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2007 Volkswagen
Golf R32 Review |
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Last month, Proton terminated its strategic partnership discussion with
Volkswagen and it was only a few days later when Terato was given the Golf
R32 for temporary parking in its garage. This car left a very deep
impression on us, making us 'eat drink and sleep' V-Dub for a few weeks
after returning it to Volkswagen Malaysia. Parting ways with the R32 was
like losing your very first love. But you know what they say about letting
go? "If you truly love something, let it go. And if it doesn't come back,
steal it back". Okay, so maybe that wasn't it but letting the R32 go was
definitely not easy. The R32 was great fun. It was so much fun that we
actually covered 500km in just one day with the car, and so enjoyable that
we skipped all our breakfast, lunch and dinner just to be in it. Recalling
every moment with this car was like visualizing your first kiss with the
girl of your dreams. And we're not talking about your average next door
neighbor kind of a girl but rather, that girl on TV kind of dream. After
all, the R32 is the most powerful, agile and fastest Golf ever by
Volkswagen. Read the full review below.
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The Launch Control
"Switch off the ESP and hold the brake with your left foot. Then, rev the
car pass the 3000 rpm mark and wait for the right time to release the
brake while your right foot is ready to nail the pedal," said our
photojournalist Mr. Izrul to us when we told him there was no way this
innocently-seated car could ever come factory-fitted with a launch
control. And so he proved us wrong. That, we thank God for making Izrul
part of our circle. After successfully launching the car like a speeding
rocket, unsurprisingly, this feature became one of our favorites,
prompting us to stop at every stop light we could find in town just to
relive Dr. Sheikh's experience. The 4WD system (4MOTION permanent all wheel
drive) nailed the car right onto the ground while the power plant 3.2
liter V6 engine screamed its lungs out with 250 horsie running through the twin central
exhaust tailpipes. How does it feel like? Fantastic! Volkswagen claims the
Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) on the car can reach 0-100km/h in 6.2 sec. We
believe them. The car surged forward like nobody's business proving that
it does indeed earn the 'R' to carry in its name.
Athletic Exterior
The exterior says Golf all around it but a few minor details separate this
R32 from the well known GTI. For example, the face of this R32 got the
aluminium-look front grille for that classy metal appearance every geek wants in
his room. To make things more interesting, this babe is a 4-door, making
it the practical pocket rocket. And the car comes in with an additional
unstated feature: the ability to be a 'chick magnet' that becomes
oh-so-clear when every 'Akak tol' asks you "Comel lah kereta abang ini,
kereta apa ni haa?".
We would love to have our Golf R32 in black, white or red but hey, even
with the 'Deep Blue Pearl Effect' R32 we were test-driving (it looked a
bit too 'Polo-ish' to us), there were no complains from our boys who loved
the car so much we had to convince them it was a real car and not a female
entity.
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Simple Interior
You will really love the front seats. This car comes standard with Recaro's
sport bucket seats, wrapped with 'Vienna Classic Style' leather covering
for that classy finish. Mind you, these are heated front seats that will
come in handy should the snow ever decide to make its way to Malaysia. Our
bomohs are still working on the snow part, and they are wiling to walk the
clock for us to test out this cool feature in. The editor could just
imagine himself sitting on that seat – akin to sitting on a warmed
porcelaine toilet seat and nothing, I repeat, NOTHING beats that cozy
feeling.
The dashboard looks simple but was very functional. It's of a very high
quality comparable even to those of the BMW's. The best part of it there
are no fancy technical display so you dont have to be a computer competent
person to enjoy this car. Anyone would definitely love the simplicity of
its design in this car, taking into example the gear shift with its
aluminium gearknob. This is one knob you want your fingerprints to be on.
This practical pocket rocket seats 5 adults without causing any
discomfort. Even with the bucket seats pushed all the way back, that 100 kg
neighbor of yours can still sit comfortably at the back reading a copy of
'Harian Metro'.
