Volkswagen Golf R three-door spotted in Australia

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By Karl Peskett | March 26th, 2010

Update: A few more images of the three-door Gold R in Australia have surfaced, this time in black.

The hottest Golf available, the Golf R, has been spotted in three-door guise at Fremantle Wharf in Western Australia.

Despite initally only confirming the five-door model, this picture, snapped yesterday, show that the three-door is a possibility, and given the choice, we’re sure that VW would move more than a few of them.

Part of the appeal is the drivetrain – a 2.0-litre, turbocharged four making 188kW and 350Nm all running through a six-speed DSG and all-wheel-drive.

0-100km/h is said to be around 5.5-seconds and fuel economy is listed at 8.5-litres/100km.

The other appealing factor is the price. For a little over $50,000 this AWD corner-carver can be yours. But according to Volkswagen, the Golf R will only be on sale in July, so keep saving those pennies.

Photo courtesy of www.ausmotive.com and www.recode.net.au

Devil666

I want to know if they are going to engineer an exhaust system to do justice to the outgoing R32…

Stoney!

Nothin will EVER do justice to the outgoing R32, one of the best sounding sixes I’ve heard in a car of its type…

EVERYONE who was thinking of buying or wants to update their Mk IV or V R32 needs to do as I did and write to VW Australia telling them how you feel about this, I’m sure we aren’t alone in Australia with how much we fell in love with this car and if enough people around the world write them and if editors from the likes of Car advice ect help us out by voicing their opinions online…. we just may get it back, although it will be a de-tuned 3.6 however.

Stoney!

coreying

Meanwhile – I didn’t like the R32. Sure that sound was great, but the engine felt lazy, and the front of the car was too heavy, destroying the great balance and handling that the MKV GTI had.
I’m personally glad that Volkswagen have gone the direction they have with the R. Along with all the other improvements that the MK6 brings over the MKV, the Golf R is better in every way over the Golf R32, except for the sound. Having said that, the 2L engine combined with the DSG sounds quite good. If it’s still not enough for you, and aftermarket exhaust, ECU update, and air intake, make this engine sound awesome. Different to the 3.2L V6, but still great in its own respect.

PN

Couldn’t agree more! The sound that came out of the car was amazing, however with the front heavy engine, I believe the new 2L engine will give the car better perforamnce and handling.

Stoney!

Yeah that’s all good and fine however as stated below it’s not P-plate friendly and will never sound as great as the R32. My main problem is that it’s simply no replacement.

If they brought out Supercharged and Turbocharged version of the 2.0 then I’d say go for guns! But turbo lag sucks ass, no matter how powerful it is, hence why I bought a 118TSI and not a GTi….

MK

It was pulled for not meeting emissions requirements in the EU so I doubt we’ll ever see it back. This is its replacement, but I agree, its highly unlikely another VW will ever sound as good as the R32 did.

Camski

No longer P-Plate friendly…

Was one of the best performance cars you could get on your P’s. Now you’ll have to fork out 90-100K for a 335d.

Or maybe a Touareg R50? Got some straight line performance at least.
Tom

How many P plater’s could afford one of these, let alone the 335d or Touareg mentioned?

That said, I guess there are some lucky ones with wealthy parents…

Jazrod

My friend Rob has a black 3dr R32, and his friend Blake has one also – So there’s 2?

handshandy

Ny Friend Sebastion from Toorak has one too, his daddy daddy brought it for him

Joober@work

P-platers as in… older people who just starting to learn to drive perhaps?

But yeah as Tom said the average P-plater would not have access to buy these themselves and ones they do probably risk it anyway given they have enough money to make a fine look like cents.

IMO, I’d prefer the turbo setup over the N/A 6 offered in the R32, whilst I agree its an awesome sound, the tweakability of the 6 is terrible, with the turbo so much more room to play with to get good to crazy power.
jimmy

Looks pretty sharp in white
jimmy james

what a shame this wasnt a spy photo of a Scirocco at Fremantle Wharf.

VW have at their disposal one of the sexiest 3 door cars in the world and instead they give us a golf in a frock with rice pipes sticking out the back.

