Where each one leads
Audi TT RS
- Against cars of the same year, the Audi TT RS comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 67% less often than average) than the Volkswagen Golf R (fails 44% less often than average).
Volkswagen Golf R
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Volkswagen Golf R uses 9.3 l/100 km, the 2021 Audi TT RS 10.0.
- New Volkswagen Golf R cars registered in Europe in 2020 average 147 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 205 for the Audi TT RS in 2022.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Audi TT RS | Volkswagen Golf R | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2012–2023 | 2012–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 9,467 (2010–2022) | 55,992 (2010–2020) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 1,322 | — |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 143 | — |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Audi TT RS | Volkswagen Golf R | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 90% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | +3% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.6% | 0.8% |
| … against cars of the same year | −67% | −44% |
| US owner complaints | 2 | 80 |
| Most complaints about | Fuel/propulsion system | Service brakes |
| Model year with most complaints | 2013 (1) | 2017 (15) |
| US recall campaigns | — | 16 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 2,365 | 4,810 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | — | 6 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Audi TT RS | Volkswagen Golf R | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2019) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Audi TT RS | Volkswagen Golf R | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 10.0 l/100 km (2021) | 9.3 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 11.1 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 205 g/km | 147 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 294 kW (394 hp) | — |
| Average mass in running order | 1,588 kg | 1,406 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €103,792 | — |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).