VW R32

Base Price:  $32,990

As Tested:  $34,790

Engine:  3.2L VR6 250hp

Transmission:  6spd auto w/tiptronic

Suspension:  Indy strut sport front, Multilink Indy sport rear

Brakes:  ABS pwr assist front / rear disc

Mileage:  18city / 23hwy

Wow!!! This vehicle is a piece of finely tuned mechanical excellence that you can only understand what I mean by getting behind the wheel yourself. But you’d better hurry since only 5,000 of this 2008 R32 are in production. That’s right, a limited run of 5,000.

With this vehicle, VW is pulling off what Audi did with their TT. Forget about having a sports car design for the R32, its design is more like their 2dr Rabbit souped up on steroids, more like a larger Mini, more like a zoom-zoom car.

When looking at it when an adult is driving it around 30-35mph you’d think it’s their high school age kid’s car, a little 4cyl get around town car and keep it clean for college. But when entering I-25 and blowing by a similar styled tricked out low-ride Japanese vehicle that immediately joined me at 65mph, issuing me somewhat of a challenge, well what could I do. We drove to my un-patrolled area on I-25 and “put the pedal to the metal” as they say, and we were pretty much even for a short while but then something happened that was one heck of an eye opening experience…during the use of the Tiptronic paddles on the steering wheel, the R32’s engine exploded into a burst of energy, a power you have to feel to believe. I was beyond 100mph in a blink of an eye and the R32 was tracking as if it were attached to rails.

This small little guy was grabbing the highway full on with plenty of power to spare. Since I new the highway, I just kept going and my new found friend got smaller and smaller in my rearview mirror. It was fun having another companion vehicle around while I was doing what I usually do pretty much unaccompanied on I-25. It gave me something to compare with.

I then took the R32 up MLK Hwy 24’s S-turns for a casual 50mph treck. There were no cars to speak of through the turns so it was easy to keep the R32 in the outside lane all the way up. Again, no explanation can give you a sense of how excellent the R32 handles through turns. The automatic transmissions shifting of gears was effortless, quiet, like a warm knife through butter. What a vehicle.

If this car lost its skin and transformed into a sleek sports car exterior, it would sell for at least $40,000-$45,000. Be thankful VW hasn’t done it…yet.

It comes with a nice assortment of standard equipment like electro-mechanical pwr steering w/speed variable assist, ESP, ASR, EDU, driver and front passenger front airbag supplemental restraint system, driver and front pass side airbag supplemental restraint system, and side curtain protection head airbags front and rear, daytime running lights, side protection door beams, tire pressure monitoring and more.

Comfort features include dual zone pollen filtered climate control, leather wrapped multifunction steering wheel with tiptronic paddles (mentioned above), pwr windows w/pinch protection, pwr, heated outside mirrors, height adjustable telescoping steering column, wipers w/rain sensor speed control, sport front seats w/adjust height / lumbar, remote keyless locking system w/unlocking trunk, and 60/40 folding rear seat.

Plus, 18” alloy wheels w/anti theft locks, in dash 6 disc CD changer w/MP3, anti theft alarm w/immobilizer theft system, and more.

The additional option was a DVD Navigation system w/ipod adapter at $1,800.

Again, all I can say is WOW!!!