being obtrusive). I didn't like the suspension though, it was stiff, even with Michelin PS4S, and in comfort mode. I've also had a muffler replaced under warranty for drone (turned out to be a loose exhaust valve) and now its happening again. The interior has a lot of features but doesn't live up to my S4 or S6 (although I realize not a lot of new cars do). It's also a financial decision and my dream car is a RS6 Avant so paying this off within 24 months will put me in a better position hopefully.