VW may have teased US fans by unveiling the Golf R Variant at the Los Angeles Auto Show last year, but the sad truth is the 296hp wagon will not arrive stateside.
However, Europeans will have this privilege, as VW has just announced it is taking orders for the Golf R Variant in Germany. Owning a 296hp Golf wagon will not come cheap though, as the car starts from €42,925 in Germany – that’s approximately $48,695 at today’s exchange rates.
For this kind of money, customers do get standard 4Motion all-wheel drive system, a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox and a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 300PS (296hp) and 380Nm (280lb-ft) of torque.
That’s enough for a 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint of just 5.1 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). And the good thing is the Golf R Variant is not too thirsty on fuel either, at least in the NEDC cycle: it averages 7 l/100 km (33.6 mpg US).
The VW Golf R Variant is also fitted with a sport chassis that lowers the car by 20mm (0.78in), progressive steering, and the ESC electronic stability program, which can be deactivated if the driver wants to go to a track session instead of grocery shopping.
By the way, the VW Golf R is also a competent family car, as it has a cargo capacity of 605 liters (21.3 cu-ft), loaded to the backrests of the rear seats. Volume increases to 1,620 liters (57.2 cu-ft) when the car is loaded up to the backrests of the front sport seats and up to the headlining.
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