Good grief….
Tom22

Is it just me, or is the power output soft? I know it sounds typical bogan Australian but would 220kw really be THAT hard for them to achieve?

Golfschwein

Is there a particularly special reason for you wanting 220kw from a 2 litre engine? BMW’s twin turbo 3 litre six puts out 225kw and a normally aspirated Falcon motor with double the capacity puts out 195kw.
Joober@work

Wouldn’t think so, – car is probably detuned a bit.
Bigger turbo would probably give most impact…
davie

Why do you want so much power?

One of VW’s positives is the nice balance between engine and chassis. One doesn’t overwhelm the other.

Theres nothing stopping you putting an enormous turbo and chipping it up to 300kw +

You might get a bit of lag and reduce engine life though…

Joober@work

Perhaps,

but just for thought… i’ve worked my PoloGTI, just a retune of the chip brings the car to from 110kw to 158kw and 330Nm, it is much a better car in and out, low to midrange torque/power improvements makes it really worth it on the daily drive. Even with the tune fuel consumption i’m getting were 6.7-7.5 combined / 100km.

What I wouldnt take the car any further in the power stakes is pure on the FWD config and that the max tyre width it can take is 215. The Golf R being AWD should enjoy increased power outputs.

Elitist

Bogans look at numbers and think higher must mean better value for money.

My Cars Called T-Rex

Lets not forget this is FWD,220kw is alot for a FWD.

riceboy

it’s AWD

sooty

correct me if i’m wrong but i thought the r20 is getting 188kw and 330nm the same as the audi s3.

Dale

Pretty sure you’re right on that one. They detuned it due to our hot climate in summer, and possibly because of our fuel quality.

Strangely though (and I’ll only believe it when I see it independently tested), word is that the performance figures remain the same i.e. 0-100km/h sprint etc.

Shak

That hot thing and fuel quality is an excuse from VW. We are just as hot as some Euro countries such as Italy and Spain. And VW already reccomend 95 RON anyway.

Baddass

So what do you think the reason is then Shak? Volkswagen detunes the Australian spec models for the fun of it?

Shak

I don’t know. I’m just saying if they want to detune it come up with a believable excuse
Dale

I’m pretty keen to find out too. The thing is, when running such a big production, why would they want to differentiate the specs just for one country, surely it requires more effort and therefore cost on their behalf…even if all it is is a quick ECU reflash. They have to have a reason, but clearly it’s not a marketing ploy because it’s not doing their image any good. Who knows, maybe they’re trying to create a bigger tuner’s market in Australia to compete with Subaru and Nissan for example, which would give them much more of a cult status. In Europe/USA there are already plenty of aftermarket parts for VW’s, and whilst we do have some in Australia (e.g. APR), it’s not nearly as much of a variety as they have, nor is it as well known.

davie

Doesn’t the MPS get 190 kw and 380 NM on 95 RON fuel?

Richard

Yes the MPS3 does. But it has a 2.3L engine.

robbo

Gotta love Prixcar staff photographing cars they just unloaded off the ship, not good for the future of employment there, pretty sure it’s against their rules??
Neo Utopia

Perhaps its the higher humidity in some parts of Australia which caused Volkswagen to slightly reduce the performance. Whenever I watch F1 in Malaysia or Singapore the commentators are usually talking about the effects of humidity on the engine and drivers.

Scirocco is one of the best looking hot hatches in the world, and VW is hesitant to bring it into the only country which had positive economic growth in the previous quarter. Its like VW HQ doesn’t think Australia has matured enough to appreciate one of the best somewhat affordable modern classics available today.
sammy

they detuned it so it wouldnt steal S3 sales. I reckon the R32 is definately the better looker!
Hung Low

Or they detuned it because 95ron is not readily available in all areas outside major national arterial routes! They are protecting their warranty just incase!
Liam

“So what do you think the reason is then Shak? Volkswagen detunes the Australian spec models for the fun of it?”

Remember the warranty laws etc all differentiate between the EU and AU. There could be 1,000 reasons as to why.

I recently came over from Scotland. And was surprised the extreme lack of 3 door cars of any make and Eu models. Pity, 3 door EU models are among the best in the world.

Audi prices? Wow. 3 times the UK price.