Golf R Prices And Specifications

The Volkswagen Golf R will soon be with us and Volkswagen are now taking orders for their latest super hatch.

Prices start at £28,930 for the Golf R, which gets you the 3-door model with a six-speed manual gearbox. For an additional £1,305 you can add a six-speed DSG sequential transmission, an option that has proved to be very popular on the GTI. There is also a 5-door option, so if you’ve got kids you can still justify buying one.

The Golf R is fitted with a 2.0-litre TSI four-cylinder engine that produces 270 PS and 258 lbs ft of torque. Power is delivered to all four wheels thanks to Volkswagen’s latest pre-charged hydraulic 4MOTION system, which is faster to react than previous systems and better at maximising traction by limiting torque to reduce wheelspin. This combination of power and 4-wheel drive results in the fastest 0-60mph time of any production Golf at just 5.7 seconds with the manual transmission, while the DSG transmission reduces this further to 5.5 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 155mph.

Amazingly the Golf R still returns an impressive 33.2mpg on the combined cycle (DSG 33.6 mpg) and avoids the most punishing band of road tax thanks to its CO2 emissions of 199 g/km (195g DSG). This is the reason that Volkswagen dropped the V6 as used in the previous Golf R32, and while the charismatic warble of the six-cylinder may have been lost it would appear that the Golf R hasn’t suffered in any other way.

There’ll be no mistaking the Golf R for a base model, thanks to its new front bumper that incorporates LED running lights and a trio of deep air intakes, with a gloss black grille complementing the gloss black wing mirrors.

There are also Xenon lights as standard, a pair of sill extensions and some very nice 18-inch five-spoke Talladega alloy wheels, behind which you’ll be able to see a set of gloss black ‘R’ callipers. If you think the 18-inch wheels are a bit small you can opt for 19-inch alloys in the same design, and these can be specified with a gloss black finish.

At the back of the Golf R you’ll find a roof mounted spoiler and twin exit exhausts, positioned in the centre of a gloss black diffuser. There are also smoked rear light units that use high-intensity LED bulbs, making the Golf R even easier to spot.

Of course, the interior has been given a restyle. New sports seats are adorned with ‘R’ logos, while piano black and silver highlights appear on the doors and dash. There’s a new three-spoke black leather sports steering wheel with contrasting stitching, and the dash features revised white backlit dials with subtle electric blue needles unique to the ‘R’ range.

There are two options for upgrading the seats in the Golf R. The first is the luxury option, with a set of Vienna leather sports seats, but my personal preference would be to fit the hip-hugging Recaro bucket seats that are available on both the three and five-door Golf R.

If you’re interested in a Golf R then now’s the time to go and place your order, ready for Golf R’s arrival in showrooms in February 2010.

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