VW hasn’t created a range-topper; they’ve created an all-out Armageddon which will bulldoze everything in its path. The R50 has three tonnes of pure terror and an engine that will rival a super car’s. Yep, that means it’s in the running with the likes of BMW, Porsche, Mercedes and Audi. Even LandRover fans will be making eyes at the R50, after all it is a spectacular piece of design and its diesel engine is one of the most powerful in the world. With 552lb ft of tug it can tow items thirty times its weight, it accelerates from 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds and a top speed of 146mph.
Much like ice-cream though, you can have too much of a good thing as we discovered after a morning of trying to unstick its back-end. With the Continuous Damping Control activated, the handling didn’t falter but the same couldn’t be said for our stomachs. It’s a wholly unnatural experience heaving a mammoth 4x4 around tight bends and staging a traffic-light shoot-out in just 0.2 of a second slower than a Golf R32 hot hatch but surprisingly enough the R50 is very compliant. It stays right on course and ends up where you want it to. The brakes were also a test of guts; they worked fine but they didn’t let you know that until you’d properly stamped on them.
Now some would say that all these hyper-performing, fuel guzzling pimp-mobiles are quite unnecessary but so is cutting your hair and wearing clothes and most of us still do that. Sure, you wouldn’t buy an R-50 to make a political statement, you’d buy it because it’s the best you can afford and it makes you feel good. Well it does until someone points out the 22.4mpg figure which drops to 14mpg around town and then you’ve got the 333g/km emissions which will mean you have to fork out £400 a year in tax.

The upside is that while others are cashing in on their 1-litre run-arounds with no air-con and cramped leg space, you will be cruising around in luxury. VW’s new range-topper adds even more goodies to the previous Altitude V10 TDi flagship which include 21-inch Omanyt ten-spoke alloys, a body-coloured roof spoiler, a re-styled bumper and oval tailpipes trims. After-market style wheel arch extensions are also in force alongside blue brake callipers. The radiator grille then gets a matt chrome finish as well as there being louvers and honeycomb-style inserts in the airdams.
Standard equipment extends to Nappa leather sports seats, ‘R’ logos on the pedals, heated outer rear seats and a ski sack and net partition built in to the luggage quarters. Bi-Xenon headlights which can curve their lighting to see around bends are also included within the £61,990 package and there’s no excuse for getting lost with that DVD touchscreen Sat Nav. Okay so it hasn’t got a droptop (VW have to leave something to West Coast customs) but it does have 2Zone climate control so you’re Armani whites will be staying crisp and smelling good.

Source:Covercar