It was the noise that made me fall for the R32. Oh, the noise. A bass-filled six-cylinder rasp that evolved into a thrilling, wailing, high-pitched shriek as the needle homed in on the red line. Upon hearing this high-quality aural display for the first time, I knew I had to own one of these big-engined hatchbacks one day…
Can it really be two decades since Volkswagen unleashed the Golf R32? Stung by criticisms of its ‘soft’ and ‘underwhelming’ Mk4 GTI and accusations that it had somewhat lost the plot, the German giant - under Ferdinand Piech - dropped a 3.2-litre variant of its narrow-angle ‘VR6’ engine into the Golf, bolstered the power with four-wheel drive, and most definitely went to town on the bodywork.
Thus, VW had a very serious challenger indeed for the early Noughties hot hatch crown, the R32 easily being the equal of the likes of the Ford Focus RS and SEAT Leon Cupra R. Whereas the lesser GTI - even in turbo form - had disappointed with its spongy controls and roly-poly handling, the R32 captivated thanks to its quicker steering response, spleen-rupturing grip levels and, of course, that wonderful engine.
Coupled with a double-clutch ‘DSG’ semi-automatic gearbox, the six-cylinder, four-wheel drive powertrain would later find its way into the Audi TT. But due to its weight penalty and relatively negligible power increase, many felt it less engaging than the FWD, 225bhp, turbocharged TT.
No question, the qualities of this mega new drivetrain shone brightest under the bonnet of the Golf R32.
To my eyes, the Mk4 Golf R32’s visual makeover remains a lesson in how to tread the delicate line between tasteful sportiness and overt aggression. The changes altogether were fairly minor, a set of multi-spoke alloys, twin exhausts and a subtle bodykit being the only real visual signifiers as to the newcomer’s potency. But the upgrades combined to give the R32 a hunkered-down stance and a muscle-bound physique; this was emphatically not your granddad’s Golf 1.4.
In the interests of balance, it is perhaps only fair to point out that the R32 was not perfect. For a start, the Haldex four-wheel drive system was hardly cutting edge, even in 2002, with a straight 50:50 torque split, meaning any tail-out antics were very much off the table. It was also not quite as fast as those blistered wheel arches would have you believe, a 0-60mph time of around 6.5 seconds being pretty much par for the course. And you could even argue that the large engine’s linear power delivery and the chassis’ nailed-down attitude lent the R32 an almost GT-like driving experience, as opposed to the rough-and-ready, up-and-at-em approach of a traditional hot hatchback.
Yet a four-pot hot hatch could never, ever replicate the thrilling sonic performance of an oversized, naturally aspirated ‘six’. Coupled with those classily steroidal looks and tarmac-sucking grip, the Mk4 R32 represented a wonderful chapter in the story of the hot hatch. Did I mention the noise?
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