Driving The Classics: Volkswagen Golf R32 Mk4 (2002) Review

► VW’s ultimate Mk4 Golf driven► VR6 cranks out 237bhp, 236lb ft► We drive Euro-spec DSG auto

I was nine years old when VW’s all-out all-wheel drive Golf R32 arrived in the UK in 2002. It ended up being one of those cars that stuck in my memory as a young lad, due in part to my growing obsession with cars but mostly as it was one of my favourite hot hatches to use in Gran Turismo 4 and Forza Motorsport. But given I became a motoring journalist many years after the original R32’s demise, I never thought I’d ever get to actually drive one.

But then, while out at the 2018 Wörthersee festival, Volkswagen not only wheeled out some of its latest performance hatches, it also made some of its heritage fleet available to sample. Among those was a Mk4 R32 in Deep Blue Pearl, just waiting. Would this be a case of never meet your heroes?

Should you buy a Mk4 VW Golf R32?

If any version of the Mk4 Golf is going to make it to solid-gold classic status, it’s this. Origin of the entire VW R line, charismatic and still remarkably quick, it’s not the most dynamically engaging hot hatch of its era but has a drama and significance few contemporaries can match.

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At a glance

Pros: Big-hearted performance even now, robust build, guaranteed classic statusCons: Nose-heavy dynamics take some adjustment

What was so different about the R32?

The Mk4 Golf was a 2003 model-year special, introduced to sit atop the Golf GTI as an even hotter performance hatch. It went on to become the founding father of VW’s R line of higher performance cars. And in the case of the Mk4 Golf, its arrival as a halo model above the Mk4 Golf GTI was something of a turnaround for VW.

The Mk4 GTI is widely-recognised as one of the worst Golf GTIs in the car’s now 50-year history (the firm has just launched the GTI Edition 50 to celebrate); this duffer of a so-called hot hatch felt stodgy to drive, wasn’t that quick and hardly looked like a GTI at all. In came the R32 to save the day: ‘the most powerful and sportiest Golf of all time’. In 2002, anyway.

What are the specs?

The 3.2-litre VR6 was a larger version of the tried-and-tested 2.8-litre VR6 VW already had in service, and was combined here with the brand’s Haldex-based 4Motion all-wheel drive system. In the R32’s case, a new six-speed manual was developed to handle the shove and it became the first car in VW Group’s portfolio to use the now-ubiquitous DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) automatic, albeit in Germany only. The UK’s first DSG appetite-whetter would be Audi’s Mk1 TT V6 quattro in 2003.

It’s not exactly slow, even by today’s standards. With the German-spec DSG equipped, the R32 claims a 6.4sec 0-62mph time – that’s 0.2sec quicker than the manual and almost as fast as a Mk7.5 Golf GTI Performance Pack. And it feels every bit that quick. But then, the engine punches out a healthy 237bhp at 6250rpm (or at least it did when it was new, and I’ve no reason to doubt the voracity of this example) and 236lb ft at just 2800rpm. There are no turbos or hybrid trickery here, just the muscle of a relatively large naturally aspirated engine under the bonnet of a compact family car.

Anthony ffrench-Constant originally drove the R32 back in CAR‘s October 2002 issue.

How does it drive?

The VR6 engine booms a lot from inside the cabin but sings more tunefully from the outside, with a familiar warble that’s almost like a trumpet player has fallen into an industrial-sized washing machine, mid-spin cycle. It’s a memorable mix of wail and whoosh. It’s enough to still send a shiver down your spine, especially if you’ve grown up in the era of overly-boosty four-cylinder – or even three-cylinder – engines that dominate the hot hatch market today.

For this engine configuration, it’s actually quite rev-happy. You expect the largest lump of power to be around the mid-range, but the car actually eggs you on to wind the revs all the way up to the 6250rpm peak, with the DSG ready and waiting to drop the next gear in when you get there. Downshifting using the DSG’s manual-mode via fat aluminium steering-wheel paddles shows up the gearbox’s biggest flaw compared withtoday: it doesn’t like you selecting a lower ratio mid-throttle, momentarily hurling you forward as it cuts the power. Still, that’s a minor point.

The Passat W8-derived brakes are good-ish; nowhere near as powerful as today’s modern hot hatches but they still have plenty of bite.

The R32 got its own suspension setup, with a 20mm-lower ride, bespoke 18-inch alloys from OZ and paint-smear-thin 225/40 tyres and there’s no getting around the fact that that recipe adds up to a firm ride. Even on the mostly smooth Austrian hillside roads we were driving on, the R32 hopped over small lumps and crashed over bigger ones.

There’s also the sense that the R32 is actually quite a lazy car to get around a corner. The steering is heavy by today’s standards, and you have to reattune your hand’s inputs to the amount of lock you have to put on when approaching a bend. It’s far from imprecise, mind, you just have to wind the wheel around a little more than a current-generation Golf R, and unlike the latest-generation ones, there’s a sample of road feedback from the R32’s wheels.

It’s a little nose-heavy, so you have to really regulate your gear and throttle inputs to get it to squirt around that 90-degree sweeper cleanly. Don’t use enough throttle, it washes wide; use to much throttle, it… also washes wide. There’s a thin window of success where the all-wheel drive is its most helpful but when you work hard at it, it’s rewarding to get right.

What about the interior?

It’s as sensible as ever inside and, for the most part, has stood the test of time. R32 highlights include König sports seats, ESP, climate control, rain-sensing wipers and cruise control. The heritage car I drove also came with navigation. After a quick fumble around with this I deducted that it was completely unfathomable, not least because it’s placed really far down the dashboard. How times have (mostly) changed, eh?

The R32’s additions were just enough to perk up a fairly drab cabin, with the seats in particular the stand out point: the part-leather, part-Alcantara pews look the part but are actually a little uncomfortable, with very firm back rests. Still, the side bolstering comes in handy when you’re going some.

Before you buy (trims and rivals)

The R32 was the undisputed pinnacle of the Mk4 Golf line-up, but far from the undisputed champion of contemporary hot hatches. In fact, the range of options open to buyers at the time shames the current selection of go-faster family chariots, with the competition including everything from the original Ford Focus RS through to various iterations of Subaru Impreza WRX. Not forgetting the Audi S3, Alfa 147 GTA, BMW 130i and Honda Civic Type R breadvan.

While the UK didn’t get any choice in the gearbox – it was manually only here – the R32 was offered in three- and five-door variants. These days prices range from around £8000 for a high mileage example all the way up to around £20k for a cherished minter in a rare colour. But let’s face it, Deep Blue Peal is the shade to aim for. Whatever you’re spending, a professional inspection is probably wise peace of mind.

The follow-up Mk5 Golf R32 can be had far cheaper, incidentally.

Verdict: VW Golf R32 Mk4

What I took away most from my drive in the R32 was that very little like it has been seen since; downsizing has claimed the lives of many a beefy-engined hot hatch.

The VR6’s noise and surprisingly linear shove is scintillating, and the R32 still remains a very fast hatch. The old trope of large front-engined, all-wheel drive VW Group cars remains, in that it feels a little nose-heavy and has a tendency to understeer but if you work with it it’s very entertaining. Think it’s time to browse the classifieds again…