The 2008 Volkswagen R32 Review
First of all, let me say that I have yet to drive the all new (and I do mean ALL new), 2008 Volkswagen R32. Still, this is in fact a review of that very car. Just what gives me the right to post a review of a car I have yet to drive? Well, I think the fact that I owned a 2004 R32 gives me the right to say just about anything I damn well want to say about the 2008 R32. Plus, this is my web site and I can say anything I please.
It’s good to be the King.
It’s pretty clear to me that most fans of the new R32 never owned the original 2004 R32, otherwise I doubt there would be much in the way of enthusiasm for the new 2008 version. The R 31 1/2, errrr…I mean R32…is a mere shadow of its former self. Lord, it is almost a sacrilege to even call it an R32. Let’s face it. This 2008 model is an R32 in name only.
~your webmaster shakes his head….grabs some duct tape…and begins to wrap his entire head so as to prevent it from blowing apart from internal pressure buildup!~
This is going to get ugly, so be warned. You had better get some duct tape of your own and start wrapping.
When the latest issue of Autoweek arrived in my mailbox, I was thrilled to see that the lead article was about the new R32. I wondered what Autoweek would have to say about it. So, when I read the bold print I cringed. On the cover of the latest issue of Autoweek, in bold font type, are words to the effect that people expected the new R 31 1/2 to have spoilers, wings and hood scoops! Moreover, it seems that one of the suits at VW, brand director David Goggins, was obtuse enough to believe that as well, which only goes to show why VW just cannot seem to get it’s act together and capture the market the way it should have been able to do when it came out with the R32 back in 2004.
Clearly Patrick Paternie of Autoweek Magazine (the author) and apparently every suit at VWoA seem to think that they know what VW enthusiasts want, yet they could not be more clueless than if they were a bunch of blind, drunk elephants stumbling around inside a china shop.
Additionally, they seem to think that they know why we fell in love with the R32 and why we EXPECTED the new R32 to have wings, spoilers and hood scoops and such. The implications would be funny if they were not so god-awfully insulting in the first place. The misguided beliefs of Goggins, Paternie et. al. suggests a profound ignorance of what drives the R32 fan base. So, allow me to break it down for everyone TC style, so that there are no misconceptions.
When the 2004 R32 came out there was concern that it would not come to the USA. Were it not for the passion and persistence of the VW VORTEX community at vwvortex.com, the 2004 R32 would have been relegated to the “what could have been” dung heap of auto history. The USA would never have seen it otherwise. But, lucky for us we did see it. Not only did we see it, but all 5000 of the cars were snatched up in record time and we LOVED THE R32.
Fast forward a few years to present day. Used 2004 R32’s are still commanding close to sticker price! That is how much the market loves that car. But why did we love it? Why do we STILL love it?Well, I can tell you one thing for sure: It was not because the R32 allowed VW enthusiasts to compete with the WRX crowd. And it was not because we had something that could compete with the Evo’s out there. In fact, it had little, if anything, to do with how the R32 compared with other cars, even though comparisons were inevitable.
No, the reason we loved the R32 so much is because nothing could compare to it at all. It was as unique as VW owners are. If you had an R32, you knew you had something that no one else had: A performer that had incredible style and comfort.
Yes, the 20004 R32 had incredible looks, it drove as well if not better than cars costing 4x as much. The .:R’s exhaust note was nearly orgasmic. It simply OOZED testosterone. It was a guys car. It was a beast. But that’s not all. The interior of the car was just as fetching and jaw-droppingly beautiful as the performance and sound of the machine.
Consider that stocky, stud of a steering wheel and those brushed aluminum accouterments, all the way down to the dead pedal in the floor board. That gear shift. Oh, that 6-speed gear shift. The sound system. Those seats. Oh my, those heated seats. Those balls-to-the-wall heated, Koineg Sport Seats! The leather. The smell. Everything on the inside of that car screamed class, fit and finish. And again, it just oozed with testosterone.
You want to talk about comfort and security when driving it or just sitting in that baby watching the sun set behind the Blue Ridge Mountains? I would have rather have slept a month in my R32 than a full week at the Waldorf Astoria! It was so comfortable to sit in (for anyone that was not built like a 500 lb pumpkin, that is).
And how about that dual exhaust? Sure, it sounded great, but dammit it looked great too! One glance at the rear end of the 2004 R32 and you could have sworn it had balls of steel. And it did.
Are you beginning to get the picture here?
All of those R32-features appealed to us, and did so without any of the “spoilers, scoops and wings” that were adorning all of the Japanese imports out there (the Evo’s, the WRX’s etc). The R32 appealed to us without all that rice picker stuff because we are VW owners. We are not your typical pocket rocket crowd. Never were. Never will be.
