The Golf R: It's a bit of a flyer

The Volkswagen Golf R is either a) what an exceedingly lucky boy-racer is given by his dad for his 21st birthday, b) the perfect vehicle for a cooped-up urbanite who likes to flee the city and burn rubber on the weekends or c) what you buy when you love German sports cars but your budget doesn't stretch to an Audi TT. It might even be all three.

Unlike many cars that are retrospectively viewed with affection, this is a car with which you can fall madly in love on the first drive. It's got oodles of character. It has "ergonomically optimized" seats that make you feel like you're sitting in a futuristic armchair. It's like a giant arrow on wheels, spearing along the road where other cars merely saunter.

There's little about the Golf R that is superfluous, no pointless gimmicks that are included with gadgetry one-upmanship in mind. Everything performs a useful function and everything is so thoughtfully positioned and easily reachable that you need never take your eyes off the road. Like Bruce Lee and red hot chilli peppers, it is relatively small, perfectly formed and kicks like a bucking bronco - especially when in Sport mode, which gives the car a highly appealing growl.

Aesthetically, the Golf R ticks more boxes than a census form. The Talladega alloy wheels, chrome-plated dual tail-pipe and widened side-sills give it real presence on the roads, while the rear spoiler is basically car-speak for, "I'm a bit of a flyer - back off or eat my dust". And make no mistake, with the ability to go from 0 to 100km in 5.5s, this car can really shift - even when it isn't in sport mode. When it's hemmed in by the rush-hour traffic you almost pity it, as if you're confining a wild cougar to a kennel.

Inside, I liked the touch-screen audio controls and the driver-friendly buttons on the chunky leather steering wheel. I'm not yet convinced about whether so-called "high-grip" steel-plated pedals perform much better than plain rubber ones but they look fantastic. As for the GPS system, I tried it by the roadside in the depths of a sprawling industrial estate but gave up after ten minutes of baffled button-pushing. Other people, however, have praised its simplicity. Maybe I should have shown more patience.

The Golf R constantly surprised me, and in the nicest ways. The lights on the wing-mirrors, for example, are a neat touch, reminding me that I was still signalling long after I had turned (sometimes the top of the steering wheel can obscure the signalling lights on your dashboard display and you can drive for miles, blinking away to the consternation of other drivers). And I liked the VW badge on the trunk door, which also functioned as the handle.

Four days was all it took to form a pet-like bond with the Golf R. Even now, several hours after returning it, I can't help thinking, as I write this, about how much longer it's going to take me to reach home tonight.

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