Hatchback

Golf R - Who Knew Power Could Look This Good!

Its mixture of performance and practicality is expected, but its seamless blending of those two key attributes is unique. On top of that, the R outclasses everything in the category with the most sophisticated styling inside and out. Its place at the peak of the peerless Volkswagen Golf family has helped it win a spot on our 10 Best list.

However, the equally lovable and significantly less expensive Golf GTI stands for a stronger performance value for those less concerned with maximum thrust. Likewise, the R-rated version lacks the literal and figurative wild side of the hardcore alternatives. Regardless, this sport compact is a dual threat, a winner on both the track and the cul-de-sac.

The Golf R is the understated and underrated antithesis of its red-hot hatchback rivals such as the Ford Focus RS, Subaru WRX STI, and Honda Civic Type R.

For about a year, I had the privilege of owning a Golf R. I had read a number of reviews online prior to owning the vehicle. It was very surprising that many car journalist bemoaned the R for being boring. 225 kw of power, 400 Nm of torque in a car that is roughly the size of a Kia Rio. How on earth can that be boring?

The culprit for this supposed boredom come from the four-wheel drive system. During normal driving, the system drives the front wheels only and is only engaged when the onboard computer system senses the front-wheels are losing traction. During this moment, it redirects power to the rear wheels. However only a maximum of 50% of the engines torque can ever be sent to the rear wheels at this time. So, what's the problem?

Well, most in the car journalist community view the four-wheel drive system as more of an intrusive safety net, that tames the understeer typically associated with front-wheel drive cars, than a tool to assist the driver. I disagree profusely!

The Golf 7.5 R was never made to be on the track. It was made for, dare I say, 'the people'. Putting this amount of power in a small body needs a system that can control and deliver it on the road regardless of the conditions. Push the car just hard enough and you start to see the limits of the four-wheel drive system. But getting there and enjoying the controllability, is well worth the insurance net.

Despite some baseless claims to be boring, the R does an amazing job of lifting one's spirits. The versatility to dance between two extremes of comfort and aggression, makes this quite frankly the closest that VW has been to capturing the spirit of the original MK1 GTI.

The goal of most car manufactures is to rekindle the lost spirit of the MKI. Even VW themselves have been doing some deep soul searching, going do the very dark side that was the MKIII.

As a biased fan, there is no ugly VW car. Especially among the Golf range. However, the MKIII was the lowest point so far in the Golf performance lineup. It was fat, period.

The Germans certainly tried to make up for its added bulk by later injecting a 6-cylinder powerplant, known by it's iconic abbreviation-VR6. This added some much-needed theater to an otherwise flat exterior.