Volkswagen Golf R – Australian specs & pricing

Official pricing and specifications for the 188kW Golf R have now been released by Volkswagen. These confirm most of the things we already knew, or suspected were correct.

This includes the leaked list pricing which emerged earlier this week: three door manual $48,490; three door DSG $50,990; five door manual $49,990 and five door DSG $52,490. That is very good pricing indeed and we expect Volkswagen Australia will sell a lot of these cars.

To put these prices into perspective the cheapest Audi S3 available in Australia, a three door manual, has a list price of $68,000. There are some equipment differences in standard spec between the two cars, but nowhere near enough to equate for the almost $20,000 premium asked for by Audi. Especially when you consider the cars share essentially the same chassis, engine and all-wheel drive systems. In the UK, for example, the Golf R is actually priced higher than the S3. This not only proves that comparing prices with other countries can be a worthless exercise, but it puts into context what a performance bargain the Golf R has become in Australia.

Rather than go over the finer details again, just go straight to the press release after the jump. Technical specs can also be downloaded below.

All you need to do now is work what colour you want. Your choices are Candy White, Reflex Silver metallic (pictured), United Grey metallic, Rising Blue metallic (AUSmotive’s tip) and Deep Black pearl effect. More pics of the Golf R can be viewed here.

Golf R – Australian pricing & specifications

• 3 Door 6 Speed Manual – $48,490*
• 3 Door 6 Speed DSG – $50,990*
• 5 Door 6 Speed Manual – $49,990*
• 5 Door 6 Speed DSG – $52,490*

Options

• Electric Glass Sunroof – $1,900
• Talladega 19″ alloy wheels in Silver or Black (4) – $1,300
• Dynaudio Excite 300W Audio – $1,300
• Satellite Navigation RNS510 – $2,500
• RNS510 with Dynauido Excite – $3,500
• Rear View Camera (RVC) (with RCD510, RNS510 or Dynaudio) – $500
• Media Device Interface (MDI) – $270
• Vienna Leather Upholstery – $3,300
• Motorsport Front Seats, Mirco Fibre/Leather Upholstery – $5,300
• Electric Driver’s Seat (only with Leather & 5 door) – $600
• Adaptive Chassis Control – $1,500

Technical specifications

• Golf R Technical specifications – June 2010 (76kb PDF)

* Prices are manufacturer list prices only, for the drive away price please contact
your local authorised Volkswagen dealer.

The New Golf R

• More Power, Less Fuel:
  New Golf R with 188kW and 8.7 Litre Combined Fuel Consumption

The new Golf R is here. Designed by Volkswagen Individual. All-wheel driven. As the flagship of the model series it is equipped with standard Bi-Xenon headlights, LED daytime running lights and LED rear lights. Shifted manually or by optional DSG. At 188kW it is the more powerful than ever before and at the same time, it is the most fuel-efficient Golf R of all times. A high-class sports car with compact-class fuel economy.

The data in detail: The Golf R sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.9 seconds. The Golf R performs even better when shifted with the optional direct shift gearbox (DSG): It leaves the 100-km/h mark behind it in a sensational 5.7 seconds. The best data: While the retired Golf R32 processed 10.9 litres fuel per 100 kilometres, the new Golf R only needs 8.7 litres. This translates to a 1.2 litre better fuel efficiency than the previous model. Accordingly, CO2 emissions are reduced from 259 to 201 g/km (manual) and for the automatically shifted Golf R DSG, CO2 emissions are as low as 197 g/km.

The enormous efficiency gain of the new Golf R is not some magic trick rather it is the result of intelligent downsizing. Its legendary predecessor generated its power from a displacement of 3.2 litres and six cylinders. In the new model, however this is accomplished with four cylinders and 2.0 litres of displacement, which equals a highly advanced direct injection petrol engine with turbo-charging (TSI). Most noticeable at the fuel pump and on the winding mountain road, this high-tech alliance is superior to a classic six cylinder with multi-point injection.

Proving that even the sound of a four cylinder can leave a strong impression are the fifth and sixth generations of the Golf GTI, also powered by a four cylinder TSI. And the Golf R − and the chrome dual tailpipes of its sound-optimized exhaust system − display a significantly broader “sound spectrum”.

The TSI’s torque characteristic is just as impressive. By comparison, the six cylinder of the previous model developed a maximum torque of 320 Newton-metres at 2,500 rpm. That too was remarkably good however the turbo four-cylinder direct injection engine of the new Golf R, on the other hand, transfers 330 Newton-metres torque at 2,400 rpm and can maintain this peak value up to 5,200 rpm. This means that the new Golf R truly delivers a fascinatingly high level of fundamental dynamic performance.