Action with traction

IF YOU thought the Golf GTi was the king of hot hatches, you haven't met its big brother -- the R32.

The R32 is the ultimate example of what happens when you take a small car and cram in a big six-cylinder engine.

It runs a 3.2-litre V6 that pumps out a hefty 182kW and 320Nm of torque linked to an all-wheel-drive system for the best possible traction. The bigger engine and extra weight of the AWD system push the Golf's weight up to 1541kg, but also give it the ammunition to blast from 0-100km/h in only 6.2 seconds.

This is the second time the VW team has given its Golf the R32 treatment.

The first R32 was released at the end of the life of the previous Golf, 200 coming to Australia in 2003, and it was disappointing.

This time, Volkswagen decided to introduce the R32 much earlier in the model life of the new Golf, Volkswagen managing director Jutta Dierks says.

"We learnt the hard way that we were too late with the previous R32," Dierks says.

"We started working on this R32 as soon as we released the last one."

Volkswagen engineers set out to make the new R32 a much more comfortable car to drive, but didn't want to dull its performance edge.

"The last R32 was nice, it is already a collector's item, but it was a sporty race car and if you had to drive 500km in it, it was not so easy," Dierks says.

"So we said we wanted to have a sporty car, a car that you could race at a track if you wanted, but you could also drive it every single day to work."

Volkswagen is releasing two versions of the R32, a three-door hatch for $54,990 and a five-door hatch for $56,490.

Those prices are for cars fitted with a six-speed manual. The excellent six-speed automated twin-clutch DSG automatic adds another $2300.

Standard gear for the R32 includes leather sports seats, sports leather steering wheel, bi-xenon headlights, cruise control, alloy-look pedals, climate-control airconditioning and premium sound system with 10 speakers.

Standard safety gear includes anti-skid brakes, electronic stability control that can be switched off, six airbags and tyre pressure monitors.

The R32's firmer suspension drops the ride height 20mm lower than the GTi and it sits on 18-inch alloy wheels.

It runs a muscular body kit, with deep front and rear bumpers and centre twin pipes that protrude from the rear bumper.

Under the bonnet is a narrow-angle 3.2-litre V6 with four valves a cylinder that pumps out 184kW at 6300 revs and 320Nm at 2500 revs.

The AWD system uses a Haldex centre differential that shifts power between all four wheels.

The R32 can run as a front-wheel drive or shift up to 85 per cent to the rear wheels on demand.

If you think it all sounds similar to the Audi A3 Sportback V6, you are right.

The Audi and Volkswagen are essentially the same under the skin because both companies are part of the same family.

Volkswagen also says R32 rivals include the Subaru WRX STi and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, but that is a bit cheeky given that each of those cars hase more power and more advanced AWD systems than the hot Golf.