2004 Volkswagen R32 | Retro Review 

MK4 has something special, always love this car

My son owned one and after taking me for a ride I was convinced he made the right choice for all the right reasons.

That moment when you realize that your car is now on a retro review.

I am from Sydney Australia. VW sent 200, R-32s to Australia in 2004. I have one of them from new., Number 175 Australia. Unsurprisingly, VW Australia sold 197 before they actually arrived in Australlia but 3 just would go!! So, Porsche Australia bought all three (all black) for about 65% of list price for their sales staff to drive and that how I got mine, new, care of Porsche Australia. My R-32 now has approximately, 54,500 kms on the clock 1st June 2023, , it is black with NO sunroof. It is amazing. It shared the garage with the both the first 996, Yr 1999 GT3 and Yr 2001 GT-2 for Australia but I still love the R-32 most because of it's pure wholesomeness and it actually sounds better than the GT-2 !!!!!!! It was my daily drive. Today, all the Porsches are gone, yet the R-32 still here !!!!!

Mk4's have a timeless design, my favorite R

AWD hatchbacks just hit a sweet spot for me.

I worked with some guys that encountered a VW R32. They didn't understand the appeal. I explained that some people want a fun compact car with AWD. However, the Subaru WRX STI and Mitsubishi Evo VIII are too hardcore to appeal to everyone. The R32 doesn't have the horsepower the rally cars do. However, having a NA VR6 delivers power in a linear way. Those rally cars had all or nothing turbo lag. The interior is also nicer than a WRX STI or EVO VIII interior. I used to have a Jetta MKIV 180HP 1.8T. I loved it, but I drove too fast and crashed. The side air bags kept me out of the Darwin Awards.

The moment when cars of ur generation come out in an Retro Review… hit hard… 😂 Hello from France 🇫🇷 American friends!

I still have mine and I purchased mine new! Now it’s pumping out 500 Hp!

I love the styling of the MK4 and the Jetta of the same period. Perfect combination of economy, sports car, luxury, contemporary, and retro. And their performance is excellent.

Man I was a kid when my neighbor had one , every time he started it I always loved the sound. All them years later got myself a mk7.5 gti tornado red ❤

I feel old when I realise this is 20 years old

I was quite surprised to find out how de-tuned the 3.2 VR6 was. It's a closed decked design. The engine can handle a lot of internal pressure. You could easily boost the engine to 350 whp without any issues in reliability.

Always been a fan of hatchbacks. I've always dreamt of having an R32. I drive a FiST myself. It's a baby monster.

Bought one new in 04. Owned it for 10 years and 140,000 miles. Cried when I moved on.

I wanted one so bad in the early 2010s .. still looking cool to this day I'd rather have this than any modern Golfs from VW

daily driving mine with 168k miles love the R.

Traditional Golf design and a lovely soundtrack from that VR6...what a nice car!

Remember these being released. I was a Honda guy thru and thru, but man I wanted one of these. Until the Infiniti G Coupe was released the next year, this was on the top of my list. Still a great looking car to this day. And still respectable performance as well.

This was my fav generation of the Golf/GTI...wish I was able to buy one then!

I’ve had the mk4 5 6 7 and 8 and the classic boxy shape of the 4 has always been my favorite! That and mk5 I love also

I had the mk 4 and 5, they both were awesome

I’m loving these old car reviews

One of my favorites, the Mk4.

Closest thing I've ever had to one was a 01' Jetta with a vr6. That car even was a blast to drive. Someone I knew had an 04' but a small hose on it blew off and blew the engine sitting in traffic. He later got an 08' but it didn't have the same appeal as the 04'.

My third car on Midnight Club 3. Still remember driving that thing as though it were yesterday. That car was a monster when souped up.

Car in that condition is worth almost 30k now I have the audi a3 with the 3.2 vr6 one of the best engines ever created

I actually prefer this over the modern Volkswagen Golf R.

Love my reflex silver r32 i'll never ever get rid of it..

My opinion, R32 has the most stylish ground effects of any hot hatch.

I was brought here by the VR6 GOLF 3, I stayed for the love now my reward is this, the R32 review

I had a MK5 R32 and totally loved it. It was gray and a total sleeper car.

Ask as proud owner of a MK7 GTI SE, I must say this R32 looks beautiful and that engine is amazing.

The R32 is a cool car from all angles, VW went full send on this one.

6.1 and 14.5 is decent. the handling of these is their strong point. a friend has one with a tune makes 285hp hits 60 in about 5.6

I used to have a VR5, pushing on Porsches and M3/M5 BMW's on Germany's Autobahn 5 from Freiburg to the Swiss border... Lot's of fun, until the engine started using coolant, now happily driving a 1.6 FSI station....

These are bona fide classics in the UK. 5 years ago you could get a good one for as little as £5000. They are now £10,000 to £20,000 for the best examples.

This was one sweet ride back then!

That front end looks clean to this day. Even the interior

Test drove one that was a few years old; was very fun.

My 1st car in Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition

These haven’t depreciated much, and if you want a clean manual they’ll fetch close to $40k

I've always loved that generation Golf. Sadly, I have not seen one on the road in at least 5-years.

