You better hurry!

I can’t say I’m sorry to see this model go. The competition has moved on, and VW didn’t see fit to keep up.

Before the MkV R32’s became available, a number of enthusiasts were eagerly anticipating an R36, and it seemed like a logical step to take, with most vehicles in this segment boasting around 300 bhp. To everyone’s disappointment, the end product was a car with the same level of power as the previous model, but with extra weight and no manual transmission option.

Here’s hoping they see the light next time around and fit a 3.6 liter engine in the next gen, or even fit twin k03’s or k04’s onto the 3.2 liter mill.

For as brilliant as the VR6 engine is, its (block is) a cast iron boat anchor. I hate to admit it but Audi’s 265hp S3 is a better package on the same Golf5/PQ35 platform.

At $35,000+, the R32 seems way overpriced and under-powered. Acceleration should be much faster for this type of car at this price point.

I read not too long ago on this site that VW would be doing away with the r32 entirely for the next gen and just offer some for of all wheel drive on the gti because the new one makes about as much power as the current r32

Well thats not much of a let down to me because CANADA DOESNT HAVE THE R32….

Awell, bye enyways

Thank you Madcapp- well said

uhhh the new R32 is called GTI-R last time i checked
with the pumped up 2.0t
the engine it always should have
R20 would just have sounded stupid thats why.

and im glad to see this car go.. i would buy a used MKIV R32 or a 2.0t GTI with a 6-speed before i went out and fell asleep at the wheel with this manumatic snoozefest.

The R32 was a niche car at best, and the deal breaker was weighing almost 3700lbs. When the competitors in that segment come it at 3200lbs and 30 more HP and $3,000 less sticker, you’ve got a car that only sells to those with VW brand loyalty. And with VW reliability problems, those people are rare indeed.

i had an R32, was quite fast and the noise was better than most supercars, will be sad to see it go as the VR6 was becoming a bit of an icon, although vw did bump it up from a 2.7 to a 3.2 in the later models i think they should have followed suit in going with an R36 engine.

In E urope whent the Ford Focus ST was released, Ford said that its ST model was sufficient enough not to bring an RS version out, however that changed after about 3 years, so hopefully an R36 will come out in time, although my R32 did cost in the range of £32,000 ($60,000), a little pricey i must admit.

I was checking out prices at the local VW dealer the other day… good grief!

A GTI for $23k… Beetle for $25k… Passat nearly $40k… Touraeg for $50k… the new “small” Tiguan knocking on the door of $30k… even the Routan, a rebadged Chrysler minivan, is above $35k.

What the crap are these things… Caddilacs? They are all priced $3000 – $6000 above the competition. No wonder VW is cutting back on models… they can’t sell the stuff.

Why on earth would I buy the Passat when I can go right down the street to Chevy and get a Malibu for $25k… or to Toyota and get a Camry with every option for under $30,000.

I thought VW was supposed to be an everyman car… not a cheap luxury marque.

@RaineMan….

I agreed that VW prices have gotten away from their initial mission as the “peoples car”. However, put their offerings up against the so called competition, and alot of their cars come out ahead in my opinion.

I drive a GTI, and yes, I paid around 23K for it. But what is the competition? While the competition may be able to best a GTI around the track for the same price point, no one can match the overall quality of the GTI, certainly not interior quality.

Cobalt SS? Fast as hell, but still a cobalt with a cheap build. Less practicality

Mazdaspeed3? Probably the only other car I would consider in this class, but no good dealers in my area (my VW dealer is excellent, believe it or not). Again build quality not up to the VW.

Civic Si? Interior not nearly as nice, high strung N/A engine makes for expensive mods. My chipped GTI will spank a Si any day of the week. Less practicality

I believe that similar comparisons can be made for the Jetta, Eos, and even the Tiguan/Toureg. People need to get over brand names and buy based on which is truly the better car. But alas, I do understand that people have a hard time dealing with this, just look at what happened to the Phaeton.

I agree, i would go back to my GTI before i went out and got any of those cars you mentioned. Its worlds more solid and complete feeling than any of those. And yeah, a 600 dollar APR chip will pull out the full potential of that engine.

And raineman, as much as im a fan of the Malibu, it is not competition for a passat. VW cars are essentially “elite” versions of the markets they compete in. You dont find a malibu with a dual-clutch gearbox and a very torquey and fast turbocharged engined. The 3000-5000 premium is worth that alone.

As a former MkII owner, I really love the GTi. The problem is that VW has done a poor job of managing this specific model. Make it inexpensive and fun to drive and it will sell well. The problem is VW made it heavier and heavier, less powerful and kept increasing the price compared to Asian companies. The R32 always appealed to me, but it was just too expensive for what you got. Meh….

yeah, the R32 sold to a very small niche, and I’m not surprised by this. I’ve probably seen like 10 R32’s all being MKIV R32’s in my whole life…

It was too heavy, and while it did have a pretty banging engine, it’s overpriced and only thing you can compare it to would be an EVO or STI that perform better than it.

Oh and just for argument sakes, when you have e 24k FWD Cobalt SS stock beating a R32 you know you need to be faster… Ok that’s all I’ll say…

Now if VW was smart… And it sounds like it may be something if they don’t bring over the Scirocco over they would make the GTI a little cheaper and offer those same parts (like they are supposedly doing with the GTI-R) and just offer two GTI’s, one in the low 20’s and the “R” in the upper 20’s…

They just made the new GTI too good to sell an overpriced R32. Are they still going to come out with the GTI-R?