Story by Brad Beardow

Volkswagen of America chose sunny Chandler, Arizona to roll out a fleet of 15 shiny new R32 Golfs and let a hungry group of journalists thrash them around Firebird International Raceway for a few hours. No shortage of confidence at VWoA, apparently. Full Story...

MT has the first R32 review out and they got the following numbers:

0-60: 5.9 seconds
1/4mi: 14.2 @ 97 mph

60-0 braking: 108 feet (amazing)
Road holding: 0.87g

Awesome performance

This car is pure sex

Sold:
2000 GTI VR6
GIAC chip, DSR256 cams, 337pedals, Neuspeed strut bar... 14.93 @ 93.02 mph

I've very proud of my decision to buy the R32, there were times when I backed out of the deal not willing to wait for the car to finally get here, but now that its sitting in my garage, I'm the happiest guy on the block. Thanks to VW for bringing this car here

Phil

I agree that the R32 is the best Golf ever produced. I've had GTIs in all shapes and sizes for the last 12 years, and this car beats them all in terms of overall driving experience. It took a lot for me to get out of my other VR6, but if you look at my sig, you'll see that it is for sale now

VW only needed to tune the suspension and engine a bit more towards performance to make this car truly special. 50hp more and a tighter handling, perhaps even adjustable, would have made this car fit the niche. As it is presently the car is geared more towards the VWvortex enthusiasts crowd moreso than the automobile enthusiasts crowd.

$30,000 is a competitive market. Much more than the $20,000 market.

Personally, I can’t WAIT till my lease is up on my 2003 GTI 1.8T. My next car will be an R32, even if it’s used. Hopefully by then there will be a ZF blower kit. A bone stock R32 with a blower kit would be the ultimate daily driver (for us on budgets )

But perhaps those of us who have seen VW's reliability go down the ****ter are looking at a little more than 0-60 times. The R32 is nice and all....but I need something that isn't going to be a headache, and VW just cannot promise even half of that. Knock on wood, my MKIII has been pretty good in regards to being pretty reliable (minus the tranny incident based on VW's stupidity)....but knowing others with MKIV's and what they've gone through - no thanks. Great concept, though....

MT definitely kicked butt in their testing. I have to go buy that magazine so I can read the article.

We ARE the village.

This was a press event. We used a Vericom 2000 for numbers. There was no 1/4 mile set up. Our "slow" 0-60 time was due to VWoA pretty much begging us not to beat on these cars (as I mentioned in the article). Also, each of these cars had less than 500 miles on the odometers, so you have to figure their best acceleration times were still ahead of them.

That being said, driving these cars all-out on road and auto-x courses made it very clear to me that lamenting about a lack of hardcore 0-60 or 1/4 mile numbers is kind of missing the point entirely. This car is a world-class decathlete.

Was Bruce Jenner the fastest 100 meter runner? Did he win a whole mess of gold medals? You get my point...

I think VW could have done a couple of things different at this price point that would have really made this car special -

1: A turbocharged engine. The massive torque they can produce is proven to lend itself to AWD.

2: An AWD system with an initial bias towards the rear wheels. Bearing in mind that AWD is actually suboptimal on dry tarmac to begin with, a system that starts with more power to the rear, and powers the front only when needed would be the way to go - VW got this part backwards.

The 93-01 turbocharged Subaru Imprezas were probably the bet AWD cars ever concieved. Aside from it's undisputed rallying success from Group N to Group A and eventually WRC, it was a great production car. Lightweight for an AWD car, great power, and decent weight distribution all things considered. Very relaible, easy to work on (tranny is out in around 30 minutes with the right tools). The aftermarket is still huge, and to this day it is still considered a cult car. You can live with it too, they have acceptable passenger space for the class, and the trunk is very accomidating.

Cars today need diet. People do invariably compare the R to the STI and EVO, but in my book, they are all too heavy. Mods and tire widths being relatively equal, the 2,000 pound car will kill the 3,000 pund car in the corners. You can always make more power, you can only lose so much weight.

Finally, all of current AWD performace cars are overpriced. The R32, STi, and EVO should all cost about $5,000 less. If people just refused to buy these vehicles at these prices, they could command to the industry what they are willing to pay.

Modified by TarmacSpecial at 9:41 AM 5-3-2004

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Unfortunately, in this country, the R32 will never get a fair shake. We are too focused on numbers.