VW owners are more educated and have more refined tastes than any other group of brand owners out there. We have exacting standards of expectations, we know what we want and we know what to expect from our cars, and we expect those standards to be met every single time. VW owners are some of the hardest buyers to please, and we are the most discriminating car enthusiasts you will ever find.
The reason we loved the R32 was precisely because it did NOT have scoops, wings and spoilers and all of that ridiculous flotsam. That was the last thing R32 enthusiasts wanted. And Germany got that! They understood that. They understood that what we wanted was a car that did not need to look fast, but WAS fast. They understood that what we wanted in a car was a daily driver that had all substance of a Porsche without the price tag. We wanted a car with no fluff, and that is what they gave us. They built it, and we came.
Could the 2004 R32 have had more power? Well, yeah, maybe. The only reason any of us had a beef about the cars power was because the car was so damn heavy to begin with, and we could have had more power without losing ANY of the features that made the R32 stand out from the pack.
And how did Volkswagen of America/Germany interpret this?
Well, they figured that any murmuring with respect to the 2004 R32 was because it did not look like a WRX or an EVO. Big Mistake.
So, what did VWoA/G choose to do about it?
They GUTTED the car!That’s right. They got rid of the seats, got rid of the R-Line accouterments, got rid of the 6-speed shifter, got rid of every last vestige of what really made the 2004 R32 stand out. They even removed the dual exhaust (and I did not believe this was even possible) and swapped it for a set of pipes that resembled a woman’s vagina comparatively speaking. It was like the Grinch had marched into R32 Town and stolen Christmas.
We no longer have the R32. What we have instead is a neutered, toned down car more suited for a chick than for a guy.And VWoA has the NERVE to suggest that some people will just not “get” the new R32? Well, Mr. Goggins, maybe that’s because there is so little substance to the new car that there is nothing to get!
The new R32 is not just boring, it’s dead, but not for the reasons suggested in the latest issue of Autoweek. It is dead because it is no longer an R32. It is a friggin’ GTI. About the only thing of any value stated in the Autoweek article is that the 2008 R32 is a car for grown-ups. And that, my friend, right there .. is it! That is ultimately what this is all about.
VWoA thought that they needed to distance themselves from younger drivers. Isn’t that obvious? VWoA erroneously assumed two things: 1) That young people could not appreciate sophistication, and 2) that any disappointment with the 2004 model had to do with the fact that it could not keep up with lighter, faster cars on the road. Of course, VW was not about to lower themselves in an effort to build another WRX or an Evo just to keep up with a few rice pickers. That is not what VW is about and that is a good thing.
Still, VW seemingly went out of its way to build a car that would no longer appeal to the VW sports car base, but as we have already discussed that was a miscalculation to begin with. The R32 never did appeal to that crowd for the reasons VW suspected. So, since all these calculated changes on the part of VWoA were based on a false premise, it logically follows that the final product is a gross, ill-conceived mess. In the words of Mike Meyers (Insert Scottish accent), “If it’s not an R32, its crrraaaappp!!!”
In the end, true performance enthusiasts, people like me who were responsible for getting the 2004 R32 into the USA in the first place, will have to wait for a 2009 model or be willing to settle for a car that lacks the nuanced style of its predecessor. The truth is, we got it then, and we get it now.
Not to belabor the point, but the new R32 has bland seats, a bland steering wheel, a bland drive train and rear end etc. etc.. End the end, the new R32 is as bland as granny panties. All the more frustrating is the fact that with all of the changes VW did choose to make, the one thing they did not change was the power of the car, which could have easily been increased had the engineers not chosen to replace the 6-speed manual with the DSG transmission. Again, VWoA thought we all had a hard on for a shifter-less car, when all we really wanted was an R32 with a tad bit more power. There was no need to throw the baby out with the bath water.
No, my friends, it is not us that do not get it. It is VWoA that does not get it. It is Patrick Paternie that does not get it.
In conclusion, the new R32 may sell well, but I can tell you that most of us in the Vortex community who actually own or owned the 2004 R32 will not be buying it because we realize just how much we will be sacrificing in the process.
Contrary to what readers may think, I am not saying the new R32 is a bad car. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The 2008 R32 it is a modern marvel of handling and technological prowess with a more than reasonable price tag attached to it.
Had I never seen the original R32, I might very well love the 2008 version. As it is, I am very sad to see what VW did to my beloved R32. Yet, if I had 33K dollars, I might consider buying the 2008 R32 if the car offered a driving experience superior to the 2004 model.
Why? Because in the end, I love VW’s. I always will, and I would adjust to the new R32 just for the privilege of having another VW under my butt 
And yeah, it would be Blue!