Sitting at 190k, off the road until i get my piggy bank filled up for some serious maintenance and upgrades 🤘🏼

Love that I have one of these in my garage.

i had a MK4 years ago with a 2.0L and did an engine swap to 1.8T, hard to believe that VR6 fits in that smalll engine bay

Love my B5.5 Passat wagon 1.8T(manual, 2nd owner)

one day she will be mine. she will be mine. the new R’s are so badass as well. Keeping manual alive.

The year was 2013 I had all the beautiful girls in my R32 on my way to the shore with the music playing windows down a loud exhaust sound. life was good I had friends with me.

Just saw a red one on bbs rims outside of a taco bell about 5 minutes ago what a coincidence 😂

Man I wanted one of them so bad! I just couldn’t afford one at the time!

This was such a cool car when it came out. It's such a shame how underrated it was and is and has been overshadowed by the current Golf Rs.

How I miss my VW MK4 R32. Lost her to Super storm sandy 💔 😢

Had a 04 Mach 1 once. Friend I worked with talked about how much faster his R was and how it could smoke my mustang. He was humbled the next day. They are relic’s of a better time. Not particularly fast but fun to drive I suppose .

This was my first car in Forza 1. Yes the original one. It was great.

In 2004 I bought a brand new SVT Cobra for $29,500.

I remember that these cars had such a small exhaust pipe. It literally was like an inch diameter.

Man those sounded good.

20yrs ago I'd make fun of those Mk4 kids. Nothing's changed, but the Mk4 has proven itself to me as one of the best platforms as far as longevity. I'm in the northeast, I drive 28k a year for work and there's not a day that doesn't go by that I see at least a handful of them. Of course the mk1 and 2 are the best as far as being totally awesome cars, so they're my first pick for a fun car, but that Mk4 is a solid chassis.

Very nice this Golf R32

Mk4 is my favorite gen for a reason

My Mk4 R32 ran 13.1 @105 w/ 1.6 60 all day long. Put down 265awhp on the dyno. Great car.

3:02 John: BUT ITS NOT LIKELY TO SCARE ANYONE IN A SUBURU WRX STI! LOL

These cars were cool, but for them to sell for over 20k USD with 200k or more on the odometer is insane. Car market is off the rails nowadays. I had it back in 2009 and nobody gave two shits about it. Kicking myself rn lol

Hubby has 05 mk4 gli with 6spd manual, purchased brand new in late 04 and kept it ever since. It only has 67k original miles, but unfortunately literally the whole car is falling apart even though the car was sitting under a covered surface or in the garage. All the plastic pieces breaks and cracks, interior trims are falling apart, the notorious crayon smell when you sit in the car for more than couple of minutes, and numerous leaks under the hood. The vehicle is dealer maintained and we rarely drive the car, but it’s sad that the classic is literally falling apart and getting rotten by sitting there. Sure you can re-do the interior, but at this point it’d be more of a sentimental value because we have memories to the car and that’s priceless. But the car itself is practically worthless.

My fav VW ever

I chose to keep mine over a 2017 Focus RS. I had to sell one so the Focus went

Had a black on black mk4, was a blast before someone rear ended me and totaled it : /

I love my MK7 Golf R, but I still miss my MK4 R32.

Hydraulic clutch, well done vw

Great car!

I miss the days when cars used to sound this good. My Type R spanks it in every way but will never sound this good.

Great little rocket ...Sti's and Evo's had a tough time getting away from them .

Still the best car ever built!

A nice sounding engine, and a nicely styled (if not constructed) interior doesn't change the fact that it's still a MkIV VW, and thus kinda unreliable crap. Adjusted for inflation, that's a $45,974.26 car, a little more than the starting price of the current Golf R.

I can still smell the crayons from the VW era.

Not a fan of any German cars but I have always liked the vr6

Awesome 👍

MK4 GTI were a disappointment with 115 hp or 1.8 Turbo at 150 hp, but the R was special.

Vw started making the golf gti in 1976 .

Body roll and springs for days

Almost bought one in 2005 for 20k now there double that i will never sell it if I get my hands on one!

Imagine if they made a 30 valve version like the Jettas had

The VR6 is a very rare engine now!

I'd be happy with a reliable GTI 6 speed.

Problem is it was only slightly cheaper than the 2004 WRX STi which is better in every way

Dam s52 m3 power numbers

Mk4 The best Golf And the most fun one

still look slick by modern standard.

Still have mine. BMP with 90,000k

240hp in such a small car?! Low key rocket o.o !!?

I never understood the appeal of what is essentially a 2 door station wagon that you feel every bump, road noise is deafening, and reliability that makes the Italians giggle.

Nice car

Need for Speed Underground introducing me to this o.o

This commercial felt so good to watch that it felt kinda hardcore x rated!!!!

You never see this generation still running.

I think we can all appreciate the IRS's contribution to the lowered suspension. lol :]

dont let the humble mechanic see this.

My headliner is coming down.

"Deep tinted tuner taillights" lmfao