I’ll blatantly admit that I was very skeptical about it’s performance before it came over here. Even as I was driving it around city streets, I wasn’t too impressed. Then I hit the track, and was completely converted. This car truly is a complete package. Quiet and relaxed on the freeway, zippy around town, and tenacious on the track.

It’s no rocket ship, that’s for sure. My 1.8T would smoke one from a roll. But, the drivetrain is so solid and immediate in its actions; I have regained my faith in N/A engines. And that’s coming from a hard-core turbo guy

From the article: "We were let loose on Firebird’s 1.2 mile road course, as well as their autocross, slalom, and dragstrip."

Last time I checked the Dragstrip at Firebird is a full NHRA sanctioned 1/4 mile strip.

I think the Vericoms were lying to you other then the 60-0 time which is pretty much up there for the best braking any stock production car has ever done in testing.

I have one of these cars, I love it but I am getting dissapointed in what some of the press are getting as far as numbers. The MT guys are the only ones who really drove this car to it's potential so far and gave the public a fair review.

These clutches are strong, why VW would tell you take it easy to a bunch of press folks really surprises me, the car can handle it! Why would you tell someone to take it easy on something they are reviewing? It is like giving a Unich (sp?) Viagra. You get the sensation but not the feeling!

I'm not sure, Anthony, but are you saying I might be making this part up?

As I mentioned, these were brand new cars, and I suppose VW was more worried about a journalist reporting on the R32 he just broke, than the less than stellar 0-60 time he just ran. Either way, it was their call, and I respected their request. Maybe you'd have driven it for all it was worth, and likely posted a better time than I did. Then again, maybe you'd have not been asked again to attend another VWoA press event..

As for the drag strip reference in my article, I agree that is misleading. We used that only for 0-60, 60-0 and slalom testing.

Many of us know you're a hardcore drag racer, Anthony, and many of us respect that fact very much (I know I do). Heck, you've given the R32 camp a verified sub-14 second 1/4 mile time with which they can use against many of the nay-sayers. Obviously, straight line acceleration is especially important to you. But can you respect the fact that others don't share the same priorities? Have you had your car on a road course, yet? If so, what did you think?

Not saying you are making anything up, just dissapointed VW put the cuffs on the press event on a car that they built to handle the abuse! I wish they hadn't done that!

Straight-line acceleration is somewhat important to me, but I didn't buy this car to drag race it. Although, with a turbo this would be a car to contend with in the street tire class. This car is extremely capable in all aspects, I know that for a fact. It outbrakes any car on the market under $100,000! I would have liked to see a skidpad above .90 though as .87 is great but not awesome.

I have had it on a track, it was a blast. This is where this car belongs:

Touche

So my question is, are they ever going to give us a four door version in the States!? I was so close in getting one of these but a two door would not fit my standard of living and the hassle of getting people in the back.

Dubfest Car Show & Expo 2007

Yes, that is a US car. R32s with side markers are US.

Also, I can't imagine <insert 30k competitor car> making excuses for their lack of luxury accomodations. (maybe that doesn't make sense)

I think I've been watching this car for almost 2 years... this car should have been the anniversary gti! (alas with 1.8k04 (lighter, more balanced, cheaper?) and 4motion). But lets not dig all that up again...

My ex-wife never got along with my fast

Negative- 2-door only- They did make a few 4-door R32s, just not for us.

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When I saw The R32 I got really excited. It looks awesome. But the numbers I'm hearing are very disappointing. This car should run in the 5's without any excuses!!!! I'd say make 4motion standard on the GTI and we'll take it from there.

I suppose you are right to some degree. At the same time, they did provide an excellent overall package. Out of the box, this is a sweet little car. The midrange power is excellent by the way.
You are right, the 4-motion should be optional on the Golf. The independent rear suspension makes a huge difference accross the board.

(The R32 is awesome)

Well it is running in the 5's, see June edition of Motor Trend and Car & Driver magazine. They tested the R 0-60 at 5.9, 5.8 respectively

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Using numbers that one or possibly two people were able to eek out is not a good indication of how a car performs for the average Joe. I agree that numbers don't always give the best indication of a cars performance, especially considering that extra 0-60 shift in the 6-speed. But I also agree that the car is not in the same performance league as several other $30,000 sporty cars.

great article and i'm sorry to nitpick, but since when is the VR6 old school?

Well, it's been around for about an easy 12 years now. It's not old school, but it's not exactly cutting edge either.

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Hoping to get mine on the track this summer. It'll be my first time, wish me luck