First Drive: 2012 Volkswagen Golf R

We're slumming through traffic in downtown Geneva, Switzerland, making our way towards the French border where we're about to spend a few hours flogging the 2012 Volkswagen Golf R along the twisty, narrow roads of the Alps. Right now, we're focused on the Golf's comfortable, well-appointed interior, and how its good visibility and relatively small stature make it a pleasant drive through heavy city traffic. It's just like every other GTI – or Golf, for that matter – in this regard. But as soon as we approach the entrance to highway A40, we find out exactly what that R badge is for. We speed towards the sharp, right-hand on-ramp with a furious growl coming from the turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine, and as we throw the wheel to the right, the Golf R hunkers down, digs its claws into the pavement, clips the apex of the ramp and sends us blasting onto the A40 with tremendous force." A GTI would have fallen all over itself right there," our co-driver states, matter-of-factly. He's right, too. Even with Volkswagen's nifty new XDS active differential, the GTI is prone to understeer when coming into a turn at high speed, and there's a decent amount of torque steer that makes the exit a bit more skittish than you'd prefer. But in the Golf R, with its fourth-generation 4Motion all-wheel-drive system and more powerful engine, every step of the high-speed cornering dance is executed perfectly. You can imagine, then, that the rest of our drive through the French Alps was nothing short of bliss. The Golf R is Volkswagen's new poster child for hot hatchery, and if you've ever fallen in love with a GTI, be prepared to be absolutely smitten with this little number. - Auto Blog