When the Mk 4 Golf appeared in 1997 it was one of the best mid-sized hatchbacks ever made – comfortable, beautifully finished and with an upmarket aura, it was unsurprisingly a very strong seller. 

But there was one setback. The GTI model, which followed on from a legendary line of predecessors, was a bit “estate agent” – a fine and well-made car with a prestigious badge, but not the finely honed, sharp-handling hot hatch that its forebears were.

The answer, though, came along in late 2002 in the form of the R32 – which used a new 3.2-litre version of VW’s VR6 engine and had 240hp, along with four-wheel-drive and a choice of six-speed manual or all new DSG semi-auto transmissions. 

It was comprehensively reengineered, with far sharper steering, tenacious grip and stunning performance. 

This one is a six-speed manual, bought by the owner eight years ago, he’s covered over 40,000 miles in the car and is sad to see it go.

The vendor bought this car in 2014 from a Volkswagen specialist, which had used it as a project car and was very reluctant to sell. 

The team there had taken the car on a European road trip taking in the famous Nurburgring, Rallye Deutschland and the Belgian Grand Prix. The owner wanted to replace his Mk 3 VR6 and convinced them to do a deal. 

It’s a 2003 model year Mk4 Golf 3.2 R32 4MOTION, finished in Deep Blue Pearl Effect paint with black leather Konig sports interior. Built at VW’s Bratislava plant, it was supplied by Pentraeth Motors Ltd on Anglesey in September 2003. 

It then went on to be used in Worcestershire and Yorkshire before it was acquired by Volkswizard in Birmingham – an independent VW garage that used it as their own car for two years. 

The vendor then bought it and used it for regular visits to family in the North-East, which is how the car acquired most of its mileage in his care. He has had it regularly maintained and serviced, with its most recent oil service in February 2022. A full record of the car’s maintenance is included.

Whilst owned by Volkswizard, the car also featured on TV and in magazine articles, all included, and had had the sun visor signed by TV presenter Vicki Butler-Henderson. 

It also comes with a complete R32 -banded owners’ pack, a spare key and an aluminium billet R32 key fob.

Subtle but purposeful – that’s the best way to describe the R32’s cabin, which features smart figure-hugging black leather ‘Koning’ sports seats, which aside from a ‘4MOTION’ gear knob are the only things that aren’t standard in the R32’s cabin.

The dash and the rest of the interior are standard Golf, the ‘R’ branded floor mats, kick plates and seat embroidery remind you it’s not a standard car. 

Everything is in smart and decent order, but not perfect. There’s some wear on the nearside rear door trim, for example, and some minor rubbing on the driver’s side seat bolster. But overall, it’s pretty good.

Overall, the R32 presents well and is in the very best colour of Deep Blue Pearl. 

Up close, there are a couple of areas that will need future attention and that the vendor is happy to point out. 

There’s some bubbling to the edge of the off-side rear wheel arch, and also some minor rust on the very lower edge of the front wing on the same side. There are also some bubbles on the passenger side at the bottom of the door drain channels, but there’s nothing alarming or likely to cost a fortune to sort out.  

The alloys could also do with a refurb as they’re lightly scuffed around the edges.

The 240bhp V6 engine is a lively unit with lots of low-down traction and mid-range performance, which makes it a thoroughly enjoyable car to drive. 

This one has been well-maintained and importantly has the timing chain and tensioners replaced in 2017.

It has also had a number of performance modifications including a Milltek resonated stainless steel exhaust, ITG panel filter, DSG air intake trumpet and a Revo map performed by JKM Performance in October 2013, alleged to give a 20bhp power increase.

This is a great, honest example of the R32 being sold by a vendor who has loved and adored the car for almost half of its life.

 He’s torn about seeing it go, but with no further need for a second vehicle the money will come in handy and he’s decided to part with it. 

It’s not perfect, nor is it touted as such, but it’s really smart, original and unmessed with R32 in good overall condition.