Did we mention that the interior was built with simplicity in mind?
Perhaps we didn't but with all around safety packages like side curtains
and side torso airbags for the front passengers virtually lining the
interior, one can't help but be thankful that the folks at Volkswagen were
able to make the word 'simple' a very classy one (take that, school
teacher!!).
Driving Experience
You know your friend is joking when he tells you to drive this car at a
leisurely pace. That would be tantamount to committing a driving sin when
it comes to this car – driving it hard and fast is the best way to rock
this baby around town (there are no sexual innuendoes meant here, please
tell your lawyers to leave us alone).
The DSG is very lethargic at low speed. Try reversing the car and it feels
just like a driving a stick shift.
The same goes if you ever get unlucky enough to be caught in a
traffic jam. You have to be very, very gentle with the throttle if you
don't want to accidentally reduce your insurance premium. The same goes
with the car's tremendous stopping power. You have to be very gentle with
the brakes (and all guys know, you have to be gentle when you're being
asked to put on the brakes).
Are you curious yet about the brakes? No? Well, let us tell you how good
it was. Imagine, you sitting in this car, clocking 250kmh in Sepang
International Circuit's front straight. Imagine a car in front. We are
willing to bet you will only need to start braking at the 100 meter point
(Disclaimer: we do not hold ourselves responsible for any accidents that
may occur for any possible mishaps as a result of reading this paragraph -
) .
Attacking a tight corner wouldn't be a problem with this car. It is nailed
to the ground when attacking corners with so much grip thanks to the 18 "
Omanyt alloy wheel with 225 / 40 Dunlop SP SPORT MAXX tyres. If you think
switching off the ESP would make the car goes sideways or do doughnuts,
then you are dead wrong. We struggled for about half an hour to do just
that. This car stay planted to the ground even with our most clumsy driver
at its wheels. (P/S: Our most depressed and suicidal driver complained
that the car was still too safe.)
The maximum speed for this car is electronically limited to 248 km/h. And
it's a bad thing, considering that it would easily reach 250 km/h. And
yes, our speed limits are still capped at 110.
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R32 styling pack - uniquely
shaped front and rear bumpers and aluminium-look front grille |
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Conclusion
We recommend this car to anyone who can afford one. At the time of
this writing, it's going out at a price of RM 302,668.50 (OTR
excluding insurance) .We are not so sure whether VW rounding up the
figure to 302 was because of the R32 name or by chance but to our
knowledge, only one lucky dude has this car under his name. Lucky
bastard.
This is a really awesome car so much so that if you ever run across
one of these babies on the road, you should stop the car, shake the
owner's hand and congratulate him for just having the car. And leave a
business card, hoping that he'll let you take it out for a spin. You
lucky bastard.
Yes, it is the kind of that car that drives your craving desires off
the charts, up to the point the doctors will think you are pregnant
(my wife was craving for sashimi). If you own a restaurant you would
definitely want to open 3 more branches so you could be ensured of
affording this one. If you 'makan gaji' from 8am – 5 pm then you too
should start a business or become a mutual fund consultant. Heck, even
direct selling won't seem so bad after all. Do drop us a line if you
have any job offers lucrative enough for us to secure the R32 because
we are currently having withdrawal symptoms and begging for more of
the R32. By the way, we will let you know if our 'bomoh salji'
(witchdoctors to cause snow) manages to get it right, just so we can
have fun with the seats.
In a legal way, of course.
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a 4
doors pocket rocket with a rocket under the hood. |
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225 / 40 /18 Dunlop SP SPORT
MAXX tyre |
electric folding side mirrors |
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12v socket in luggage
compartment |
60/40 split folding rear seats |
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18 " weight space-saver spare
inside the trunk |
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wrapped with 'Vienna Classic
Style' leather covering |
Pix by Izrul |
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hook anyone ? |
Chrome plated load restraining
hooks |
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more pictures >> |
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