Volkswagen Golf R32 Road Test

Volkswagen Golf R32 V6 4MOTION

Inside, the R32 theme continues with a special leather-trimmed, multifunction steering wheel, which is adjustable for both rake and reach. The gear knob is aluminium as are the footrest and foot pedals perforated with the R32 logo.

Normally, this car would have height-adjustable sports seats but the test car arrived with two leather-covered sports seats in the back and heated Recaros in the front, which added £2,345 to the £25,570 price tag. The Recaros look like aliens and have two holes in the backrest, just above shoulder height for full harness seat belts. It took a while to discover that within these apertures were the cunningly hidden seat releases to allow passengers to get into the rear of the car.

Once there, they would have just enough legroom to be comfortable on short journeys and they are faced with the shiny, hard backs of the front seats making it a little dark and confined. The rear seats have a split and fold function, which increases the boot capacity from 275 to 1,230-litres.

Also fitted to the test car was the £1,845, Satellite Navigation system with a 6.5-inch colour screen in the fascia and a 6 CD autochanger hidden under the front centre armrest.

As expected with VW, the front of the cabin is efficiently laid out and is fairly plain, save for the textured aluminium trim on the dashboard, door panels and also beneath the central fascia. Above this are the controls for the dual-zone, electronic climate control, which is notable, in that it maintains the temperatures within the two zones to an accuracy of half a degree.

Furthermore, the system automatically switches to recirculation mode when reverse is selected to prevent exhaust fumes entering the cabin and when the windscreen washers are activated, the same thing happens so the smell from the liquid doesn't intrude.

The R32 has quite a few items that quietly go about their work, that wouldn't necessarily be noticed but make a difference. The car is well made and is just as happy cruising along the motorway as playing in the lanes and, as I said, fun-filled performance is guaranteed.