2016 Volkswagen Golf R First Drive
2016 Volkswagen Golf R First Drive - Starting at $ 37,415, VW with a slight notch above the price of $ 35,290 STI, offering comfort hatchback, the new Golf excellent interior, and a handsome, mature styling. Goldilocks might find Volkswagen's hottest hatch performance solution just been looking for him right?
The Golf R adds color motorsport-y purposefulness on the GTI with a drop of 0.2 inches of suspension unique 18-inch wheels, double the amount of exhaust outlets in the bumper, and implement a more aggressive front and rear fascia treatment with unique LED DRLs. Add 19-inch wheels, adaptive suspension of Dynamic Chassis Control VW, and the nav system with DSG and you're at $ 39,910, which puts you in the sight of Audi's $ 41,995 base sticker.
R, of course, the basic bone stock with 10Best winner of the seventh generation Golf. Powertrain, however, plucked directly from S3, a 292-hp 2.0-liter turbo four paired with the latest generation Haldex AWD system. Audi Quattro call. Volkswagen's 4Motion call. Native American women in the 1970s commercial call it corn. You call it corn. Take that cob on the console and put it in gear, because unlike S3 (at least for now), 2016 Golf R will be available with a six-speed manual transmission in the summer. And it will come at a discount of $ 1,100 dual-clutch version. 2015 car, available this spring, will DSG alone.
It pains us to say this, but we might just have to recommend a model for the hint DSG-at least if the maximum dynamics is a concern. We significantly more impressed with the power delivery is almost identical S3. We estimate that the Golf R DSG will make sprint 60 in about 4.7 seconds with launch control is activated.
Manual car is likely to be about half a second slower. Out where he gets twisty, twin-clutch trans make boil turbo engine, and throttle and brake pedals are widely spaced take the joy out of the heel-toeing car users when it comes time to slow down for corners.
On the way back more relaxed, the gap pedal may not be a problem, but VW has invited us to a dusty Buttonwillow, California, to take the Euro-spec, manual-trans-R version for a spin on the track. There, get the car into the right gear before entering the corner turned into a bit of practice stab-and-pray. A song from a variety of configurations, versions of course we ran mainly affairs-third and fourth gear.
Shifting issues aside, R hoof itself around the circuit is best if we dragged it some, raises a lot of yelping and meowing of rubber. Compared with the previous R, which landed here for the 2012 model year, the new R tamps down the tail of happiness and amp up the power. It's more satisfying to drive faster than the old car but did not feel quite as flat out alive as less powerful, front-drive GTI, which has the same quick steering (2.1 turns lock-to-lock).