Cool White Light

You climb out of Bakersfield and go up the slope of the Sierra Nevada on
California Highway 178 and the road wanders past Lake Isabella and through the Sequoia National Forest before emptying into the red expanse of the Mojave Desert. The high-speed sweepers flatter both the 2008 Volkswagen R32 and the driver holding its flat-bottom steering wheel.

Nothing seduces like flattery. You might even think the VW R32 is the last car you'll ever need to buy.

A Richer, Denser GTI
While other manufacturers are obsessed with taking the fat out of the limited-edition, high-performance variants of their consumer-market models, VW has used more cream to whip the three-door GTI into the faster, stronger 2008 Volkswagen R32. That the latter weighs 400 pounds more than the former offers you some insight into the R32's decadent approach to speed.

Instead of a wound-up turbocharged inline-4, the R32 has the easygoing 3.2-liter VR6. This is the original, unadorned VW variant of this engine instead of the fancy all-aluminum, direct-injection version found in the Audi A3, yet it still has four valves per cylinder with variable timing on both the intake and exhaust cams. And with 250 horsepower at 6,300 rpm and 236 pound-feet of torque at 2,500 rpm, the iron-block VR6 is only fractionally less powerful than the Audi V6, too.

Since there's a bit too much torque to put neatly through the front wheels, the six-speed dual-clutch Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) drives all four wheels through the R32's 4Motion all-wheel-drive system. This third-generation Haldex system has a pronounced front-drive bias, but the central clutch pack can redirect all available engine torque to the rear wheels if, say, the fronts ever go airborne or something.

Such hardware — and its associated electronic gray matter — would turn any hot hatch into a hefty one. The R32 is even more so, since it's outfitted like the most luxuriously appointed GTI ever. The leather upholstery that comes as standard equipment would make the cut in most premium-brand cars, as would the extreme level of calm that settles over the tightly built cabin while cruising at highway speeds.

Only two options are available on the $33,630 R32 and our test car had them both. The navigation system (which features a twist-knob controller that seems archaic these days) has a rarefied price tag of $1,800. The all-season 225/40R18 Dunlop SP Sport 01 tires, which replace summer tires of the same size, are appropriately free of charge.

Precision, Not Quickness
Acceleration numbers from the test track don't adequately describe what the 2008 Volkswagen R32 is like at wide-open throttle. Objectively speaking, this car's 6.0-second run to 60 mph and its quarter-mile performance of 14.6 seconds at 94.9 mph are too slow for a $35K coupe, even though this performance represents a 0.7-second edge over the GTI.

Moreover, your right foot (even one buffered by a ratty trail-running shoe) will never let you live with the illusion that the R32 is capable of pulling away from a stock 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX.

Of course, the Subie driver could miss a shift. You see, for all the satisfaction that comes from working a clutch pedal and a gearlever, the great advantage of the R32 and its automated DSG is that you will never put a (left) foot wrong. As the VR6 stretches up past its redline of 6,500 rpm, a perfectly executed upshift is just a nudge of your thumb away.

If there's anything not to like, it's the 3.2-liter's nonchalance. Its power delivery is always smooth, but it lacks the redline-or-bust insistence that characterizes the high-strung turbo fours of the R32's rivals. This sort of relaxed attitude in a hot hatch will be refreshing for some, but we just feel it's a touch dull.

As GT as Any Hatchback Has Ever Been
Yet even if you let the DSG loaf along like an automatic (a charade it performs convincingly in Drive), eventually you'll find yourself at triple digits on the open highway.

Empty, straight stretches of open road bring out the best from the long-legged R32 — its relaxed drivetrain, solid structure and supple suspension. An electronically limited top speed of 155 mph in a hatchback-size car might not seem special, but this car's ability to approach that threshold with the imperturbable composure of a neurosurgeon might be.

The R32 is really more of a GT than a GTI. That's why its lack of cruising range comes as a surprise. We drove our test car some 1,300 miles and were never able to get close to 300 miles on a tank. A 14.5-gallon fuel tank is the primary obstacle, and the DSG's two overdrive gears aren't enough to compensate for the engine's fundamental thirst. Our test car averaged 18.7 mpg, which, if you do the math, yields just 270 miles of range.

Handling: Numbers Versus Feel
When you're talking performance and fuel economy, curb weight can't be discounted as a factor, and it undeniably affects handling as well. So while the R32 might be a compact car, its 3,547 pounds has serious consequences.

That's why the VW's 67.8-mph slalom speed is so remarkable. Here's a car that's 400 pounds heavier than a WRX but still just as quick as the Subaru through the cones of our slalom test. Had we been able to test an R32 with the grippier summer performance tires, the test results likely would have been even more impressive.

On public roads, a committed driver can maintain a brisk pace in the VW R32. The electric-assist power steering is accurate, chassis response as you turn into a corner is reasonably quick and the body roll (though substantial) is easily managed. Thanks to all four tires working hard on your behalf, understeer is rarely a problem, even though Evo and STI diehards will be quick to note the R32's lack of rally-style limited-slip differentials between either the front or rear wheels.

The fact that the Volkswagen isn't a rally car doesn't faze us, but it's worth discussing its limitations in communicating with its driver.

It's not that the R32 doesn't talk. It's just that compared to less expensive cars like the Mitsubishi Evo or the Mini Cooper S, the VW sends less information through the steering wheel and driver seat. The result is a sense of GT-style isolation that's fine on cross-country drives, but you want to feel locked into the daily experience with a performance car, and the R32 doesn't deliver.

With Brakes, Bigger Is Better
Although the blue, four-piston front calipers draw your eye, the functional upgrade to the R32's brakes lies in disc diameter. The 13.6-inch front and 12.2-inch rear rotors are each an inch larger in diameter than the GTI's.

Even so, the R32 stopped only 2 feet shorter from 60 mph than the best GTI we've tested — 124 feet. Weight is undoubtedly a factor, and here again, grippier tires would have helped. Still, the R32 resisted brake fade better than the GTI.

The Refined Sport Compact
Although the 2008 Volkswagen R32 is not best-in-class in any particular area, it is exactly what VW intended, a highly refined touring car capable of making rapid progress, be it on autobahns, freeways or two-lanes.

Excessive weight keeps the R32 as engaging to drive as it should be, yet its test-track performance speaks volumes for the fitness of its chassis.

Though Volkswagen is bringing only 5,000 '08 R32s to the U.S., this hatchback's influence extends beyond its niche audience. It's no coincidence Mitsubishi and Subaru are busy polishing the jagged edges off the Evo and STI, installing sequential gearboxes and adding leather seat options.

Refinement and convenience are coming to the world of sport compacts, and the 2008 VW R32 will keep you so content that you might forget to protest.

The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.


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It is time for this V6 to be retired for the much better 3.6L V6. An R36 along with some weight savings would be much more fun. Still though this is one premium little car. I surely hope VW puts the 3.6 in the next Golf/Rabbit and more importantly, the Jetta.

M