THE ‘R’ STANDS FOR ROCKET
I’ve just been handed the keys to an all-wheel-drive turbocharged hatchback, hotter than the shade of red it’s wearing, at the entrance to a remote Ontario racetrack. After a few practice laps under the watchful gaze of retired Canadian Champ Car World Series and IndyCar Series racer Patrick Carpentier, we’re told to go ahead and “have some fun,” which I proceed to do, because, well, who am I to be an ungrateful guest.
Letting a bunch of media types “have some fun” with the new 2016 Volkswagen Golf R — the hottest of the new seventhgeneration Golf compact hatchback family — at the scenic and technically challenging Calabogie Motorsports Park, was the perfect distraction for Volkswagen Canada amidst one of its worstever public relations challenges. For the first time in front of Canadian media, before we drove up to the track in a fleet of new red and blue Golf Rs, VW officials addressed the “elephant in the room,” a.k.a. Dieselgate. And while the final page has not been turned on this ongoing corporate crisis, an afternoon behind the wheel of the hottest gas-engine Golf you can buy seemed like a good way to briefly forget about non-compliant diesels.
The latest version of the fivepassenger, four-door 2016 Golf R follows a limited number of last-generation models sold in Canada in 2012 and 2013. Volkswagen Canada says it has around 1,500 pre-orders of the $41,690 (including freight and predelivery inspection fees) manual and $43,090 automatic models already in hand, but this time around, sales will not be capped.
What does the Golf R’s $10,000 premium offer over a base frontwheel-drive Volkswagen GTI? For starters, the top-of-the-line Golf receives a subtle body kit, Bi-Xenon headlights, quad exhausts and unique 19-inch alloys. Inside, the hottest Golf’s three-spoke wheel (sporting a chrome “R” logo), aluminumfinished pedals and leather sport seats are also unique. Plus, VW’s new touchscreen infotainment system — dubbed Discover Media, with Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto smartphone connectivity — is standard, along with navigation and an upgraded Fender Audio system.
The lone Golf R option is a yetto-be-priced Technology Package that adds a larger eight-inch touchscreen, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot detection with cross-traffic alert, front park, lane and park assist systems. And like all new Golfs, the fit-and-finish and use of high-quality materials make it feel much more expensive than its sticker may suggest — classier than a similarly priced Subaru WRX STi.
The Golf R sports a highly tuned version of Volkswagen’s familiar 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine, with new cylinder heads, high-pressure injection system and more. In the top-level $36,885 Golf GTI 5-Door Performance, a similar mill is rated at 220 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque. But the Golf R gets an additional 72 horses and 22 lb.-ft. of torque, making it the most powerful Golf you can buy new. Volkswagen claims a zero to 100 km/h time of 5.1 seconds for the manual Golf R, (0.2 seconds faster with the quick-shifting dual-clutch auto model) — about 1.5 seconds faster than the quickest GTI.
Of course, the Golf R is swifter than a Golf GTI because it has more traction. It also handles better thanks to a revised suspension and a gaggle of electronic nannies, including standard Adaptive Chassis Control (ACC).
On the drive from Ottawa to the Calabogie track, Volkswagen’s ultimate hot hatch behaved more like a luxury sedan, its small four purring away at low revs when the speed was kept around the legal limit. Switch the Golf R’s ACC — adjusting shocks, throttle response and steering assistance — to Comfort, and the small car absorbs bumps like a big Passat sedan. Yet the hottest Golf never forgets it’s a driver’s car first. Sharing its electrically powered steering system with the tamer Golf GTI, the R offers very quick responses off-centre and the helm felt natural on the Ottawa Valley’s twisty two-lanes.
However, once at the track, the Golf R transformed itself into a track-day rocket.
Like the Golf GTI, the R sports MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link rear setup, but with a more rigid structure and a five-millimetre lower ride height. Switch the Golf R’s ACC into Race mode and its shocks get stiffer, steering heavier, throttle sharper and the 4MOTION AWD system can now send up to 50 per cent of the power to the rear axle.
Accelerating hard through the track’s tighter corners, I could feel the Golf R’s back end coming around and helping out. But things never got too out of control. Even when pushing hard, the AWD system works with two torque-vectoring devices: the electronic differential lock (EDS) and cross differential lock (XDS+), both applying the brakes to distribute torque between left and right wheels in tandem with the AWD’s front-to-rear split.
On road and track, I got to try the Golf R’s manual and dualclutch autoboxes, both with six gears. And while the auto is perfectly fine (shifts are inhumanly fast either up or down, and the gearbox’s Sport mode reacts even quicker), the Golf R’s manual is the gearbox to get. Shifts are short, light and crisp, and the clutch is smooth and easy to use. Plus, with 280 lb.-ft. of torque readily available between 1,900 and 5,300 rpm, I could leave it in third gear for the majority of the Calabogie track’s sweeping curves, then pull hard out of the tighter corners in second.
The new 2016 Volkswagen Golf R is a rare commodity. The car marries the refinement and sophistication of a luxury car with the ability to transform into a track day hot hatch. It can be driven as a daily commuter, yet be a wildly entertaining vehicle on the road or track when the mood strikes.
That chameleon-like flexibility makes the Volkswagen hatchback a better value than sedan rivals like the WRX STi or Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and — for the time being — it’s a nice distraction from any discussion of dirty diesels.