Since I won't see my car till Saturday (or later if I decide Grubbs is the better deal) I decided to go try out the last car on my short list of cars to see before choosing one.
The R32 comes in right at 30K. There is one option - leather or no leather. 5000 a year to the US. 4 colors: silver, black, red, and blue.
This is probably the penultimate stock pocket rocket. 240 HP, all wheel drive (front wheel drive when non-active), 18-inch wheels with a lot of spokes, low to the ground, dual exhaust, blue painted brake calipers and springs, even the badging was nice. Interior, well its not a G, but not to bad for a 30K German go cart. Kind of functional and tough looking, not a luxury design or look for sure. Lots of headroom. Backseat only slightly bigger than G (only missing 1" of headroom for me instead of 4"). A special blue, 'Deep Blue', that rocks just about as much as the 350Z blue that I personally drool for on a G (not so much metal flake compared to the Z on the VW.)
When I drove the GTI VR6 (200HP) the 2nd time at one point it actually felt like its power was going to drive it right off the road. The R32's 240HP requires the AWD to keep the sucker on the road and boy does it. Very snappy ride. Nice growl. Quick. Very smooth through the entire RPM band. Good shifter, but needed a little breaking in for my taste. I can only imagine what the modders will do with one. BTW, it should be law that the oil dipstick is at the front of the engine bay and that all cars have hydraulic hood extenders/props.
If I had the money I'd get the blue one to go with my G. But then I'd also have a Z, an RX-8, a Porsche, etc., etc.
milo
P.S. I do have a refundable deposit, but hoo-boy VW leases suck. Bad residual values (or is the G's over inflated?).
Off Topic: VW R32 Test Drive
