Volkswagen Polo GTi
There are different cars for different purposes. One of the challenges when evaluating the suitability of a car is weighing it against its given raison d'être. Clearly the budget category, the exec barge and the rapier sports-carver have little in common other than the proverbial four wheels and a drivetrain of sorts.
The next challenge is then the car's lineage. How does it fulfil the expectations we have for the model or the brand?
Enter Golf R, replacing the R32 and hero to the GTi legacy, there is a certain expectation that needs to be upheld. Where GTi instantly inflames sparks of boy racer hatchback lust, conjuring images of hot hatch and resulting expectation, R assures hot GTi.
Now that is one hell of a lot of expectation to live up to. Golf today is hardly a simple hot hatch. It has become a junior executive hatch alternative to an executive sedan. Safe, comfortable and luxurious, Golfs have become synonymous with being more grown up. Should one then expect wild and vicious as adjectives when describing the R variant? Hardly. Let’s get down to it. The R is fast, 0-100 in 5.7 seconds with the tested manual box. Not in an unliveable way like many hero cars. Try live with a Subaru WRX STi on a daily commute to see what I mean. Fast, amazing really and ultimately too noisy and race-oriented to be pleasurable in a daily commute.
What the Golf R is, is a VERY fast way of getting from point to point. Unfussed and unfazed. The four wheel drive train, suspension and steering conspiring to give flawless and quick roadholding that is natural and intuitive. The car doesn't feel that exciting until you notice your road speed. Working torque transfer is calculated and fed via clutch plates and portioned by a 30 bar hydraulic system through valve control in a system that never makes itself felt or noticed. It just works. The TSi engine produces 188kW and as with the R32, 250Nm from 2500 rpm, this time though, all that torque is there till 5000! Consider this, a 1,984 cm3 turbo that puts out 94.8kW per litre! If you think that is impressive, consider the fuel consumption. If you keep things vaguely legal (as if anyone has the discipline to try) expect 8.5l/100km (claimed). And although in testing I never came close, that would definitely be do-able with a gentle right foot.
No car is perfect, and although I would consider the R brilliant, there are flaws and wishes. Even in comfort mode on the adjustable suspension, expect stiff. This never bothered me, but would the less enthusiastic. Similarly I had one or two passenger complaints about the enveloping bucket seats which I found perfect. Curiously, they have catches to allow them to fold forward as if designed for a two door. Then to a little silliness, I quote the press release: "Perforated leather is used at the top and bottom of the steering wheel, ensuring maximum hand grip." As if hand grip at 12 and 6 was ever an issue! Other than that I wish there was a 3 stage traction control system. It has on and off, and there should just be another letting things get a little out of hand for the talented driver, concerned that he or she may find the limits of their talent.
One final thing is the gearbox. The 4x4 system prevents wheel-spin on pull-off for the most part, so you constantly feel you would be better off with the DSG, which returns marginally better 0-100 times and even better fuel consumption and therein lies the rub, R408,930 for the manual and R423,430 for the DSG. That is before you add niceties like Park Distance Control, and Bluetooth. The Golf R does, however, come standard with a 5 year/90 000km Service Plan, 3 year/120 000km warranty and a 12 year anticorrosion warranty.
