(first posted 4/3/2018) As turbocharging has become increasingly common, certain car-and-engine combinations have disappeared. We’ll probably never see another five-cylinder Volvo again. A dwindling number of mid-size sedans still offer an optional V6 and even fewer compact SUVs do. Volkswagen’s six-cylinder Golf variants are also dead and buried. That includes the R32, the last six-cylinder Golf.
While it’s tantalizing to have a big six-cylinder engine in a small car, the R32’s successor – the Golf R – produced slightly more power and torque from a smaller, more economical turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Well, that’s progress.
The R32 was hardly wanting for power, however, thanks to the 3.2 VR6 engine stuffed under the hood. Producing 250 hp and 236 ft-lbs, the R32 put its power down on the road via Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel-drive system which shifted power to the rear wheels when extra traction was required.
Although it was quite obviously a Golf, Volkswagen made some notable styling enhancements to distinguish the R32 from the GTi and lesser Golfs. Where the GTi’s front-end used blacked-out trim and red accenting, the R32 used brushed aluminum – a motif shared with the Passat R36 – and the R32 ditched the rotary phone wheels for more conventional, multi-spoke ones (10-spoke in North America, 20-spoke elsewhere). The R32 also sat 5mm lower than the GTi, which was already 15mm lower than the regular Mark V Golf/Rabbit.
The R32 was rather rapid, reaching 60 mph in 6.5 seconds with the standard six-speed manual or 6.2 seconds with the optional six-speed, dual-clutch DSG automatic. The automatic was standard in North America but fortunately came with paddle shifters.
Reviews typically found the R32 to be more of a cruiser than a bruiser. That certainly makes sense: the six-cylinder engine was smooth and flexible, the ride quality quite refined, and even the styling was subtle. But that reputation was also the result of the R32’s hefty curb weight—at just over 3500 pounds, the R32 was 400 pounds heavier than a GTi. And although the all-wheel-drive system helped quell torque steer, the R32 had a propensity towards understeer at the limit. This was no WRX or Evo, but then those pocket rockets were nowhere near as pleasant on a long-distance trip as the R32.
North American buyers could only buy a new R32 in 2008, with Volkswagen importing only 5000 examples. It was a repeat of Volkswagen’s sales strategy for the first-generation R32 (based on the previous, fourth-generation Golf), wherein Volkswagen imported 5000 examples for a single model year, 2004. The 2008 R32 cost $32,990, a whopping $10k more than a base GTi. It was a similar story in other markets, too, such as Australia. At least the R32’s features list included niceties such as leather Recaro seats, rain-sensing wipers and dual-zone climate control.
See, the R32’s worst enemy was the cheaper GTi. It was barely slower – 0-60 in 6.7 seconds, thereabouts – and it was considerably lighter and therefore felt livelier and more maneuverable. Sure, there were 50 fewer ponies and 31 fewer pound-feet of torque and you didn’t have the additional traction of all-wheel-drive. But the Golf GTi was the gold standard of hot hatches, offering a level of all-round competence that surpassed that of its rivals.
It was hard to top the GTi, but the R32 at least took a different tack. It was more exclusive, produced a sonorous rasp from its six-cylinder engine, and offered a different, more luxurious take on the hot hatch formula. Its successor may have been more powerful and efficient but the R32 was the last six-cylinder Golf. That has to count for something.
Related Reading:
CC Capsule: 2002-05 Alfa Romeo 147 GTA – Hot Hatch Meets Muscle Car
CC Capsule: 2007-12 Toyota Blade – A Corolla… Muscle Car? Hot Hatch? Grand Tourer?
Curbside Classic: 1995-99 BMW 3-Series Compact – The Bob-Tailed Bimmer
As an American I will confess that I am under the spell of torque. Big, full-fat, luscious, high-calorie torque. Everyone keeps telling me that modern turbo 4s do the job just as well, but I am a doubter. They may do it *almost* as well but just like with sugar-free or fat-free ice cream, there will be a difference. I also still fear a big repair bill down the road when the turbo system slits its little throat.
