I bought this new Tornado Red R32 in Feb 05. I wanted a car that I could carry more than 1 other person in and also take my 95lb dog with me, yet was still fun to drive and was different from the average car. The "R" met all my needs. For those of you unfamiliar with the R32, it is a limited production version of the Golf, with a torquey 3.2L VR6, all wheel drive, beefed up full independent suspension (other Golf's have a rear torsion-beam), 6 speed tranny, HUGE brakes (stops as hard as a Ferrari), Konig heated leather seats with massive bolsters, body kit, and other minor changes. It came fully loaded, with leather seats as the only option. Only 5000 MKIV R32s were sent to the US, and only in 2004. They came in 4 colors, with only 500 in red.

It was summed up best in Motor Trend: "The R32 doesn't yell, "boy racer." There's no ornamental hood scoop and no presumptuous rear wing--only an effective and attractive aero kit hugging those 18-inch wheels and telltale dual exhaust tips. Look at it this way: The R32 gets you 90 percent of the performance and 125 percent of the interior content at the same price as those peaky-pesky turbocars (Evo & STi). It's the polished, adult approach to an edgy, adolescent high-performance craving."

Of course, any car can still use improvements, so I've done some mild mods to make it even a little more unique and better performing.

My 2004 R32 so far:
GIAC chip.
Custom intake.
VF Engine mount.
HPA SHS (by KW) suspension.
Neuspeed 22mm rear sway bar.
Rial Daytona Race 18x8.5 & 9.5 with Falken 235/40, 265/35 tires.
Color matched brake calipers.
Painted engine covers.
Custom front grille.
Seat Cupra Splitter
Bi-Xenon custom headlights.
Switchable exhaust volume.
Tinted windows.
Billet Seat knobs.
Upgraded speakers with sub.
Harmon Kardon Ipod controller.
Phaeton antenna.
MK V rear wiper.