WHAT WILL WOOKIES THINK?
Volkswagen R is no longer a singular howl, but a whole family of new models
What will Wookies think of Volkswagen New Zealand’s extensively expanded R-model range? In addition to the new $77,990 highperformance Golf 8, there’s now an $80,990 Tiguan (the first-ever genuine R iteration of the popular SUV), with a facelift T-Roc R to follow mid-year.
Then there’s a Touareg R plugin hybrid due in 2023, which will be the most powerful production VW in history. There are SUVs everywhere.
But wait, Wookies? In case you didn’t know, VW R enthusiasts calls themselves Wookies (you know, Star Wars), after the sound that an R engine makes in anger.
The original American Wookies in the Woods club was a purist thing, open only to owners of the Golf R32 (the V6-powered Mk4 and 5 models), although it’s since softened and included the postMk6 turbo-four versions. There’s a Kiwi chapter, too: Wookies in the Wild.
Will Wookies welcome all these SUVs? They shouldn’t be too surprised. VW R has dabbled with broader models in the past, including the Passat R36 and Touareg R50, both unveiled late2007.
Not to be confused with the “R-Line” trim used on mainstream VWs, the R division produces serious stuff for serious people. The Golf 8 R packs 235kW/400Nm from a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four, all-wheel drive with R Torque Vectoring at the rear and in 1st Edition form (which has accounted for over 80 per cent of early orders), a bespoke rear aero spoiler, 270km/h top speed and two additional drive modes: the standard model offers Comfort, Sport, Race and Individual, but the $82,990 1st Edition also brings Special and Drift modes.
Special optimises steering and transmission for the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit; rather conveniently, VW R claims it’s also ideal for the kind of winding, undulating country roads we have in NZ, especially the way the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox holds ratios until the last gasp and downshifts early under braking. Thus equipped, the Golf 8 R is a staggering 19 seconds quicker around the Nordschleife than the generation-7 model.
Drift does what it says, by locking up the rear for skids. Track use only of course. In both Special and Drift the stability control is locked into a sportier setting, but you can also switch it off completely.
On paper, the Tiguan is only slightly less serious. Same powertrain, same R Torque Vectoring rear axle, although you can’t have the extra drive modes; nor can you have them as options on non-1st-Edition Golfs, although they are part of a Performance Pack in Europe that’ll surely be added to the NZ options list in future.
Both are rapid vehicles. The Golf R rockets to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds, the 188kg heavier Tiguan 5.1sec.
We’ve now sampled both on both road and track. We’ve also chatted with VW R bigwigs Jan Schiedek-Jacht (head of technical development) and Peter Jost (head of sales and marketing), who joined us via video link from Germany for the local R launch.
The Golf is still the hero model. “The Golf R is basically the core — it’s 100 per cent our DNA,” says Jost. “With all the new cars [Tiguan and Toureg], we have adapted as much as we can, knowing that this is a different segment and that customers buying these cars have a slightly different mindset.”
That’s borne out on road and track. It’s a given that the lower, lighter Golf will be the more rewarding driver’s car. But the greater attention to detail in Golf is also obvious, from the nuances of the chassis to the more sophisticated gearbox calibration, remembering that Golf 8 is still a
newer model than the facelifted Tiguan.
The Tiguan is still an incredible engineering achievement when you consider it’s based on a popular medium-sized family SUV. There’s very little like it on the market in terms of size and performance; the closest relation is the $69,500 Cupra Ateca: quicker to 100km/h but less aggression in the powertrain and less sophistication in the chassis.
For the future, R is committed to following VW’s lead, including EV technology. Next year’s Touareg R PHEV will be its first electric car, but battery electric vehicles will also follow in the years to come. However, don’t expect standalone R models; this company isn’t planning to emulate Mercedes-AMG in making its own performance cars.
“We are part of VW,” says Schiedek-Jacht. “That’s why an R model always has been and probably always will be a VW product. The recipe is to take a VW product and then add the icing on the cake — add the performance bit to it.
“We’ve been very successful with that, so we are well advised to follow that story.”