So one of these would appeal to me. Except for the fact that it is possible to get a V8 Mustang, anyway.
….which leaves the Audi RS3 Sportback as the last “boiling hot hatch” (because 400 hp) with more than 4 cylinders, as far as I know. Also available as a sedan, btw.
Nice catch there. Our police also drove several R32s throughout the country, in an anonymous civilian outfit. And heavily tuned, according to the info I read.
The BMW 140i is not far behind of course.
I remember the earlier generation more, there were a couple racing that I think were supported by VW unofficially, and had more power than what they ought to have.
Audi RS3 Sportback as the last “boiling hot hatch” (because 400 hp)>/i>
Actually, there’s Mercedes-AMG A45, CLA45, and GLA45 with 381-horsepower (280KW) four-cylinder mill. In fact, this type earned the status as one with highest specific output per displacement at 187.5 horsepowers per litre for a four-cylinder motor in a passenger vehicle. Bugatti Chiron has same specific output from its 8-litre V16 motor.
Audi RS3 has only 340 horsepowers (or 146.8 horsepowers per litre) from its 2.5-litre five-cylinder motor.
Mercedes-AMG hasn’t announced the hotter replacement for its A45 yet.
Audi RS3, 294 kW/400 hp (ps), according to Audi’s Dutch website. Apart from the hp-rating, the Audi and the BMW John mentions are the last of the breed with more than 4-cylinders under the hood.
I pressed the Post Comment button quicky before I realised about the RS3’s engine upgrade for model year 2017.
When that happened, I couldn’t go back and edit the comment. It is so utterly frustrating to experience maddening 503 Service Error each and every time I press Post Comment. Once that happened, I couldn’t even edit the comment if I made mistake or didn’t finish it.
Audi had recently made the move of ‘mine’s-bigger-than-yours’ one-upmanship with its RS3, and I had forgotten about that when I wrote the comment.
Are those AMG A45 meant to be fast?Just wondering as I overtook one that was making turbo blow off noises accelerating hard up a 15% grade it sure looked the part it just didnt go to match.
Nice colour. Still see these quite regularly and I also see an R36 Passat around my parts.
The Passat R36 is one we didn’t get at all in NA. There hasn’t been a “hot” Passat ever sold here that I can recall, unless you count the W8 4Motion, which was really just overkill.
Big V6 and auto combo, along with more power than needed? Reminds me of the JDM Toyota Blade Master, which William has already written up. Where the R32 tried to be sporty, the Master went luxury. It was essentialy the placeholder for the CT200h, which was vastly preferred in Japan, thanks to the Hybrid powertrain. Those tax benefits should not be discounted by any means, because both the Lexus HS and Toyota Sai, both Corolla based, sell very well in Japan. Fast and small is a quirk, not a feature for most small cars.
Not only did the lighter, sprightlier GTI make the R32 appear porky, it was the first-gen R32 that was so much rougher, louder, more interesting. This edition was just too civilised.
On YouTube there’s a disturbing video of a Golf R32 owner suffering a fatal crash while racing a 911 Carrera on the German Autobahn. The two were side-by-side when they suddenly came upon slower traffic. The Porsche driver panicked and swerved into the next lane, running the VW off the road. All of it was caught on the VW’s dashcam.
The still pictures were even more disturbing. There’s no blood or gore, but the resulting wreckage no longer even resembled a car- it looked like a bucket of Legos dropped from a second story window.
A friend replaced his WRX with a VR6 GTI (not R32) and didn’t really care for it. Replaced it with a 4 cylinder GTI which I guess was just the right balance between zippy and plush.
“… the resulting wreckage no longer even resembled a car- it looked like a bucket of Legos dropped from a second story window.
Something like that comes from something,
I test drove a GTI Golf for a mate recently it was local to me, automatic so just a ticking time bomb but it went well though not as well as I’d been led to believe, he didnt buy it a Toyota Aurion appeared for sale closer and he bought that,
The Golf was very much like the turbo C4 I had as a loaner but easier to get in and out of in a C4 I sit next to the B post but further ahead next to the door aperture in a Golf.