Photo: SB-Medien
Growing up in the early 2000's when the R32 was cool, I would have ever thought that a much smaller 2-liter engine fitted to a Golf Estate would one day make for one day make for a car that's faster than some sportscars.
But here we are in 2014, the year when Volkswagen starts to push back the years of boring wagon powered by puny diesel engines – the caution of every middle-aged man with a family.
The Golf R Estate prototype we assumed was the real deal has been confirmed by the latest spyshots, which show it testing on the Nurburgring track for the very first time. It's very rare for Volkswagen to put a completely undisguised prototype. We interpreted this as a clear declaration of intent to put the R Estate into showroom as soon as possible.
We've established that, unlike the Scirocco, the Golf R Estate has all-wheel drive. But it might not be as powerful as the hatch. The exhaust system isn't as intricate as on the Golf 7 R hatch and so we thing the 280 PS version of the latest 2.0 TSI might be offered, though 300 PS is every bit a possibility. With or without those 20 PS, this car should get to 100 km/h in under 5.5 seconds. That's in a car that can easily stow away a bicycle.
It's kind of ambitions for Volkswagen to make the Estate into an R model, since there's no GTI. But the confidence of 4Motion all-wheel drive better suits a family vehicle. More than just another Golf, this could be clear indication that performance estates are a very real market now.
The current uncontested champion of the segment is Opel's huge Insignia Sports Tourer OPC, which with the help of a 330 PS 2.8-liter turbo engine gets to 100 km/h in 6.3 seconds. That makes it potentially slower than the R, even though it also packs 4x4.
Ford's Focus ST Wagon is also a noteworthy competitor, having been around since the new ST's conception. Its weapon of choice is a 250 PS 2.0 EcoBoost engine mated exclusively to a six-speed stick. It's potentially slower than both because of FWD, but since most estate buyers are money-conscious, its price makes it a very attractive fast Ford.
There's an upcoming Peugeot we need to mention. Now, we know they didn't make good cars for a while, but we've seen the new RCZ R smoke a Megane RS in a straight line. The same 1.6-liter turbo engine will also go into the 308 GTi SW model you see here. Peugeot's motorsport engineers haven't decided yet what sort of output to give it, which is just as well considering it will need some big guns to fight the bigger-engined Germans.
But by far the hottest of the hot estates is not the Golf R, but a much more expensive and hardcore car Mercedes is preparing. We are, of course, talking about the CLA 45 Shooting Brake, which will probably dip below 5 seconds thanks to 360 horsepower, all-wheel drive and the best badging money can buy: AMG.
The Golf R Estate prototype we assumed was the real deal has been confirmed by the latest spyshots, which show it testing on the Nurburgring track for the very first time. It's very rare for Volkswagen to put a completely undisguised prototype. We interpreted this as a clear declaration of intent to put the R Estate into showroom as soon as possible.
We've established that, unlike the Scirocco, the Golf R Estate has all-wheel drive. But it might not be as powerful as the hatch. The exhaust system isn't as intricate as on the Golf 7 R hatch and so we thing the 280 PS version of the latest 2.0 TSI might be offered, though 300 PS is every bit a possibility. With or without those 20 PS, this car should get to 100 km/h in under 5.5 seconds. That's in a car that can easily stow away a bicycle.
It's kind of ambitions for Volkswagen to make the Estate into an R model, since there's no GTI. But the confidence of 4Motion all-wheel drive better suits a family vehicle. More than just another Golf, this could be clear indication that performance estates are a very real market now.
The current uncontested champion of the segment is Opel's huge Insignia Sports Tourer OPC, which with the help of a 330 PS 2.8-liter turbo engine gets to 100 km/h in 6.3 seconds. That makes it potentially slower than the R, even though it also packs 4x4.
Ford's Focus ST Wagon is also a noteworthy competitor, having been around since the new ST's conception. Its weapon of choice is a 250 PS 2.0 EcoBoost engine mated exclusively to a six-speed stick. It's potentially slower than both because of FWD, but since most estate buyers are money-conscious, its price makes it a very attractive fast Ford.
There's an upcoming Peugeot we need to mention. Now, we know they didn't make good cars for a while, but we've seen the new RCZ R smoke a Megane RS in a straight line. The same 1.6-liter turbo engine will also go into the 308 GTi SW model you see here. Peugeot's motorsport engineers haven't decided yet what sort of output to give it, which is just as well considering it will need some big guns to fight the bigger-engined Germans.
But by far the hottest of the hot estates is not the Golf R, but a much more expensive and hardcore car Mercedes is preparing. We are, of course, talking about the CLA 45 Shooting Brake, which will probably dip below 5 seconds thanks to 360 horsepower, all-wheel drive and the best badging money can buy: AMG.
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