By Tony Borroz

Looks like VW is keeping the goodies to themselves again with word that the new for ‘09 R32 will not be seeing the shores of the good ‘ol U.S. of A.

Hey wait a minute, didn’t VW do this before? didn’t they tease us with lots of pics of the R32, then say ‘No. we changed our mind. we’re not importing it to the U.S.’ Then they did bring it in anyway … well, they’re either messing with us again to stir up interest, or they really mean it this time.

For those of you unfamiliar with the VW’s R32 variant, think of it as a king of the hill, uber-GTi. Essentially, VW takes the latest Golf two door body, and upgrades everything in sight, but the most important tweaks happen to the drivetrain.

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By Kurt Gensheimer

Blings:

• Polished 4Motion Haldex system
• Scalpel-sharp handling
• Heavenly VR6 exhaust note
• Luxurious interior

Dings:

• DSG only
• Rear styling is hard to love
• Bullish understeer in wet conditions
• Tough to justify next to the new GTI

Ruling: If you want the most refined, mature and well-mannered hot hatch on the market, this is the one.

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The Volkswagen R32 is a great addition to the hot-hatch category. But is it a great value when compared with the VW GTI? Watch our video review and tell us how you think the R32 rates in your book.