VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R

Winter-weather prowess makes us warm to VW's hot hatch even more

- Richard Ingram

EX IN a previous report, I hinted at how much I was looking forward to running our Volkswagen Golf R Black Edition in the colder months. I'd already got a sense of what the all-wheel-drive hot hatch was capable of, but nothing could prepare me for quite what a winter weapon it's turned out to be.

If you've experienced the same sub-zero start to the year that I have, followed by weeks of wind and lashing rain, you'll also have noticed how treacherous our roads have become.

Standing water on every bend, potholes big enough to bend a wheel, plus short days that see the dazzling LED-light brigade out in force - it's not a particularly pleasant time for UK motorists. Unless you drive a Golf R, that is.

Even on its standard Bridgestone rubber, the Golf just grips and goes. It doesn't matter if you're chugging along the motorway at the national limit or sprinting from A to B on a sodden back road, there really is very little that can keep up at this time of year.

The VW's talents were drawn into sharp focus on a recent trip to south Wales, where it acted as a support car during our exclusive drive of the new Lamborghini Temerario (Issue 1,918) on UK roads. Despite having almost a third of the power and half the number of cylinders, the R put on quite the show.